Darkness in the Light

Darkness in the light

Prologue

         What is a unicorn? A mere beast with a horn on its head, that became extinct many years ago? A mythical creature that never existed at all? Or perhaps, an intelligent beast in hiding, whose horn caries magical powers? The last guess was the closest answer. Yes, the unicorns are very intelligent beings. Yes they are in hiding. And yes, their horn has magical powers. But, their horns work more like wands than horns. And they are hiding in an entirely different planet: Venus. Everybody knows that the gas surrounding the planet could fry a person to charcoal in seconds. But that is just what keeps the unicorns alive. The gas traps most of the heat, so about a hundred thousand miles below, the air is fresh, cool, and breathable. Green grass sprouts all around the surface. Dragons fly through the air. And in a wide clearing, dozens of unicorns watch two unicorns circling each other, blue and red light sparkling from the tips of their horns.

Chapter 1: The duel

         Firenze smirked at Arion. “You can’t get me!”

         Arion laughed. “Really?”

         “Yeah! You can’t hit worth a-”

         Arion shouted. “ Tessod!” The blue light at the tip of his horn crackled with energy and shot towards Firenze, hitting him squarely in the flank. Firenze was thrown backwards by the force and landed in the dirt. He got up, shaking his red fur clean of dirt. “Dehcnerd!”

         Arion looked up just in time for about a hundred gallons of water to fall from the sky, pinning him to the ground. He staggered to his feet, his pure white fur soaked. But Firenze wasn’t done yet. “Flal!” Arion’s legs collapsed beneath him, and he lay on the ground, panting.

         “Very good, Firenze.” Came a voice from behind them. They turned around to see their magic teacher, Ms. Willoweed. Her sea green mane and tail waved slightly. Firenze could tell she was pleased. “Arion, you must not forget how to undo enchantments. You understand? These are important for life.”

         Arion raised his head. “But how? All the evil unicorns of the early ages, like Darman, Evintide, and Worvane have all disappeared.”

         Ms. Willoweed looked at him with an understanding expression. She paused, and then said, “It’s best to be prepared to face evils who will never come than to face evil unprepared.”

         Arion looked like he was going to say something, but then bowed his head. “Well said.” He tried to get to his feet, but the flal spell was still on him. He muttered, “Resreve.” The charm fell off, and he got to his feet. Then suddenly he shouted. “Bnid!”

         Firenze was watching them, and did not expect to suddenly be thrown to the ground, wrapped in invisible ropes. “Rsaele!” He jumped up as the ropes fell of him. Arion and Firenze dueled. Blue and red light shot out in all directions. More than once, an onlooker was hit by one of the spells. Then suddenly Arion yelled, “Msis!” All at once Firenze could not hit him. He stopped to think of a reverse spell, but Arion yelled, “Fhgilt!” and Firenze realized he was floating upwards. Arion launched himself into the air. As him name said, he was master of air. But Firenze was master of fire. He shouted, “Snik!” and immediately began to lose height. Then he called fire to help him. It appeared underneath his hooves, and suddenly he was flying towards Arion, who swerved just in time for Firenze to shoot past. On the ground, the unicorns were watching in amazement as the two battled in midair. Firenze spoke quietly, so quietly that Arion could not hear him. “Uuoicsnocns.”

         Instantly, a red beam of light began to glow at the tip of his horn. It grew brighter and brighter as Firenze held on to it in order to strengthen the spell. Arion closed his eyes to shut out the light. Just when he felt he could hold it no longer, it reached maximum power. He threw the spell, and it hit Arion squarely in the head. Instantly, he blacked out. He began to fall through the air, unable to control it anymore. The ground was nearly 300 feet away. The unicorns were like small specks, and Firenze realized that Arion would die if he hit the ground. He willed the fire to become bigger, and he sped towards Arion. It wasn’t enough. Arion was 250 feet. He willed more fire. The fire roared. The smell of burning reached his nostrils. Firenze kept his tail as far away from the flame as possible. Arion was getting closer, but only slightly. He needed more power. 200 feet. The fire became a blazing inferno; the red tongues of flame uncomfortably heated his flanks. 150. Even the inferno wasn’t enough. He needed more power! The inferno changed color. Small blue flames erupted from the hooves. Firenze was sweating from the intense heat. 100. The red flames dissolved into blue. Firenze could feel it even burning his burn proof hooves. 50. Arion was almost close enough to touch. The unicorns were rapidly backing away. Firenze yelled. 5 feet off the ground Arion fell onto his back. The flames were scorching the grass to charcoal. Firenze willed the flames to stop. They stopped suddenly, and Firenze galloped as he hit the ground. He slowed, until he finally had lost enough speed to stop. The other unicorns crowded around them. Firenze looked at his hooves. They were smoking. Willoweed gave a nod. “You fought well, Firenze. But you could have woken him up before he hit the ground.”

         Firenze hadn’t thought of that. But he had been trying to save his friend, and it’s very hard to make decisions under pressure. He walked up to Arion. “Akawe.” The power of the spell intensified with every second Firenze held it. Then he let it go. It shot straight at Arion. At the last second, it formed a bubble around him and disappeared. Arion’s eyes flew open. “What happened?” He asked, getting to his feet.

         Firenze grinned. “I won.”

Chapter 2: the enemy

         A few miles from where Arion and Firenze had dueled, a jet-black unicorn cautiously stuck out his head from a well-hidden cave. He glanced around, and then slipped to the top of a mountain. He waited. Soon, two other black unicorns appeared. One’s horn was dark blue. The other had brown hooves. They looked down upon the gathering of little unicorns, playing around. The three had no idea that their ‘playing’ was actually a training exercise. His dark black eyes fell upon three youngsters in a huddle underneath a tree. Two were pure white, and one was red. But that wasn’t what interested him. Even from where they were, he could smell their magic. Strong magic. Powerful magic.

         He pointed his snout at the three. “There. Our first target.”

         “Are you sure, Dorman? If they disappear, there’s no telling what will happen.” Said the one with brown hooves.

         “Are you a fool, Worvane? The people will panic. We will continue to kidnap them, and when all of these petty youngsters are in our cave, we will feast on their magic. Then we can conquer the adults of no importance. We will continue to take their magic, going higher up in ranks, until the leader has no one to protect him. Then we will be the most powerful unicorns in the planet, with a prison full of powerless horses. Then we will transport them to Earth, where the humans will treat them as the mindless beasts they have always been.”

         Worvane was still unconvinced the plan would work. “But when we die, their magic will return, and the humans will know about us.”

         “Do you remember the prisons? They are full of dark unicorns. Once the guards have all been taken, we will set them free. We will choose mates of our own, and when we die, our children will be given the power that we will have possessed. Evintide is smart enough to guess what’s happening, right, Evintide?”

         Evintide, the unicorn with the blue horn, nodded. “We will rule a world that prospers with black unicorns.”

         Dorman smiled an evil smile. “At least one of you has a brain.”

         Worvane growled a low, deadly growl that no unicorn could possibly make. His hooves turned into wicked sharp claws, and his teeth sharpened. Dorman showed no reaction. “You need to keep control of your werewolf blood.” Worvane growled. “Remember, after we have taken the little ones and drank their power, you may eat them. You haven’t tasted unicorn meat in days, and the tender meat of a youngster is a good start.” Worvane looked at Dorman, and the red and black eyes met. Worvane’s claws disappeared. The sharp teeth became shorter and more blunt. He exhaled. “Having a werewolf as a father is not what I wished for. After they married, he tried to kill her! Some father.” He snorted, and together they closely watched the three unicorns talking, with their heads bent and their horns making a triangle above their heads.

~oOo~

         “Did you have to?” Said Arnesia. She looked shocked. “You had to knock him out while he was 300 feet in the air! Don’t tell me you forgot that you were not flying. And besides, you almost died yourself! Why didn’t you just awake him before he hit the ground?”

         Firenze looked embarrassed. “I didn’t think of that.”

         Arnesia looked at him, a strange expression on her face. “Didn’t think of that?” She sighed. “I admit, it’s hard to think when you are in a cause of life and death.” She stretched. “Anyway, I think it would do us all good for a splash in the creek.”

         “Yeah!” Said Arion. “Let’s fly!”

         “No,” Said Firenze, getting up. “Were going to walk. I can’t fly another inch. It hurts too much.” He winced as they stepped into the light, and the sun scorched his already burnt feet. “And,” He pointed out, “ You can’t carry both of us more than three feet. We tried that already, don’t you remember? It didn’t work.”

         Arion huffed. “That was three years ago. I’ve been training. I can probably carry you both now.”

         Arnesia looked at Arion. “I’d rather walk. I can’t fly, and suppose you can carry us for a while but your strength weakens. You love flying high, and the fastest air currents are up there, you said it yourself. But, if you began to lose strength, the air currents would help you for a while, but then you will lose altitude, and you can’t fly all the way down. We’d fall, and then we’d all break our necks or legs. Then where would we be?”

         Arion had been watching a dragon circling the sky. He turned to look at Arnesia. “I’m sorry, what were you saying?”

         Firenze burst into laughter. Arnesia tried to keep a straight face, but she began to laugh, too. Firenze and Arion were laughing so hard it took them a while to realize that Arnesia had stopped laughing. She spoke quietly. “Don’t look directly at them. Just look at the top of the mountain.”

         Out of the corner of his eye, Firenze squinted against the bright sunlight. He could see three figures of unicorns. They were walking towards them.

         “I’ve noticed that they have been watching us for quite a while. They make me a little uneasy. Let’s hurry to the creek.”

         Arion grinned. “Race you!”

Chapter 3: The realization

         Dorman watched the three children race away. Race away from the herd. He grinned. “Now’s our chance. Worvane, you get the female. Evintide, you get the white one. I’ll take the red one.” The red one had the most magic.

         Worvane grinned as he watched the girl’s strong legs propel her ahead of the other two. “She’s a strong one. She will make a very tasty meal. Young one’s are always a delicacy.” He bared his teeth into a gruesome smile. They were not as sharp as they were when he was a werewolf, or, to say correctly, Werecorn. However, they were still unusually sharp. He pawed the ground with his hoof, making deep scratches in the ground. Dorman tried not to wince. Worvane was not one to cross. Then Dorman realized that the children were getting farther and farther away. His powerful hind legs coiled, and he sprang forward. “Let’s go!” He shouted. “Before we lose them.” He stayed far behind them, and galloped in the shadows, Worvane and Evintide close behind. He had to take them when they rounded the rock and crossed the gorge that led down to the creek, and then went around the mountain. Only then would they be out of sight and it would be safe to capture them. They rounded the corner. Dorman stopped, and Worvane almost crashed into him. The kids couldn’t swim, or jump as far as they could. They would have to take the winding log, and if he followed them, they would see him. The winding log was a large tree, and it would take twenty minuets to get over it. He sat down and watched the group of unicorn children, forming a circle around two unicorns that were making petty sparks and pretending to cast spells. He laughed quietly to himself. The unicorns wouldn’t stand a chance. That was what had made them so easy to conquer. They didn’t prepare. Dorman remembered when he had been powerful. Everyone feared him. There was panic. No order. Everyone was terrified that they would be his next victims. Those were the best days of his life. Then a unicorn of great power had defeated all three of them at once and tossed them into the creek, where they nearly drowned. But then a log came by and they all floated to the bank in the mountains. That was now their home. There were many hidden caves. One was so large and so high up that all the unicorns in the world could fit in there, and only one with the power of flight could get out. There, he had decided the unicorns would be taken of their power, and that would be their prison. The little stream inside of it would be their water, and the large pasture in the back where the sunlight came through would be their food. Dorman realized that he had spent too much time thinking! He inwardly cursed himself. They were far away by now! He raced out and jumped over the gorge, Evintide and Worvane behind him. “Come on!” He yelled. “We need to get those three unicorn kids!”  He cursed himself again. He was a fool! He had to run, now, before it was too late…

~oOo~

         Arnesia got to the creek first and jumped off the edge. She silently slipped under the water as only she could do, muttering “Btheare Utawretner.” Firenze and Arion copied her, and they went down. Underwater, with the spell of breathing water, they walked across the floor. Minnows darted away from their hooves. He took a breath. Water poured out of his neck. He smiled. He loved it under the water. Then he noticed something that he hadn’t noticed before. It was a weird rock that was shaking.

         “Hey,” He said, though no one could hear him. “What’s that?”

         He headed towards it. Arion and Arnesia watched him. He examined the rock. There was a weird hole right in the center. Firenze lowered his head and slowly put his horn inside the hole. There was a click. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then the stone began to move, taking Firenze with it. He found himself belly up with his horn stuck. He was floating underwater. He kicked his legs furiously. Then he twisted until his hind legs were to the stone. He let off a blast of fire, which propelled him backwards. He got to his feet and stared at what the stone revealed. A passage. Firenze kicked to the surface. Arion and Arnesia came up after him. He was about to speak when he heard the sound of pounding hooves. He looked up to see three unicorns jump over the gorge, over them. The first one was a black! The second one was black and brown with sharp feet, a mixture between claws and hooves. The last was black and had a blue horn. He knew that he had seen them from somewhere. He heard the black one shout, “Come on! We need to get those three unicorn kids!” Then they went around the corner and disappeared. All was quiet. Arnesia was trembling uncontrollably. “Th- those w-w-were the mo-most ev-evil unicorns ever kn-kn-known.” Firenze realized what she was saying. For magic history class, Ms. Willoweed had shown them magic pictures of the three most evil unicorns in the world, Evintide, Worvane, and Dorman. Looking back, he realized that those were the same unicorns on the pictures. His eyes opened wide. He felt a chill down his back. He couldn’t scream. It seemed like his voice had frozen. He could feel his heart beating wildly inside his chest, as though it wanted to break free from it’s cage and get as far away from those dark unicorns as it could. He dove underneath the water and realized that maybe they wouldn’t find them in the secret place. He knew it was their best chance. The three of them crept into the hole, and as soon as Firenze’s foot touched the first black rock that was one of many black rocks leading out of the water, the stone moved back into place. Firenze noted that there was a hole on their side, so they would be able to get out. He went up the staircase and noticed that they were in a nice little cave inside the mountain. They sat down. Arnesia was the first to speak. “Dorman said ‘We need to get those three unicorn kids!’ and they had been watching us. Also, we were the only ones around, and there are three of us. Do you think…” Her voice trailed away. She didn’t need to finish the sentence. Firenze nodded. “He’s after us,” He whispered.

Chapter 4: Chase and escape

         Firenze led the way down the dark passage. Soon they couldn’t see, so Arnesia stepped in front of him. “Let me,” She said. Just as Arion mastered air and Firenze mastered fire, she mastered light. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Then, she began to glow very brightly. She led the way, and they could see their surroundings clearly. The passage was deserted, but had the markings of small light feet, like a fairies. But Worvane had a habit for eating fairies, and not another fairy had been seen after his reign. They walked for a long time. It seemed as though they were traveling through an unlit corridor. Then the passage widened and they skidded to a halt. There was a strange magical substance blocking their way. Firenze carefully touched it with his hoof. It went through. He stepped through and gasped in shock. There were millions of fairies! They were on every surface, some even pressed against the ceiling. The fairies recoiled from the light. They stared at him. Then a small fairy timidly asked, “Who are you? Have you come to take us to the man-eater?” At the word man-eater, there was a giant shudder as every fairy felt a cold icicle of fear in the name.

         “No,” answered Firenze. “Who is the man-eater?”

         Another shudder passed through the room. Another fairy, possibly the small fairy’s mother, held the small fairy tight and answered, “His name is Worvane. He captured every single one of us and kept us trapped here. Every day he comes in and takes one of us away to eat.” She shuddered. “Sometimes he isn’t as gracious and eats the fairy in front of us. Every month we breed, and so when they are old enough, he takes four of the mothers and one child.” She burst into tears. “There are only five mothers here. I am going to die!” Her son held her, and there was a chorus of weeping. Arnesia looked like she was going to cry, too.

         “No!” Shouted Firenze so suddenly that they all stopped crying and stared at him. “You won’t die. I will set you free.” He looked behind him at the substance they had gone through. Then he looked ahead. There was another doorway, with the same magical substance. Firenze could feel that it’s magic was weak because someone had gone through it so many times. He called fire to sprout in the middle of the substance. It did. Slowly, the fire ate a hole into it until the substance was gone. The flame died. Then a loud cheer rose up. The fairies zoomed out through the hole, an endless wave of silver wings, tan arms, and blazing blue eyes overjoyed by their freedom rushed by. Then there was only the mother and her son. She smiled, her eyes filled with tears of gratitude. “Thank you,” She said, and was gone.

Firenze stepped out of the cave to watch the fairies fly away. Then he heard a voice that made him freeze in terror.

         “But Dorman, I’m hungry. And I can’t track down little kids on an empty stomach.”

         “I told you, Worvane, once we find them, we can take their magic and you can eat the girl.”

         Arnesia gave a small gasp and they darted inside. Worvane was talking, a hint of supplication in his voice.

         “Just a little fairy, okay? They just had their breeding time, and I have to all but one of the mothers and one little boy so that they don’t overrun the cave. Please?”

         Firenze, Arnesia, and Arion were rapidly backing away. Then they turned and ran. They could hear Dorman sighing and saying, “All right then, just one. But one only.” Firenze ran faster, and then he heard Worvane shout. “They’re all gone! It’s those kids! After them!” Firenze could hear large hooves pounding after them. They were faster, and Firenze knew they had to escape. Arion and Firenze raced side by side, Arnesia right behind them. Firenze began to speak quickly. “Arnesia, when we get to the water, you jump, and we will run. Then I’ll use fire to open the stone, and Arion and I will fly you away.”

         The stone came into sight beneath the water. Firenze concentrated hard. A tongue of flame appeared underwater, and Firenze struggled to keep it lit. The fire went inside the crack, and it clicked. The fire dissolved. They were at the edge of the water. Firenze took a deep breath, and dove in. He looked up to see Arnesia jump. She gracefully swung through the air and landed with a thump on their backs. Firenze felt all the air he had come out of him. He took a breath underwater and realized he still had the breath underwater spell on him. The stone rolled away, and the three dashed through and together, Firenze and Arion lifted Arnesia into the air and away.

~oOo~

         Dorman led Worvane and Evintide down the passageway. He wasn’t nervous about the darkness all around him, in fact he enjoyed it. But now was not the time for such enjoyment. He felt the power in his legs carry him ahead of Worvane, who had morphed into Werecorn. Very few could outrun a Werecorn. Dorman smiled at that thought. He was powerful, and soon he would become even more so. He raced towards the stone. The kids would lose precious moments waiting for the door to open. The stone, however, had been rolled away, and the kids were nowhere to be seen. Then the stone started to slowly roll back into place. Dorman began to swim. Worvane’s fur slowed him down, and Evintide controlled dark and water, and he went ahead of them all. Dorman went through. Worvane squeezed through the gap, but as he went past, the door closed on his tail. Worvane panicked. He struggled against the stone, bubbles streaming from his snout. His attempts grew weaker and weaker, and he looked up a Dorman one last time. Then he lost consciousness and drifted in the water. If nobody got him out of there, he would die. Dorman looked at the limp body of his companion. What did he care if Worvane died? He wouldn’t have to share as much power.

         A dark shadow appeared around the bend. Dorman gasped, then wished he hadn’t, because he was underwater. He swam for the surface with Eventide, and on the back of the creek they watched a water dragon drift around the corner, see Worvane, put her large claw around Worvane’s body, and pull him free. He fit easily in her large talons. Then, without a sound, she swam away to eat her newly acquired meal. Dorman tore his eyes away from his friend and looked up into the sky. He saw the three kids land on the edge of the prison cave and walk in. He smiled. One of them must have the gift of flight. He would be tired carrying the other two. Plus, he wouldn’t even have to carry them up to the prison. They had flown themselves into a trap. He smiled a devious smile. “On my back,” he ordered, and they flew on the dark winds, towards their prey, which had already captured themselves.

Chapter 5: the battle on the cliff

         Arion and Firenze landed with a thump on the edge of a cliff, high up in the mountain. Only if they could fly would they be able to catch them. Arnesia slid off their backs and they walked in. A small stream was at the back of the cave. Next to it was a patch of grass. Arnesia sat down. “That was awesome!” She said. “I wish I could fly all the time.” She smiled, remembering how the wind whistled through her hair, and the exhilarating feeling of freedom. They sat there, panting, when a cold, steely voice made an instant rush of panic rise.

         “You thought you could get away, did you?”

         Firenze spun around. Two of the unicorns faced them. Firenze wondered where the third one was. He guessed that Worvane hadn’t made it out of the water. The idea made him shiver. Then he looked up into Dorman’s face. He would face his enemy like a true hero. His eyes met the cold black eyes of Dorman.

         Dorman was surprised by the calmness in the ginger’s eyes, but he quickly hid it.

         Firenze saw Dorman’s expression. He was surprised that there was no fear in his eyes. Then the look disappeared and was replaced by an evil glee, as though someone had realized he had enough power to wipe everything out of existence. Dorman smiled. “I think I’ll make this quick, I am anxious to get started. You have great power. Now, I can have that power. And nobody can stop me.”

         “Wednid!” Shouted Arion. At once, all the air left Dorman’s body, and he kneeled on the ground, gasping for breath. Evintide shouted, “Tessod!” and Arnesia shouted, “Delboud Back!” And Evintide was thrown into the air. Dorman rose to his feet. “So you know a bit about dueling? You probably haven’t even practiced.”

         Firenze took a fighting stance. He was ready.

         Arion shouted, “Ceniahd!” And Evintide was thrown to the ground. He shouted, “Pian!” Arnesia’s eyes opened wide in horror as she recalled her history book. There were three spells that were forbidden. Cortnol. Pian. And Dtaeh Arion collapsed, struggling. Blood was pouring from a gash in his flank that hadn’t been there before. Tears were forming in his eyes and he screamed in pain. His eyes were pleading, make it stop, make it stop, MAKE IT STOP! Arnesia couldn’t bear it any longer. As Eventide released himself and got to his feet, Arnesia jumped. She sailed through the air, coiled her hind leg and put her whole weight into a flying kick. Her hoof hit the side of Evintide’s neck, and he crumpled. At once the spell was broken, and Arion climbed shakily to his feet. Never had he felt anything so painful.

         Dorman watched them, and he whispered, “Tessod.” Arnesia screamed as she was lifted up and thrown off the edge of the cliff. Arion, forgetting that he had been weakened from the pain, jumped off with her. Dorman and Firenze stood alone. Then all of a sudden, a red and black began to glow. They dueled silently, with concentration, the clash of spells hitting each other the only noise. A sudden shout from below startled Firenze, and Dorman’s spell hit him. He was thrown over Dorman’s head and landed inches away from the cliff. Dorman approached, standing over him, triumph on his face. He grinned. “I have you now! Your friends have fallen to their deaths. Only I remain, the champion over all.” He smiled at Firenze, and that smile made Firenze realize what he was going to do. “Pity your friends weren’t there to save you. Who will now?”

         A faint buzzing reached Firenze’s ears. Dorman cocked his head. The buzzing grew louder, and Firenze realized it was the sound of wings. From above, a dark cloud swooped down. Firenze realized it was the fairies! They landed behind Dorman. They were armed with tiny sticks and stones. They stood there for a couple seconds, staring at Dorman. Dorman stared back. Then one of them screamed. The fairies rushed at Dorman, who was forced backwards. Firenze scurried out of the way. The rocks under Dorman’s feet crumbled, and Dorman slipped. He fell the rest of the way, covered in a swarm of angry fairies.

         “Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!” He yelled, and then there was silence. A cold, still silence. Then a great cheer rose. Firenze felt like he would burst in joy. He leapt off the cliff and sped towards the fairies, catching himself in midair with a burst of fire. He saw the woman fairy and her son. She nodded and smiled, and he smiled back. Then he turned away and dropped to the ground with Arion and Arnesia. There were no words to describe how they felt, so they just beamed. Then Firenze saw something in the corner of his eye and he turned, alarmed. A figure was racing towards them. The figure passed the creek and the water rose. It caught the unicorn, lifting it high into the air. It was Willoweed. She raced towards them and halted, unsure what to say. Finally, after many awkward moments of silence, she spoke.

         “Very good, Firenze. Arion, you must not forget how to undo enchantments. You understand? These are important for life.” Then, suddenly she burst into tears. The trio pressed against her, and she stood between them. She looked up at Firenze, tears streaming down her face, and smiled.

         Firenze looked into hers. “Thank you,” He said, and willed fire to come. He hovered off the ground a few inches. Arion stood beside him, and Arnesia took a flying leap, landing on their backs. Then, together, they flew away, until they were just a speck in the distance.

The end

What happened to…

Worvane

         Worvane opened his eyes. He blinked. Where was he? He looked up and gasped in fright. A giant dragon stood over him. She had webbed claws and scales that glinted. She also had gills. She was a water dragon, Worvane confirmed. Then he sat up and looked around. Dragons surrounded him. The water dragon spoke. “We have confirmed you are very powerful, and very evil. Too evil to take your power from. So we decided to take your power away in a different way.” The dragon’s pupils began to light with a strange blue glow. The other dragons copied her. The light grew, and grew, until their eyes were a complete blue. Then beams shot out, quicker than he could run away. It surrounded him, and he realized that this was how they transported unicorns to different places. He knew that they needed strong magic. Suddenly, he felt his horn shrink and realized the portal was feeding off of his magical energy. He felt himself being pulled, and he flew threw the air, his legs kicking wildly.

         Somewhere on earth, a poor farmer went into his fields and was surprised, but delighted to find a black and brown stallion eating the grass. The horse was a very powerful one, and the horse and his one riding horse, Carmel, had a foal that was very strong. The farmer sold the foal for a lot of money, and bought many strong horses. He soon became a very rich horse breeder, and he never sold his strong black stallion, which he named Strongheart.

Evintide

         Evintide struggled to his feet. For a second he believed he was dreaming, that he was having another nightmare of his days in the-prison-in-the-mountain. Then he realized it wasn’t a dream. A small hole in the stone lit up the small cell. The straw floor was just as it had been when he had been captured before, as was the trapdoor in the ceiling where he had been tossed in, the cold bars that separated him from the outside world, and the partly green grass just outside his cell, that the jailer cut and passed to him three times a day. The mountain that was the other three sides of his cell seemed to close in on him. Evintide crumpled to the ground, shaking. He wished he were anywhere but here…

The fairy woman and her son

         The fairy woman, whose name was Esmerelda, lived with her son for many years. Often, she visited Firenze, and when the race of the fairies was in trouble, Esmerelda knew that she could count on Firenze to help them. Fairies die quickly, and breed quickly. Soon it became tradition for the first-born female to visit Firenze and his ancestors every full moon.

Willoweed, Firenze, Arion, and Arnesia

         Willoweed continued to teach the art of dueling. When Firenze grew up, he became a teacher alongside her. Beginners whispered that Firenze taught better than Willoweed. Arnesia became a teacher in magical history, and Arion taught young unicorns with the gift of flight how to fly. One day, Arion and Arnesia were sitting on top of the mountain, watching the duelers, where, so long ago, Dorman, Evintide, and Worvane had watched them. There, with the setting sun behind them, Arion proposed to her. She accepted, and they were married a month later. The three have always been a team, and always will be, until the end of their age.