It was a special day for the young Unicorn, too special to wait for the Sun to rise. As its eyes opened, it looked at the valley, still shining thanks to the silver light of the Full Moon and the ten thousand stars above the clouds.
Ever since it was nothing more than a Foal, the young Unicorn had been told about an important event which it was destined to participate in: warning every other living being in the valley about the arrival of a new era. Every Unicorn was destined to live through such a day at least once in their millenary life, so everything had to be perfect.
After getting up, it looked at the river at its left. It was clear for everyone that the young Unicorn was different from the others, for its body resembled other animals even more than other unicorns.
Its tail, slick and furry, was identical to that of the Bulls happily walking around the grassy fields of the valley. Its belly was as yellow as the Crocodiles which inhabited the very river whose clear waters it was staring at. Its body was green and had hundreds of scales, like the ones that decorated a Snake. Even its face had two long barbels, like those of a Catfish.
There was only one key detail that made it recognizable as a Unicorn, and that was its magical horn, sharp and shiny. It was able to reflect the sunlight, making it seem like golden flames were surrounding its body as it dashed through the valley in joy.
However, as it took a look at its body, the young Unicorn widened its eyes, in fear. The horn was gone! There was nothing in the middle of its head, not even the signs of something breaking off of it, almost as if there had never been a horn there in the first place.
That concerned the Unicorn, especially because it was only a matter of hours before the Sun was going to rise. How could it warn about the arrival of a new era, if nobody was going to recognize it?
In a hurry, it looked back and forth, left and right, hoping to find someone already awake. There was a small white Rabbit, sitting in the grass. The Unicorn asked it about the horn, but the Rabbit admitted to have spent the entirety of that night admiring the Full Moon, as it was preparing some magical medicines from the herbs it had collected from the surrounding area.
Still, the Rabbit warned the Unicorn about trying to step inside the forest, where it would have found something. Not what it was looking for, but what he needed to find.
The Unicorn, hearing those cryptic words, decided to follow its advice. After all, with no one else awake to help it, what could it have done?
At the entrance of the forest, it noticed someone staring at him with a curious smile. It was a bird, a Night Falcon to be precise, peeking through its small nest.
As the Night Falcon was welcoming the Unicorn inside, it decided to ask the bird about the horn. However, the avian admitted to be too shy to even see what is going on in the valley, so it barely understood what happened. Still, someone did warn the bird about sending a special creature inside.
Before the young Unicorn could even ask what did the Night Falcon mean, someone else approached the other creatures. It was a Deer, an old Deer, looking as much in a hurry as the Unicorn was.
The Deer, with no hesitation, explained that, in order for the special event to happen, the two of them had to reach the Boulder of a Thousand Horns, in the middle of the forest. As such, it showed the way to the Unicorn, as they both walked across the trees, under the shiny moonlight.
After a few minutes, the old Deer and the young Unicorn had both made it to a place where a tall rock, as wide as ten of the surrounding trees, was standing. There, many horns were placed, all belonging to ancestors of the Deer.
Indeed, it explained to the Unicorn that, whenever an important day was about to begin, every Unicorn would lose its horn, for it had to be replaced with one of those Deer horns. It was a signal, part of the ritual to indicate that the Unicorn was now ready to fulfil its destiny. However, no one had ever explained that to the young Unicorn, hence it was not prepared.
The Deer, yet, did not seem to be bothered. After all, the Sun had yet to rise, so there was still time. It gently woke up a Monkey, resting on the other side of the boulder. The Monkey was aware of how to perform the magic ritual to attach the horn on the Unicorn’s head, so it hopped on the Deer’s back, as they all ran back into the valley.
There, the Rabbit welcomed all three of them with joy. All those hours spent collecting the herbs were not in vain, as they were essential for the ritual. As such, they all stood in silence, as the Monkey attached some of the herbs on the end of the horn, while others were put on the Unicorn’s forehead. After a few minutes, the new horn was ready, and, once the Monkey had removed all the herbs, it seemed as though it had always been there.
A few moments passed when the first rays of sunlight emerged, and they hit the horn, which reflected them on the ground. The ritual had worked.
Jumping around with joy, the Unicorn was thankful to all the other beings, as it readily began to run towards the other end of the valley.
The beginning of a new era was upon everyone. Flowers blossomed, birds chirped, animals sang. The Rabbit and the Monkey cried with pride, as the Night Falcon decided to overcome its fear and soar across the sky.
Only the old Deer seemed saddened by that event, for its duty was now over.
Still, as the young Unicorn warned about it, everyone was waiting for what was going to happen, now that there was the chance to start anew. Happiness had surrounded the valley.
An Italian university student who loves to learn, because every moment is worth knowing for. https://www.tumblr.com/blog/fabianocolucci https://www.instagram.com/fabiano.colucci/