The First Unicorn on Earth

by Baileyjrob

September 5, 2015

Dear Journal,

George is still getting adjusted to being around magical talking horses. I don't quite blame him, but at least he is still a biped. It's a lot easier to recognize the benefits of an equine body when you don't have to drag yourself around everywhere you go. Those first few weeks were tough, and I didn't even have the worst of it. I had the good sense to research how horses move right off the bat, assisting myself in future endeavors and rapidly accelerating my learning curve. I've heard stories from Jamie (Martha had the same sense too) about him and his mom and their troubles attempting to adapt to their new bodies in the first few weeks. I'll tell you I'm glad I had the sense I did, otherwise learning magic might have been a lot harder than it was.

Speaking of which, I'm still learning how my magic works. Martha can help toss around hypotheses, but in the end the lack of being a unicorn makes it difficult for her to contribute. My levitation has been steadily improving, as I can now levitate three objects without deep focus, but I'd still like to do more. I find it hard to believe that levitation is the full capacity of this horn. What could I possibly be capable of? Maybe I could unlock telepathy, or teleportation, or more detailed manipulation, or maybe even offensive capabilities. I'm working on trying to manipulate the flow and concentration of my magic as it leaves my horn to mostly negative results. I am making some progress, but no developments large enough to really go on about. That's for a different journal.

George, while still struggling, is integrating well. He's begun to pick up his chores and is preforming them as well as can be expected. Apparently he's pretty good with a hammer in ways other than being the only one able to hold one. Him and Martha sometimes discuss possible future building projects, or modifications to current ones. He frequently will gain a sort of surprised look during their conversations. I suspect that's him realizing he's actually found an intellectual equal in a twelve year old. That'll happen. Everyone in our group's accepted it by now, but when I first met her I found myself constantly surprised by just how smart she was. Whenever she's not building, doing chores, or doing any basic survival related thing, she's reading up. Sometimes it's relevant like manuals, other times it seems to be solely for knowledge's sake. I often join in on reading, but she does it more than I do. One time George saw us reading and mentioned something to the effect of "father-son reading time." I couldn't tell which of us wanted to disprove that more, but we were both pretty excited to give that a try. Sometimes even Sheila stops by whenever we both take a break, though she doesn't read stuff on quite the intellectual level we do. One time all four of us gathered around to read for one reason or another, and George just kind of looked between us and walked away. Must be awkward for the guy, but we're sure he'll fit right in.

Jamie often can be found drawing somewhere around home base. He's often very protective about what he draws, but I've snuck a peek at some of them. Some are fairly concerning, like dogs attacking someone, but most are very nice. That I've seen anyway. Sometimes he draws with George, who always seems confused as to how Jamie can draw so well (all things considered.) It really is quite astounding. Jamie seems to be doing his best to include George, and that seems to be really helping George fit in.

We went back to Base Alpha today. That's the old grocery store I used to live in with Jamie. Apparently George and Martha had some sort of idea for a project that required shopping carts, and lots of them. Luckily we ran into very minimal resistance on the way there and back. As we were leaving, I noticed something. The graves of Max and Barbara had been defiled: they had been dug up and the bodies removed. All that remained was some blood stained dirt around the holes. Jamie and I both stopped and payed our respects. Martha kind of nodded to Max's grave, then moved on. Sheila simply seemed confused and slightly perturbed. George, however, seemed to get the message. He simply gave us a pat on the shoulder (back? foreleg? thigh?) and moved on.

To think of how far we've come since that day. How many months ago was that? It feels like a lifetime ago. Before the war, before all this time travel nonsense, before Phoenix, and before... before Dallas, really. Before any of that, there was still one person out to kill another. Max's sacrifice saved me. It... it could have easily been the other way around. Max could be standing here right now in front of my grave, worried about not only his own survival, but the fate of everyone. Bastrop... that was our big concern back then. Bastrop feels like an old dream now. One day I'll probably visit anyway. When this is all over. I'll create a Haven for everyone.

Jamie looked torn next to me as he looked down on his mother's grave. He knew what she'd done, yet she was still his mother. He very clearly couldn't tell how to feel. Looks of anger, remorse, and confusion flashed on his face one after another. Eventually, for the first time in a long time, he broke down and cried. I was just happy that this time, I could be there to comfort him rather than be the outlet of his anger.

We eventually made it back to the Base Prime. On the way we'd stopped by a hardware store and picked up some nails, wood, sheets of metal, joints, and a bunch of other stuff that's purpose right now I couldn't make out. George and Martha seemed pretty excited though, and they both disappeared into the workshop. They haven't come out since, not even for dinner. I wonder what they could possibly be doing in there.

Well, my head's starting to hurt a bit. I may be getting better at levitation, but the finesse required for writing coupled with the extended period of time causes some wear. I'm clocking out now. To a brighter future, and a Haven for all!

– Leon.

Comments

[Dances With Unicorns]

As someone who has always loved railroads, I would love seeing a pair of Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority (or DART) Light Rail maintenance workers, transformed into a Dragon like Princess Ember, and a Minotaur like Iron Will. They were driving a road-rail truck, inspecting the railroad’s complex infrastructure, when they came back to reality on September 6, 2015.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road-rail_vehicle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Area_Rapid_Transit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DART_Light_Rail

[Dances With Unicorns]

It would be nice if our protagonists could find tactical vests for military and police dogs. Ponies with body armor!

http://projectpawsalive.org/protective-k-9-ballistic-vests/

[Dances With Unicorns]

In future chapters, will a hippogriff returnee join their group?

[StormySkiesPony]

I can't help but keep rooting for Leon here. Each chapter looking forward to seeing little successes along the way.

I also very much enjoyed the crossover with the Phoenicians, another story I rather liked in this setting.

Thank you for writing and sharing this with us. I've enjoyed it greatly.