Ashley washed the remainder of the blue tank fluid from herself in the shower. It was sticky and frustrating to remove, but after a while it softened and she scrubbed the last of it out. She wrapped herself in a clean towel and looked at her lean figure in the mirror. Her face was more pale and drawn with age, and her muscles were weaker. Her teeth had grown long, her back sagged, and her eyes looked sunken. Even her fine grey coat seemed to have lost its luster.

  Ariel strode into the wash room unannounced, her steps bubbly and proud. “How are you, Ash?”

  “I’m fine, I guess. Trying to get the rest of this blue junk out of my coat,” she said.

  “That stuff is like glue,” Ariel complained. “I need to look nice for that dappled stallion. He’s a hot stud.”

  Ashley nearly dropped her comb. “You can’t be thinking of Marshall?”

  “Yes, the pretty warmblood with the tiny ears. He’s cute, isn’t he?” Ariel said.

  “Ariel, he’s been with Laci for weeks. It wouldn’t be right to flirt with him,” Ashley said.

  Ariel paused. “Oh. I didn’t know. I think he likes me though. He hasn’t talked to Laci since we got here.”

  Ashley mussed her mane back and sighed. “We’ve been here less than a day, and he’s probably still shaken up.”

  “Yea, but it’s still weird. I wouldn’t want to date Laci anymore either, just saying,” Ariel went on.

  “Give it a rest, Ariel. If he wants you, he should take his time. It’s a little unfair that he doesn’t know what you’re doing with your magic either,” Ashley advised.

  “What’s wrong with that? I’m sure if you had illusion magic, you would do the same thing,” Ariel defended. “You’ve never wanted to look different before?”

  Ashley stared into the mirror at herself, still unsatisfied. “No, I understand. I don’t like the way I look right now. It feels wrong, like I grew old overnight.”

  Ariel snaked closer to her. “I could make you what you used to look like, if it makes you feel better.”

  “I guess it couldn’t hurt to see it,” Ashley admitted.

  Ariel’s magic swirled and whistled around Ashley’s form, tightening joints and building up muscles. As a final touch, the spark reentered her eyes. Ashley stared in the mirror in shock at what she saw. She was herself again, and she was stunning. She even had a few dapples left that she felt she never appreciated enough.

  “It’s beautiful,” Ashley said.

  The magic slowly faded away, and Ashley’s elder form returned. The changes were small, but the direct comparison made her look like a different horse. She combed through her mane obsessively, trying to wish it back, but she remained the same.

  …

  Ariel trotted through the house cheerily in search of Marshall. She couldn’t find him anywhere. She ducked out on a balcony and spotted him at last in the garden, but Laci was there with him. She felt a twinge of guilt, but she decided to eavesdrop on their conversation from above.

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  “Of course I still love you, Laci, but Orion might be right. You should try to hold Sultan back,” Marshall said. “He’s changed you, and I don’t know if it’s for good.”

  Laci seemed agitated at his response. “No one can see the good in him but me. He did that because he cared. He’s on our side.”

  “Maybe what he did helped us then, but it doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do,” he told her. “It’s alright. We need to move forward, we can’t change the past. I’ll be with you always, Laci.”

  Ariel was sickened. She hurried back inside, careful not to slam the door of the balcony. The more she looked at Marshall, the more she felt she had to have him. He was muscular, charming, and had some real substance that she craved. She wasn’t used to being told no. With her looks, almost no stallion turned her down. She felt she’d have to interject, no matter what Ashley said. A nice stallion like him didn’t belong with a mare like Laci.

  Wild screaming erupted from the hallway, and Ariel ran over to see what was going on. Rune was having a nightmare of a vision, and Eliza’s efforts to comfort him were fruitless.

  “Easy, easy,” she soothed.

  Ashley appeared at the end of the hall. “Is everything alright?”

  “He’s going to be okay,” Eliza said. “He hasn’t had one this bad in a long time.”

  Rune’s nostrils flared and he reared up, crashing his head against the ceiling. Blood started to spill from the crown of his head. He howled with fear, but the vision would not let up.

  “I should get him under control,” Ashley said. “He needs that injury looked at.”

  Rune seemed to wrestle against the vision for a moment, trying to break through to reality. “Don’t try to stop it,” he managed. “Just let it go, it’s important.” He immediately crashed back into the vision, thrashing and screaming all over again.

  Ashley gave Eliza a look of confusion. “Does he mean that?”

  “I think so. He believes they can predict the future,” Eliza said. “If it’s important, we should let it run its course.”

  Orion and Greg came flying up the stairs.

  “Is he okay? I heard the noise from all the way in the infirmary,” Greg said.

  Eliza nodded. “He’s busted his head open on the light, but he insists on seeing the rest of this vision.”

  Greg pulled some gauze from his med kit. “We have to try to stop the bleeding. I know he’s moving around a lot, but this needs to go on his head with a lot of pressure.”

  Eliza tried to put the bandage to his wound, but he leaped forward and kicked out. He galloped down the hall, snapping his jaws and striking out with his forelegs. Luckily, the vision began to slow after that, and he moved with less force until he was only standing and trembling. Eliza came over and held the gauze on successfully.

  “It’s okay, sweetie. I’m right here,” she said, rubbing his neck with her other hoof.

  His heavy breathing started to return to normal, and he slowly sat on the floor. “That is...concerning,” he said finally.

  “What do you think it is?” Eliza asked.

  “I have no idea, but I’m going to figure it out,” Rune said, taking the gauze and holding it himself. He trotted down to his room in a rush. “I’m going to the Thunderhead to work it out. Try not to interrupt unless it’s an emergency.”

  “The Thunderhead? Isn’t that just your bedroom?” Eliza questioned.

  “It’s also the meeting place for the lightning horses. Thunder told me about it,” Rune explained. He shut the door promptly.

  “Is he always this strange?” Greg said, to no one in particular.