As the ride starts, the girl looks over and smiles. “Sorry for butting in. As soon as I saw this carriage, I just had to ride it.”
“Don’t worry about it. I know how you feel,” you confess. “It’s like it called to me.”
“Yeah. Weird, right?” The girl laughs, and you join in. Then, she notices the wand. “Oh, that’s pretty.”
“This?” You hold up the wand and look it over. You had almost forgotten it was there. Studying it a bit closer, you realize that it is much more intricate than you had thought. The silver handle is covered in runes, and the star seems to be cut from some kind of crystal. “I just found it here. I wonder if someone left it behind or something.”
“May I see it?” Your fellow passenger asks.
“Be my guest,” you say, handing it over.
Hefting it in her palm a few times, she whistles. “It’s no toy, that’s for sure. Fancy, too.” Grinning, she holds it up and strikes a dainty pose. “Fear not, fair maiden. You shall go to the ball tonight!” With a giggle at her own antic, she gives the wand a wave.
FLASH!
A light shoots out from the wand, filling your vision and forcing you to blink. Suddenly, as quickly as it appeared, it vanishes. Cautiously, you open your eyes and look around. When you turn to the side, you gasp. Instead of the girl, you see a tiny figure, about six inches tall, hovering at eye level in a ball of pink light. Peering closely, you see a lovely fairy, dainty and feminine from her slender curves to the pink shimmering wings fluttering behind her. A dress made of some gauzy material does nothing to hide her pleasing silhouette. Eyes like amethysts glimmer as they stare back at you.
“W-What happened!?” The fairy gasps. To your surprise, you can hear her melodic voice quite clearly. “I feel strange! I’m so small! And glow-y!”
You have an epiphany. “Wait, you’re that girl who was sitting here a moment ago, aren’t you! You look like a fairy, now.”
“Yes.” She gasps at her skirt, then twists her head to watch the blur of her wings. “Did…Did the wand do this?”
“I don’t see what else it could be.”
A bump from the carriage distracts you from your companion. It finally dawns on you that the carnival seems to have disappeared! The carriage is now a bit larger and sturdier, being pulled by real live unicorns!
“Hey! Where are we!?” You yelp, leaning out one side of the carriage, then the other. All around, you see an unfamiliar landscape. Vast fields and rolling hills lead off to distant mountains. Here and there, you see quaint little towns crowded next to the winding river that stretches across the idyllic scene. In shock, you slump back into your seat.
At this point, it occurs to you that nobody is driving this carriage. Searching for the reins or even a driver’s seat, you find nothing indicating any need for either. “So, um, where is this thing going?”
The fairy thinks for a second before pointing ahead. “I think that way.”
You face the front and see…