Wishful Thinking

And No Birds Sing

Stephanie's vision was blurry from tears, but she could see it was becoming lighter, and the voices were growing softer. It was warmer. She blinked the tears away and saw that they had reached the treeline. Out beyond the edge of the forest was an emerald-green vale littered with grazing unicorns of various colors. All of them had gleaming golden hooves and glittering silver horns. They were the most beautiful and majestic animals she had ever seen. It was strange to see such pure beauty in the labyrinth.

Then a lost goblin wandered into the vale from over the side of the hill on Stephanie's left. She only had a brief moment to wonder what it was doing there, when suddenly every unicorn's head popped up and they fixed their eyes upon him. A sound like thunder rolled across the vale. The whole herd was charging the goblin, baring their wickedly sharp horns at him. He was skewered by three unicorns at once. The goblin had no chance. It fell down dead. Stephanie covered her open mouth with her hand, shocked by the brutal and merciless display.

"Still think it isn't so bad?" Aerfen asked Stephanie. Stephanie shook her head. She wondered if it was a good idea to be talking, in case the unicorns heard and became aware of their presence.

"Oh, they're already aware," Eynon said. "They won't leave their territory, but they'll attack ye the instant ye set foot in their vale. But if ye can sing them a song they like, they'll let ye pass."

"Thinking it will do," Aerfen added. "They can read minds, too. It's one of the reasons they don't like having strangers around. In fact, focusing on the song is better, because it will keep ye from thinking about other things, like how much a unicorn horn would be worth. Things like that make them especially angry."

'Okay,' Stephanie thought, taking a deep breath. She needed a song that could please anyone. Fortunately, she already had one lined up her mind. Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. It was what she needed, too, after the Shadows. She crossed her fingers and started thinking of the intro as she stepped out into the vale. She knew the whole song by heart, not just the lyrics, but the music as well. So the unicorns were getting the full effect, as if Survivor were performing live for them. At first, the unicorns seemed confused, as if they didn't know what to make of her, but then the lyrics started.

'Rising up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive.'

The unicorns stared at her but did not attack.

'So many times it happens too fast
You change your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive.'

She walked among them, and they let her pass. Now for the chorus.

'It's the eye of the tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger.'

Now the unicorns were nodding their heads along with the music. They began beating out the rhythm with their hooves. Stephanie continued to sing the rest of the verses. They lined up, creating a safe passage for her to walk as she continued forward with the pygmy griffins flying above her. The unicorns liked the song so much that they didn't mind when she began it over again to cover the full distance of the vale. She didn't stop playing the song in her head until she reached the treeline, where the forest picked up again. She walked into the forest, then stopped and exhaled a sigh of relief. She'd made it. She looked back at the Vale of Unicorns. The unicorns were still dancing. It was a wonderful sight, marred only by the goblin blood still glistening on three of their horns.

Stephanie turned away and continued onward.

While Stephanie was walking deeper into the woods, the paving stones on which Sarah and Hoggle were standing flipped open like trap doors and precipitated them into a dark chute. They skidded helplessly down it.