Chapter 3: Enmity
"I'm telling you, I saw a unicorn with nothing but hair streaks!" Firefly yelled over the murmur of the pegasi gathered around her, "And this weren't no Twinkle Eye, either. The casters have a one-of-a-kind pony on their side, and I'm betting he's loaded with all kinds of magic!"
"What if he's some kind of unicorn god?" Dancing Butterflies screeched over the din.
"A unicorn messiah!" Added Twinkler.
"We're gonna get thrashed!" Medley shouted over Twinkler.
"Thrashed? We're gonna get flattened!" Heart Throb shouted back.
"We'll be annihilated!" Surprise wailed.
"Silence! Silence!" Lofty commanded, and the noise decreased to a dull roar. "Thank you. Now, if what Firefly says is true, and a multicolored pony has joined the unicorns, then we must be on guard. True, he may be a messiah, but he may also be nothing more than a drifter with a collection of dyes. Nevertheless, we must be prepared. The pegasi will defeat the unicorns and earthlings, and emerge victorious from the war of the herds!"
The pegasi all cheered, flapping their wings and stomping their hooves in a primal beat. "Peg-a-si! Peg-a-si!" The chant, barely audible over the stomping and flapping, soon drowned out all other noise. Lofty stood above the herd, leading the chant proudly.
"Pegasiiii!"
"We're hoooome!" Baby Moondancer's yell was echoed by the unicorn foals, which Sparkler had picked up on the way pack.
And what a home it was. The herd lived in a small valley (Which Moonstone thought to be odd, since he was just in the plains.), with a small forest, nothing more than a clump of trees with a small clearing in the center, on one side for shelter during storms, and a pond on the opposite side shored by gravel to keep it from flooding the valley. The grass wasn't as long as that in the Seadryn, which tickled Moonstone's underbelly, but he guessed that was only because of the herd's grazing. The entire valley, though still a slight green-yellow withered shade, looked positively emerald-hued in contrast to the Seadryn.
"It ain't much, but welcome to Spellbound Valley!" Baby Lucky Leaf announced with a flourish of her horn.
"It doesn't technically have a name, but the foals insist on calling it that," Sparkler explained apologetically.
"But we've been livin' here fer a whole entire year, Sparkler! An' Spellbound's a good name. 'Coz we're, like, unicorns, so we gots magic." Baby Gusty protested.
"I like that name. Spellbound Valley." Moonstone nodded, and the foals gave a collective triumphant squeal.
"Call it what you want, but it's bedtime for you, little ones. You've all had a busy day." Sparkler hushed the unicorns' complains, shooing them into the small ring of trees. Once they were all safely tucked away, she turned her attention to Moonstone. "Now, I suppose I'd better show you to the herd. They may know what to make of that rainbow coif of yours." She motioned for him to follow her, and trotted to the center of the valley. Once there, she raised her horn, muttering, "I wish, I wish, I wish!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, a single spark shot into the sky, vanishing for a few seconds, then resurfacing as an explosion of silver and blue.
"Fireworks? Suppose I should've guessed that would be your magic, what with your name and all." Moonstone said with a grin.
"It's not all I can do. I'm also starting to get the hang of using electricity. but last time I tried using lightning, I wound up setting Bouquet's tail on fire," Sparkler giggled. ".Oh! The others are finally arriving!" In a short while, the entire herd was gathered Sparkler and Moonstone, chatting amiably amongst themselves. Finally, Twinkler raised a hoof, and the crowd fell silent. "Unicorns, I know I'm not the lead mare, and therefore have no right to call you all here in an official meeting, but I felt you should all meet our newest potential member. Moonstone!" With that, she stepped aside, allowing the herd full view of the stallion in all his Technicolor glory. "Um. hi." Moonstone nodded, fidgeting despite himself. He'd always been a bit crowd-shy. "Well, would you look at that! The guy's got four mane streaks and he ain't even got Twinkle Eyes!" Fizzy giggled. "Looks quite dashing, doesn't he?" Gingerbread whispered to Masquerade, who rolled her eyes. "As dashing as a Bushwoolie," muttered Gusty. "His mane. the colors look familiar," Mimic thought aloud. "It's the exact same colors as the rainbow." Galaxy replied to Mimic, but the entire herd fell silent, craning their necks for a better look at Moonstone. The stallion stared at the ground, his cheeks flushing at all the attention. His mane was the color of the rainbow. Big deal. Didn't they see that thing every day? "Somebody should tell Majesty," Powder finally said, after a lengthy pause. "No need to. I'm already here," A white unicorn with a summer-sky blue mane strode into the center of the circle. She had an air of leadership and compassion about her, an almost tangible coating of understanding. "And from what I've seen, this unicorn could be our savior. Glory, Victory, you're the herd's generals. Come with me. I'd like to have a word with Moonstone," Her voice sudden became louder, broadcasting like a beacon across the unicorns. "For if my suspicions are true, this stallion could be the key to defeating the earthlings and pegasi!" In the wild cheering that followed, Majesty managed to pull Moonstone and two other unicorns out of the mob of ponies and towards the pond. One of the unicorns was white as Majesty, but her hair was a deep violet with a single deep blue streak in it. Her symbol was of a glittering comet. The second one, also white, had two stars, one blue and the other yellow, with a number one plastered in between the two for a symbol. Her mane was also blue, though a lighter shade than Majesty's mane, peppered with sunshine yellow. This one, Moonstone assumed, was Victory. "Now, Glory, Victory, and you too, Moonstone, listen well," Majesty began quietly, "I'm going to tell you a story."
"I'm telling you, I saw a unicorn with nothing but hair streaks!" Firefly yelled over the murmur of the pegasi gathered around her, "And this weren't no Twinkle Eye, either. The casters have a one-of-a-kind pony on their side, and I'm betting he's loaded with all kinds of magic!"
"What if he's some kind of unicorn god?" Dancing Butterflies screeched over the din.
"A unicorn messiah!" Added Twinkler.
"We're gonna get thrashed!" Medley shouted over Twinkler.
"Thrashed? We're gonna get flattened!" Heart Throb shouted back.
"We'll be annihilated!" Surprise wailed.
"Silence! Silence!" Lofty commanded, and the noise decreased to a dull roar. "Thank you. Now, if what Firefly says is true, and a multicolored pony has joined the unicorns, then we must be on guard. True, he may be a messiah, but he may also be nothing more than a drifter with a collection of dyes. Nevertheless, we must be prepared. The pegasi will defeat the unicorns and earthlings, and emerge victorious from the war of the herds!"
The pegasi all cheered, flapping their wings and stomping their hooves in a primal beat. "Peg-a-si! Peg-a-si!" The chant, barely audible over the stomping and flapping, soon drowned out all other noise. Lofty stood above the herd, leading the chant proudly.
"Pegasiiii!"
"We're hoooome!" Baby Moondancer's yell was echoed by the unicorn foals, which Sparkler had picked up on the way pack.
And what a home it was. The herd lived in a small valley (Which Moonstone thought to be odd, since he was just in the plains.), with a small forest, nothing more than a clump of trees with a small clearing in the center, on one side for shelter during storms, and a pond on the opposite side shored by gravel to keep it from flooding the valley. The grass wasn't as long as that in the Seadryn, which tickled Moonstone's underbelly, but he guessed that was only because of the herd's grazing. The entire valley, though still a slight green-yellow withered shade, looked positively emerald-hued in contrast to the Seadryn.
"It ain't much, but welcome to Spellbound Valley!" Baby Lucky Leaf announced with a flourish of her horn.
"It doesn't technically have a name, but the foals insist on calling it that," Sparkler explained apologetically.
"But we've been livin' here fer a whole entire year, Sparkler! An' Spellbound's a good name. 'Coz we're, like, unicorns, so we gots magic." Baby Gusty protested.
"I like that name. Spellbound Valley." Moonstone nodded, and the foals gave a collective triumphant squeal.
"Call it what you want, but it's bedtime for you, little ones. You've all had a busy day." Sparkler hushed the unicorns' complains, shooing them into the small ring of trees. Once they were all safely tucked away, she turned her attention to Moonstone. "Now, I suppose I'd better show you to the herd. They may know what to make of that rainbow coif of yours." She motioned for him to follow her, and trotted to the center of the valley. Once there, she raised her horn, muttering, "I wish, I wish, I wish!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, a single spark shot into the sky, vanishing for a few seconds, then resurfacing as an explosion of silver and blue.
"Fireworks? Suppose I should've guessed that would be your magic, what with your name and all." Moonstone said with a grin.
"It's not all I can do. I'm also starting to get the hang of using electricity. but last time I tried using lightning, I wound up setting Bouquet's tail on fire," Sparkler giggled. ".Oh! The others are finally arriving!" In a short while, the entire herd was gathered Sparkler and Moonstone, chatting amiably amongst themselves. Finally, Twinkler raised a hoof, and the crowd fell silent. "Unicorns, I know I'm not the lead mare, and therefore have no right to call you all here in an official meeting, but I felt you should all meet our newest potential member. Moonstone!" With that, she stepped aside, allowing the herd full view of the stallion in all his Technicolor glory. "Um. hi." Moonstone nodded, fidgeting despite himself. He'd always been a bit crowd-shy. "Well, would you look at that! The guy's got four mane streaks and he ain't even got Twinkle Eyes!" Fizzy giggled. "Looks quite dashing, doesn't he?" Gingerbread whispered to Masquerade, who rolled her eyes. "As dashing as a Bushwoolie," muttered Gusty. "His mane. the colors look familiar," Mimic thought aloud. "It's the exact same colors as the rainbow." Galaxy replied to Mimic, but the entire herd fell silent, craning their necks for a better look at Moonstone. The stallion stared at the ground, his cheeks flushing at all the attention. His mane was the color of the rainbow. Big deal. Didn't they see that thing every day? "Somebody should tell Majesty," Powder finally said, after a lengthy pause. "No need to. I'm already here," A white unicorn with a summer-sky blue mane strode into the center of the circle. She had an air of leadership and compassion about her, an almost tangible coating of understanding. "And from what I've seen, this unicorn could be our savior. Glory, Victory, you're the herd's generals. Come with me. I'd like to have a word with Moonstone," Her voice sudden became louder, broadcasting like a beacon across the unicorns. "For if my suspicions are true, this stallion could be the key to defeating the earthlings and pegasi!" In the wild cheering that followed, Majesty managed to pull Moonstone and two other unicorns out of the mob of ponies and towards the pond. One of the unicorns was white as Majesty, but her hair was a deep violet with a single deep blue streak in it. Her symbol was of a glittering comet. The second one, also white, had two stars, one blue and the other yellow, with a number one plastered in between the two for a symbol. Her mane was also blue, though a lighter shade than Majesty's mane, peppered with sunshine yellow. This one, Moonstone assumed, was Victory. "Now, Glory, Victory, and you too, Moonstone, listen well," Majesty began quietly, "I'm going to tell you a story."