The young Unicorn walked through the forest, her two best friends right beside her. Glitter Drops and Spring Rain were Unicorns, too, and together the three of them liked to practice their magic. Every morning they’d venture out into the forest or explore the mountains by their small town, taking a break now and then to play ball.
“There it is,” the young Unicorn said as they stepped into the clearing. She stared into the sky.
Canterlot was high above them. The capital of Equestria was perched in the mountains and could be seen for miles around. The three friends had never actually been there, but they’d heard hundreds of stories. The city was filled with ivory towers and waterfalls, shimmering spires and majestic views. Most important, it was the home of two of the three princesses, and a common spot for them to meet.
The three princesses were Alicorns, or Unicorns with powerful wings. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna controlled the sun and the moon, and Princess Cadance was the ruler of the Crystal Empire. She had been Princess Celestia’s apprentice when she was younger.
“Do you think we’ll ever get there?” Spring Rain asked.
“Of course we will,” the young Unicorn said. “And who knows…”
Glitter Drops smiled. “Maybe one of us will become a princess one day, too.”
“But first, Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns,” the young Unicorn said. “Where all the most talented Unicorns learn to focus their powerful magic. We’ll get there someday; I know we will.”
The young Unicorn couldn’t admit it to even her closest friends, but she thought about Princess Celestia’s school every single day. She dreamed about studying in Canterlot, of learning to make magic that glowed and sparked with power. She’d work as hard as she could to make Princess Celestia proud. Sometimes she even imagined becoming an Alicorn herself. Would she ever be given wings? Could she ever be that powerful?
There were entrance exams every spring. The young Unicorn hoped she’d be ready when they came around one moon. She wanted to attend the school as soon as she could. It was hard waiting for something you wanted so much.
“Let’s practice,” she said, turning to Glitter Drops and Spring Rain. “Let’s levitate the ball.”
Glitter Drops’s horn sparked and glowed. She took the ball from her satchel and sent it flying off into the woods. The young Unicorn darted after it, weaving in and out of the trees. She could just see the ball up ahead, glowing in the air. It was like the bouncy balls other ponies tossed back and forth, only this one was special. If she focused her magic, she could make it float and glow with a beautiful white light. It looked like the moon.
“I can’t keep up!” Glitter Drops called out. She was running as fast as she could through the forest, but the ball was always a little ahead of her. She laughed as she ran, clearly loving the way the wind felt in her mane.
Spring Rain darted out in front of the young Unicorn. She raced across the ground to the ball, but she stumbled and fell. She hadn’t been concentrating hard enough, but that wasn’t her fault. It was tough to concentrate on her magic, run really fast, and keep her eyes on the ball.
The young Unicorn galloped out in front of both of her friends. The ball was up ahead. She was so close. She just had to run a little faster.…
“Where’d it go?” Spring Rain’s voice called out. “It disappeared!”
The young Unicorn stopped at the mouth of a cave. The ball had floated inside. She could still see the glowing light, but it was dimmer now. The ball was somewhere in there, deep in the mountain.
“Oh no…” Glitter Drops stopped right behind her. She peered inside. The cave was so dark they couldn’t see past the opening. “Who’s going to go get it?”
Glitter Drops and Spring Rain turned to their brave friend. The purple Unicorn might’ve been the youngest, but she was always the bravest of the three. She’d talked to the hydra when they went to Froggy Bottom Bogg, and she had found her way through the Everfree Forest on her own. Whenever something scary happened, her friends always looked to her first.
“I’ll be right back,” the young Unicorn said. Then she ventured into the cave, trying to follow the dim light from the ball.
Inside, she could hardly see anything. The ball was somewhere up ahead, around a sharp corner, but she couldn’t make out the floor of the cave. She stumbled over a rock and fell, landing hard. When she finally got up, her shoulder hurt.
“This isn’t as easy as I thought it would be.…” she said to herself, rubbing the sore spot on her side. She went slower now, being careful with each step. “Just a little farther.…”
She was getting closer. As she turned the corner, she saw the ball floating in the air. That whole part of the cave was lit up now. She could see everything perfectly.
It looked like some creature had been living there. There were scraps of food and a warm, cozy bed. She reached up, grabbed the ball, and tucked it behind her front leg. When she turned back around, there was an ursa minor standing right in front of her.
She didn’t have time to react. The bear roared in her face. She ducked underneath its foreleg, trying to get away, but it chased after her. She didn’t move more than a few feet before it struck her with its giant paw. She went flying across the cave, her head knocking into the wall.
She got up as fast as she could, knowing the bear would be right behind her. As she got closer to the entrance of the cave, she could see Glitter Drops and Spring Rain waiting for her. They were both staring inside the cave, trying to see what was happening.
“Run!” she yelled. “There’s an ursa minor!”
Spring Rain and Glitter Drops turned around and darted off through the forest. The young Unicorn followed them, relieved when she was finally out of the cave. She’d dropped the ball at some point along the way, but it didn’t matter. She had to get as far away from the ursa minor as she could.
She didn’t stop running until she was out of the forest and saw Spring Rain and Glitter Drops standing in the field up ahead. She turned back, looking into the trees to make sure they were safe. After all that, they were finally alone. The bear hadn’t followed them.
“I went all the way to the back of the cave,” the young Unicorn said. “I found the ball, but then, when I turned around, the ursa minor was right behind me. It chased me, and then I fell, and then…”
Glitter Drops and Spring Rain just stared at her. Their eyes were wide, and their expressions were serious. They looked like something was horribly wrong. The young Unicorn glanced down at her hooves, making sure she wasn’t hurt. She looked over her shoulder at her tail and mane. Everything seemed fine.
“I don’t think I’m hurt,” she said. “Just a few scratches…”
“I don’t know how to tell you this.…” Glitter Drops said, her eyes watering. “It’s your horn.”
The young Unicorn reached up and touched the front of her head. Her horn was just a small, jagged stump—the top half had broken off. Her eyes immediately filled with tears.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “No—it can’t be. What’s a Unicorn without her horn?”
“I’m so sorry.” Glitter Drops hugged her friend.
“It’ll be okay,” Spring Rain added, wrapping her front leg around the young Unicorn’s other side.
The tears streamed down the young Unicorn’s cheeks. She’d lost her horn. All her magic was contained within it. How would anything ever be okay again?