Twilight, Say Cheese!

Daisy Sunshine, Monique Dong

• Publisher: Aladdin
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781534461659
• eBook ISBN: 9781534461673

Twilight struggles with first day of school jitters in the first book of this sparkly new chapter book series that follows the trials and triumphs of young foals attending Unicorn University—perfect for those who love magic, happiness, and My Little Pony! It's Twilight's first day at Unicorn University, and she's nervous from the tip of her sparkly horn to the end of her shimmery tail. And when Twilight gets nervous, sometimes she loses control of her magic power, and turns invisible by mistake! But she can't help her feelings. What if the other unicorns laugh at her power? What if she doesn't make any friends?To make matters worse, the first day of school is also class picture day. With everything going on, Twilight keeps accidentally flickering out of sight, until finally she turns invisible…and realizes she can't turn herself back! Can Twilight reappear in time for the class picture?

1 Ruby-Red Barns

Twilight was having an almost perfect day. The sun was shining, and the yellow buttercups of Sunshine Springs were in full bloom. Her mother had even surprised her with her very favorite breakfast, apple oat muffins with cinnamon sugar. It was a long trip from their farm to Unicorn University, but Twilight’s father made it a great adventure and told funny stories and ideas the whole way.

The day was only almost perfect because Twilight could not stop thinking about how nervous she was to start school. She worried that she wouldn’t know the right things to say or do. Outside her family, she had never spent much time with other unicorns. Her sister Sunset was outgoing, and her sister Dusk was funny. But Twilight had always been shy. How was she going to make friends?

“Look, Twilight! There’s Unicorn U!”

Twilight looked up to where her mother’s golden horn was pointing. She could see a cluster of big ruby-red barns standing atop the grassy hill in the distance.

Twilight felt her stomach drop. Her nervousness might have just been in the back of her mind on the way there, but now the situation felt very, very real. She felt positively sick. Twilight thought about telling her parents that she was actually too sick to go to school, but she had decided to make her family proud, swallow her fears, and go. Even if it did make her stomach flip and flop.

“Sugarplum for your thoughts?” Twilight’s father asked. He nudged her cheek with his long, gray nose.

“Same old thing, I guess. I’m worried about starting school,” Twilight told him.

Twilight’s father neighed knowingly. “Of course you are, honey. Everyone is, on their first day, and your sisters were too. But Sunset and Dusk did wonderfully at Unicorn U. You are sure to follow in their hoofprints.”

Twilight nodded, though his words didn’t actually make her feel any better. When Sunset had been at Unicorn U, she’d been the star of the school hoofball team. Her magical ability let her fly with just a run and a jump, and now she worked with dragons in Cloud Kingdom. Dusk had had the best grades in school and could make flowers grow just by breathing on them. Since graduating, she’d been developing a brand-new apple tree that could grow in any of the five kingdoms.

It was a lot to live up to.

Unlike her sisters, Twilight didn’t like to stand out from the crowd. She preferred quiet activities, like reading and painting. Painting was the perfect way to record all her wild daydreams, and books had all the company she could need.

When Twilight had been little, she’d loved reading about magical creatures, especially lions and mice. Lions reminded her of her sisters—always stomping in after practice or conducting experiments. Mice reminded her of herself—quiet and observant. Twilight never minded being the quiet one. She liked watching the goings-on of her house from her favorite spot by the window. It just felt like her role in the family.

That was, until her magical ability had appeared.

She’d discovered it when Dusk had come home one afternoon and jumped from behind a haystack while Twilight had been out in the field, painting and lost in thought. Twilight didn’t even realize she had become invisible until Dusk started panicking and yelling for her. Twilight quickly appeared again, just in time to comfort her sister.

Ever since that day, Twilight’s invisibility had come and gone unexpectedly. She usually became invisible when she was embarrassed or nervous, but she would always reappear again once her family noticed that she had disappeared, which usually meant she had to whinny or stomp to get their attention. Her parents called her invisibility a magical gift, but Twilight thought of it as a curse. Having to make a spectacle to get a unicorn’s attention? That was decidedly too lionlike.

What if I fade out in front of everyone at school? Twilight worried, shuddering at the thought. The last thing she wanted was to be forced to make a scene in front of her classmates.

Twilight’s mother trotted over, her well-worn leather satchel swinging gently from her neck. She carried a large pink tulip in her mouth. Carefully she tucked the flower behind Twilight’s ear. “You just be yourself, honey,” she said.

Twilight let out a soft thank-you neigh, and this time she did feel a little better. She looked down at the ground, and smiled at how her bright purple hooves stood out against her jet-black coat. Dusk had given her a hooficure the night before, to celebrate her first day of school. At first Twilight had worried that it was too flashy, but Dusk convinced her that everyone would have hooficures and that this would help her fit in.

Twilight looked back up at her mom and dad, whose loving smiles gave her a small boost of confidence. Twilight didn’t know if she was ready for Unicorn University, but she wanted to try. She stood up straight and smiled back at them.

“Look out, world!” her father neighed merrily. “Twilight is going to school!”

2 Disappearing Act

I am not going to school,” Twilight told her parents. But they were too distracted by the school’s impressive grounds to notice.

The three of them had just arrived at the Unicorn University Welcome Picnic on the school’s main lawn. This was called the Looping Lawn. It was a large grass-covered hill that connected the Silver Lining Stables, the Crystal Library, and the Wondering Woods.

The Silver Lining Stables, which weren’t actually silver but were more like big red barns, were where students would live during the year. Large sliding doors with bright white borders stood open, as if welcoming students inside. Flower boxes bursting with plants of every color decorated the windows. And a weather vane perched on top of each building. The large metal structures all spun slowly with the wind’s changing directions.

“Your stable has the sailboat weather vane on top,” Twilight’s mother said.

“Same one as Dusk,” her fathered remembered. “Sunset was in the stable with the cloud weather vane, which was rather fitting.”

Twilight smiled. It was comforting to think of her sisters in this strange new place.

“And that’s the library!” her father cheered, motioning toward the building on the other side of the lawn. The castle-like structure sparkled in the distance.

The school was so big and important-looking. It made Twilight feel as if pixies were dancing jigs her in stomach. But her parents were so proud of her, and she didn’t want to ruin it by telling them how worried she was. She tried to put on a happy face.

“It looks as if it’s really made of crystal,” Twilight said.

Her mother laughed softly. “That’s because it is!”

Twilight could only stare in wonder. Her sisters had told her about the library, but they tended to exaggerate. Neither of them could resist a good story, and Twilight had learned to take most things they said with a dash of salt. This time it seemed that they hadn’t explained enough.

“Come on, you two! There’s a party happening!” Twilight’s father called over his shoulder as he trotted toward the welcome picnic.

“He’s right! Let’s go join the fun,” Twilight’s mother said. She galloped after Twilight’s father.

Twilight shook her head. Her parents were outgoing and carefree, and very different from Twilight. At home that felt right. Twilight took care of the little things, and she felt like she was an important part of the family. But here at Unicorn University, with its bright colors and large buildings? It seemed as if she needed a much bigger personality in order to belong. Reluctant and timid, Twilight slowly followed her partying parents.

The center of the Looping Lawn was filled with unicorn fillies and colts laughing, prancing, and calling out to each other. Sugarplums and candied apples were piled high on a snack table, and a rainbow spelled WELCOME TO UNICORN UNIVERSITY! in big cursive letters over the party. There was a garden-gnome band playing joyful tunes on the stage, their large red pointed hats bouncing in time. Some of the unicorns were dancing to the music, while others were showing off their magical abilities—Twilight even saw one unicorn change her mane from purple to pink to teal. Clearly the other students had no trouble controlling their abilities!

Twilight did not feel as happy as the other unicorns looked. She wasn’t sure where to stand or what to do. She shifted from one hoof to the other, wondering how all the other fillies and colts seemed to fit right in.

Maybe the university had made a mistake in accepting her, Twilight worried. There were schools all over Sunshine Springs, but her family always said that Unicorn University was the very best, and it was where everyone in her family had gone. But what if Twilight wasn’t the best? What if she didn’t belong here? She didn’t have any control over her ability, not like the filly who could easily change the color of her mane. Twilight didn’t know the moves to the dances the students were doing, and she had no idea how they could get a rainbow to spell out words. But the very worst part was that everyone was already talking and playing. It seemed like they already knew what to do.

Twilight felt a tingle begin to creep up from her hooves, as if she had stepped into a cool stream on a warm summer’s day. She looked down and saw that there was only grass where her hooves should have been. It looked as if she were floating in midair.

Twilight hoped that no one noticed. She didn’t want the other unicorns to think she was trying to show off her ability too! She didn’t wa...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Chapter 1: Ruby-Red Barns
• Chapter 2: Disappearing Act
• Chapter 3: The Friendly Fields
• Chapter 4: The Name Game
• Chapter 5: The Crystal Library
• Chapter 6: Class Picnic
• Chapter 7: Surprise!
• Chapter 8: The Light Idea
• Chapter 9: Under the Rainbow
• Chapter 10: The Mystery
• Chapter 11: Stella and Celest
• Chapter 12: Sugar Time
• ‘Sapphire's Special Power’ Teaser
• About the Author and Illustrator
• Copyright