Young Writers Society

I gulped. Melted unicorn? That really didn’t sound too pleasant to me. I didn’t want to be melted.

Luna laughed at my expression. She ruffled my fur and pointed to a picture on the wall. It was of a black volcano cone with rivers of lava streaming down the sides.

“You’ll have to explain this,” I said, leaning forward.

Luna got an excited look in her eye and began to speak. I could already tell she was a girl who loved to gab. “There’s a nearby volcano called the Devil’s Breast. No ones dares go near it, since the lava is so hot. Ten times hotter than ordinary lava.”

“Why is it so hot?”

“Magic or minerals, no one knows. Don’t interrupt. It’s just getting good.

“A long time ago, before I took Blaine in, I heard a shriek from outside. I slammed open the screen door and ran until I saw something in the meadow, the saddest creature you could imagine.

“It was a unicorn. She was beautiful. But she lay still on the grass and was barely breathing. Her hooves were cheese-soft, not the usual diamond hardness. Now tell me, what makes a unicorn a unicorn?”

I had never seen a unicorn, only in books. “Um…a horn?” I whispered.

“Yes! A horn!” Here Luna staggered back with her hand on her heart. Blaine rolled his eyes. “It was her horn. Well, no it wasn’t. Where it should have been was a puddle of melted black rock. Little pieces of the hardened basalt rock stuck to her eyelids and muzzle. Only the Devil’s Breast could commit such a crime.”

I stopped Luna. “But unicorn horns are white! And why didn’t all of her melt? Why was it only her horn?”

“Hush! You’ll see. Just listen.”

I snuggled deep into the blankets, gazing at Luna with wide, wide eyes.

Luna continued. “The unicorn had strong magic.”

“Duh,” said Blaine.

Ignoring him, Luna said, “She had a special power that stopped her from melting to nothingness. Oh, but her horn! I had never seen such a disaster and I, Luna, have healed many creatures in my life. I popped the poor pony a sleeping pill and dragged her back to my hut."

“She loves this next part,” Blaine muttered to me.

“I lay the horse down on the floor. She opened her eyes when I poured some Reviving Potion in her mouth. She tried to get up, but landed on the floor. The unicorn gave a pitiful whinny and I set to work on her horn.

“I used so many potions! I dripped a little Softening Solution on the melted puddle so that I might be able to form it into a point. Then I used the Swirling Potion to give it curve. Last, I spread Hardening Oil over the whole thing. It came out fine, but I wasn’t pleased with my work. The horn was like a deadly black whirlpool. It looked out of place in the midst of all that dazzling white mane.

“She didn’t mind, but her herd tortured her. They poked her with their horns and pushed her off the waterfall. It was hard to watch. I had made a huge mistake in reviving that creature. A unicorn’s magic is in the horn, you know, and I could do nothing to give that back to her. Some are just better off dead.

“The unicorn never gave up hope. Still, her bright spirits couldn’t last forever. She asked for a painless death—a shot of poison. It…it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but she knew what was best. That horn turned her life into hell.”

I didn’t like that story. Not at all. I wished Luna had kept her mouth shut.

“So…uh…why do I remind you of her?” I asked, hoping she wasn’t going to toss me in the volcano.

“I’m not sure. There’s this sort of hope glowing in your eyes. What’s your name anyway?”

“Faith,” I said.

“Faith,” she repeated, and smiled. “It suits you.”

By then I felt strong enough to get out of bed. I walked into the kitchen and had a breakfast of apples and toast. Then Luna escorted me outside, onto her porch, where I could see where she lived. I gasped as sunshine hit my face. I blinked it away and gazed in awe at this new landscape. Shaggy palm trees reared into the sky. Tropical flowers bloomed everywhere. In the distance was the hazy outline of the Devil’s Breast. A couple hundred feet away a magnificent waterfall cascaded down the cliff.

I left Luna’s house soon after. As I walked away, she stood on her porch, waving. “Thank you for coming! Stop by any time! Oh! And don’t go by the waterfall!”

It was better than the volcano.