The Unicorn Guardian

Prologue

       First, there was darkness and the painful sensation of being squeezed through a small tunnel. Every few minutes she would move slightly farther, and each minute stretched on like an eternity. She was suffocating, unsure how much longer she could withstand the pressure. Suddenly, everything became bright, and she could breathe again. She gasped a few times before coughing fluid out of her lungs and nose. Warm air rushed over her damp body, but the feeling was strange, as was the hard ground underneath her. All the new sounds and smells were unfamiliar and bizarre.  It had been so long since she had seen daylight and her new eyes weren’t accustomed to it yet. Disoriented and scared, she lifted her head, making a small noise and kicking her long, bony legs.

        Then, a soft, warm tongue ran over her cheek and ears, calming her, slowly bringing her back to her senses. She remembered who she was; Shamira, formerly a spirit, now inhabiting the body of a newborn unicorn foal. She knew her purpose, but that would come later. Until then, she had to get used to being in a solid form.

        Once Shamira’s new mother had finished cleaning her downy baby coat, she unfolded her delicate legs and attempted to stand on still-soft hooves. It took a few tries, but soon she was up and walking on her wobbly appendages. She stood close to her mother; a pale brown mare with a long, white mane. Shamira’s own fur was dark brown, as was the standard for a foal.

        As she stood with her mother, letting her tired little body recover from the strain of being born, she took a look around. More unicorns of all colors were standing nearby, grazing, playing, or grooming one another, blissfully unaware of the danger they were in. Every day, more and more of their kind were being hunted down and killed by humans for their horns, hooves, and hair. She did not know the exact reason for it, but nothing could justify the heartless slaughtering. This was Shamira’s true purpose, the reason she had given up her life as a spirit and taken on the body of a unicorn. She would grow in less than half the time it took a normal foal, and gain the ability to take on a human form, giving her the power to protect these magnificent creatures.

       The unicorns were her kin now, her family, and she would be their guardian.