Wingbeats

6: Unicorn Magic

Change in POV for a bit! :)

...

Zorro was the prettiest mare Nox had ever seen. Although, admittedly, he really hadn't seen any other mares in his short miserable life aside from Angel, and as his sister, she didn't count. Not even remotely.

But the way Zorro's coat seemed to glow, and her perfect delicate horn... Nox sighed; he was in love. Her flowing long mane and tail were beautiful, nearly brushing the forest floor.

Lost in his daydreams, a sharp nudge from Angel made him jump and looked back at her; she inclined her head to pay attention.

They had stopped moving, and as he tilted his gaze to take in his surroundings, he found that Angel was on his right and to his left was a deep blue slash of a river, raging deep blue past and stirring up a cool breeze that coated the trees oddly in silver mist. Nox felt it almost in his gut that the heart of the forest was nearly upon them. He shivered slightly, twitching his wings uncomfortably as they panged suddenly.

"We'll cross the river into my home; you'll be safe there I think." Zorro mumbled the last part a little quieter than the first.

"Of course," Nox answered dreamily.

Zorro noticed, "Never going to happen by the way. Kill the dream before I do it for you."

"Oh, rejected," Angel smirked at him.

"Shut it," Nox mumbled back.

"Time to cross," without another word, Zorro leaped into the cobalt water.

Her head dipped below the current, and, for a sickening moment, Nox thought she wouldn't resurface. But her head popped back up and she kicked out swiftly for the opposite shore. Hauling herself out, she shook and her body went blurry in Nox's vision, but a moment later it was normal again- mostly.

Fundamentally, everything about her was changed. Her body was silvery white, darker than before and almost a literal gleaming silver shade. Her mane and tail were normal length and a few scars covered her body while in the meantime, her horn wasn't delicate anymore; it was a solid spine of dark silver, razor sharp and spiraling wickedly from her brow.

"Come on you two, while I'm young!" She hollered.

"Definitely like her better now, nobody's that perfect and safe to be around. It just isn't natural." Angel commented. Nox was about to retort that nothing about their lives had ever been normal, but Angel plunged into the water, swimming across.

Bracing himself, Nox took the leap next. The water was freezing, knocking his breath away and the current was strong, but he managed to get to the other side of the bank without getting sucked under or creating a scene Angel could use for blackmail later.

Dragging himself out, he looked back at his wet flank and was shocked to find it clear of old scars. He quickly checked Angel's ear for her number tattoo, but it was gone as well. Her eyes widened when she couldn't find Nox's tattoo either. He whipped his head to Zorro.

"What was that river?"

"It's called The Anfang River, which roughly means beginning or origin. It's very old magic, changing the appearance of whoever dives in to their natural or original state; in this case, you're missing a set of tattoos and I don't look like a pixie puff anymore," Zorro seemed bitter on that last note, "We need to go."

Nox glanced at Angel and shrugged with his wings. They could fly and Zorro was a unicorn, how hard was it to believe magic was real too?