CHAPTER THREE

The moons passed. The young Unicorn spent more and more time at home, reading and baking and doing anything that didn’t remind her of the magic she’d once had. Glitter Drops and Spring Rain still came by to see her every once in a while, but they never asked her to go to the clearing with them to practice magic. They never even mentioned her horn. Instead they pretended as if that day in the cave had never happened.

So when they knocked on her door one morning, she hoped maybe something had changed. Maybe they weren’t afraid of her after all.

She flung open the door.

“Where to?” she asked. She’d already put on her hat. It had been so long since she’d seen her friends; she couldn’t help but miss them and all the fun times they’d had. She’d just go with them to get some apple cider, and then she’d come home. She wouldn’t even talk about magic or what they used to do in the clearing.

“Actually…” Glitter Drops began slowly. She looked a little sad. “We wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What do you mean?” the young Unicorn asked.

“We took the entrance exams for Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns,” Spring Rain said. “We wanted to tell you before you heard it from any other pony.”

The young Unicorn tried to hide the hurt in her expression, but she could already feel her eyes welling up with tears. Since the day she’d broken her horn, she’d tried to bury her dreams down deep in her heart. She hoped that one day her horn would grow back, along with her magic, and she could go to Princess Celestia’s school, but until then she tried her best to forget. Sometimes she wouldn’t even glance up at Canterlot. It was hard to see the city glittering in the sky and not think of all the possibilities of a future there.

“I didn’t realize they’d happened already,” the young Unicorn said. “I just… I hadn’t thought about it since…”

“We know,” Glitter Drops said. “And we know your horn is going to grow back soon. It’s only a matter of time. But we felt like we had to take the exams this moon. The term starts in the fall.”

“So you’re going?” she asked as she tried to steady her voice.

“Yeah,” Spring Rain said. “But you’ll come next moon. We’ll all be together again soon. And we’ll come back to visit all the time. We’ll still be friends.”

“Right,” the young Unicorn said. “Of course. We’ll always be friends. I’m happy for you.”

The young Unicorn put on her best smile, even though she was hurting. Glitter Drops and Spring Rain looked relieved that she was being so nice about it. She said good-bye to her friends, and they promised that they’d see one another the next day. She told them they were going to have the best time at Princess Celestia’s school. Then she closed the door and started to cry.

The young Unicorn put on the cloak she had pieced together and stared at the bag on the floor. She pulled it onto her back, knowing she had no other choice. If she stayed, she’d always be different. The Unicorn with the broken horn. The Unicorn without magic. The Unicorn whose friends left her behind. What kind of life would that be?

She stepped outside, pulled up her hood, and turned back one last time to say good-bye to her cottage. She’d leave tonight, for good. There were other places she could go, and other ponies who might accept her. She couldn’t keep pretending she was happy here. This town no longer felt like home.

As she started off into the night, she reminded herself of the worst part. She’d been the brave one that day in the forest. She’d volunteered to go into the cave to get the ball so her friends didn’t have to. She’d yelled to Glitter Drops and Spring Rain, telling them there was an ursa minor inside so they wouldn’t get hurt. She’d done everything right.

And what did she have to show for it? What did she get for being a good friend?

Nothing, she thought as the lights from the town grew smaller in the distance. There’s nothing left for me there.