The Big Bang

Majestic pains in my butt

"Why am I awake this early again?" I asked, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. 

"Because, Sophie," my dad said, giving me a warning glance, "As I have told you for the past week, is that we are getting a new animal today, and I need your help."

"Yes, but why this early?" I whine. 

"Come on Soph. This is going to be fun! We get to work with an animal who came straight from the wild! This is going to be wicked! Do you know what type of animal you're getting?" 

I forgot how much of a morning person Dex was. "Ugh. First, you wake me up- deprived of coffee- and then you invite Dex, who doesn't know how to shut up in the morning? What did I do wrong?" 

They just laughed at me as they went ahead. I took a deep breath, letting the crisp morning air fill my lungs and wake my senses. Releasing a final grunt I began to trudge behind them, dragging my lead feet one step at a time. 

Once we reached the enclosure where the new animal was supposed to go, I took a seat on the fence, Dex and Grady copying my actions. They continued on with their conversation, while the other workers were preparing for the arrival of the new inhabiter. My interest was only piqued when I saw a horse trailer come into view - now this was going to be interesting. 

"We're getting a horse? That's not really our style," I pointed out. 

"Apparently it's a special one. Like a lobster is just a lobster, but we have a yellow one, and one that's white, Grady pointed out.

I shrugged, "True."

I jump off the fence, excited to finally have a sort of normal animal join our midst. Some of the workers that came with the horse stepped out of the truck and told us about what to expect. 

"She's short-tempered, and doesn't like to be touched," one of the workers explained, "We haven't really been able to do anything with her yet, and she has already sent one of our guys to the hospital, so be extra careful." 

My ideas about the horse were beginning to change, as I started to envision a beast with a foaming mouth and red eyes, so I was completely taken aback when they opened up the trailer to reveal the most majestic creature I had ever seen. Its flank shone like silver, and when her hair hit the sun in the right way, there were flecks of sparkles. It could be found in any young person's dream, a unicorn save for the horn. I had to blink a few times to make sure that my mind wasn't playing any tricks on me. I guess the same was for Dex as he let out a mistified "Woah". 

"I know, right?" I responded under my breath. 

"Don't be fooled, she still is a pain in the ass," the other worker from the truck butted in. 

As if on cue, she rose up onto her hind legs, nearly clobbering someone in the head. We all take a step back from the frantic horse, letting all of her hooves come to the solid ground before trying to approach her. 

"What's her name?" Grady asked. 

"We didn't get around to naming her yet. We've been focusing on making sure that she doesn't hurt us or herself."

I looked up at the distressed horse and felt her eyes meet mine. Her eyes were a brighter brown than mine and had flecks of gold scattered within them, like broken shards of a mirror trapped in the dark amber of her soul. Without thinking - what a surprise-  I took a step towards her, and when she didn't startle, I made my way closer. I held out my hand, and we had a real How To Train Your Dragons moment. It was historic, absolutely monumental, for once my hand touched her muzzle, she fell into my touch. She nuzzled her nose into my neck as I ran my hand down her soft and silky neck.