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I hadn't noticed the change, not at that time, I didn't for a while. It was a shift, something in me moving subtly until it all just— clicked. I didn't know what it was, but I could feel a different type of energy taking root. It was quiet, I likely wouldn't have noticed it. That is, until I got curious. 

Of course you'd get curious too if something inside fell into place so perfectly, something that set off a spark, ignited a fire inside that you knew was meant for something great. I wondered whether or not I should ask Mother or Sabre about it, what exactly it was. But I feared they wouldn't understand, that they would question what I was babbling about. Instead I kept quiet, waiting until I could slip away from our residence in the forest to the meadow that borders it. I kept my lips sealed, getting out from under the sharp steel watch of my dam, fleeing from the confines of the pines to the welcoming expanse of the southwest. 

I burst from the treeline, panting and itching to know what it was that had manifested within me. How do I trigger it? What is it? I look back, huffing in frustration. I had to piece things together, needed to figure out what had changed. Cotton candy eyes fall shut, my breathing goes hesitant— calm. I'm reaching out, searching for something that will give me a sign as to what I'm supposed to do. What is it that's clawing at me from the bottom of my stomach? It's beyond ticklish, it's starting to hurt. I have to draw in another breath, letting my body do whatever it wants. 

Click. My left hind leg rises, the hoof coming off the ground with little resistance. It's hesitant, slow, but my hoof draws in, the leg lifts higher. Click. Before I even realize my hoof is soaring through the air, whistling and kicking back. Bang. The itching pressure in my belly dulls, lessens. I hear something whizzing through the air, embedding itself into a tree ten feel behind me. Midnight ears perk up, bubble gum eyes following the invisible trail. I rush forward, eyes growing wider as I see it— a rock sunken a few centimeters into the base of a tree. 

I'm buzzing with excitement, ecstatic at the idea of having this. Whatever it is, it's will bring me a great advantage. All kings are powerful but I will bring a new meaning to power. I giggle at the possibilities of this magic, that I have been granted such powerful magic— it's fate. 

All seriousness aside, this was incredible! I have to go show Sabre, I want to show her how cool this is— and Mother too! Maybe she won't bite or kick me anymore knowing that I now have the power to fight back. Maybe not. I don't think I want to make Mother super mad, she'd probably eat me (she's threatened to do so before). The burning wounds of her recent lashings bring a grim reminder that maybe I shouldn't try to stand up for myself. They litter my back and withers— that seems to be Mother's go to spot. I can feel the bruises too, every time I shift my weight to my left side, my shoulder cries out. It was an unexpected attack— it was because Mother thought I was being greedy, when really I was hungry because she hadn't fed us for a day. Instead she'd wandered off and left us there. And when she returned she was angry. She lashed out at me in particular, I refused to scrunch up my face in pain despite how much I wanted to— I couldn't show weakness. 

"Talk."