//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: My Little Twilight 
// by Zobeid 
//------------------------------//

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Words can’t express how much your letter has meant to your mother and me.  (She is right here looking over my shoulder as I write.)  Just knowing you made it to your world okay and are safe and sound is an enormous relief.  To learn that you have a more normal life now among all your pony friends seems like vindication for all the work that you and I did, when we were trying for so long and hard to figure out your origins and where you belong.  Even if the way it worked out wasn’t what we imagined.

I’ve got to admit it’s rough for us to learn that you had to lose your memories of us and your time here — but you know, your well being was my greatest concern, so I can’t argue if this is what had to be done.  I can only guess it all must seem awfully strange and unreal to you, and it’s very kind of you to go to all the trouble to send your note back to a couple of strangers.

Your absence here is deeply felt.  It was pretty rough at first.  For all that, we are holding up okay, and especially since we’ve heard from you.  I hope in the future we’ll be able to continue to correspond and that you may come to know some inkling of the fondness in which we still hold you.  With that thought in mind, I decided to try an experiment and send you something.  I noticed the magic box you rigged to return has enough room for a small parcel in addition to this letter, and I can’t resist seeing if I can get it to take a gift back to you.  Or maybe I shouldn’t call it a gift, since it’s something that belongs to you.

I considered putting your journal in the box, but then I figured giving you that kind of personal knowledge might risk bringing back your memories and getting you messed up all over again.  I just couldn’t take a chance on that.  So, I decided instead to include one of your favorite books.  I know you have read it many times — and if you’ve forgotten, then maybe you can now enjoy discovering it all over again.

With All Our Love,
Frank & Lola



Twilight place the letter back on the table, the glow around it fading as she released it from her magical grasp.  She look back to the metal box, and her horn glowed again as she lifted the brown-wrapped object from within.  She leaned forward to sniff at it, cautiously.  “A book from another world!” she said softly, speaking only to herself.  Her curiosity was almost overwhelming as her magic tugged at the wrapping, peeling back the tape and brown paper until the book was free.

The book’s dust jacket was black and had some rips along its top edge from age and handling.  Large and colorful, somewhat ornate, lettering announced its title:



THE LAST UNICORN

a novel by

PETER S. BEAGLE