Partana

8

Pebbles jumped back. Two unicorns were standing behind them. One was white with a blue mane and tail while the other one was tinted red with a white mane and tail. They both had a long, white horn on their forehead. They were about half the size of Sunbeam, the smallest of the group of friends.

"Why are you here?" the white one asked.

"We would like to talk to your leader," demanded Sunbeam. 

"We can't let you do that. Now leave our territory or we'll have to cast a spell on you," said the other one.

"Can you even do that?" asked Heavy doubtfully.

"Be quiet!" Sunbeam scolded him.

"Yes, we can. That is why you should leave," said the white one. I think we need to leave. We don't need a spell cast on us! 

"We are not going," declared Sunbeam.

"Okay," said the red one. "I cast a spell on you," he voiced as his horn turned red. "These four creatures will leave here and never return." His horn turned white again. Pebbles turned around and started walking. Crimson, Heavy, and Sunbeam did the same. 

"What is happening?" asked Crimson worriedly. 

"I can't stop walking!" shouted Heavy in a concerned tone.

"Hey!" yelled Sunbeam. "Take this spell off of us!"

"Nope," said the white one. She was trotting with them.

"Well, you'll regret it!" Sunbeam said with anger in her voice.

"Why would we regret it?" the unicorn inquired to her.

"Uh, because, um... uh-"

"Um... because the giants are going to attack you," informed Pebbles.

"We could cast a spell on them to leave too." Pebbles didn't know what to say. Think! he told himself. He remembered his teacher and the lectures from school.

"Not all of the giants will do what the spell tells them to. Yetis and Sasquatches are immune." Thank you school!

"How can we know you are telling the truth?" she asked. 

"You don't have to take my word for it, but don't come crying to us for help when they attack." The unicorn looked stunned.

"I'd put a spell on you to tell me the truth, but I cannot do that. I'll have to trust you. But remember, one move and you're leaving. I cast a spell on you." The unicorn's horn turned blue. "You are free from the last spell." Pebbles stopped walking. Sunbeam looked at the unicorn. 

"How do we know that you won't put a spell on us in private?"

"I have to be in front of you and say it out loud for it to work. My name is Rain and my brother's name is Bow."

"That's clever. I'm Crimson. This is Sunbeam. That is Heavy. And this here is Pebbles." They joined up with Bow and kept walking. When the unicorns were out of earshot, Crimson whispered to Pebbles. "Was all that true?" she asked.

"Not the part about the attack." Crimson smiled at him.

"You're pretty smart," she said. Maybe I'm not dumb, he thought.

They walked for a long time. "Where is your palace?" Sunbeam questioned them.

"We are close," replied Bow. The walk continued. Then they came to a steep hill.

"Let's go" commanded Rain. Like we can't just fly, Pebbles thought sarcastically. The hill was hard to climb. Pebbles had slipped but caught himself. When he got to the top his friends were staring into the distance. Pebbles was awestruck. Over the hill were fields of green grass and bright, brilliant flowers. The sun was shining bright on this side.

"Woah," breathed Sunbeam. Pebbles remembered about her family and his and couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He didn't know why Heavy was alone. Maybe he didn't have a family either. Crimson had not said anything about family, and so far Pebbles hadn't tried to make her talk about her family.

"Alright," said Rain. "I need one of you to come with me. I'm only bringing in one. Choose wisely."

"Why do you need to only bring in one?" Sunbeam asked.

"Yeah," added Heavy.

"Because the queen will not feel safe with more than one visitor. She likes to stay protective."

"I think we need to stay together," declared Pebbles.

"We can't. If we are going to see the queen then we have to choose one," Sunbeam told him.

"I vote Pebbles," stated Crimson. "He's smart and knows what to say." Pebbles was really pleased to hear her say that.

"I agree," said Sunbeam.

"Sure, go ahead," Heavy chimed in. 

"But Crimson, I don't want to be alone," Pebbles said. She walked up beside him. She put her mouth to his ear.

"You are never alone. Your mother is always with you. So am I. Don't worry," she whispered. "I like you a lot," she added. "Go on now." Pebbles slowly walked down the hill with Rain while Bow stayed with his friends. Pebbles looked back. He smiled at Crimson and she smiled back. I'm not afraid of unicorns anymore. I also know that Crimson won't ditch me.

There were no other unicorns in the field. Rain stopped by a rock. Then Pebbles noticed two unicorns running toward them. "Oh no. It's Beauty and Glory. These to think they are the best," informed Rain. 

"Hey Rain, where's Bow? And what are you doing with a dragon!?"

"He's here to warn the queen," said Rain.

"Okay. We'll take a message to her."

"No. I'm telling her myself," Pebbles declared boldly.

"We can't let you do that," one unicorn said to him.

"Alright, you twin sisters of stupidity! If this dragon wants to talk to the queen, then we need to let him! He might be here to save us!"

"To save us from what? A bug? I bet he couldn't save us from one scorpia. All we have to do is cast a spell on it and it's gone." Ouch. That hurt. Well at least someone gets it. And she doesn't even know me! Then that made him think. Everyone who knows me says I'm strong. What have I done to make myself weak? Did I ever prove I was weak? Crimson and Mother knew that I was strong. Maybe I'm not very strong physically, but that doesn't mean that I'm actually weak. Does it?

"Well, I'm taking him to the queen whether you like it or not," declared Rain in a royal, majestic voice.

"If you get banished, don't blame us," said one as Rain and Pebbles walked past them. In a little bit, Rain was talking about Beauty and Glory. 

"Beauty is the worse of the two," she informed him. They walked up a small hill. On the other side of the hill was a large cave. "Here we are," stated Rain. Finally! The queen at last, thought Pebbles.