A month had past. A month spent working to the bone in order to complete the Alicorn Project. Ever since the day Khalifa witnessed Amalthea's sunrise, he had busied himself with work. In the past month, the news of the unicorn's existence had been revealed to the public. At first, many were astounded. Baffled by the creation of such a creature. But over time religious extremists and ethic preachers began to make themselves known. Not only extremists, but the church had declared unicorns unlawful by divine law. They all figured that men creating new life meant the king tried to play God. Which of course wasn't true. But you could never reason with extremists. King Kerath had been pressured to take action. Many nobles and advocates of the "cause" were flocking to him daily. Trying their best to convince him to eradicate Amalthea and her people. Of course, he'd never agree. But as time went on, and his health fell drastically, Kerath began restricting unicorn freedom. Unicorns were no longer allowed to leave their forest. Which was exactly Khalifa's reason to leave Agartha. He had moved his laboratory to the unicorn city, Empyrea-Larsa.
Khalifa was in his lab, bent over his desk and writing commentary on the project. Judea had unfortunately gotten worse. But he still kept his life. He was back in Agartha, helping his father with business. Just like the king he had managed to survive past the first few weeks. But the plague had crippled him and he now required the use of magically enhanced legs. He had been away for weeks, leaving Khalifa alone with Amalthea. Khalifa looked up from his desk, eyeing the unicorn who moved about his lab.
Like wind she moved though the large room. She eyed the various instruments and apparatuses that hung from the walls and lay on tables. She was like a child on an expedition. Khalifa sighed softly. He had been working constantly and he never allowed himself any breaks. But seeing Amalthea so carefree about his lab made him envy her. Setting aside his pen, he stood from his seat. Then he rounded the table, approaching Amalthea. As he did, he fell into her shadow and stood beside her. She had been staring at the painting that lay mounted on the wall. A painting of people in the market. Busy with errands. She stared at the painting in silence. Khalifa moved to say something, but he was cut off by the unicorn.
"What is it like? The city of humans?"
"Agartha?"
She nodded.
Khalifa folded his arms and looked up to the ceiling. Now that he thought of it, he hadn't been home in a whole month. He began thinking of Rafinar, Judea, and the others he left back at the capital.
"It is a city that lies deep beneath the surface. A colossal cavern miles wide and filled with sparkling water that forms a lake. And in the center of that lake, Agartha stands. A magnificent city. Not one just like it. Known as 'The World beneath the world'."
He turned his head to her to catch her staring. Her ears tilted forward, listening to every word. The look on her face was hard to read. But then again, he could never read her faces very well.
"And do all humans live there?" she asked.
"Well...no. Most humans live on the surface. All over the world."
"Why stay below and not live above? Beneath the Earth, you cannot see the sun."
Khalifa then went silent. She had a point. Though Agartha was a wonder of the world, it was very limited. There was only so much space and sooner or later the entire cavern would be filled. It was sometimes dark and hallow, despite the thousands who lived within the cavern. And one could never see the sky. Khalifa then nodded in agreement.
"Yes. Honestly, I had been thinking of moving all my things to the surface. I like the surface. Here, the air is never still and the seasons always change. But mostly it's-"
"The sky?"
Amalthea was incredibly close to him. Her muzzle just a few inches from his face. She stared down at him, tilting her head to the side. Khalifa adverted his gaze and turned from her. He wasn't used to staring at her for too long.
"Yes. The sky is what I love most. It's so vast and boundless. A man could live a thousand years, but never hope to contain it all. In a way, I suppose I view the sky as I view science. Limitless potential and millions of secrets. -I- may live for a thousand years and never understand everything. It's all just too vast for any one man to fully grasp."
The unicorn then smiled. She was happy for him. It filled her with joy to know that he had found such a passion. The joy confused her; for not many unicorns found great joy in anything other than themselves. Amalthea supposed that in a way, Khalifa reminded her of herself. Eager to learn, thirsting for knowledge. They were the same. Over the course of a month they had grown close. Learning everything they could about each other. Khalifa was probably the only man in the world who knew so much about the first unicorn. And Amalthea the only unicorn to know so much about man.
"Would you be interested in staying here? In Empyrea-Larsa?"
Amalthea's words were quick and agile. Almost like she hadn't said them at all. Khalifa had barely heard her. But he -had- thought about it. Living among unicorns didn't seem like such a terrible thing. But..
"I would be interested. But the prince.... I must stay close to him. I may be his only hope."
"For?"
Khalifa didn't explain further. He never did. Though he had been assigned to head the Alicorn Project, Judea was his top priority. Day and night he researched ways to create immortality. And each day he cursed himself for not finding a solution. There was no telling how long Judea would remain alive. And if he died, Khalifa would never recover from the failure. He looked at Amalthea, remembering she was still there. He feigned a smile and stroked her neck. Something that always calmed the both of them.
"Someday. Maybe someday I'll live among you all. But in the time being, I will need your help to create the first alicorn. All I ask is for you to be patient. Together we will birth an immortal."
Amalthea's smile returned, almost a wide grin. She lowered her head in a nod.
>"Well then. I wait for the day when you join us, Solomon."
Khalifa perked up after hearing his first name. A name that was used too rarely. But lately, Amalthea had taken a liking to addressing him as such. Not that he minded.
"Aye. As do I." he replied.
The both of them then went on to conversate more. Well into the afternoon they exchanged words, growing closer by the hour. Despite Amalthea's strange nature, she had been incredibly easy to get along with. She felt the same about Khalifa and found that around him, she felt things no unicorn had ever felt. Those new emotions were thrills for her. Egging on her curiosity even more. She felt drawn to him like a moth to flame and felt that if she stayed with him, she would learn more and more. Sooner or later, they found themselves on the topic of the project. Which had seen very little progress.
Khalifa had found it infuriating that he could not come up with anything. Not only that, but Amalthea was also at a loss. They talked hours about it. Exchanging different theories and hypotheses. Well into the night they talked about the first alicorn. What its name should be. What it'd look like or what it'd think of the world. The last time Khalifa looked at the clock, he saw that it was eight bell. Instinctively, he yawned. A loud tired yawn that dragged out the seconds.
"It is late. Would you like to retire?" Amalthea asked.
Khalifa only waved a hand at her as he slumped in his desk chair.
"Not yet. I've never been one for sleep anyway."
He then leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees.
"What about you Amalthea? Do you sleep?"
The question surprised her.
"Yes? All things require sleep. What makes you think otherwise?"
Khalifa then shied away and admitted to himself that the question was a bit odd. He figured because he saw Amalthea as something unnatural, that she would not need to abide by normal laws of nature. But he then abandoned the question and suddenly stood.
"Nevermind. It is late, the sun would be rising soon, yes?"
Amalthea nodded and stood herself, once again covering the man in her shadow.
"In just a few more hours. I must leave you now, Solomon."
Amalthea then moved towards the door, already deciding to depart. She always ran off around that time but Khalifa never thought to ask where. He had figured she'd go off to prepare for dawn, but lately she had been poking her muzzle in other affairs. There had been rumors circulating in the city. Rumors that were slightly unbecoming, but cute in a way. Word on the street was that the unicorn queen had taken a liking with the population's second oldest member.
"May I ask about you and Bucephalus?"
Amalthea paused, she did not want to but felt that her legs simply stopped moving and locked in place. She glanced over her shoulder to see Khalifa leaning back on his desk with his arms folded.
"....Ask away."
"You and Bucephalus. You're close, yes?"
"In a manner of speaking. Why?"
Amalthea then turned to him completely. It was barely hard to noticed, but she was prodding the floor with her hoof and averting her eyes from him.
"Bucephalus is the second unicorn to be created out of the original ten. He's as old as you. The unicorns look to him as somewhat of a king. And he doesn't-"
"Solomon. Where are you going with this?"
She interrupted. The first time she had ever done so. It made Khalifa raise his brows and lean back further on his desk. She was getting defensive and he found it to be very surprising. As did she, for a unicorn never needed to defend anything.
"You both compliment each other quite well. I wouldn't be surprised if the both of you were to marry."
Unicorns- as Khalifa understood- were much like humans in the fact that they mated for life. Though only rarely, considering the sterility of many. Amalthea lowered her head in a blush that burned her face like an iron.
"Solomon, you are too bold. I am like a mother to my people. I could never-"
"Why not?" Khalifa interjected.
He was already off his desk and walking over to the mare.
"You know. I've spoken to Bucephalus a number of times now. He's very pleasant. Wise, humble, generous, and kind. He thinks very highly of you as well. He often speaks of you whenever I have him in the lab working."
Amalthea's blue eyes were giant pools of sapphire. It excited her to hear that Bucephalus thought so much of her. Over the years, long after her magic had been claimed by the sun and she was left barren, she had given up hope of ever forming a pair with anyone. Not that it was ever a priority in the first place. But it always sat in the back of her mind, prodding her, pushing her to at least try.
"You're growing old Amalthea. Nothing can stop that. The first alicorn may not be born for a hundred more years. Think of this as...an encouragement to get the most out of your life. I don't want to keep you in this lab forever. You are not mine, nor the king's despite what you think. A man could never hold a creature such as you. For unicorns, it may be hard- impossible even- to see life this way. But make the best of it, before it passes you by and fills you with regret. Before others pass you by."
Khalifa spoke with absolute sincerity and it made Amalthea widen her eyes at him. She studied him, every detail. He had a sadder look on his face. His eyes were looking down at the floor. It was then that she thought of the prince in Agartha. He was a very dear friend to the both of them. The unicorn could sense Khalifa's sadness. She knew he was terrified of failing and losing his friend. As a unicorn, she found it hard to understand. To her, life was merely as state of being, as well as death. Whether or not someone died was almost irrelevant to her. But at that moment, she found herself caring for the first time. She chuckled. Something that was very rare. Her white mane bounced as she through her head back in full on laughter. Khalifa then looked up in surprised and in slight embarrassment.
"Solomon. I never knew you cared so much. Very well then. I will speak with Bucephalus and I will try to see "life" through your eyes."
She turned again to leave but stopped when she was halfway out of the lab. Her horn flickered in the moonlight as she turned her head.
"Men may go a long while without alicorns. But not forever. Remember that. Keep to your ambition. You must be willing to do whatever it takes. Though you refuse to tell me the full story, I know you mean the best for Prince Judea. Whatever this project has connected with him, I hope you both find what you are looking for."
She then left quickly, her swaying tail being the last thing out the door. Amalthea's encouragement lingered in the air, circling around the young man.
"Whatever it takes.." he said to himself.
A yawn followed and he stretched his arms far and wide. Looking over to his bed, he decided to sleep for an hour or two. The next few months he would work tirelessly. Willing to do whatever it took in order to find a way to birth an alicorn.
Shouting could be heard coming from Khalifa's lab. The whole of Empyrea-Larsa looked northwest of the city in the early morn to the source. The scientist was found scrambling about his lab, searching frantically for his journals of commentary. Loose papers and various other contraptions were laid in curious places across the floors. He had been up all night reading, writing, thinking. And he had finally come to a conclusion. Well, a theory. The doors to his lab flew open and Amalthea, along with two guards rushed in. They found him at his desk scribbling away in his journal.
"Solomon? What has happened?" Amalthea asked.
She quickly went to him, rounding his large desk to peek over his shoulders at the hard leather book.
"I've done it! At least, I think I've found a way!"
He stood, rushing over to a bookshelf. He started to pull at the many books, glancing at their spines for half a second before pushing them back in place. Khalifa was sifting through the books in a haste, trying to find the correct volume. His index finger stopped at a rather small binding and pulled. Returning to his desk, he retook his seat and placed the new book atop the old one. Amalthea sighed, nodding to the guards to beg them leave.
"I have to say. I have never seen you this excited." she said tiredly.
"You've never had reason to. Not much excites me these days."
"But this does?"
"Very much so!"
Amalthea was silent, waiting for Khalifa to explain what grasped his excitement. But when he returned her silence with the sound of pen on paper, she huffed.
"Well?" she asked impatiently.
"Magical Binding! The act of weaving together two entities!"
".....Explain."
"Think about about it Amalthea. What would happen if you bound one living thing to another? Their life forces would be intertwined, no? They would become dependent on each other."
"Well, yes. I suppose."
Amalthea craned her head, not really sure where Khalifa was going.
"Consider this. Specimen A is bound by magic to Specimen B. Naturally, they would feed off each other's life force. They become a fire that provides its own fuel. One entity that is product of an infinite loop of energy due to the binding. In this case, we find a unicorn, find a way to bind their life force to the sun, and create this single entity. In other words, an alicorn! An everlasting immortal being."
Khalifa immediately stood, causing his chair to fly back from under him. He quickly gathered his things and once again paced the lab.
"I make for Agartha. Judea and the king will be excited to hear this. We'll need an entire team for this. A bigger space for testing."
The man went on like a child as he spoke aloud more so to himself. Amalthea only watched him with wide eyes. She would have been jumping for joy, bursting with pride and excitement at her friend's discovery. But she found that she couldn't. A feeling was crawling up her back. It was the same hesitant maliciousness that halted her on the pyramid their first time meeting. Amalthea moved to speak, but found that she could not. She was, in a sense, scared. Khalifa had finally stopped rambling when he paused at the door. He was fully facing her, his things gathered up neatly in his arms. His hair was a mess and big saggy bags hung from the under lids of his eyes. A beard was beginning to set in and there was a suspicion that he hadn't changed his robes in a couple of days. He looked comedically pitiful.
"Amalthea? Is everything alright?"
"Solomon, I am very excited for you, truly I am. But I worry."
"Worry? Worry for what?"
Amalthea changed stances to a more passive one. She rubbed her leg with the other as she tried to find the words.
"When we met that day, on the pyramid. I felt something. Like a black cloud hanging over you and the prince. An omen. I can't say for sure what it might be, but I worry for you."
Khalifa then thought to himself. What could she have felt to make her act this way? Amalthea- or any unicorn- was never known to feel emotion so strongly. But she was beginning to change. Khalifa had noticed this a long time ago. The more time they spent together, the more empathetic, genuine, and human-like. He supposed she could be exaggerating. These new emotions being a completely different experience for her. Ultimately, he shrugged it off in his excitement and felt that he couldn't be bothered by her premonitions.
"Amalthea. Everything will be just fine. We have a chance now, and should everything go as planned, we will succeed. You look sick; your eyes are faded. Why not spend some time with Bucephalus? He's been coming around asking for you lately. I think it'd do you both some good to spend time with each other."
Khalifa then moved to out the door, his journals in tow.
"I won't be long. A week at most. In the mean time, enjoy yourself."
Amalthea chased after him, her hooves carrying her across the lab and outside in seconds. She was standing over the man and he stopped in her shadow. Khalifa didn't turn around to meet her. Instead he only sighed and rubbed his head. He opened his mouth to speak, but Amalthea interrupted him.
"Solomon. I only ask that you be careful. I fear the road you walk can lead into an abyss that will swallow you in your ambition. Be vigilant, of the prince, of the king, of anyone around you. And most importantly. Watch yourself. Ambition is a very fine thing to have, but left unchecked it could devour you. Keep this in mind."
Khalifa was still for a long while. So long that he felt the blades of grass creep up around his ankles. Then he sighed for the last time and threw his hand up in a wave and continued on without a word. It was unclear whether or not the unicorn's words took root in him. He certainly couldn't say. But he kept them in the back of his mind just in case. He then turned to thoughts of home, and smiled brightly.