A/N
Awhile ago I was browsing Memory Alpha, where it stated that Sybok's horse in Star Trek V was originally meant to be a unicorn, but was shot down due to it being "too fantastical." I'm not sure what amuses me more - that a unicorn was considered "too fantastical" for a film about finding God, or that the horse has a small horn on its head anyway.
Regardless, drabbled this up.
The Heart is Where the Horn Is
In my dreams, I'm a unicorn.
You think that's a stupid dream? You think that just because I'm a horse with a horn on his head that I can't aspire to improve myself? You think that because I'm stuck on the dirtball that is Nimbus III that I can't dream of something better?
…okay, stupid question. Dreaming of something better here will get you killed. But when you're ferrying a mad vulcan around, who's yammering on about pain with what I think is a human…well, yeah.
He didn't take my pain away. He never even asked. He just decided to ride me and before I know it, I'm ferrying this jackass around this shithole, building up an army of fanatics. And if there's one thing that fiction has taught me (yes, there are books on Nimbus III, go figure), it's that horses have a short life expectancy when they're carrying around religious nutjobs.
"Each man holds a secret pain."
Oh God, not this again.
"It must be exposed and reckoned with."
Yep, it's begun. And I really shouldn't say "oh God." Y'know why?
"It must be hauled from the darkness and forced into the light."
That's why. Metaphors. Metaphors that any sane person would see through and realize, "this guy is nuts!"
"Share your pain with me and gain strength from it."
But of course, the bald sad-sack in front of me isn't sane. And as he cries out, as he falls into his knees, as my master does his mind…thing…on him…well, he's a lot less sane. That's all I can say. My master helps him to his feet.
"Where did you get this power?"
Eh, he's a vulcan. It's, er, only logical.
"The power was within you," my master intones.
Wait, did I say logical? I meant nonsensical.
"I feel as if a weight has been lifted from my heart," baldie says.
And I feel a weight has been lifted from my saddle. I let out a snort.
"How can I repay you for this miracle?"
By being quiet.
But of course, this isn't going to happen. I know what happens next. I know what my master will say. He'll say-
"Join my quest."
See? Told ya.
"What is it that you seek?"
XP. All quests need that. Oh, and loot. Despite what the 2270 edition of Dungeons and Dragons says.
"What you seek," my master says. "What all men have sought since time began."
Not women though. They're smart like that.
"The ultimate knowledge. But to find it, we'll need a starship."
And yet you're on Nimbus III. A planet inhabited by the dregs of the galaxy. Surely you had a starship to get here. And that aside, wouldn't it be better to try a world that actually does have starships on it?
"A starship?" baldie asks. "But there are no starships on Nimbus Three."
See? Told ya.
"Perhaps I have a way to bring one here."
I snort again, my hooves stirring up the sand. Yep. This will end well.
"Have faith, my friend," my rider says. "There are more of us than you know."
He lowers his hood, and baldie exclaims "you're a vulcan." I snort again. I've seen this so many times. And not once has my master asked about my feelings. Jackass.
Well, whatever. Maybe he'll find a spaceship. Maybe he'll find god. Maybe he'll ride me up to God, and discover the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. And maybe God will look at me, and ask what do I want?
And I'll tell him. I'll point a hoof to the horn on my head, and tell the truth in the presence of the Lord and Master of All.
I want to be a unicorn.