Horse of a Different Color

Puck Walkner stretched as ny woke, kicking off the cover of nyr sleeping bag. Ny had been squatting in an old, abandoned building for some time now, relatively undisturbed. Despite it being in a villain-controlled area of the city, it was safer than the general public. There were less people around, in general, and of course, less law enforcement. It gave Puck some peace of mind to take what ny needed and sleep where ny wanted.

It’d been a long few months of living on nyr own, after nyr parents had kicked nym out. Not only were they not in support of nyr “lifestyle,” the last nail in the coffin had been the fact that Puck was the only one in the family that hadn’t developed any superpowers at all! Not even the mild boosts that come with the Works. It was disappointing, to them, even if it wasn’t Puck’s choice. Despite everything, though, Puck wasn’t complaining much. Ny no longer had to compete endlessly with nyr siblings, or bend over backwards for nyr parents’ nagging. It was tough to fend for nymself, but ny could handle it, having stashed away a wilderness survival guide when ny had packed up to leave. It had ended up being one of Puck’s most useful belongings, kept safe in nyr bulky purple backpack.

That backpack held much of Puck’s belongings, including the box of cereal bars ny had been keeping for a quick and easy breakfast. Ny sat up to do just that, yawning and rubbing nyr eyes. It was a quiet morning, thankfully, without any fights going on nearby. Ny peacefully ate nyr cereal bar, zipping nyr bag back up as ny stood to pace.

Peacefully, at least, until ny was startled by what sounded like an explosion out on the street nearby. Ny jumped, nearly dropping the last of nyr breakfast. Anxiously, Puck pulled on nyr backpack to go investigate.

It was quiet, for a moment, after the initial blast, and Puck could see smoke billowing out from an alleyway a little ways away. Ny cautiously approached the area, but quickened nyr pace as ny heard what sounded like a younger teen yelp. Looking into the alley, ny didn’t see anything at first, not until something came barreling out of the smoke toward nym. It knocked Puck onto nyr back with a yelp, toppling atop nym.

“Aahh!”

As Puck blinked back to attention, ny realized there was some sort of animal looking down at nym. A creature that had just yelled, like a human being. Ny just stared as it scrambled off nym, back into the alley.

“H-Hey, wait..!” Puck called after it, scrambling off the ground.

Ny hadn’t been able to get a good look at it, but it was brightly colored, golden yellow and pinkish red. It reminded nym more of a children’s cartoon than any animal ny’d seen before. Ny cautiously walked through the alleyway, looking for it, occasionally cooing to it as one would to a stray cat.

Soon enough, Puck found the creature cowering behind a dumpster. It was an equine looking thing, about the size of a large, bulky dog, with a sort of emblem on its haunches. Something instantly recognizable to Puck.

“Hello..?” Ny warily called to it, crouching slightly.

The creature, a unicorn, looked up in a wild panic, scrambling back away from nym, and pressed themself against the wall.

“W-Who are you?? Where am I??”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you..!” Puck attempted to reassure, sitting across from them, “I’m Puck, and we’re in Vancouver. Are you alright…?”

Slowly, the unicorn stopped hyperventilating, and took a cautious step towards nym.

“U-Uhm. I don’t know. I’m not supposed to be here..!”

“Okay, uh, what happened?”

“I-I was just at school, trying to do a spell, but I messed it up somehow, and now I’m stuck here..”

“Oh, man, that’s rough… Uh, what’s your name?”

The unicorn nervously tapped the ground with a hoof before answering, clearly wary.

“It’s uhm, Bolden Brash.”

Puck smiled at hearing their name.

“Nice to meet you..!”

“Y-Yeah. Uhm… What are you..?” Bolden asked nervously, punctuated with an awkward laugh.

“Oh-! Uh, I’m human..?”

“You’re, what? I’ve never heard of that…” They tilted their head in confusion, not dissimilar to how a dog would.

“Uhhh… I can explain that later. Do you wanna go somewhere less out in the open..?”

Bolden nodded, and ny stood up to lead them back to where ny had been staying. They followed cautiously, looking around at their strange new surroundings. It was a short walk, but Puck didn’t want to rush them. Bolden quickened their pace, though, when they heard the unfamiliar sound of a car revving some ways away. Soon enough, the pair arrived back where Puck had stationed nymself. Ny sat atop nyr sleeping back, setting down nyr backpack.

“Do you… live here?” Bolden asked, looking around at the shabby room.

“Oh, uh, not technically? I just uh, have been hanging around here for a while. Since my parents kicked me out.”

“Whaaaat? Parents aren’t supposed to do that!” They responded, shocked.

Puck simply shrugged in response.

“It’s not that bad. I have more independence now, and stuff…”

“But it’s such a mess in here!” Bolden gasped, idly started to neaten up the surrounding area, trotting around and levitating junk to toss out.

“Woah… Uh, thanks..?” Puck said, a bit shocked. “... Do you wanna be friends?”

Bolden stopped in their tracks, whirling around to face nym.

“Really?? You want to be friends with me??”

They looked, and sounded, completely dumbfounded.

“Well, yeah, I mean, I’d like to help you home, if I can.”

They bounced excitedly on their hooves, trotting around in a circle.

“Yes yes yes! My first time away from home and I already have a friend!”

Puck laughed amusedly at their reaction.

“Yeah..! And uh, hold on–” Ny paused to dig through nyr backpack once more. “I was gonna save this for later, but… Here!”

Ny pulled out a pre-packaged container of diced fruit and offered it to them. They cautiously came over to eat some, insisting on sharing with Puck. As the two of them snacked, Puck took the time to explain how things go in the area, the intricacies of the superpowered human society, as opposed to the magic-based world Bolden had come from. They found it all very interesting, excitingly relating it to comic books they’d previously read. Puck found that fun, explaining how, to nym, Bolden was essentially a cartoon character made real. The two found comfort in sharing their interests with each other, despite the strange situation, and chatted away for a long while, Bolden agreeing to stick with Puck until further notice.