//------------------------------// // Part 3 // Story: The Next to the Last Unicorn // by Hivemind //------------------------------// “-the Red Bull would push the unicorns to the ends of Earth, even if there was an end.” As Amalthea continued to tell the tale of her past, everpony trembled in their hooves while Twilight only sat there with a blank expression. Every event described so far was in such great detail that with every conclusion of Amalthea’s words, Fluttershy increased her grip on the throw pillow that she held close to her chest. Even Rainbow Dash seemed speechless at some points in the story. Nopony in Equestria could have ever dreamed of such a fantasizing, but lonely world of creatures ruled under the cruelty of a race two-legged creatures that Amalthea called ‘men’. “Whoa.” said Pinkie Pie whose cheerful attitude was long gone, now replaced by a set of wide colorful pupils and a tiny gap between her lips. “That sounds just awful! What sort of horrible, disgusting, evil, terrifying-” “Rarity!” Twilight quickly snapped at her friend when she noticed that Fluttershy was retreating more into herself with each new word. “S-sorry Twilight.” Rarity said with a sulk of guilt. “I just can’t imagine any sort of creature in all of Equestria-” “Excuse me for interrupting, but that name has been pawing at my mind for quite a while now. Equestria.” Amalthea turned to face Fluttershy who was still cowering behind her pillow. “Fluttershy, what is Equestria?” she asked with her head cocked curiously to one side, her blank expression remaining resolute on her long face. “Well...” Fluttershy started as her face slowly appeared over the velvety pillow horizon. “Equestria is pretty much everything you see around you.” Twilight perked up at the almost unavoidable opportunity to show off her smarts to the newcomer. “Everything?” Amalthea replied. “Well, almost everything” Twilight grunted while she turned her eyes off to one side. “There’s lots to tell, but I digress. Please, continue with the story of your origins. It’s starting to get exciting!” Twilight happily exclaimed while gesturing her hoof forward. Amalthea was shocked when she heard Twilight spoke those last few words with a tone of glee in her voice. “E-exciting? Twilight, I can’t possibly imagine-” “Really, Twilight? You think it’s exciting to hear about what’s she has been through?” said Rarity with a generic look of disapproval. Twilight suddenly realized her shameful folly when she saw everypony glaring back her with disappointed stares, save Fluttershy. She grinned sheepishly as she retreated into herself with a pang of guilt. “S-sorry about that Amalthea.” she apologized. “It is alright Twilight. No harm has been done.” Amalthea reassured the ashamed purple coated unicorn, who sighed with relief. “Well...where was I?” Amalthea stared down at the floor with the same blank expression beset on her face as if she faced every day of her life explaining the somewhat infamous story to every being she meets. She brings her head back up after a short period of composing herself. “After I left my home in the forest, I set out on a quest to find others like me, but the words of the butterfly shook me a little. I’ve crossed through long mountain ranges and snowy plains only to come up empty. Yet I knew the world in which I lived in, expansive and seemingly endless. I kept my hopes held high as I went on. Then came Mommy Fortuna...” “Who?” Twilight asked. “One night during my journey, I found a nice and quiet spot near the wilderness where I slept at the side of an unused dirt road. From what I remember being told a few hundred years ago, Mommy Fortuna and her dwarf son of whose name I have forgotten, along with...a friend of mine, found me that night, still asleep. She was man, but not entirely, for she was female and could cast fairly weak spells.” “Like a witch or something?” Pinkie Pie curiously asked while scratching the back of her head. “I suppose so Pinkie.“ Amalthea replied. “Mommy Fortuna put me under a sleeping spell, tied me up, and threw me into a cold wooden cage and used me as some...attraction in her carnival of horrors.” Amalthea spat out the last few words with distaste. “So why didn’t you fight back?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed while she threw a few punches at the air to emphasize. “For somepony your size, you could have easily broken out of a wooden cage!” “I would never resort to violence as an answer. The cage was under a sealing spell anyway, which kept me locked up tight within.” “But you’re a unicorn! And if you’re as old as you say you are -of which I still find very improbable- then you must have known of some sort of spell that could have set you free!” said Twilight. “Alas dear Twilight, I did not. With me being the only unicorn in existence at the time, the few spells that I did know only managed to keep me hidden from the eyes of man and other nasty predators.” “Sounds like someone needs a few lessons then...” said Twilight while she rolled her eyes. “Anyway,” Amalthea continued, “Mommy Fortuna’s carnival of horrors, the true name of which I have forgotten, was seen and visited by man. What they saw with their own eyes were mythical creatures and powerful beasts of all types, such as manticores, satyrs and four headed dragons.” “She captured all of those things? No way!” Rainbow Dash brushed off the ridiculous list. “I never said that they were real Rainbow Dash.” “What do you mean?” asked Twilight. “Mommy Fortuna may have been a petty witch, but she was a bold deceiver with a few tricks up her sleeve. What she really did was capture poor, injured animals, cage them, and put a spell on their cages to make man see what they expected to see, thus creating the illusion.” Fluttershy squeaked as the words of the harsh animal treatment came out. “She knew that if I was going to be claimed as a unicorn, she had to make me look the part. She also knew that man could not see a real unicorn, but the females can. If the females saw my real horn, then there was a chance that they would tell others about the trickery. So, to fool everyone entirely, she hid my real horn behind a spell and replaced it with a fake one.” “Wow...” said Twilight with her mouth hanging open in disbelief at such terrible treatment Rarity scowled and growled under her breath, which slightly exposed her pearly white teeth. “That loathsome oaf witch! Hiding a lady unicorn’s pride with cheap and embarrassing tricks and hexes. If I had the right mind to-” Rarity shook her head. “Never mind everypony. Continue please.” said Rarity while she gestured with her hoof. “Anyway, it was not until I met Schmendrick the Magician that I thought that all hope was lost. He introduced himself as if he has come across my kind several times before, claiming that he could see me.” “Whoa, wait a minute!” said Rainbow Dash. “I thought you said that man couldn’t see you?” Amalthea looked away from Rainbow Dash, slightly embarrassed. “Well, that statement is not entirely true. The only reason why man could not see unicorns was because they did not believe in our kind anymore, believe that we existed. Only the females still possessed a shred of belief in magic and of mythical creatures, but Mommy Fortuna hid my true horn anyway. Schmendrick believed that my kind still existed, and when I told him of my dilemma, he helped me escape during the night, nearly getting himself killed in the process. He was a clumsy magician, but brave nonetheless.” “A true hero, that one, to help a lady such as yourself.” Rarity commented. “Thank you Rarity, but he has shown his heroism more than just that once. After he freed me, I urged him to follow me on my journey, which he gladly did. Along the way, he answered just about any question I had to ask. He knew very much about legends of old, one of which at the time being unicorns.” Amalthea bowed her head low to floor to brace for the onslaught of recurring nightmares that would come crawling back to her. “But then, I asked him about the Red Bull...” Amalthea spoke silently. “The what?” everypony said simultaneously. Amalthea shuddered. “The Red Bull.” she repeated. “A creature of such brute strength and fear that its power was fueled entirely by the anger and sadness of a lonely man known as King Haggard. It makes me quiver just to think about it. Its entire body was nothing more than a wall of the hottest fire. Wherever it stepped, the ground trembled. Whenever it roared, the very walls of its seaside cliff home shook and tremored. When I first confronted it, I was more terrified than I have ever been before.” Fluttershy was now shaking like a leaf behind the cover of her pillow. Everypony else had their eyes held open wide with disbelief. “Schmendrick told me everything he knew about the Red Bull and where it came from. He also told me about how Haggard used the bull to drive the unicorns to the ends of the earth. In this case, the sea. So I made it the number one priority to seek out King Haggard and discover what has become of my sisters.” Amalthea put on a little smile and brought her head back up from the floor. “Along the way, he demonstrated his true potential of magical power by summoning a veil of a band of legendary hunters to distract an unwary band of highway robbers. There was however, a woman with the robbers who did not buy into the trickery. She was known as Molly Grue. While Schmendrick and I slipped through the forest during the night, she met up with us down the road. She asked where he was going, but before she could get an answer, she looked upon my face and wept tears of remorse. When I saw the sadness in her eyes, it was clear to me as to how she got into a dreadful state of cooking in the cold woods for a band of dirty, mean, disillusioned men. What was once a young woman with hopeful dreams, was right then a shamble of dirt and sorrow.” Rarity was on the verge of tears as Amalthea continued to share the story of the life of an innocent woman brought to poverty, leading right up to the part where Amalthea encountered the Red Bull and was changed into a woman herself by Schmendrick’s will of magic. Twilight was baffled, Rarity was shocked, and Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had trouble picking up their jaws from the floor. Fluttershy stayed silent behind the cover of her pillow, ears folded shut. “And yet you chose to keep him as a friend?” Rarity questioned. “It was not his fault Rarity. It was the magic that-” Rarity raised a hoof in front of Twilight’s face to stop her friend from proving her wrong. “Magic or not, he was the one who cast the spell! If I had the right mind I would have-” “He had no control over it Rarity. There was nothing else he could do! If it weren't for him, I would not be alive right now, here, talking to you all on this midwinter’s day.” Amalthea explained. Rarity huffed and sat back down. Twilight glared at her, disappointed. “Anyway, the feel of the human body was something entirely different from a unicorn’s body. No horn, no magic. Nothing, but two very strange arms and two difficult legs, among other things.” Amalthea blushed a little at her last few words. “That must have been no fun at all. Who could imagine that? No fun...” Pinkie said with a sulk and small frown as her puffy mane slowly drooped downward to a single long lock. “Well, it may have been no fun at all Pinkie...” Amalthea put on a little smile before silently chuckling to herself. “but there was a bit of romance.” Rarity instantly drew away from her fumed temper at the sound of her single most favorite word in all of Equestria. “Even if it was a big, silly, uneventful one.” “Romance? Silly? Uneventful?” Rarity gasped. “I beg to differ dear Amalthea! Oh do tell!” “Alright then. When we arrived at Haggard’s castle, there were two warriors standing guard at the front gate. The tallest and oldest guard demanded that we give our names. Schmendrick gave his name as well as Molly’s, but then my name had to be given, but there is a little twist to this part...” Rarity furiously nodded her head while waving Amalthea off. “Mhm, yes, yes. Go on. The more it takes to get to the romance the better!” “You see, when Schmendrick’s magic turned me into a woman, I not only lost a few memories of my previous life, but I also lost my name. I could barely remember it. Schmendrick had to act fast, so he quickly donned me with the name, Amalthea, and to this day, I still have no memory of my old name, so I stuck with this one.” “Interesting...” said Twilight. “So you don’t even know your real name?” Pinkie Pie curiously asked. “Exactly, Pinkie.” Amalthea replied. “Yes, yes, that’s all well and good. Keep going!” Rarity hastily said. “We were led inside the castle, up to the empty throne room. When King Haggard was not there, Schmendrick demanded that he reveal himself, and so he did. The oldest guard took off his helmet and admitted that he himself was the king in disguise. The second guard was his son, Prince Lir.” Rarity looked as if she was about to explode with anticipation. “I was afraid. I was very afraid, but Prince Lir offered me his assistance. I was reluctant at first, but as time went by, one thing led to another, poems were written and kindness was shown and well...” Twilight noticed that Rarity was leaning forward so far that it looked as if she about to topple over. She rolled her eyes in amusement. “As time went on, we found love for each other. It may have been pleasant at first, but there was a fatal downside to it all.” Rarity leaned back, looking worried. “What kind of downside?” Twilight asked. “You see, when I became a woman, I lost my magic and the immortality that came with it. With no magic to assist me, my traits and memories of my life as a unicorn slowly began to fade away. The longer I stuck with Lir, the faster my memories left me. Schmendrick tried to warn me, but I did not listen. When he discovered the way to the Red Bull’s lair, he hastened us all, save King Haggard, towards it. After solving a rather difficult puzzle to gain entry, King Haggard found us out and sent the bull to kill me, for there was no doubt in his or my mind that I was a unicorn changed form.” “Ooooh. Did Lir follow you?” Rarity asked. “He followed me every step of the way.” Amalthea replied. Rarity’s eyes gleamed with delight. “A true hero that one.” “Yes, he was brave, noble, and bold, but none of those traits that would last for very long.” Rarity moved back and replanted her worried, sad eyed face. “The bull found us in his cave-like lair, angrier than ever. Molly begged that Schmendrick do something to save me. So, with a great deal of strength, he mustered whatever magical power he had left and changed me back to my unicorn form. The bull was furious with having been deceived and he chased me out through the cave exit, where he cornered me by the sea, as if to trap me in a cage with my other unicorn sisters. I tried at my best to escape, but to no avail. The bull came charging towards me as I ran away, but before I could even turn back, Lir stepped out in front of the bull and took the hit himself, killing him instantly.” The air of emotions in the room was mixed heavily. Rarity and Fluttershy turned teary eyed. Twilight and Pinkie Pie tried to hide their gaping expressions. Rainbow Dash could only manage a blank stare into nothingness. “Upon seeing him die, my fears were instantly purged, and my troubles soon changed to anger. I was no longer afraid of the bull. I fought back and forced him into the sea. My unicorn sisters saw my courage and bravery, and when the Red Bull’s spell was broken, they leapt away from their watery prison and sped towards safety. King Haggard’s castle fell in the chaos, and for once in a very long time, there were unicorns in the world again.” Rarity busily wiped away a loose tear. “B-but what of Lir?” “When I became a unicorn again, my magic was restored, and I was able to restore Lir of his life. From then on, I never saw him again.” “So what happened to Molly and Schmendrick?” Twilight asked. “We met briefly before I returned to my forest home. I never saw Schmendrick again until fifty years later, where he returned to me, a wise and powerful sorcerer, where we quickly became best friends. I asked him about Molly several times on his visits, but he never answered me. When he died, I buried him in an enchanted grove in my forest home, where he would rest in peace for centuries to come.” “Amalthea, there is just one thing that I don’t understand.” Twilight started, “In Equestria, there are only two immortal beings, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.” “What about that Princess...Cadence right?” Rainbow asked. “Let’s not get off-topic Rainbow Dash. My point is, how can you be immortal? From the looks of things, you’re just a normal, regular, strangely tall unicorn.” Twilight pointed out. “There are things that I too wonder about both you and Rarity. For example, every unicorn that was set free looked exactly like me in every way. from hoof to horn. Yet you have a very strangely colored coat, a small, equally colored horn, and am equally strange mane, not to mention your height. Come to think of it...” Amalthea swept her gaze from left to right and observed everypony in the room. “I have never seen anything like any of you at all! Not the unicorn, pegasus, and normal type part, but just how strangely altered you appear to be.” “If you think we look strange than you should get a load of all of Ponyville!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “There are more of you?” “Look, we’re getting off topic here!” Twilight shouted, “Amalthea, my question is, why are you immortal and we are not?” A thin blanket of silence covered the warm room as Amalthea looked away from the group for a moment to think. After an intense five minutes of anticipation, she turned her head back forward. “I don’t know...” she whispered. Everypony in the room remained quiet for what felt like the longest while in the world. Twilight held a guilty and look on her face. “So...” Everypony except Twilight turned to Pinkie Pie. “How did you end up here in Equestria?” she calmly asked. Amalthea took in a deep breath before releasing it to calm her nerves before speaking. “Every year, on the day of Schmendrick’s death, I would go to his burial site, where his soul would meet mine through magic. Yesterday, was that day, and on that day. I transported myself to the places of my memories, one of them being the remains of King Haggard’s castle where the Red Bull was imprisoned. When I left that place, the mad, vengeful soul of King Haggard, combined with the body of the Red Bull, rose up from the sea and sought me out. Schmendrick tried several times to warn me, but I could not understand him. I went to his burial site just in case, but that only made things worse...” A small tear escaped from Amalthea’s eye and slowly started to drift down her white cheek. “Schmendrick’s magical attempts to warn me only drew the bull closer. When it found me, he did everything in his power to save me from doom, but nothing worked. At the very last moment, the bull charged at me, but before it could even touch me, Schmendrick mustered an intensely powerful teleportation spell and whisked me away from the bull, destroying his burial site in the process.” Another tear dripped from her eye and landed on the floor. Amalthea sniffled before rubbing her eyes on her shoulder. Fluttershy got up from her hiding spot, walked over to Amalthea’s side and lightly pat her on the back. The somber unicorn smiled at the kind gesture. “You see everypony?” said Fluttershy as she turned towards the other girls. “Amalthea is going through some very troubling times right now. Her friend sacrificed himself to keep her alive, she is far away from her home, and most of all, she misses her other friends. They must be worried sick about her! None of these things give any of us reason to ask her questions that she is uncomfortable with.” Rarity and Twilight at first looked reluctant to admit it, but eventually their conscious gave in and they had to let it out. “I suppose you’re right Fluttershy dear. Terribly sorry Miss Amalthea. I should have thought of the feelings of others first.” said Rarity. “I’m sorry too. I’m really sorry for having to force you to return to those memories.” said Twilight. Amalthea smiled and nodded her head at the two apologetic unicorns. “It’s alright. It’s been over one thousand years since the incident and it has long since been the source of all of my grieving.” “So, now that we know how she got here, how do we send her back?” Rarity asked. “I got nuthin’.” Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders. “Pinkie?” “Nnnnope! Nadda! Not a thing. Twilight, what about you?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Well, I have teleported ponies other than myself to faraway places, but I don’t know how far away her home is! Not only that, but I have never used magic on an immortal being. Who knows what could happen?” said Twilight. “What about Princess Celestia?” Pinkie Pie suggested. “She’s used magic on Luna before, so why not another immortal pony?” Twilight rubbed her chin and pondered for a moment. “I could ask I suppose, but it would take quite a while to get a proper response back from her.” “She could stay at my house until Celestia figures out what to do.” Fluttershy suggested in a much louder voice than usual, where she then cupped her hooves over her mouth in embarrassment. “That is...if you want to.” “That sounds lovely Fluttershy. Thank you.” Amalthea replied. Fluttershy moved her hooves away and smiled. Twilight collected herself and made for the door. “I will send a letter to Celestia as soon as I get back to the library. Thank you Amalthea, and sorry again for what I said.” Before Amalthea could reply, Twilight had already thrown open the cottage door and set off into the snowy winter weather.