History Literature / UnicornsOfBalinor

[[caption-width-right:316: How's THAT for a badass unicorn?]]

A series of eight short books by Mary Stanton. They're about unicorns. Of Balinor.

On a more helpful point, it's a surprisingly inventive, fantasy-steeped horse story. The series begins with the heroine Arianna (Ari for short) waking up in a hospital with both her legs broken from a horrific accident, only recalling her own name--and that of her horse, Chase. After encountering her collie Lincoln, [[ChekhovsGun who came with a ruby necklace]], she is discharged to Glacier Ridge Farm with her foster parents and the local Dr. Bohnes, who makes sure her legs mend properly. Eventually she starts hearing a voice in her head whenever Chase is angry, having strange dreams where a unicorn mare talks to her, and finding spiral-shaped pebbles around the stable.

When her foster parents decide that they need to lease Chase out to Lori, [[AlphaBitch a wealthy and snobby girl]] who's taken a shine to him, both Ari and Chase are adamantly against it despite Ari knowing that the hefty hospital bills leave them no other choice. One spectacularly bad session with an angry Chase later, the pair decide to run away to the nearby caves--and they're unfortunately followed by Lori, who won't give up until she gets Chase.

* [[ABoyAndHisX A Girl And Her X]]: Unicorn, in this case. Arianna and Chase are bonded by magic and the narrative spends a significant amount of time hammering home that Chase is ''hers''.
* AuthorAppeal: Aside from Mary Stanton's genuine horse knowledge, which isn't surprising as she owns several of them, she spends an awful lot of time describing Chase and how SUPER-SPECIAL-AWESOME he is. It's obviously platonic, though, and not exactly unusual for the genre.

* CoolOldLady: Eliane Bohnes, a doctor and Resistance member who- even as everyone around her is losing their minds- responds to the Shifter's takeover with only mild frustration.
* [[CoolHorse Cool Unicorn]]: Many. ''Especially'' Chase, who's pictured above. He's a stallion the color of bronze with an ebony horn, and quite tall at seventeen hands.

* TheMasquerade: Inverted in the beginning--neither Ari nor Chase remembered who they were, and thus the masquerade was imposed upon ''them'' by others to ensure their safe recovery and to make sure the Shifter wouldn't find them. Played straight several times later, when using their real identities would be risky.

* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Lady Kylie.

* SnakesAreSinister: Lady Kylie [[spoiler:in her snake form]]

* {{Veganopia}}: DownplayedTrope. Everyone is vegetarian, since [[IntellectualAnimal the animals of Balinor]] [[TalkingAnimal can talk]]. Humans eat dairy products and fish, and the carnivorous animals eat fish and bugs. If they break the laws on eating other creatures, [[TheSpeechless they lose their speech as punishment.]]

* {{Matriarchy}}: ImpliedTrope. The Royal Princesses of Balinor go through magical rites so the animals of the world can retain their speech. Since Ari's mother was Royal Princess a generation ago and Ari is the current one, odds are likely that Balinor's royal family goes through female members of the line. That means Ari's first niece through either Tace or Bren, or her own first daughter, would be the next Royal Princess.

* {{Veganopia}}: Everyone is vegetarian, since [[IntellectualAnimal the animals of Balinor]] [[TalkingAnimal can talk]]. Probably helps that they eat dairy products, and Balinor has magic to prevent vitamin deficiencies. Yet it is also mentioned the only meat the carnivores are allowed to eat are fish and bugs. If they break the laws on eating other creatures, [[TheSpeechless they lose their speech.]]

* {{Matriarchy}}: ImpliedTrope. The Royal Princesses of Balinor go through magical rites so the animals of the world can retain their speech. Since Ari's mother was Royal Princess a generation ago and Ari is the current one, odds are likely that Ari's first niece through either Tace or Bren, or her own first daughter, would be the next Royal Princess.

* OrphanedSeries: Apparently. The last book is the eighth, released in 2000. Stanton last posted on her Facebook page in 2013, referencing wanting to write a conclusion and wrap up the last few plot ends for this series and her other works, but nothing has since materialized.

* [[ABoyAndHisX A Girl And Her X]]: Unicorn, in this case. Arianna and Chase are bonded by magic and the narrative spends a not insignificant amount of time hammering home that Chase is ''hers''.

* {{Matriarchy}}: ImpliedTrope. The Royal Princesses of Balinor go through magical rites so the animals of the world can retain their speech. Since Ari's mother was Royal Princess a generation ago and Ari is the current one, odds are likely that Ari's first niece through either Tace or Bren, or her own future first daughter, would be the next Royal Princess.

* RuleOfThree: Ari does three tests to restore the sceptre to its true power, undergoes three trials in ''By Fire, By Moonlight,'' and she has two older brothers which makes her the [[YoungestChildWins youngest of three]].

* {{Veganopia}}: Everyone is vegetarian since [[IntellectualAnimal the animals of Balinor]] [[TalkingAnimal can talk]]. Probably helps that Balinor has magic to prevent vitamin deficiencies. Yet it is also mentioned the only meat the carnivores are allowed to eat are fish and bugs.

* [[CoolHorse Cool Unicorn]]: Many. ''Especially'' Chase, who's pictured above. He's the color of bronze with an ebony horse, and quite tall at seventeen hands.

* [[CoolHorse Cool Unicorn]]: Many. ''Especially'' Chase, who's pictured above.

* OrphanedSeries: Apparently. The last book is the eighth, released in 2000. Stanton last posted on her Facebook page in 2013, referencing wanting to write a conclusion and wrap up the last few plot ends along with her other series, but nothing has since materialized.

* OrphanedSeries: Apparently. The last book is the eighth, released in 2000. Stanton last posted on her Facebook page in 2013, referencing wanting to write a conclusion and wrap up the last few plot ends, but nothing has since materialized.

* DefangedHorrors: Kraken and the Shifter. Obviously they were meant to be scary, but Mary Stanton's writing abilities and her use of [[NauseaFuel less-than-pleasant smells or sounds]] makes her villains rather jarring.

* CarbuncleCreature: All of the Celestial Valley and Royal Unicorns (Atalanta and Sunchaser respectively, for example) are this.

A series of eight short books by Mary Stanton. They're about unicorns. [[CaptainObvious Of Balinor]].

* {{Veganopia}}: Everyone is vegetarian since [[IntellectualAnimal the animals of Balinor]] [[TalkingAnimal can talk]]. Probably helps that Balinor has magic to prevent vitamin deficiencies.

* BlondesAreEvil: Lori Carmichael is selfish, whiny and immature compared to the bronze-haired protagonist. However, Lori is also a wealthy fourteen-year-old--and CharacterDevelopment smooths her out a bit.

But on a more helpful point, it's a surprisingly inventive, fantasy-steeped horse story. The series begins with the heroine Arianna (Ari for short) waking up in a hospital with both her legs broken from a horrific accident, barely recalling her own name -- and that of her horse, Chase. After encountering her collie Lincoln, [[ChekhovsGun who came with a ruby necklace]], she is discharged to Glacier Ridge Farm with her foster parents and a local doctor who makes sure her legs mend properly (Dr. Bohnes). Eventually she starts hearing a voice in her head whenever Chase is angry, having strange but nice dreams where a unicorn mare talks to her, and finding spiral-shaped pebbles around the stable.

When her foster parents decide that they need to lease Chase out to Lori, [[AlphaBitch a wealthy and snobby girl]] who's taken a shine to him, both Ari and Chase are adamantly against it despite Ari knowing that the hefty hospital bills leave them no other choice. One spectacularly bad session with an angry Chase later, the pair decide to run away to the nearby caves -- unfortunately getting followed by Lori, who won't give up until she gets Chase.

After falling through a tunnel into a strange forest, they get through it unscathed and end up in a town called Balinor. It's discovered that the animals can talk, but ever since their princess and her unicorn went missing, they have slowly begun losing their speech. Turns out that Ari ''is'' the Royal Princess and Chase is both a unicorn and the Lord of the Animals, whose horn was broken when the royal family got betrayed by the malevolent Shifter.

* BlondesAreEvil: Lori Carmichael is selfish, whiny and immature compared to the ''[[SeriousBusiness bronze]]''-haired protagonist. However, it's not likely Lori dyes it since she is, in fact, fourteen -- and CharacterDevelopment smooths her out a bit.
* BondCreatures: Every Royal Princess is Bonded to the (current) Lord of the Animals to ensure that the [[TalkingAnimal creatures of their world can talk]]. When Ari and Chase were wounded amnesiacs recuperating in our world, it was not a good thing, but they recover.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Finn, who starts out asking Arianna far too many uncomfortable questions about [[KingIncognito herself]] and [[PaperThinDisguise her unicorn]], ends up being liked by both girls though [[spoiler:absolutely nothing comes of it at the end]].

* [[MagicMirror Magic Pool]]: Celestial Unicorn Atalanta uses one to keep track of things in Balinor.
* TheMasquerade: Inverted in the beginning -- neither Ari nor Chase even ''remembered'' who they were, and thus the masquerade was imposed upon ''them'' to ensure their safe recovery and to make sure the Shifter wouldn't find them. Played straight several times later, when using their real identities would be risky.

* RuleOfThree: Ari does three tests to restore the sceptre to its true power, undergoes three trials in ''By Fire, By Moonlight,'' and she actually has two older brothers which makes her the [[YoungestChildWins youngest of three]].

* {{Unicorn}}: Well yeah.

* RuleOfThree: Ari does three tests to restore the sceptre to its true power, undergoes three trials in ''By Fire, By Moonlight,'', and she actually has two older brothers which makes her the [[YoungestChildWins youngest of three]].

Both the necklace and the stones Ari found were actually parts of Chase's horn, which she eventually restores, but that's nowhere near the end of their troubles: They still have to defeat the Shifter. When ''that's'' done, Ari needs to earn the right to continue as the Royal Princess through three trials that test her leadership and diplomatic skills--and even when both of those tasks are done, the latest book ends when she begins the search for her parents.

After falling through a tunnel into a strange forest, they get through it unscathed and end up in a town called Balinor. It's discovered that the animals can talk, but ever since their princess and her unicorn went missing, they have slowly begun losing their speech. Turns out that Ari ''is'' the Royal Princess and Chase is both a unicorn and the Lord of the Animals, whose horn was broken when the royal family got betrayed by the malevolent Shifter. Both the necklace and the stones Ari found were parts of Chase's horn, which she eventually restores, but that's nowhere near the end of their troubles: They still have to defeat the Shifter. When ''that's'' done, Ari needs to earn the right to continue as the Royal Princess through three trials that test her leadership and diplomatic skills -- and even when both of those tasks are done, the series ends when she begins the search for her parents.

* {{Veganopia}}: A logical conclusion since [[IntellectualAnimal the animals of Balinor]] [[TalkingAnimal can all talk]]. Probably helps that Balinor has magic to prevent vitamin deficiencies.

But on a more helpful point, it's a surprisingly inventive, fantasy-steeped horse story. The series begins with the heroine Arianna (Ari for short) waking up in a hospital with both her legs broken from a horrific accident, barely recalling her own name -- and that of her horse, Chase. After encountering her collie Lincoln, who has [[ChekhovsGun an extremely well-crafted ruby necklace]], she is discharged to Glacier Ridge Farm with her foster parents and a local doctor who makes sure her legs mend properly (Dr. Bohnes). Eventually she starts hearing a voice in her head whenever Chase is angry, having strange but nice dreams where a unicorn mare talks to her, and finding spiral-shaped pebbles around the stable.

* [[MagicMirror Magic Pool]]: Celestial Unicorn Atalanta uses one to keep track of things in Balinor, except it's a pool.

* PrincessesRule: eventually averted; Ari eventually becomes queen.

[[quoteright:316:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unicorns_of_balinor.jpg