A Fairy Tale

''Happy birthday'' said a shy voice.
''And happy birthday to you'' replied a bolder one.
Above the earth and below the sky, amidst the clouds unbound lived a wondrous race. Perhaps not as wondrous as humans; they were still majestic in their own right. They were only as tall as dwarves or so the witnesses who've been blessed by them have told. Their wings shone brightly under the sun as they soared through the sky like falling stars. I am talking about the magical beings called fairies of course! They are the offspring of the Eternal Rainbow who breeds every hundred years in the village in the clouds.

The sun had just arisen yet high-pitched voices could be heard from the village chanting merrily. Every fairy shared the same birthday so one by one they greeted and wished at each other as casually as possible, they were sisters after all. Among them was a not too bold fairy. She had been depending on others her whole life to a point she had to make up her mind. She had to stand on her own two feet and she was determined today would have been the day. Soon chant and laughter ceased when higher clouds were noticed dancing in the sky moving back and forth, then spiraling until they broke like glass into thin air to create a thousandfold fluffy fragments. From within, human-like shapes were revealed. More fairies! But these were older, by a hundred years, though they managed to maintain their youth somewhat and held to their fiery psyche tightly. That day all the more so than ever. These elder fairies were flowing down to meet with the rest of them silently and steadily while also staring at them as the youth stood still as if they were awaiting commands. An aura of joy and pride prevailed among the elder fairies although they deliberately contained it due to the crucial words later to be spoken and events to come. As well as a destiny to be fulfilled. The sun was now burning intensely above the already united fairies. A feast had been held not too long ago and each one of them was now minding their own business. Some of them were trimming their long and fragile wings while some others would use them for flight. Our shy little fairy sat on the edge of a cloud and stared down below wondering, lost at thought, as she used to. Meanwhile, the elder fairies were sitting on a grand round table scheming a conspiracy of some sort.
Everyone was called and the elders would now stand up. In the middle of them was the chief fairy, or the ''Mother'' as they preferred to call her. She was a good leader, caring, although strict to the teachings of old. When all was ready, without any further ado, she spoke:

"It is with honor that I now, at this day of your twelfth birthday, shall guide you through your last task. Today your worth will be proven as you will come upon an eternal evil that lies dormant for every 100 years. When it wakes it seeks only to bring chaos and vengeance to us for destroying its wrath whenever it embarks. So, fear not, for every generation has ceased its menace but also do not be relieved for its power knows no bounds. And so the crown is now yours to choose". And as the Mother finished her speech, a most extraordinary event followed. The elder fairies started vanishing! Their hands waving their last farewell and their tears their last reminisce of life, for their bodies were now slowly becoming fairy dust flowing in the air. Surprise and despair beheld the fairies that moment, they were too young and nae to understand what was to follow but their will did not fade. In fact, this strengthened and motivated them. The fairies made their decision for chief, with the name Elesmera being the superlative. She was the eldest and boldest and she gladly took the title. It was now evening, the sun pale while the moon was unravelling its light for the night.

"No plan can ever be formerly made as we haven't been given any specific details." Elesmera said.

"We do know whatever it is, it's only one, we're twelve we can simply surround it and hit it from everywhere. If it's on air hit its wings first, on land its legs and in water its scales." Irina requested.

"Right, we can try a simple approach although given the attention to the matter by our elders I fear it might be too big for us to surround."

"What's been bothering me for a while is that the elders were supposed to guide us through this last task but they left us here all alone to battle an unknown enemy." cried Crystal with her words resonating in every fairy's heart so that silence would fall upon them.

Suddenly, loud cries echoed above the clouds. As they were getting closer, the fairies were getting ready for battle although many of them were disheartened and tremored by them. The sound is very familiar to you and me but for them, it was too earthly. These fairies hidden in the clouds are not allowed to descend too low down before the age of twelve with their limit being the crests of certain mountains. Anyway, they stood in amazement when they saw the fairy dust form a pathway with a pack of unicorns running towards them one behind the other. They were bright white with their legs, as bulky as a masterfully crafted dwarven axe, kicking the dust away harmonically. There was a change of mood to the fairies for whatever they were to do now they knew they had the elders on their side.

"They're still looking out for us!" Crystal cried again, but this time merrily.

The little fairy, absent-minded, was now looking up whence the unicorns came. One of them was close to her. She stressed her arm and touched its hair with her soft palm. She started petting it and both were at joy. Then, she subliminally grabbed it tightly, climbed and started riding it. At first, it speed befell her but soon she got the grip and the two of them were now one.

It was dark, they were keeping watch below and at every corner of the horizon. Their bodies were tinkering with light greater than before, alongside their twelve unicorns. All of a sudden, the ground was trembling and the clamor of too many a voices was rallying up to the protective clouds. The earth, swollen, then cracked until it opened wide enough for an entire mountain to fall upon it. Diana, who was the watcher on the west of the clouds, had seen the phenomenon and decided it was too peculiar to discard it so she had united the fairies on her side to speculate it. The light of magma was becoming more intense at every minute. And so, when it reached the summit of the abyss, the catastrophic blaze spewed out endangering the western mountains which were luckily uninhabited. A huge shadow from within managed to shy away the potent light of magma until it appeared again in a diminished form, mere seconds later. Then, a thundering roar followed by flaps of wings that ringed the start of the final task. They could hear it but they could not see it, yet. With a burst of flames, it ascended in the clouds which it gripped with its hands. That much was enough to scatter the fairies to multiple directions. The light in the clouds betrayed its wretched body. Its skin was as heavy as metal which had a thorny mane all the way from its long neck to its tail. Its keen eyes looked at every fairy vehemently and its jaws ready to bestow them with flames. The unicorns had come forth trotting in midair to save them only to be chased by the dragon. It was crawling like a serpent in the air using its two front wings to fly and its two back wings to help him balance. "Now" Elesmera shouted and they split in half as they danced around the eternal evil which was surrounded by them. It maniacally bobbed its head up and down, left and right and started yelling with displeasure. The fairies were reading up their attack, magic appearing in each of their hands to be thrown all at once. Twelve bolts of magic were thrown at different spots on its body, primarily on its wings, but enraged as it was it couldn't be bothered by the constant bleeding. It started knocking all of the weakened fairies one by one until the last remained. It was the shy, little fairy. She and her unicorn in opposition to the impure beast. Both sides were now powerless, it was now a matter of will. The dragon made its move. The fairy was in fear and pointed at the unicorn to flee away but it did not. It rotated its neck and held her head up high with its own in confidence. She looked down again for one last time and saw her wounded sisters, then faced the dragon which was coming at them with great speed and open jaws ready to suck them in for a meal. When she was along with her companion she realized she had nothing to fear. Just a few seconds away before being chewed by the dragon she opened her arms and hugged her unicorn. The hug gave it power, its horn became wider and its speed much faster, therefore it immediately dodged the sharp fangs and with elegant bounces in the air it stroke its horn into the heart of the dragon. One last deafening roar came from it as its body became ash and disappeared. Dawn appeared with the rainbow majestically prevailing over the blue sky. She went to meet up with the rest of the fairies who were now waking up. Everyone praised her bravery and she couldn't help but laugh. Elesmera herself acknowledged her great display of power and even gave her the title of chief while bowing. She was now the "Mother" and her name, Shaereen.