Hopeful Hooves: A Unicorn Friendship Tale

CHAPTER FOUR: STRANDED

                                                                             Pacific Ocean

The beginning of the ride was a very peaceful ride. The rocking boat was so relaxing that Charity even fell asleep that night, dreaming about finding her parents. Mother and father were playing with her. She could touch the sky and run faster than any other horse could. It was very lovely.

But the sound of thunder interrupted the beautiful dream across the ocean. The young unicorn woke up in the middle of a storm! She tried to row her boat as fast as she could, but a giant wave crushed the front. The boat, now a wooden mess, ended up having a big leak that would sink both the boat and Charity. Charity, of course, was frightened, but then a thought came to her head. I need to get into the water and swim.

But I can't swim! She thought fearfully. I can't even walk normally. What if I drown... But I need to swim! These two thought wrestled in her head, and she soon realized she'd have to listen to one or the other.

She dived into the water and used up all her might. Surprisingly, she discovered she still had a powerful trait. She could swim and was very talented at it. She fought hard against the waves until she came close to what she was looking for.

Land.

She crawled onto the land and trotted into a nearby forest. She was exhausted, but she had survived.

As for the paper, the bag was waterproof, so it wasn't even wet.

I have survived, and I can't believe I can swim. But for now will be my first night without a nudge for my parents. I am lonely, but I will find my parents, she said as she closed her eyes. 

                                                                     Southern China

The next morning, the young alicorn woke up and traveled near the mountains where she saw some peculiar-looking animals. They were equines, yes, but not horses, though horse-like; but they seemed to be more like donkeys than horses. Few of them were unicorns because they had single horns, but they were curled up like a rhino's, not spiral like her horn. They did not come in as many colors as Equinicorns, but they were instead a rusty red hue. 

Charity gasped. She had read animals similar to Equinicorns and their hornless counterparts, but they were duller and also stronger and wild. They were the Kiangs, a type of wild donkey, the largest of its kind, and they lived in high mountains. That is when Charity realized she was now in southern China.

Just as the Horses' unicorn counterpart is the Equinicorn, so are Kiangs with horns called Kiangicorns. Kiangicorns, believe it or not, were unicorns before Equinicorns were. In fact, many specialists say that the first horse-like one horned equine actually came from Kiangs when Kiangs saw rhinos and decided to pretend they were one; however, the horn got stuck, and it passed with their children. Many animals later began to copy this trend, including the Horses, and this is why we have the one horned creature we know and love.

Kiangicorns are very rare, so unlike Equinicorns back then, Kiangicorns married regular Kiang so they could survive. But not all of them are born with horns, which explains why Charity only saw two or three of them. 

All Kiangs were also very shy, so when they saw Charity, they galloped away, for they heard the Tale of the War on Unicorn Island. 

"Such immoral horses," said one. "If they treat each other badly, how will they treat us?"

"We should not let them be here! " yelled another. "Chase them away, drive them out of here!"

"I do not think that is wise," said a middle-aged mare, the leader of the Band. (In case you have not known, the oldest female leads the family and the Band.) "It is not wise to judge one of them based on the majority."

"She's right," agreed her husband, the oldest stallion. "The others may be bad, but she may be different. Who knows how her character is like? Perhaps she is nice, or even fled from them! We need to judge based on her character, and not by her species."

But the others argued that she was truly evil and made a plan to drive Charity out by Dawn.

Charity heard this and was deeply disturbed. What if my parents were driven out? How will I find them? After surviving an ocean storm, will I not make it here? Not that she did not have any prejudices against Kiangs — almost every Equine did — but she feared her life. She continued hearing the bitter words echoing in her head.

Why do the worst things always happen to me?