“We’re going to get [i]expelled[/i]!”  The skinny ferret looked up and down the corridor while gnashing his teeth.  “Well, you will.  I’ll get thrown out into the Dark Woods and eaten.”

Raindolph slipped inside the storeroom and grabbed the ferret before he could escape.  “Hey, you stole the keys from the Dean’s office for me.  If we give up, I flunk my final project and we get kicked out of school.  We get caught, same result.  That leaves…?”

The ferret hunched his skinny shoulders and glared at the floor of the storeroom.  “We find three unicorn tail hairs so you can finish your project.”

“From a [i]virgin[/i] unicorn.  And here’s the only place we can find them.”  Raindolph ran his fingers over the magic mirror while his familiar muttered quietly behind him.

“Why do we have to wander around some weird dimension where unicorns aren’t as ‘friendly’ as they are here?  Seriously, a virgin unicorn?  How’s a mirror going to find one of those?”

“Tuning.”  Raindolph touched two last spots on the mirror and the surface began to shimmer.  “Now the portal is restricted to dimensions with our desired parameters.  All that’s left is—”

Raindolph made a frantic grab to catch his familiar's tail before he could run.

[hr]

The dark house on the other side of the mirror looked almost normal except for the low ceilings and distinct horsey smell mixed with cedar and vanilla.  To Raindolph’s pleasant surprise, the second floor bedroom [i]did[/i] have a unicorn mare sleeping sprawled out over most of an ornate bed with her violet tail draped over the edge.

“So is this the first bedroom you’ve ever snuck into?” whispered his familiar from where he was perched on the back of the young mage’s neck.

“Shut up.”  Raindolph crept around to the back side of the bed and inspected the coiled tail, but a few quick magical gestures made his heart sink.  That, and one other thing.

“Go ahead,” hissed his familiar.  “Trim her tail and let’s scram before somebody finds out.”

“Two things,” said Raindolph.  “One.  She’s not a virgin.”

“Nidricks,” cursed the ferret.  “What’s the other thing?”

Raindolph lifted his chin to reveal the sharp scissors resting firmly against his carotid artery, held in a light blue glow of magic.  “She’s awake.”

[hr]

To be honest, Raindolph had never really anticipated sitting at an undersized kitchen table while explaining his plans over tea and biscuits to Rarity the Unicorn, who was taking the whole unusual circumstance far better than expected.   She nodded and made little sympathetic noises while keeping his teacup filled, and once he had fully explained his graduation project to the unicorn, she very politely removed the sharp sewing implement from against his neck.

“You could have just asked.” Rarity tapped her chin thoughtfully.  “Although I may not be… qualified, I think I have a solution.”

[hr]

The University Testing Grounds were adjacent to the Dark Woods for a very good reason, because any wild spells or explosions from somewhat-less-than-successful ex-students could be directed where they would not unduly disturb the citizenry.  While the morning sun rose high over the blasting range, Raindolph came skidding to a halt in front of Dean Plaigiosphere, who had just begun to pack the student folders and test results back into his pointed hat.

“Good morning, Rainsford!  I’m surprised you made it,” he bellowed, due to an accident in his youth which had rendered the elderly teacher nearly deaf.  “Had your grading sheet completed too.”  He pulled out a thick sheet of paper with a crimson ‘F’ at the top and placed it on the nearby table. 

Plaigiosphere frowned thoughtfully when Raindolph presented his freshly-finished wand, still warm from the final curing.  “Seems fine on the outside, but let’s see how it performs.  Start with a simple blasting spell.”

Raindolph held out the newly-created wand and squinted nearsightedly at the pitted stone disk at the other end of the range.  The three thin purple tail hairs had been [i]devilishly[/i] difficult to get tied into the remaining wand enchantments, and there had not been any time to test the results.  He let his breath out slowly and focused his magic into a simple blasting spell, hoping that the fresh wand would at least make sparks.

It was the last thing he remembered for quite some time, although he did survive the experience with only a broken arm, and Dean Plaigiosphere eventually regained what little hearing he had left.

At least he passed.