For a moment, Nina felt only a faint curiosity at how all the horns could be poking through her without colliding with each other. Then she was filled with an intense warmth, beginning at her heart, then radiating outward, filling every cell of her body, gushing out of her pores. There was no Nina, there were no horns, there was only the warmth—and then an emotion so intense that it took a moment to realize it was love.

Then she became aware of thoughts, concepts, being projected into her mind.

The unicorns had been watching her from the start. If she could not survive the storms, they would have granted her the same gift as the others—a change that would let them survive.

But she had been strong and resourceful. She had even built a shelter. And further, she had saved the life of one of their foals. They had decided: she was special. She was the one they wanted.

As the unicorns withdrew her horns, Nina sank to her knees and opened her eyes. The unicorns had changed her.

They had made her their Queen.