I had the idea for this one shot a while ago, but recently I decided to write it. This fan fiction takes place in Astrid's past as a child. I always wondered how her friends treated her, especially when she expressed her views of "killer unicorns" to them. Would they dub her crazy? Did they believe her for a while? On the other hand, would they have ignored her words and continued with being friends? This is my own personal opinion on how to answer those questions.
Take note that I have not read this story in over a year and a half, so my memory of certain things may be hairy.
Beta: Lessa-the-Lioness – thank you for looking over this one-shot.
"Oh, no. Not wings, too."
–Astrid, Rampant by Diana Peterfreund.
Astrid knows the stereotypical unicorn with a long pink mane, and an iridescent coat that sparkled in the sun's rays is a gimmick to keep kids blind to the truth of the species of their undying obsession. The verity was pounded into her head since the afternoon she brought up the topic of buying a 'stuffed pink unicorn' with her mother, who reinforced the fact that unicorns were not friendly creatures from the fantasy realm, but cold, ruthless killers that seek out bloodshed. Ever since then, stories of her virgin ancestors who were heroes in their time were told to her before she fell into the welcoming cloud of sleep. After expressing her changed views in public, her mother's opinions had an effect on the way Astrid's peers regarded her, especially when she came back to school after that summer.
And in the present, Astrid sat at the foot of a plastic staircase leading up to the playground at her school, not even bothering to look up at the barrage of students running up it. Some knocked their feet against her shoulder in their hurry. Her only reaction was to marginally scoot back, even if her legs had since five minutes ago fallen asleep from her hands pressing into her thigh, cutting off only but a minimal amount of blood flow. The numb appendages left a resonating prickling sensation at her toes before settling back to unfeeling.
"Hey Astrid!" She recognized the voice, and as an instantaneous return, she paid no attention to the call.
She did not turn her head upward to acknowledge the two pairs of feet dressed in diverse colors of sandals; as an alternative, she turned away when a faint glimpse of a purple plush unicorn passed her vision.
"Astrid," despite her name being called, the blond still feigned ignorance of her friends presence overhead, instead picking at stalks of grass to knot together as her eyes remained downcast. Her nose wrinkled as the pungent smell of one of her friends 'Unicorn Perfume' permeated her nostrils in a powerfully sharp smell. "Do you wanna play with us?"
Before her belief deviated from theirs, she would have had the immediate answer of, yes; she did want to play with them. However, ever since the summer, she no longer felt the same feeling her friends have when they thought about a unicorn. Her mind only fabricated the emotion of disgust, as her vision became abstract over with an image of a unicorn with serrated teeth, snarling and glaring toward her with honey colored eyes and at a charging stance. Astrid could only mentally chuckle at the fear her friend's would feel if they ever encountered such a being.
Realizing that the two surrounding her would not leave without an answer, Astrid shook her head, "no thanks," she pressed her lips together, shadowing her response.
From the sun's light shining down toward them, the facial expressions of her friends were not seen through the shadows blanketing it. In the back of her mind, she could imagine the frowns gracing their lips. Never has she turned down an offer to play, especially when it involved unicorns.
Catching the action of the girl on the left crouching down to her eye level, Astrid edged away further into the corner of where the stairs met the wall bordering the playground.
A gap in the curtain of her blonde hair that fell over her visage allowed her a small glimpse of caramel skin and a flash of pink before the brown pupils of her friend filled her vision. "Astrid, what is up with you?" The girl reached out with intent to press her hand to Astrid's forehead; however, her hand was swatted away before they connected to their destination. "Seriously! Ever since school began, you have been avoiding us like we are the plague."
The blonde-haired girl only shook her head because even though her mother changed her outlook, she was not willing to reform her friends, yet. It was their choice in believing or not, and she was well acquainted with the similar feeling when told that Santa did not exist. That is how she felt when her mother stated, "Astrid, the idea of unicorn's being friendly creatures are all misrepresentations of the real thing: unicorns are killing machines, and no little kid looking for a friend in those silly stories you read are going to change that." If her friends left her alone, she would allow them the pleasure of being ignorant for a while longer.
Though those thoughts are thrown to the wind as they didn't relent in their pestering, "C'mon, Astrid! What is going on?"
Balling her hands into fists till her knuckles discolored into a powdery white, she gnashed her teeth in frustration, "I'm not going to play 'unicorn' with you two, mostly because it is involves that horrid species!" Her finger lashed out to point in the direction of the plush purple unicorn her friend - who remained standing - held, the very same one that passed her vision before.
Pulling back from Astrid in surprise, the friend that was crouched before the blond puckered her forehead with scrunched eyebrows, "…wait, what?" Pursing her lips, she stood up, "just two months ago you would have killed just to play 'unicorn' with us, but now you are saying that isn't the case?"
At the mentioned word of 'killed', Astrid couldn't restrain the bubbling anger seeding itself within her stomach. "Look you two, unicorns are not what you make them out to be!" Rising from the ground wobbly, from her aching legs that awoken from being unmoved for a while, she accommodated to being shorter than the two by rising on her tip toes. "They are not the rainbow that sets off the butterfly feeling in your stomach when you see them!" Pausing to allow her words to sink in, she concluded her proclamation with, "unicorns are killers!"
Silence followed, and the cries and laughter of their peers around them were drowned out into white noise. And in the interval of two minutes with no words said, one of Astrid's friend's broke the tension, "…you're…." Swallowing thickly, the other girl hugged her purple unicorn to her chest, "crazy! That is what you are, Astrid!"
"It is just like what my mom said," the blond rotated her head around to glare toward her other 'friend' who stepped back with a wince. "You come from a crazy mother, but I didn't think that insanity would rub off onto you!" She turned her head away, as if she was disgusted by the site of Astrid who continued her squinted stare toward the two.
"It is the truth!" Stomping her foot, she winched backwards when the action caused a shock of pain to race up and down the appendage.
"Please," one of them snorted through their nostrils, "that is like saying the Tooth Fairy doesn't exist!"
"She doesn't either!"
"Then what about Santa Clause?"
"That old fat guy isn't real!"
"How do you explain the Easter Bunny?"
Growling as the conversation derailed, Astrid massaged her forehand in annoyance, and "none of them exist!" Pulling at her hair, she shook her head, "I shouldn't even be explaining this to you guys - it is common sense!"
With another snort in a similar fashion as before, both flipped their hair of their shoulders, "you're crazy!" Astrid only rolled her eyes as the accusations began again, but she did not retort. "I can't believe I even befriended you!"
Walking away with their noses in the air, Astrid only watched as they stalked off with a huff, 'I can't wait till a unicorn gets those two!'