2025 LE DESIGNER CONTEST SUBMISSION

[Chantilly Lace]

I had to delete and edit because I posted the wrong story on the submission so here we go again ..   jus tin case you can not read the text this is the story

The Empowered Ones

The First of TheirKind

 

Persevere, a magnificent Clydesdale mare, nuzzled her newborn foal, a tiny replica of herself. He was unlike any other Clydesdale ever seen in Amaretto; a miniature, perfectly formed but impossibly small. She named him Valiant. In Amaretto, foals matured to full size within a week, a miraculous phenomenon unique to this enchanted valley. Valiant, however, remained petite, a delicate miniature Clydesdale, forever small. His tiny hooves barely made indentations in the soft earth. He felt the unspoken judgement of the other foals, their playful nudges turning into deliberate shoves as they grew larger by the hour. He was alone, save for his mother’s unwavering love and a gnawing feeling of difference. One day, while venturing away from his mother, exploring the whispering willows at the edge of their pasture, he encountered her: Clandestine. She was a mirror image of him, another miniature Clydesdale, her coat the color of polished mahogany, her eyes large and intelligent. Their meeting was a silent understanding, a shared experience of being different, of being out of place in a world that valued size above all else.

 

Their small forms, barely bigger than the largest dogs in the valley, were soon discovered by a family of majestic unicorns. Their ivory coats shimmered under the midday sun, their horns spiraling elegantly towards the heavens. The matriarch of the unicorns, her eyes filled with ancient wisdom, approached the two miniature Clydesdales. She understood their unique situation, their struggle to survive in a world where size dictated everything. With a gentle touch, a single tear fell from her eye onto Valiant's forehead, followed by another onto Clandestine’s. The tears, imbued with potent unicorn magic, pulsed with a celestial light. A transformation began; their manes, previously the same shade as their coats, now blazed with iridescent colors – Valiant's mane shimmered with a vibrant amethyst hue. Clandestine's mane blazed with a fiery scarlet. Their coats shimmered with an almost luminescent quality, Valiant's a fiery orange, Clandestine's a deep emerald and a protective, ethereal armor formed around their bodies. Tiny, exquisite crowns adorned their heads, and their eyes, once brown, now glowed with sapphire and emerald hues, reflecting power and resilience. 

 

Emboldened by this miraculous change, Valiant and Clandestine returned to their pasture. The other Clydesdales, initially shocked by their transformation – the powerful gleam of their armor, the unearthly glow of their coats – soon found themselves undergoing a similar, albeit less dramatic, change. The matriarch's tears had not only blessed the miniatures, but had also touched the entire herd, imbuing them all with a strength beyond their wildest dreams. Valiant and Clandestine, no longer the smallest, became symbols of resilience and hope. They were the first, the empowered ones, the miniatures who defied expectation and proved that strength came not from size, but from spirit. The other Clydesdales, now glowing softly with the remnants of the unicorn's blessing, accepted Valiant and Clandestine, finally understanding the magic that resided within their tiny forms. Their love story, a testament to their unique bond and the power of embracing difference, became a legend whispered throughout the valley of Amaretto, a reminder that even the smallest can become the mightiest. 

 

FOOTNOTE:

No longer were they the smallest of their kind; they were the *Empowered Ones*, the first of their miniature lineage, a living testament to the magic that could flourish even in the face of adversity. Valiant and Clandestine, together, led the way, ushering in a new era for the Clydesdales of Amaretto, an era where strength was not solely defined by size, but by the indomitable spirit that resided within.