I grunted as I raised the horn. It was shaking so badly, rainbows splashing everywhere, sparks shooting out and hissing on my skin. My arms were sore, my hands numb, my face covered in rainbows, but I took that last step—
And slammed the horn back on Gary’s head.
I felt the moment the bottom of the horn struck the bony protrusion on Gary’s head. There was a scrape of bone against bone, and then a shock of pure power shot through me, gold and green slamming into every other color of the rainbow. A rising wind whipped around us, and Gary’s breath felt hot against my face. I gritted my teeth and held on for dear life.
And then, just because it seemed I needed more strangeness in my life, I heard what sounded like a choir singing again.
Only to realize moments later that it was Gary.
“What are you doing?” I managed to say.
“Aahhh aaahhhh AAAAAAAAAaaaahhhh—what?”
“Why are you singing?”
“Because this is a magical moment, and I always told myself that when I got my horn back, I would sing about it. Gods, don’t be a bitch, Sam. This is my moment, and I will not allow you to make it about yourself. Allow me to have this one thing, for fuck’s sake.”
I sighed, even as the wind roared around us and I felt assaulted by magic.
So Gary continued singing, head bowed, and I held on for dear life, closing my eyes against the bright flashes of light that began to emanate from where the horn was pressed against his head.
And then it was over.
The wind died.
The magic faded.
Gary stopped singing.
I let go of the horn.
And then the crowd gasped.
“Holy shit,” Ryan said from somewhere behind me.
I opened my eyes.
Gary stood before me, looking hard-core as fuck. The air around him was shimmering, but in a softer light than if he’d been in the throes of Glitter Rage. His mane and tail were now rainbow colored and fluttering in a soft breeze. His eyelashes looked as if they’d grown by inches as he slowly batted his eyes.
And his horn. His horn. It was long and rigid, cut into perfect spirals to a sharply pointed tip. It was longer than Terry’s and thicker too. The tip sparkled with a beautiful light, as if a star sat upon it.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “It’s huge.”
“Yes,” Gary said, his voice having an eerie ethereal quality to it. “I’ve always been a bit… bigger than other unicorns.”
“It’s not about the size,” Terry muttered, “but what you do with it.”
Gary ignored him and turned toward the crowd, who stared back at him openmouthed. “’Tis I,” he said, voice fluttering musically. “Gary. You may gaze upon my stupendousness and—hey. Hey. You there. With the abnormally large nostrils. In the back! What are you doing?”
The crowd turned to stare at some random dude near the rear of the crowd. He did indeed have abnormally large nostrils. “Me?” he asked.
“Yes, you. You’re not gazing upon my gloriousness!”
He shrugged, looking bored. “There is literally another unicorn standing next to you. Once you’ve seen one unicorn, you’ve seen them all. You all look the same.”
“Oh no,” I said.
Gary’s eyes narrowed as glitter started to slough off him. “Excuse me?”