A horse and a Quirlicorn

Fried Rice was bored. She had spent the last ten minutes staring at the reflection of her horn in the mirror. It hadn’t always been there; it felt as though only yesterday she was a simple horse who enjoyed nothing more than to graze for days on end. 

This was in the past. She was a quirlicorn now. She lived in a house. She ate complex meals for dinner. She brushed her own mane… She would rather doing something with her time other than sunbathing and eating, thank you very much. 

Her gaze landed on a card with scribbled writing on it. “Thanks for jousting!” signed: Aria. Rice had partaken in jousting twice now. It was a sport beloved of quirlicorns. The only problem, though, is that it mostly required magic, which Rice did not possess. “Yet,” Aria would quickly add during both meetings. Thankfully, the shifted mare had accommodated her by coming up with other games and calling them “jousts”.

“Jousts test one’s magical and physical capacities. We can easily ignore the first one for now, until you’re ready.” They had competed in party games and butterfly catching at that time. Rice figured that the group horse would be able to come up with something new today as well.

“Any magic?” group horse Aria asked in preparation for the joust. Rice knew it was the protocol to ask these questions, but she couldn’t help but to feel annoyed.

“I doubt I’ll ever get any,” she said, shaking her head. She did not feel any disappointment, on the contrary. If Rice were to tell the truth, the concept of magic scared her a bit. It felt so outlandish, similarly to the quirlicorns’ coats in her own earthly perspective. It made her homesick to think that she once could have spent her days lounging around and giving humans a ride once in a while. Everything was given to her on a silver tray in exchange for some labour. Now, she had to come up with meal plans, come up with week-end activities and worry about supernatural forces which could either bless or curse an equine with immense power.

Not knowing what the mare thought of this whole ordeal, Aria smiled reassuringly. “The magic of the sun and moon already gave you the appearance of a quirlicorn. I’m sure you’ll gain your first magic soon enough. It’s different for everyone. Some foals are practically born with it, and others only develop it after much training.” 

Rice politely nodded.

“Well,” the group horse continued. “Seeing as you don’t have any magic yet, we can play…” the mare looked around. “Tug-o-war!” She pulled out a long, bulky chain from behind a tree. 

“Did you already have this prepared?” Rice asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Jagmeet asks that we always be prepared to joust with quirlicorns who want to practice their skills. That’s part of a group horse’s duty.”

“I see, so that’s why you also had a pinata and nets lying around too.” 

“That’s right! Let’s play now!”

As much as Rice had felt tired and annoyed at the quirlicorn for bringing up the topic of magic, she also had a lot of fun playing with her. Aria, she found, was exceptionally strong and tenacious. 

In the end, Rice’s legs, which were used to traction labour, won her the first round.

“Best of three?” Aria asked hopefully. Rice accepted the offer.

Quite tired from their previous attempt, the two mares tugged at the chain more loosely, only stepping back and front by a few steps like some sort of awkward dance repetition. Aria’s tenacity won her the second round.

“I think we might need to take a break in between games,” the group horse said, brushing off the sweat from her brow. Once again, Rice agreed.

The two sat down and enjoyed some freshly pressed orange juice. While they sat in the shade, Aria hailed a few passerbys. 

“Would you like to play tug-o-war with us? My friend and I are getting tired, but we need to break a tie.”

Much to Rice’s surprise, the strangers eagerly accepted the challenge. The group horse waited until she had collected an even number of participants before letting the new players select their teams. Everyone wanted to team up with Aria, which clued Rice to coming to the conclusion that group horses were well-known and trusted figures around the Quirlicorn lands.

Everyone took their place on their side of the line Rice drew in the dirt. Her team consisted of two young stallions and an older mare, all with more psychedelic coats than the last. Aria signaled to begin tugging with her tail. 

Rice felt her body surge forward as Aria’s team pulled. She quickly dug her hooves into the ground and recovered her balance. 

Both teams struggled for a while, until all the members recoiled in front of the line, all grasping their link tightly to try and tip the other over the line. Rice let go of the chain when she noticed her left hoof go over the line. Her team grunted, tired and disappointed. Nevertheless, they shook hooves with the other team and joked around, enjoying Aria’s juice. 

Rice enjoyed the ambience of familiarity and playfulness. She got more acquainted with the young stallions who were, if she was being honest, quite handsome by horse standards. She listened to the old mare as she told her about how she was on her way to visit her daughter in another region, and how much she loved travelling because she always met some kind stranger or got the occasion to do fun new things. Finally, she waved everyone goodbye as the sun lowered behind the trees. 

Rice had waited until then to thank the group horse.  “I had a wonderful time. I always do when you’re around. Thank you for your service.” Aria smiled.

“I’m glad. Thank you for coming to see me on such a fine day. I look forward to jousting with you again!” And on that note, the group horse collected her equipement and left. There was nothing left to do for the mare but to go home.