Monday 1 May 2017

Day 1 - Terry the two horned Unicorn

Terry the two horned Unicorn

            Terry was a fine looking Colt. All pristine white; just starting to grow into his legs.  No longer were they all gangly, his shoulders and his withers had finally started to fill out.  His tail was less furry and more tail like, much like his mane.  Both where a beautiful pinky-purple color.
            He was a sprightly little fellow as well. When people looked at him they saw a happy growing unicorn.  In himself Terry was happy with everything except one thing, he had a second horn, and all of his friends teased him, calling him names like freak, and horse (the biggest insult of all to a unicorn).
            Terry’s Granddad tried to cheer him up ‘Son, you are not a unicorn, you are a “DuoCorn”’ Granddad then proceeded to tell Terry all about the most famous DuoCorn that ever existed.  Terry normally loved listening to granddads stories, but today he was to distracted, he had to present to the whole school, and as per all school assemblies he was expected to put his horn to use, be it to light the room, shoot sparkles, whatever magic he could think of.
            Because as everyone knows; the unicorns magic comes from their horn.  The only problem, Terry had not managed to make any magic with either of his horns.  He always got confused about which one to focus on, so at best he was able to make a “pffft” noise whenever her tried.
            Terry then went to his dad, who for some weird reason was quite proud of the second horn and the fact that he was the father of a DuoCorn. ‘Dad?’
            ‘Yes Terry’
            ‘I am meant to do assembly today, and have to perform some magic with my horn, but I can’t’
            ‘Why Terry, you’ve got two horns your magic should be twice as easy as everyone else’           
            ‘That’s what our teacher says as well, but I can’t seem to do it dad, I get confused on which one to focus on and all I manage is a “Pffft”;
            ‘Oh! Ok let’s go see the wizened fairy, he should be able to help you’
            ‘Why would he help me dad, I am nothing but a young colt, nothing of interest to him’
            ‘Terry, Wally the wise has been interested in you since the day you were born, you do know that there has only ever been one other DuoCorn in our history, and he was a very famous DuoCorn at that’
            As Terry and his dad galloped across fairy meadow towards Wally’s, Terry’s dad told him all about Doug the DuoCorn and how he had saved the herd from some horn thrives who wanted to steal the unicorn horns, grind them up and make magic powder dust.
            Finally arriving at the tree Terry looked up, it was the biggest grandest old oak tree he had ever seen in his life. He had only ever met Wally the wise once, when he dropped in one day to say hello to Terry’s parents.  Wally all but ignored Terry on that occasion, although Terry did see him looking his way when he thought he wasn’t looking.
            “POP!” suddenly there in front of them was Wally the wise. ‘So what brings you two fine steeds to my part of the forest?’
            Terry’s dad, not even flinching, not even asking how did Wally know they were there, nothing, simply spoke as if nothing was amiss, like this was a common event, like he and Wally where good old friends ‘Well Wally, Terry here has got a dilemma, he has been trying to learn how to use his horns for magic and can only seem to manage a “Pffft” at best’.
            ‘Oh that is a problem’ Wally observed as he looked closely at Terry’s two horns.  ‘We’ll just have to see about that. Come on, let’s go to my workshop, it’s only a short climb’
            Terry exclaimed ‘But I can’t climb, it’s a tree, I’ve never climbed a tree, I don’t think unicorns can climb trees’
            ‘Oh! You’re right, silly old me’ Said Wally the wise as he raised the short gnarly walking stick he was holding and tapped it on the ground twice.
            Suddenly Terry found himself standing in the bowl of the big oak tree, a canopy of deep green leaves above him and a floor of wooden oak branching off in all directions. Hanging from the branches everywhere were ropes holding all sorts of oddities from egg beaters, to pots, pans, dried bats wings, mushrooms, even bunch of flower lollipops.
            Wally shuffled towards one of his many bookshelves that seemed to have grown into the oak tree. ‘Let’s see here, I know I spoke with Doug DuoCorn about how his horns were so magical and powerful. You know what was so impressive about Doug was that he could do two magic’s at once.’
            ‘Really?’ Terry was paying attention this time as the old man kept talking; all the while pulling book after book of the shelf. If he did not find what he was looking for he simply tossed the book over his shoulder, and just before it hit the floor it would fly around Wally and back onto the bookshelf from where he took it.  Terry was mesmerised.
            Finally, ‘Got it! Look it’s only a short note, but still it’s a note’
            ‘What does it say Wally?’ blurted Terry, forgetting his manners.
            Wally did not seem to notice ‘It says, Imagine them as one horn.’
            ‘That’s it?’ Terry and his dad were at a loss, did that really tell them anything.
            ‘Right then, that’s all the time I’ve got today, do come back if you must’ Wally tapped his walking stick on the floor of his workshop twice, and suddenly Terry and his dad were standing looking at the tree.
            Terry’s dad turned and started trotting back across fairy meadow, towards home.
            ‘Dad, what do you think that means’?
            ‘I think it’s pretty clear son, Imagine your two horns as one and see what happens’
            Terry stopped trotting; he stopped entirely. He looked at his two horns, shifted his head ever so slightly so they appeared as one, and thought of sparkles has he had been taught by his teacher. “pffft, POP!’ and sparkles flew everywhere.  Not quite as elegantly and controlled as he had seen the teacher or other students do, yet still it worked.
            ‘Well done son, we all start with sparkles. Come on now, you have to get to school’
            Terry was ecstatic, he’d done it, he had been trying for weeks and weeks and finally he had done it.  As he continued trotting with his father across fairy meadow he thought of other things Wally said.  He said he spoke with Doug DuoCorn, but Dad said Doug had died years and years ago.  He also said Doug could do two Magic’s, what or how does that work, Terry realised he had even more questions now, and no longer was he worried about being a DuoCorn.
            He could do two magic’s, if only he could work out how.

The end


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