The Next to the Last Unicorn

by Hivemind

Chapters

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Epilogue
The Last No More

Part 1

Hello there little butterfly! Welcome!...

-long ago and covered their footprints...

I am Schmendrick the Magician!...

*sniffle*

I held you!...

The last! I knew you were the last!...

*sniffle*

After much walking, Amalthea had finally reached the enchanted grove that was placed deep within the forest she protected every day. In her mouth, she held a bouquet of sweet smelling petunias. A butterfly that had hitched a ride on one of the flower petals earlier unfurled its delicate wings and flew away into the morning sky. Amalthea watched it as it left. When the butterfly flew out of sight, she resumed her slow and sulking pace through the hallways of flower bushes and vines.

Run, run! She will kill you! You must run!...

Not alone! You never could have freed yourselves alone!...

No. Come with me. Come with me!...

A glistening tear fell from Amalthea's eye and hit the soft ground beneath her. The dirt soaked it up immediately. Her pupils quivered, but she dare not cry, not in a place like this.

She reached the end of the long garden grove and took in a deep breath before releasing it, trying at her best to keep her sadness contained. She stopped and looked up at the object of her grieving.

A tall statue of a very old man stood proudly in the middle of a ring of planted roses. A waterfall ran down from the small mountain behind the statue and occasionally sprayed a jet of clear water onto the back side of the stone. The old man held both of his arms up high into the air. In one hand, he held a twisted wooden staff that slid through a hole carved out from within the man's clenched fist. In the other hand, the man held a tiny book with a symbol of a boar's head carved into the book cover. A long stone beard ran down from the man's chin all the way to his robed chest. The man had no hair, but instead he wore a worn woolen pointed hat. Amalthea allowed another tear to drop when her mind turned to an old memory.

Step down my lady. You are free!...

Amalthea closed her eyes and moved her gaze down to a solid gold plaque that was riveted into the statue's base. Another tear dropped.

Here lies Schmendrick

The Roving Wonder

Master Magician and savior of the mythical beasts

Amalthea lowered her head and let the bouquet drop from her teeth. A small cloud of sweet smelling mist coming from the spray of the waterfall enveloped the flowers. The mist thickened and the offering was lost from sight. A few moments later, the mist retracted from the base of the statue, and vanished into the air. The bouquet was gone, but she knew that would happen. It always happened, and she knew who was responsible.

Amalthea lifted one of her front legs and slowly placed a hoof onto the golden plaque. A sudden gust of wind rustled the trees nearby and the waterfall kicked up another spray of sweet mist. A deep, low moan whistled through the air and the wind carried a small group of pink flower petals past her face. One of the petals made a sudden left turn and landed on the tip of her nose. Amalthea smiled and gently brushed it off.

"I miss you as well, old friend. I miss you every day..." Amalthea spoke to the statue. Another spray of mist kicked up and blew towards her face. She giggled when she felt the fine droplets brush against her nose. "I will always miss you..."

"A-Amalthea?"

Amalthea recognized the calling voice almost instantly. She bowed to the statue and turned away from it.

"Hello there Arabelle." said Amalthea to her long time unicorn friend standing curiously in front of her.

"Twelve-hundred years right?" asked Arabelle.

"Yes. Twelve-hundred years..." Amalthea turned her head around to face the statue once more. "Twelve-hundred years, and yet I still regret as to what happened all those years ago. For twelve-hundred years, I have tended to Schmendrick's burial site, and even though he still greets me every year I visit this place, I still feel the one thing that no other unicorn of my time could have ever felt, regret..." Her eyes were starting to quiver and tear up again. Arabella took a few steps forward and gently nuzzled the side of Amalthea's face.

"It is alright Amalthea. He saved you from certain death, and you repaid him by granting him his true wish." Arabelle turned her head and smiled at the statue's face before continuing, "He saved all of us. If it weren't for him, unicorns would have never existed in the world today. Through his kindness and bravery, unicorns and other mythical beasts are free to roam the world."

Even through Arabelle's comforting words, Amalthea was still not convinced. "E-excuse me Arabelle, but I need to take a short walk..."

Arabelle removed her hoof from Amalthea's shoulder and let it slip down to the ground. "Alright Amalthea. I will leave you to it."

After Arabelle and Amalthea bowed to each other, Arabelle turned around and left the garden.

"Schmendrick..." Amalthea whispered as she turned back to face the statue. At the sound of her voice, a low moan seemed to whistle through the trees directly into her ears. "Would...would you mind?" Amalthea was acknowledged by another low moan, this one being much louder than the previous one.

Amalthea raised her head high into the air. Her long, white horn started to glow with a silvery luminescence. The sky started to go dark, and vines rustled on the garden walls. All around her, flower petals began magically detaching themselves from their respective holding places. A sudden gust of dusty wind blew the petals towards her, where they then began to circle around her as the wind picked up speed. In just a few moments, she was completely surrounded by a tornado of multicolored flower petals, and with a bright flash of light from her horn, she was whisked away from the tranquility of the garden.

The wind began to slow down as the magical energy began to fade. The torrent of flower petals split and broke away, and when the winds finally came to the halt, they drifted down to the rocky earth beneath Amalthea's hooves.

Hesitant at first, Amalthea opened her eyes and looked on with sorrow in her eyes out at the wide ocean in front of her. The blue waves crashed against the shore of the beach one at a time, each crash spraying a fine mist into her face, reminding her of the old times.

She turned away from the ocean expanse and looked towards a dark, rocky cliff that loomed over the beach. The edge of the cliff was several hundred feet above the sea. Carved into the side of the cliff, was a deep and dark cavern that used to house a creature of such fierce anger and hate, that its rage was fueled entirely by the desire for true happiness of a lonely king with the brain of a madman. He was all that was left of his family, except for one other person. His son.

Then let our quest end here. I doubt I could have ever changed you back into the unicorn you once were anyway!...

Everything dies! I want to die when you die!...

"Leer..." Amalthea whispered to herself as a few stray tears began to fall onto her cheeks. She shook her head in an attempt to get rid of the tidal wave of sad memories that started to drift into her conscious. She took one final look at the silvery ocean, then she turned away and charged her horn for the return trip back home.

Out of nowhere, a very loud, but very deep moan echoed through the cavern within the rocky cliff, kicking up dust at the exit. The wind picked up, and sparks of white magical energy started to swirl around Amalthea's body. A short while later, her horn let out a very bright flash of light, and Amalthea disappeared into the shining veil.

~~~~~

Haggard!

"Haggard?..."

Haggard! Haggard! Unicorn!

"Uni-corn?..."

Unicorn! Haggard! Unicorn!

"Unicorn...Unicorn!?"

The skies above the blue sea immediately went black, and the sea tossed and turned like never before. Massive arcs of red and blue lightning whipped across the sky and over the horizon. The face of the cliff started to rock and shake violently, breaking away massive chunks of solid rock and hurling them straight into the darkened depths. The seawater began to boil, waves crashed over one another, and like a divine god would part the oceans, a massive horned beast of endless fire and smoke rose from the depths. It stepped out of the water and breathed in deeply as it took in its changed surroundings. Its twin horns glowed brightly with the most hellish shade of red hot coals, and its eyes were both bloodshot and aflame.

The unicorn Haggard! Get the unicorn!

The beast reared up on it back legs and let out a bloodthirsty roar that echoed off in the distance for miles. The force of its roar was so powerful and fierce, that the cliff nearby split apart and crumbled down into a massive pile of dusty rubble, most of it falling into the sea. The beast dug its front feet into the ground and arched its back, and with one powerful kick, it took off like a rocket towards the far away mountains, leaving behind a long trail of fire and singed earth with every step it took.

~~~~~

Amalthea looked down at her reflection on the surface of the clear pond. This day was always a sorrowful day for her, for it always reminded her of Schmendrick's death. It also reminded her of the painful feeling of regret, a mortal curse that was placed upon her soul many hundreds of years ago when Schmendrick was still alive.

Yet this day was somewhat of a happy day for her as well, for Schmendrick is regarded as a hero to the immortal unicorns. This sole fact brought some rays of happiness to her day, but not enough to overpower her eternal feeling of regret that she could never seem to get over.

Amalthea took a short sip of water from the pond, picking a clean patch of water before drinking of course. The pond looked the same as it always had, for it was the same pond where she had met the singing butterfly that began her quest in the first place. She even remembered certain songs and poems that it sang for her, and while they annoyed her to some degree, it was still a lovely gesture for a first time greeting.

Nearby, a twig snapped, causing Amalthea to raise her head from the pond in alarm.

“Oh, my apologies Amalthea.” said Arabelle as she came strolling out from behind the cover of the trees, “I just came around to get a drink. Are you feeling any better after your walk?”

“Yes, thank you for asking.” Amalthea and Anabelle lowered their necks down to the pond in unison and took in a long drink of cool water. When Amalthea was finished, she wiped her mouth with one of her hooves and brushed away a tiny bit of moss that stuck to her hoof tip.

“Arabelle, where are the others today? I haven’t seen them in quite some time. Where could they have gone?” Amalthea asked.

Arabelle finished drinking and she too wiped her mouth clean. “I think that Bastilla went to the Northern areas of the forest to take Juhani’s place, for she is not well today and must stay in bed. Aria is in the east, and Matilda is near the outskirts, keeping watch for predators.”

“Thank you for telling me.” Amalthea replied.

“You’re welcome sister. We know what this day means to you, and with Juhani sick and in bed, Bastilla was kind enough to take up her duties while I take up yours. It is the least I could have done.”

“I thank you for that as well.”

“You’re welcome to that as well, dear sister.”

Suddenly, a low moan, this one coming from the direction of Schmendrick’s grave, bellowed out from within the treeline.

“Schmendrick?” Amalthea questioned the wood.

The moan came once again, this time accompanied by a sudden gust of wind that rustled the trees all around them. A thunderous boom resounded around the mountains off in the distance. The sky above darkened and the clouds turned black and grey, indicating the coming of a rain storm.

“Rain?” Arabelle questioned to herself, “During the afternoon? That’s rare...”

“Rare or not, I must return to Schmendrick’s grave to protect it from the storm.” Amalthea cantered to the edge of the clearing and bid her sister farewell. When Arabelle was out of sight, Amalthea quickly turned and made haste down the dirt pathway that led to her friend’s lavish burial site.

~~~~~

“Unicorn...unicorn...the last...”

The fiery beast uttered to itself as it neared the top of the steep hill. It was exhausted, but it did not want to give up, not until its goal was met.

With one final push from its strong back legs, the beast made it to the top and looked out over the wide valley floor below. From the beach up to here, the beast had been tracking the unicorn by the traces of pure magic that the immortal being left behind.

Through the walls of fiery anger in its eyes, the beast could see the trail leading down the hill directly towards a forest off to the side. The trail stops when it reaches the treeline.

Loud claps of thunder shot across the sky and rain clouds began to clump together. Before long, raindrops fell from the sky and landed on the ground and onto the beast’s flame engulfed back. The beast groaned under its breath in pain as each new raindrop stabbed into its form like a tiny dagger, but not even the ice cold rain could deter the beast. It raised itself on its back legs and let out a bloodcurdling roar that shook the ground beneath its feet and caused a flock of birds off in the distance to squawk and fly away in terror.

With the same thunderous force as before, the beast dug its front legs into the ground and kicked off with its back legs, sending it into a frenzied charge down the hill. The rain was now coming down even harder, bringing only pain and suffering along with it, but the beast refused to let its fires die down as he neared the forest treeline.

~~~~~

The rain was now coming down in sheets, producing fog. and reducing visibility. Amalthea had to feel around with her hooves to find the entrance to the grove. When she made it inside, she generated a magical barrier from her horn. and used it to seal away the entrance and the open roof above. Once that was done, she made her way to the back of the grove and sat down on her haunches when she reached the foot of the statue. A low moan acknowledged her presence.

“Schmendrick, I’m here. I have come to protect your resting place from the wind and rain that falls around us.” Amalthea waited for a response, but it did not come. “Are you alright Schmendrick?” A response came with this question in an unusual form. The wooden staff that was held by the statue started to pulsate with a green light.

“That is...a bit strange Schmendrick. I have never seen you do that before.” The light from the staff started to pulsate at a much faster rate. A deep moan echoed through the shielded gardens and the vines started to rustle. There was no wind inside of the magical barrier, so Amalthea interpreted these signals as a bad sign. She was starting to become worried.

“Schmendrick? What’s wrong? Please Schmendrick, please give me a clear sign.”

The green light on the staff stopped pulsating at the sound of Amalthea’s worried voice. The staff then changed colors from green to red and the magical barrier covering the ceiling started to ripple like water in a glass. The intensity of the staff’s light increased and before long, the magical barrier above split in two and dissipated, letting the torrents of water rain down upon the sacred ground of the gardens.

Now Amalthea was very confused. Why would Schmendrick openly allow the wind and rain to damage his burial site? She decided to question him.

But before she could open her mouth to speak, a shrill roar like that of a banshee’s wail tore through the air, shaking the grassy earth beneath her feet. Even through the ear splitting, earth shaking cries, Amalthea trembled in her hooves, for she knew where and what the roaring was coming from. She was so petrified in fact, that she curled herself into a ball and covered her eyes with her front hooves, for she dare not look upon what was coming her way.

“No...no...not again! Not again! The bull!” Amalthea cried out while fearful tears poured from her eyes.

A very powerful gust of wind slammed into Amalthea’s back, forcing her to the ground. She gathered her senses and stood up straight, eyeing Schmendrick’s statue with a look of shock. The staff had changed colors once again, this time to a dark blue hue. Not only that, but from where Amalthea was standing, it looked as if the facial expression of the statue had changed as well. It now boasted a scowl of hate and disgust. The stone lips were parted, revealing a set of rectangular stone teeth that was not there before when the statue was first created.

From the trees nearby came another low moan, bringing chilly winds along with it.

“Unicorn...”

“I...I can’t believe as to what I am hearing...” Amalthea whispered to herself.

Slowly but surely, Amalthea uncovered her eyes and looked on with horror at the sight of the four-legged beast that stood away from her. Its eyes were red and full of fire, its entire body aflame and crackling with each raindrop that fell down upon it, and its twin horns glowed a bright orange.

The Red Bull of King Haggard. So you know of the bull?...

With every part of her being, Amalthea wished that she had never known what the Red Bull was, for it was the very same creature that she, along with Schmendrick, had encountered hundreds of years ago. This fiery beast of torment and sadness wrought Amalthea’s soul just to look upon it, for it was the same creature that followed the evil commands of the mad king Haggard, all in the name of his goal to find true happiness, which only led to own demise.

“I have waited for this moment...” Amalthea was shocked to hear the bull speak words, “Finally, I will rid the world of you, all of you, for it is the only thing that will make me happy...”

The bull stepped forward, causing Amalthea to step back, where she then hit the stone base of the statue behind her. She could make out a faint chuckle from underneath the bull’s tattered breaths. When the bull was in the perfect striking position, it reared up on its hind legs, let out another earth shaking roar, and charged with full force towards the statue. Amalthea screamed and shielded her eyes, cowering in fear at the inevitability of her coming fate.

“Schmendrick!” she cried out as the raging beast drew closer.

As soon as her cry echoed off in the distance, the staff in Schmendrick’s hand flashed with a bright white light, causing the entire garden to light up with activity. All around the statue, vines increased and broadened in size as they detached themselves from the trees and hurled themselves at the bull, wrapping it in a thick blanket of strong plant life. The beast struggled under the force of its bounds, screaming and roaring, trying at its best to free itself.

Just above Amalthea’s frightened form, stone grinded against stone as the twin arms of the statue started to close in, eventually coming to a stop when the two hands collided with each other.

“Sch-Schmendrick?”

With one hard push and a roar louder than any other, the bull broke free from its twisted bonds and charged with brute force, flames and sparks shooting out of its nostrils. Amalthea screamed.

“Schmendrick!”

On those words, the joined arms reared back over the statue’s head and immediately bounced back forward.

“No! Not like this!” the bull shouted when it was only a few feet away from its long lost prize.

Not even a second later, the bottom of the wooden staff slammed onto the ground, blinding Amalthea with a intense solar flare. Just before the bull reached her, she vanished into the ether, leaving nothing behind but an angry bull, a burning garden, and a crumbling stone figure.

~~~~~

“Schmendrick...no, please no...”

Crickets chirped, and lightning bugs lit up the night air around Amalthea as she lay in the middle of a grassy field, weeping in sorrow. Her tears soaked into the dirt on the ground and ran through her disheveled mane.

“Why, oh why! Why must I be cursed with this...regret!?” Amalthea tearfully and angrily cried out into the night. The crickets ceased their chirping for a moment, then resumed once the crying unicorn buried her face into her hooves.

“E-excuse me?”

Amalthea gasped with surprise at the soft, sullen voice that originated behind her. “Arabelle?” she asked as she scrambled up from the ground and turned around, only to gasp once more when she finds herself staring at the worried face of a yellow pegasus much smaller than herself. The pegasus carried a wicker basket on its back filled with various fruits. Amalthea's lips started to quiver, and additional tears rolled down her white satin face.

“W-wait! Don’t cry, please don’t cry!” The yellow pegasus, though hesitant at first, stepped forward and wrapped its arms around Amalthea, pulling her into a comforting hug. The pegasus lightly cooed and shushed the crying unicorn in an attempt to calm her down, which started to work when Amalthea wrapped her own legs around the pegasus, returning the hug.

“Did something bad happen to you? Do you want to talk about it?” asked the pegasus. Amalthea did not speak.

“Here, why don’t we just go to my cottage so you can calm down? It’s not far from here, and it’s kind of chilly out here in the field. Would you like that?” Amalthea nodded her head in reply.

“Ok, c’mon. I’ll help you up.”

The yellow pegasus moved her head and front hooves underneath Amalthea’s chest, where she then pushed up against her, heaving her up on her hooves. Amalthea stumbled once, but soon recovered. The yellow pegasus stayed by her side and held her up using her forehead.

Amalthea leaned her head down to the pegasus’s ear and whispered a few words of thankfulness.

“Shh, don’t worry,” the pegasus continued to lightly shush and calm the sorrowful unicorn, “it’s all going to be ok.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Special (and ironic) thanks once again goes to Jonsey for inspiring the story idea. You never cease to amaze me.

Part 2

Amalthea’s hooves trembled from having been just brought inside the small house of the pegasus that saved her from her own sorrow. Every so often, she would rub her hooves together in an attempt to generate heat to add to the already warming air coming from the lit fireplace, of which the pegasus kindly lit before running up a nearby small flight of stairs. The heat of the rhythmic flames had already dried up whatever tears still remained on her face and in her silvery white mane. From what she could guess, it must have been nearing wintertime.

As she lay there staring into the orange flames, several questions bounced around in her confused mind. To even think about them only brought her near to tears. Schmendrick’s actions were very unclear as to why he did what he had to do. Why would he deliberately allow the Red Bull into his burial site? Why would he break the force field spell around his statue, allowing the heavy rain to pour in? Unknowingly to Amalthea, her pupils started to quiver, threatening tears again. After forcing the somber memories from her conscious, she rubbed her eyes and continued to stare into the fire.

A short while later, the oddly colored pegasus trotted down the stairs with a small blanket and two pillows, both of which she set in front of Amalthea’s legs before moving one of the pillows to a spot close by where she sat with her legs tucked underneath her chest.

“Sorry, but that blanket is the biggest one I have. I hope you don’t mind...” the pegasus quietly uttered.

“It is alright. The fire that you made for me is keeping me warm as is. You take it.” Amalthea slowly pushed the blanket and pillow away. The pegasus looked both shocked and worried and Amalthea feared that she may have upset her.

‘Oh no, please, you take it. I’m sure that I have a few others around here anyway.” said the pegasus while she pro-offered the blanket and pillow back over to her. Not wanting to cause controversy, Amalthea took the offered items without saying a word and returned to staring into the fire.

Neither mare spoke a word as Amalthea lay deep in thought of the past few hours that had gone by. One particular memory, one involving the fate of her sisters, made her choke back a tear. The pegasus must have heard it, for she immediately made an attempt to shush her, which Amalthea brushed aside.

“You seem to be upset about something.” the pegasus started, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Amalthea dipped her head down for a moment as she pleaded to her mind to say no, but with what the pegasus had done for her so far, she deserves an explanation.

“Well...” Amalthea started off slowly while lifting her head, “it would be best as not to keep my troubles bottled up inside, and you deserve an explanation for having brought me out from the cold. It’s the least I could do after all...”

The pegasus’s put on a little smile upon hearing her approval.

“Why were you in the meadow this late at night?” the pegasus asked.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Amalthea replied.

The pegasus smiled and looked away guiltily. “I-I was out near the forest picking a few of my favorite wild fruits. They like the cold weather, especially when they’re around winter flowers.”

“That must have been nice.” said Amalthea.

“Well, it was nice until -and excuse me for saying this- I heard somepony crying nearby. I explored for a little while until I found you. Your mane and coat were a mess, covered in dirt and wet grass, and your face was buried in your hooves. I had no idea what to do. Sorry to say this, but to me, you just looked like a grown up mare who had lost her way in the forest. I could never leave anypony alone in the forest, especially at night! So, I slowly went up to you and asked if you were alright, twice. When you didn’t say anything, I spoke just a teensy bit louder.”

“And I thank you for all of that, otherwise I would have just laid there, crying in never ending sadness.”

“I’m glad that I can help. It’s something I’ve been doing for a while, mostly to animals though.”

Amalthea put a hoof up to her mouth and giggled into it. “I’ve noticed.” she said as she turned her head towards the ceiling to look at all of the assorted bird houses and rodent mazes hanging from tiny metal hooks nailed into the rafters. “I think it’s lovely as to what you do.”

The pegasus grinned sheepishly at the polite comment. “Thank you.” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

“Do you mind if I ask you another question?”

“Alright.”

“Excuse me again for asking this, but why do you look so...strange?”

“What do you mean?” said Amalthea. “Haven’t you ever heard of a unicorn before? I’d imagine that after-”

“I know that you’re a unicorn, but you don’t look like any other unicorn I’ve ever seen. You’re much taller than any normal unicorn, except for the princesses of course, but then again, they’re alicorns and-”

“Alicorns? Here?” Amalthea asked.

“Of course! Everypony in Equestria knows about them. Equestria is ruled by two princess named Celestia and Luna. They are the only two alicorns in Equestria, except for Princess Cadence, but not too many ponies know about her anyway. Not even the tallest ponies in Equestria are as tall as they are, but you nearly look just like them!”

“Strange...” Amalthea started while rubbing her chin with a free hoof, “I thought that the alicorns died out some time ago just after the unicorns of the world were freed when the Red Bull was cast away.”

“Huh, the Red Bull?” the pegasus cocked her head off to one side in confusion, “What’s-”

“Excuse me -and I apologize if I continue to interrupt-, but I never did catch your name. I should be thanking the one who brought me under their roof and cared for me at no expense.”

The pegasus removed a leg from underneath her chest and lengthened a hoof towards Amalthea. “I’m Fluttershy.” she introduced herself. Amalthea looked confused when Fluttershy continued to extend a hoof to her. After a few awkward moments had passed, Fluttershy embarrassingly drew back her hoof and looked away.

“I’m terribly sorry if I did anything to upset you.” the white unicorn apologized, “I’m Amalthea.” Fluttershy perked up and turned to face the newly introduced unicorn.

“That’s a very nice name.” she commented.

“Thank you. Your name is nice as well. For the animals that you care for, it suits you well.” Fluttershy smiled.

“Anyway, what’s the Red Bull?” Fluttershy continued where she left off.

Suddenly, Amalthea’s face twisted into an uneasy look, as if she was about to vomit. Her head began to spin and she felt queasy as memories of the previous few hours came raging through her brain like a streamline flock of crows. She rubbed her temples in an attempt to rid her mind of the terrible apparitions, but she only succeeded in increasing the flow.

“Oh, goodness!” Fluttershy dove to Amalthea’s side and held up her head to keep it from falling to the hard floor. “A-are you sick? Do you need any medicine? I’ve got a few things that-”

Amalthea placed a shaky hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, silencing her words immediately. With added support from the yellow pegasus, she managed to rebalance herself in an upright position. She began to shiver as her mind continued to barrage her inner sanctuary with fire and sadness as if the bull itself was inside, tearing it apart with its insatiable rage.

Heavily worried, Fluttershy reached for the nearby pillow and placed it near Amalthea’s head. Getting the idea almost immediately, Amalthea slowly but surely rested her pounding head on the soft, velvety pillow. Fluttershy then quickly draped the blanket over Amalthea’s side, trying to cover up as much of the unicorn’s quivering body as possible.

“Th-thank you F-Fluttershy...” said Amalthea in between raspy breaths.

“You’re welcome, but you look awful! Are you sure that you’re not sick? Ooooh, maybe I should get some medicine just in case-”

“Fluttershy, I-I’m fine.” Amalthea’s started to calm down as attempted to block out the bad thoughts with naturalistic images of her home and friends. Eventually, her shaking stopped and she clenched the blanket tighter to bring it closer to her face.

“Are you really sure? What if something bad happens to you and I’m not around?”

“I’m alright Fluttershy. I just need some rest. A lot of rest.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth in an attempt to protest again, but she shut it immediately once she realized that arguing with the unicorn would only bring bad relations. Throwing one last log onto the fire, Fluttershy did a quick once over of Amalthea, who was now sleeping soundly, as well as the animals, who were already asleep in their tiny wooden homes. She yawned, also realizing that she needed sleep, seeing as to how late it was getting. After dousing the living room light, she slid the metal grate cover in front of the fireplace and headed upstairs to her bedroom.

~~~~~

Amalthea awoke the next morning to the sounds of the songbirds singing from up high in the rafters of the cottage. When she stirred, they retreated to their respective birdhouses and peered through the tiny openings. She paid no mind to them as she let the warm blanket slip off her back. Next to her pillow, she found a small note written in fine lettering.

Amalthea-

Went to a friend’s house to ask for assistance. I will be back soon.

-Fluttershy

She winced as a sudden puff of red hot air blew into her face from the crackling flames of the still lit fireplace. While comforting, the heat was a bit too much to bare. She shimmied her body over a few feet away from the fireplace to get close to the cooler air. Taking a glance at a nearby window, she could tell that the full force of winter was on its way as tiny, delicate snowflakes fell from the grey sky onto the window face, melting instantly, leaving behind a tiny droplet of water that slowly streaked downward.

Suddenly, she felt the tiny prick of a soft paw poke her leg twice. Surprised, she looked down at her hooves to see a tiny white rabbit glaring at her extremely long legs while occasionally poking them, probably in an attempt to make sure that they were real. Amalthea smiled peacefully at the rather cute display of curiosity.

“Hello there little one!” she said while reaching a hoof down towards the rabbit’s face. Shocked, it stepped far back before Amalthea could pet it.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry little one! I did not mean to frighten you.” Amalthea apologized to the teacup sized rabbit. The rabbit moved its eyes rapidly up and down, scanning her body with caution riding high. Slowly, it took a step forward and dragged the rest of its body with it in a slinking motion, cautiously moving back towards Amalthea’s front legs.

“It’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you.” Amalthea cooed in her softest voice to ease the rabbit’s alarmed attention. When the rabbit finally reached her legs, it poked her again, this time on the sole of her hoof. Amalthea giggled when she felt the rabbit’s soft fur brush against the sensitive spot. The rabbit smiled and moved slightly closer. It took a quick glance off to the left while Amalthea calmed down. It poked her again, several times in attempts to get her attention. When Amalthea acknowledged, the rabbit pointed one of its tiny white arms towards the slowly fading flames in the fireplace. Amalthea looked confused for a moment.

“The fireplace? What’s wrong with it?” she asked. The rabbit replayed its previous actions, this time with added vigor in its pointing. “Yes, I see the fireplace, but I’m not quite sure as to what you’re trying to tell me.”

The rabbit facepawed while shaking its head. It then turned and bounced over to a nearby metal hamper filled with an assortment of logs and taped on it several times while pointing one hoof at the top of its head.

In a split second, Amalthea connected the fireplace, the hamper, and the frustrated tapping of the rabbit’s furry paw. When it hit her, she felt very stupid.

“You want me to relight the fire?” Amalthea asked. The rabbit stopped its tapping and furiously nodded its head. “Well, alright. I’ll try I suppose.”

Amalthea never got the chance to try out her magic here, even though she has only been in this cold wonderland for a single day and most of it was spent silently crying in the house of a strangely colored pegasus that likes animals almost as much as she likes to care for others. Although the task was meager, she thought of it best to use this opportunity to test if her magic was unaffected by Schmendrick’s spell.

Focusing her attention on the hamper, she struggled under the intensity of her power as her horn charged up from base to tip with her usual bright and silvery white light. Amalthea had never used her magic for telekinesis before -save once or twice-, so it was difficult at first to set her spell up right. With a little bit of added effort, an average-sized oak log was lifted from the hamper. The rabbit watched in awe as the log was slowly carried moved inside of the fireplace where it was lowered onto a pile of orange embers.

Amalthea smiled when she released her grip on the log and charged her horn again. When she felt that enough magic had gathered deep inside of her, she released it all as a small bolt of lightning that struck the log and caused a large plume of flame to burst out from within the fireplace, where it blew backwards, nearly touching Amalthea’s face.

She shook her head to get her bearings after a close encounter of the scorching kind. She checked herself for any scorch marks. When she found none, she checked on the rabbit to see if it was alright.

The rabbit’s face was completely covered in a thick layer of black soot. Amalthea could barely resist when she burst into a fit of laughter at its ridiculous appearance. The rabbit opened its eyes and looked at itself head to toe. At first, it looked hurt, but after a failed attempt at wiping its own face, it soon joined Amalthea in a good bar of laughter. The happy unicorn mare smiled and rubbed away the soot with a clean patch of fur on one of her front hooves.

“Honestly, Twilight I had never known before that Fluttershy knew how to sow.”

“Don’t you already know how to do that Rarity?”

Suddenly, Amalthea heard two different voices from outside, one prissy and one on the plus side of happy-go-lucky. Both voices sounded feminine. The rabbit turned towards the door in alarm and bounded towards the stairs.

“Well of course I do! But this book holds some of the more ‘talented’ secrets to the precious arts of sewing and knitting. I will use these techniques to their highest peak!”

“Do you think Fluttershy is home?”

Suddenly, the door to the cottage opened and two small unicorns about the size of Fluttershy step inside, one white and one of the color of lavender. Their horns were lit up with magic as they levitated two books in the air above their heads.

“I’m sure that she wouldn’t mind if-”

Suddenly, the white unicorn gasped when she caught a glance of Amalthea’s face. Amalthea shot to her hooves and backed away in shock.

“Rarity, what’s-umm...”

Amalthea turned to meet the lavender unicorn’s wide eyes. She stopped backing up when the unicorn stepped forward once.

“E-excuse me, but who are you?” asked the lavender unicorn.

“And what are you doing in Fluttershy’s home?” said the white unicorn.

“I-I...” Amalthea stammered to get the words out.

“Twilight!”

Fluttershy slowly flew in through the open door and landed on the hardwood floor.

“Oh, hey there Fluttershy. Sorry that we barged in here like this.” said the lavender unicorn.

“Spike told me that you were on your way here. I need your help with something.”

“Help with what?” asked the unicorn. Fluttershy pointed across the room towards Amalthea who had now returned to her position back in front of the fireplace.

“Oh, umm...hello there.” Amalthea turned her head and shied away from the unicorn’s curious face.

“H-hello to you as well, I think...” replied the unicorn.

“Well, this is certainly a surprise.” exclaimed the white unicorn.”

“Rarity, Twilight, this is-”

“Fluttershy! Hey, Fluttershy!”

Just before Fluttershy could introduce Amalthea to the unicorns, a second pegasus flew in through the open door and landed next to Fluttershy.. Amalthea looked surprised to see that its coat color was multicolored. Shades of red, blue, and every other color of the rainbow filled its mane in several layers of vibrant hues.

“Fluttershy! Have you seen Twilight around?” asked the colorful pegasus.

“Not now Rainbow Dash.” said the lavender unicorn.

“Oh c’mon! I just need to know if you happen to have the third series in-who’s that?” the pegasus asked while pointing a hoof towards Amalthea.

“Girls-” Fluttershy started.

The leaves of a nearby potted plant rustled and the entire plant, soil and all rose up into the air. The head of a pink mare with a wide grin and a fuzzy pink mane poked out from within the pot.

“Well she’s a unicorn, duh!” said the pink mare while she rolled her eyes.

“What the?-Pinkie I didn’t ask what she was! I asked-”

“Girls!” Fluttershy shouted.

Everypony in the room immediately shut their mouths and shockingly started at Fluttershy. Amalthea was taken aback by how thunderous the voice of the usually calm and quiet pegasus was. Fluttershy coughed once and blushed in embarrassment.

“Hehe, sorry about that.” said Fluttershy. “Girls, I would like to introduce you to, Amalthea.” Amalthea smiled and raised a hoof and waved at the conglomerate of ponies.

Everpony but Fluttershy walked up to the newly introduced unicorn and introduced themselves. Amalthea smiled sheepishly and said hello back to each of them.

The one known as Pinkie Pie zipped in front of everyone and glared with awe at Amalthea’s form.

“Whooooa! You’re really tall. Like really, really tall!” cooed the pink pony. Amalthea blushed.

“Well, thank you Pinkie.” Amalthea replied.

“She’s as tall as Princess Celestia! How could that be?” Rarity asked.

“I...don’t really know Rarity.” said Twilight. “Where are you from Amalthea?”

“Well, I...was from a forest. A very special forest that is probably torn apart by now...”

“You live in a forest? The Everfree Forest?” asked Rainbow Dash while she scratched her head in confusion.

“What is the Everfree Forest?” Amalthea asked. Everypony, even Fluttershy looked confused at her question.

“Uhh, the most dangerous forest in all of Equestria? The only forest out here for miles around? Unless you came from the griffon territories- “

“There are griffons in this place too Fluttershy?” Amalthea interrupted to ask.

“Yes, of course there are griffons, just like there are alicorns.” Fluttershy explained.

“Wait, she asked if there were alicorns too? What does she mean Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy looked at the ground for a moment. She searched her mind for a reason, but in the end only shrugged her shoulders. Now everypony in the room was looking to Amalthea for an answer.

“Amalthea...” Fluttershy started, “you...never did tell me where you came from or how you got here did you?”

Amalthea looked nervous. She breathed in deep and let it out before having to face the inevitable. “Well, I owe it to Fluttershy for what she has done for me.” Everypony lowered themselves to the ground and laid flat on the floor. Amalthea did the same.

“This is going to take a while.”

Part 3

“-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.

Part 4

A/N: I apologize in advance if this chapter seems of less...quality than anything else I have written. My brain hates me for not getting enough sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

A chilly breeze surged through air and whistled around the corners of homes and shops left and right. Amalthea adjusted the cloak over her neck to try and cover her face, but to little avail as another surge of ice pick wind slammed into the left side of her body. The pearl colored unicorn and her canary pegasus friend halted their advance until the winds died down, leaving their coats dotted with flakes of crystalline snow. The cloak was now an even darker shade of blue, damp with melted ice shavings. The bone chilling fabric made her quiver where she stood, her hooves already dug deep into a thin layer of soft snow underneath. Her hooves were fine, but her face felt like it was dunked into a pail of stinging cold pond water, the frozen moss brushing against her muzzle. The thought itself was terrifying to say the least.

Fluttershy splayed her wings out and shook them frantically, letting the snow drop off from her coat and onto the icy ground beneath her hooves. After flicking her tail once to free it of spare flakes, she moved to adjust the purple scarf wrapped around her neck.

Amalthea felt a sneeze coming on. The thin, somber air nipped at her nose like a hungry lizard. She held her breath to try and contain it, but her muzzle was already beet red and solid as a rock. There was no stopping the rough vibrations that surged their way up the back of her neck, racing to meet the nostrils. Thinking quickly, she wrapped the cloak in a veil of magic and brought it around to her nose, just in time to meet the vibrant surge. She released a great sneeze, baying with bone chilling apathy as the cloak became even more saturated with cold water.

Frantic with sudden worry, Fluttershy turned her head and gasped silently when she got a look at Amalthea’s dismal state. The white mare lowered the dripping wet cloak in front of her nose and let it fall to the ground.

“Amalthea!” Fluttershy gasped before turning around to face the sickly unicorn. She took notice to the wet cloak on the ground, her need to show kindness raised by the fact that her strange unicorn friend was now exposed to the winter elements. “Oh you poor thing. Are you sick?” Fluttershy whimpered.

Before Amalthea could open her mouth to reply, Fluttershy was already unwrapping the scarf around her neck and brushing away the stray snowflakes left behind. The telltale twitch of the frost white unicorn’s nose signalled the coming of another sneeze, but by some strange miracle, it went away, as if her own body was playing tricks on her, a feeling similar to the early times where Amalthea thought that seeing a sky blue pegasus with a multi-colored mane was an act of humor played by her mind.

Fluttershy moved to wrap the scarf around Amalthea’s neck, but her kindly offer was refused when Amalthea nimbly shifted back a few feet, kicking up a small tuft of powdery snow, which splayed out on her lower neck, only adding to the problem.

“Thank you for your charitable offer, Fluttershy, but I’m alright, really.” said Amalthea.

Fluttershy stepped back and looked at the unicorn with eyes of worry. “A-are you sure? Your nose is awfully runny, and the sneezing-”

“Trust me Fluttershy. I’m alright. Just an after effect of the snow is all. Nothing to worry about.”

“Oh...”

The two continued to stare awkwardly at each other for several minutes more, the only thing breaking the silence being small gusts of chilled wind that blew through their manes.

Fluttershy was the first to snap out of her nerving trance when brought her gaze down to the wet, blue cloak lying in the snow, a thin blanket of crystals having already covered most of it.

“But, I don’t want to leave the cloak out here in the snow, and I would feel just awful if you get cold and start sneezing again...” Fluttershy worryingly murmured.

Silence fell over the scene again, but only for a short moment. Amalthea sighed, defeated, and lowered her neck to the ground, giving in to the strangely unbearable kindness of the one who cared for her. Fluttershy, smiling warmly with revitalized tolerance, moved closer to Amalthea’s head and draped the scarf down the unicorn’s neck, tying it into a spaghetti knot to secure it in place. The canary pegasus dug the cloak out from the snow and slung it over her back. She turned down Amalthea’s offer only moments later to take the scarf back, and the two ponies continued down the snowy forest road, passing by tree after tree, stripped of their leaves and grey with frostbite.

~~~~~

“Fluttershy...they’re staring at us...” Amalthea whispered at a barely audible level.

“It’s alright. Just stick close, and follow me.” Fluttershy whispered back as she and the unicorn mare rounded a stack of barrels and zipped past the corner of a winter fruit stand.

As they crept alongside the plaster walls of the marketplace buildings, ponies everywhere stopped and stared at the sight of the unusually tall unicorn stalking the streets, some with mouths agape. Amalthea squeaked silently and repositioned the scarf closer to her face.

“Fluttershy?” Amalthea worryingly whispered.

“It’s alright, just keep close.” said Fluttershy. “This isn’t the first time they’ve seen somepony strange come into town before.”

“Strange?” Amalthea asked, slightly hurt by the use of the word.

“Oh! Sorry about that, but it’s just something that has happened over before. There’s a zebra that lives in a dark forest near Ponyville, and--”

Fluttershy stopped mid-explanation when more of Ponyville’s curious populace turned their heads away from market stands, some of them continuing to loudly spread the social disease that was gossip to everypony that crossed their field of vision.

In the background, a filly and her mother rushed through the crowd, the mother determined to get her foal safely away from the impending chaos. Amalthea watched through the corner of her eye as they darted through the narrow openings in the sea of multi colored coats garnished in winter clothing. As the mother and daughter moved off to the side wall, they passed by Fluttershy and Amalthea, the mother bearing a toothy grin, her filly staring at Amalthea, wide eyed and full of wonder. The filly broke away from her mother’s side and stopped in front of Amalthea, still staring up at the nervous unicorn’s covered face, while her mother continued forward, oblivious to her filly’s sudden absence.

“...hello.” Amalthea whispered, smiling nervously. The crowd in the marketplace fell silent, scopic eyes trained on the unusual white unicorn of their curiosity.

On her words, and to great surprise, the filly dropped to her knees and splayed both of her front legs on the ground, head bowed and eyes closed.

Like flame to gunpowder, the crowd exploded into a wild fit of banter, wild accusations, and a much broader version of gossip, their words carrying on for what felt like miles in every direction. Somewhere within the frost covered crowd, moved three black shadows, darting underneath everypony’s legs. One of them crouched underneath a tall, brown stallion and pulled out a large, bulky-looking apparatus from somewhere unknown. A bright white flash engulfed Amalthea’s vision, blinding her for a short time. When her view became clear again, the three shadowy figures were nowhere to be seen.

“Ohmygoodness, ohmygoodness.” Fluttershy stammered, shaking like a leaf.

“Oh boy, we’ve gotta get out of here. Maybelline, where--Maybelline!” the mother gasped when she turned around and noticed her precious filly laying flat on the ground, motionless. She darted to the filly’s side and swiftly forced her to her hooves.

“Maybelline!” shouted the tan-coated mother, provocative stare bearing down on her child. “You know that I hate it when you wander off somewhere without telling me first!”

“B-but mom-” the filly stuttered.

“No buts, Maybelline!” the mother cut in. The filly folded her ears back and crouched low to the ground, slowly retreating into herself as her worrying mother continued to scold her in front of half of Ponyville.

After giving the filly a stern talking to, the mother turned to Amalthea, keeping her gaze focused on her unruly child.

“I’m terribly sorry that you had to see that.” The mother slowly turned her head away from the filly, starting from Amalthea’s hooves and slowly making her way up to meet her face. “It’s just-”

The mother stopped mid-apology, and gasped when her eyes reached Amalthea’s face, eventually moving to glance at her majestic horn.

“Princess Celestia!” gasped the mother mare.

The white unicorn cocked her head to one side as the mother quickly dropped to her knees, positioning herself in the same bowing position that the filly had done only a few minutes ago.

“Please forgive me, princess. I just didn’t know that you would be visiting Ponyville today. Honest!”

Princess? Amalthea thought.

“Please forgive me for my behavior! It’s just that my daughter tends to stray away from me sometimes. I promise, it won’t happen again!”

“I-I still do not-”

Suddenly, Fluttershy pounced onto Amalthea’s front leg and pried her away with unusually great strength, quickly dragging her away from the pleading mother. Eventually, she released the unicorn’s hoof and started galloping towards the start of a long, winding road that stretched over a tall hill leading to Sweet Apple Acres. Amalthea, still dazed from recent events, had no choice but to give chase, leaving behind a confused crowd of ponies plus one frustrated, sobbing mother.

~~~~~

“I knew it! I knew that if we went through Ponyville we would attract too much attention! I knew it!” Fluttershy profusely scolded herself.

The travelling pair trudged through the thin snow of the midday winter and stalked past the front gate of Ponyville’s renown apple farm. The light snowfall had let up for the day, but the chilly temperature certainly had not. To see Fluttershy suffer for the benefit of another was something that Amalthea simply could not let pass by without notice. She knew that the unrelentingly courteous pegasus was only doing what she thought was right, but then again, for as long as she had been alive, she also knew that a border line had to be drawn eventually in one’s life. There’s kindness, and then there’s punishing yourself for not being kind enough, a lesson so rare in life that just about every creature in the world had adopted carelessness as a way of solving their problems.

Amalthea was not careless.

“-and the market of all places! Why did I ever think that a place as crowded as the market-”

Fluttershy’s words were cut off when a familiar looking scarf was draped over her head, then wrapped around her neck with a veil of magic. Confused, she turned her head back to face Amalthea, whose keen horn was glowing at the tip with a silvery white ball of light. The horn brightened and dimmed as the charitable unicorn magically tied the scarf into a simple, doubled-over knot around her neck. When she was finished, she took a step back and examined her work, smiling.

“Amalthea?” said Fluttershy.

“Don’t try to give it back, Fluttershy, for I owe you so much already.”

“I don’t understand...”

“Fluttershy, even though we’ve only known each other for a few days, what you have done for me, I could never pay back.”

“What?”

“You shouldn’t punish yourself just because you made a mistake. So far, everything you’ve done has been for my well being.”

Amalthea resumed walking, her uncovered neck bobbing slightly with each forward motion of her slender legs. Fluttershy, biting her lower lip and still frantic with inner guilt, bounded to her side and joined the strangely calm, satin unicorn as they slowly trudged through the three inch high fields of snow towards the Apple family home.

“But it’s my fault that half of Ponyville now thinks that you’re Princess Celestia!” Fluttershy protested.

“Me? A princess?” Amalthea replied, a small thread of inaudible chuckles to follow.

“It’s just that-...well, now that so many ponies have seen you...”

“What would make them believe that I am their monarch?” Amalthea asked, head cocked to one side, curious.

Fluttershy looked away, blushing.

“Well...your horn...”

“What about my horn?”

Fluttershy said nothing, keeping her focus turned away from the all too interested unicorn, her upper lip still bright with sondering discomposure.

“Flutter-”

“Well howdy there, Fluttershy!” shouted an orange-coated mare garnered in a brown and green scarf and wide brim hat tilted up high over her straw-like mane, stopping in front of Fluttershy with cheerful expression on her face.

“Hey, Applejack.” Fluttershy murmured.

“Well hey to you too, sugarcube! Who’s your tall friend he-”

Upon looking up at Amalthea’s face and getting a look at her long, regal horn, the orange mare stumbled in her pose.

“Princess Celestia!” Applejack exclaimed before dropping to her knees and bowing to the white unicorn, keeping both eyes closed to show respect for Her Supposed Majesty. Fluttershy just stood there, mouth hung open slightly, worried as to how Amalthea would react.

Applejack peeked one eye open and grimaced up at Fluttershy. The canary pegasus could only stand there, feeling the weight of the awkward situation slowly sink in.

“Psst! Fluttershy! That’s the princess!” Applejack hissed between clenched teeth.

“Umm...Applejack?” Fluttershy spoke softly. Applejack rolled her eyes.

“What?” The cowpony hissed again.

“That’s...not the princess.”

“Wha’? What do ya mean?” Applejack asked, still hissing.

Feeling the need to get the point across, Amalthea lowered her head to meet Applejack face to face, putting on a warm, welcoming smile to accompany the orange mare’s bashful stare.

“Well, you must be Applejack, right?” Amalthea asked.

“Y-yeah, I’m Applejack...” Applejack replied, turning her gaze back to Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy? Are ya sure that-”

“I’m sure, Applejack.” Fluttershy replied, smiling.

“Oh, well...” said Applejack as she slowly rose from the ground. “That’s...a relief, I guess. Sorry about that, miss...?”

“Amalthea, but the miss is not needed.”

“Phew! That sure takes a load off ah’ my shoulders, hehe.” Applejack laughed, sheepishly. “Ah’ don’t think I’ve ever seen anypony ‘round here like you before, ‘cept for Princess Celestia. Where ya from?” Applejack asked.

“I live in a forest, far, far away from here. Farther than the eye can see anyway.”

Applejack tipped her Stetson hat to Amalthea. “Well, nice ta’ meet you, Amalthea. I’m Applejack, but I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of me already.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Applejack. Fluttershy talked about you on our way here, even though there was wasn’t much to learn, pardon the offense.”

“None taken.”

Off to the side of the introduction, Fluttershy grunted loudly into her hoof, although a little rude, still attracting Amalthea’s and Applejack’s attention.

Fluttershy blushed. “S-sorry, girls, but umm...Twilight.” said Fluttershy, pointing a hoof over by the barnyard fence, where the brainiac of a unicorn trotted through the snow up to the three girls, wearing hoofmits and an oversized fuzzball cap that bounced up and down with each step she took.

“Hey there Fluttershy, Amalthea, Applejack.” said Twilight.

“Hey there, Twi’” Applejack replied, tipping her Stetson hat again.

“Hello, Twilight.” said Fluttershy.

“Very nice to see you again, Twilight.” said Amalthea.

“It’s nice to see you too, Amalthea. Listen, I’ve got great news! Princess Celestia answered to my letters about you, and she wants to come all the way to Ponyville to meet you personally!” Twilight happily exclaimed.

“Your monarch? Coming to your town just to see me?” Amalthea quizzically asked.

“But that’s not all! She also wrote that Princess Luna is coming along with her! Doesn’t that sound exciting?”

“Princess...Luna?” said Amalthea, head cocked to one side.

Fluttershy moved to Amalthea’s side, staring up at the confused unicorn.

“You know, Princess Celestia’s sister? The one I’ve been telling you about?” said Fluttershy.

“Oh...”

“The Princesses comin’ down to little ole’ Ponyville? Why the sudden appearance? Can’t ya’ just quote Amalthea’s answers to their questions and send em’ off to Canterlot in a letter or somethin’?” Applejack asked.

Twilight shrugged her shoulders. “Beats me, but I’d rather not question them just yet. Amalthea, the princesses could arrive at any moment, so I need you to come with me to the Ponyville library, just in case.”

“Why a library?” Amalthea asked. “With the way they treated me in the town marketplace earlier today, I wonder as to why no other place would seem safe enough for a princess.”

“Wait, what?” said Twilight, sneering quizzically. “What happened? In the market I mean.”

“Well, a little one-”

“I’ll explain it later, Twilight.” said Fluttershy in a hurry, knowing it wholey and truly that she rudely cut Amalthea off, but only for the sake of situation.

“Ooook then...” Twilight replied. “Anyway, ready to go, Amalthea?” The white unicorn nodded her head in reply.

“Do you mind if I come along?” Fluttershy hopefully asked. “I-if that’s alright with you of course...“

“Care if I tag along with you gals?” Applejack asked. “I wanna hear more ‘bout Amalthea’s whereabouts. Sounds pretty interesting to me.”

“Sure. I don’t mind.” Twilight replied before leading the girls in a sluggish trot down the frosty dirt road leading back to Ponyville.

“So, Amalthea ain't’ it? Care to tell a little more ‘bout where yer’ from?” Applejack asked.

“Of course, Applejack. Now, where do I start...”

Part 5

“...and so, here I am. Far away from my friends and relations, but at least I’m far away from the Red Bull. Such a spiteful, nasty creature,” Amalthea shuddered at her own mention of the beast of her nightmares.

“Golly...” Applejack spoke softly. “You’ve been alive for that long? How could ya’ cope with livin’ in fear of a big mother hubbard like that?”

“The Red Bull was imprisoned for over a thousand years, and during this time, the land from which I am from was at peace, until now...”

The trio arrived at the Ponyville library not even a half-hour later, the snowfall having ceased along the way. The front door of the library was enveloped in a shroud of violet magic, and with a single twitch of Twilight’s head, the door flew open with swift force. The girls walked inside, brushing flakes of snow from their hooves before rubbing them on a soft floor mat.

“Let’s hold off the life’s history for now, girls. We can talk more about it when the princesses arrive,” Twilight insisted, slipping off her hoofmits and hanging her bell hat on a nearby coat rack.

“Twilight, dear? Is that you?”

“Heyya, Twi’!”

“Hiiii, Twilight!”

“Oh, don’t tell me...” Twilight groaned. Twilight and the other girls turned and looked toward the reading parlor, where Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were gathered around on a floor rug, waving them over.

“Girls, what are you doing here? Princess Celestia is going to be here any minute for a private meeting!” warned Twilight, alarmed.

“Private meeting?” said Rarity. “So why did I receive this letter requesting my ravishing presence here, hmm?” The well-kept unicorn levitated an unraveled scroll into the air, flashing the royal seal at the bottom of the letter.

“You got a letter from Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked.

“We all did!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, flashing her own signed letter. Pinkie Pie followed suit.

“What, why? I was told that Celestia and Luna were going to speak to Amalthea personally!”

“There is nothing personal about the safety of Equestria, Twilight...”

Like a ghost in the night, Princess Celestia creeped up from behind Fluttershy and moved to Twilight’s side. Taken aback by her sudden appearance, everypony save Amalthea dropped to their knees, bowing in respect to Her Royal Highness.

“Hello, Amalthea,” said Celestia, turning her head to meet Amalthea’s wondering gaze. “It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“Y-you know her, princess?” asked Twilight, eyes wide with shock.

“I-I don’t understand...” Amalthea murmured.

“You may rise. All of you,” ordered Celestia, keeping a blank and unreadable composure. The girls rose to their hooves, Rarity taking a few moments of spare time to move her hair back behind her shoulders.

“Wait a minute, where’s Princess Luna?” asked Rainbow Dash, quizzically scanning the room.

“Right here,” The dark equine announced, entering in the same fashion as Celestia, moving up to Amalthea’s vacant flank.

“Amalthea...” said Luna, blankly scrutinizing the white unicorn from hoof to head. “How nice to see you again.”

“Again?” questioned Amalthea. “I-I’m sorry, but I’ve never met you before. Come to think of it, I’ve never met any alicorn in my life!” The wonder-filled unicorn curiously looked over Luna’s figure, taking special notice of her black, sapphic wings and her long, black horn. Luna, smiling nervously, took a few steps away from Amalthea. Though bittersweet, the feeling of being adored easily stuck with the princess of the night.

“Do you not remember me?” Luna asked, taking a few additional steps back for good measure.

“I highly doubt that she would, Luna,” Celestia noted.

“It’s only been a few...thousand years, sister,” Luna giggled. “She’s got to remember something about us!”

Much to Princess Luna’s annoyance, Applejack perked up during the conversation. “Ah’ apologize in advance for breakin’ up this little reunion, but can somepony please give a shoutout why we’re here?” asked the confused, orange mare.

“And could you please tell me as to why I had to reschedule my private time?” Rarity added.

“And my time with the Cake twins!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

“I don’t even know why I’m here. It was just me, kickin’ back in my home, good book in my face. Then along comes Spike, aaand...you get the idea,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Umm...s-sorry for saying this, princess, but I think that we’d all like to know why you’re here...” Fluttershy whispered.

“And let me guess,” Applejack started, “Equestria’s in danger again, right? Ah’m not one to be picky, but it’s wintertime! Shouldn’t these big ol’ monsters be on a holiday or somethin’?”

“That is not of our concern,” spoke Celestia.

“I wonder how your mane gets so wavy like that,” cooed Amalthea, still hitting Luna with compliment after compliment about her previously-legendary looks. Luna was trying her best to hide a thin line of blush visible above her lips, her strategy of using her transparent mane as coverage being about as effective as a glass tea towel.

“Amalthea,” Celestia started, turning around to face Amalthea. “Listen, and listen carefully. Our time is heavily limited.”

“A-alright, I suppose...” Amalthea murmured, looking away from Luna.

“Now, I need you to tell me everything you remember about the Red Bull.”

For reasons unknown to her, the way that Celestia spoke the beast’s name sent a chill colder than the outside air down Amalthea’s neck. Her eyes flashed solid, and her memories were sent into a thundershock, rekindling the fire and flames originally long-doused in her conscious. The singing butterfly, Mommy Fortuna’s warnings; all coming and going in light of her eyes.

Amalthea’s eyes went dull and grey. Her beautiful, shining pupils, once filled with heavy-hearted memories, were now blank and lifeless as memories of the Red Bull flashed through them like firecrackers.

“Amalthea?” said Fluttershy with worried eyes.

“What’s wrong with the poor dear?” asked Rarity.

“Stay calm, girls,” Celestia urged the girls. “I was afraid that this would happen. Luna?”

Thinking ahead, Luna eased herself up to Amalthea’s side, and very slowly closed the distance between their faces as if they were loving relatives, gently nuzzling into the unicorn’s pearl white cheek while trying her best to keep her horn away from the unicorn’s eyes.

The girls could have never looked more surprised even if they tried. Pinkie Pie’s jaw dropped like a sack of bricks. Rarity and Fluttershy was busily planting both hooves over her mouth to conceal their blushing. Twilight on the other hoof was too busy preventing herself from formulating wild accusations and putting them all to question, thanking her lucky stars that nopony else was around, save her friends.

“H’oh boy...this is gettin’ weirder by the minute,” murmured Applejack, slowly backing up to Fluttershy’s side.

Celestia, unphased by the girl’s shocked expressions, moved her head forward, putting her lips up to Amalthea’s exposed ear.

“Amalthea...” Celestia whispered softly. “...it’s us.” The caring princess whispered the three barely audible words into the shaky unicorn’s ear before doing something the girls would have never expected from a pony of such high royal class. Taking it slow, the regal alicorn snaked her neck around Amalthea’s head, pulling the two together in a hug without hooves.

Amalthea’s eyes were hit with a splash of vibrant colors, returning the shine in her eyes as the two alicorns next to her continued to nuzzle her affectionately.

“S-Selene?” said Amalthea, mumbling. Luna smiled and gazed up meaningfully into Amalthea’s eyes.

“...Alectrona?” On those words, Celestia uncoiled her neck around Amalthea’s, bringing the side of her head to rest against Amalthea’s cheek, smiling softly.

“At long last, we’re together again...” said Celestia, smiling.

“And to think that I was too young to remember one as dear and as kind as you...” Luna followed up, happily continuing to nuzzle Amalthea’s neck. The satin unicorn closed her eyes and gladly accepted Luna’s gentle caresses, smiling with each new movement she made.

“Girls,” Celestia started, “Do not be alarmed by what you see. Long ago, this sort of greeting was normal between friends.”

“Friends?!” shouted the girls.

Amalthea giggled when she saw the girl’s shocked expressions. “There’s more to this than what Alec--...Celestia has just told you. But, her mention of the Red Bull...” Amalthea nudged Celestia away from her face. Celestia, though slightly reluctant, complied with pleasure, smiling warmly when she and Amalthea locked eyes.

“The Red Bull is why we are here,” said Luna, slowly backing away from Amalthea’s side. “Amalthea, the Red Bull has--”

“--returned, yes. I know. I’ve known for quite some time,” said Amalthea, feeling slightly guilty for having cut in.

“You...you’ve known about this?!” exclaimed Celestia, eyes wide with shock.

“For how long, Amalthea?” Luna gasped.

“I didn’t think that you--” Amalthea started, only to be cut off by a furious rainbow pegasus’s outburst.

“Hold on! Just hold on for like five minutes, ok?” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Rainbow!” Twilight snapped.

“Let it go, Twilight.” said Celestia, turning to face the girls. “I suppose that everypony here deserves answers, yes?” The girls nodded.

“I know from long ago that pegasi can be a bit grumpy,” Amalthea started. “But to see one angry...”

“Let’s hold off on that for a little while, Amalthea,” Luna suggested, raising a foreleg in front of her.

“Please, everypony, sit. There is more to this than you think,” said Celestia, lowering herself to her haunches. Luna, Amalthea, and the other girls followed suit. Celestia, encouraged by memory of Amalthea’s warm smile, cleared her throat in silence before speaking.

“I’m sure that you all have a lot of questions as to why Luna and I did what we did, and how the two of us know her and greet her as if she were part of the royal family. Well, that’s because...she is,” Twilight, face full of wonder, already had her hoof raised halfway into the air, soon forced to lower it when Rarity annoyingly blocked it with her own hoof.

“Or was, rather,” Luna continued from where Celestia had left off. “Long ago, before the kingdom of Equestria was formed, there lived a race of utopian unicorns with an incredible magical prowess unlike anything you have ever seen before!”

“From conjuration, to the powers of controlling the weather, these unicorns were some of the most powerful and most gifted creatures in all the land,” said Celestia. “Through these powers, they created and lived in peace, caring for one another, and protecting each other from whatever may choose to harm them,” Twilight was practically on the edge of her seat with excitement.

“Uh huh, uh huh. She told us already!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, pointing her hoof at Amalthea. “What does this have to do with us? I get pulled out of my bed by some letter, and now I have to sit through a little foal’s storybook reading!”

“We’re getting to it, miss Dash. Just hold on for a few minutes more,” pleaded Luna. Rainbow Dash grunted and crossed her forelegs over her chest. The old ways of the pegasi were all coming back in Amalthea’s eyes, making her giggle on the inside.

“Anyway,” Celestia awkwardly continued. “Through the power of their friendship and love for one another, the unicorns brought all the known world to a peaceful resolution for all innocent creatures, save only those as powerful as the unicorns, who could have destroyed their entire race if they wanted too, but even they wanted to live peacefully. Like the pegasi, or oddly enough, the minotaurs.”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t paying attention in the slightest, having already been told most of the information by Amalthea a few days ago, once again wasting precious reading time. Rarity, disgusted by Rainbow’s rudeness, urged her to pay attention with a cold stare. The rainbow-haired pegasus grunted and complied with latency.

“So how do you and Luna know Amalthea, and why do you act so caring around her?” Twilight asked. “You said that she was a member of the royal family, but she’s told us her age, which was what really shocked us from the start, and seeing as to how young she looks, on top of the similarities she shares with you, then I could only assume that...” Twilight paused, the thought of a terribly shocking truth slamming into her mind like a bolt of greased lightning. Celestia nervously looked away from Twilight. She knew what Luna knew, and by the slightly ashamed look on her sister’s face, the unveiling of her secret long-kept away from the warring eyes of Equestria was going to be a painful one indeed.

The girls watched as Twilight rose to her hooves and moved closer Celestia and Amalthea, taking long stares back and forth between their faces, taking note of the similarities and the differences. Her search turning up empty, she peeked around Amalthea’s front and took a quick glance at her cutie mark, finding very little useful information to work with.

That cutie mark... Twilight thought. But, her name. Amalthea...Selene...Alectrona? They sound similar, but how could--

Then, it hit her.

No...no! It can’t be! That’s impossible! She’s just a unicorn! How could--

“Twilight, dearie, is something wrong?” Rarity asked, slightly worried.

“No, Rarity,” Twilight replied, turning her gaze back to the still-nervous royals. “But there’s something that I just have to know.” Soon, even Amalthea had caught on to Twilight’s thoughts, but not in the bad way that Celestia and Luna had taken it. The feeling of shame was somewhat of a mystery to her.

Twilight stepped closer to the downtrodden regal. Luna watched her with quiet distress.

“Amalthea’s strange, but sudden appearance, the way that she looks, the friendship you share and the way that you share it. I can only draw one conclusion, and princess, I must ask you a single question...”

The anticipation set in from Twilight was so thin that you could cut it with a butter knife. All eyes were now on the lavender bookworm, ready and waiting to listen in on what she was about to say. The all-too-friendly trio held their breaths, bracing for the worst.

“Is Amalthea...your sister?”

A coat of silence overtook the tension-high atmosphere as the girls looked to Celestia for an answer.

“...yes,” murmured Celestia.

“Our long-lost, left-alone, cold, frightened...” Each word Luna spoke stabbed into her soft soul.like a barbed dagger. Tears welled up in her eyes as the princess of the night began to sob with remorse. Amalthea, with her ages-old kindness, forced a new wave of emotions to rise. With the utmost care, the caring unicorn leaned down and nuzzled Luna behind the ears while the nightly alicorn sobbed into Amalthea’s neck fur.

“There is nothing to be ashamed of, Luna. We did not leave her,” said Celestia to her crying sibling.

“Oh my, i-is she alright?” asked Fluttershy in a whisper, moving to brighten the mood of the solemn princess.

“What’s the matter with the poor dear? Is there anything we can do, princess?” asked a worried Rarity.

“No, girls. This has happened only one other time, and Luna pulled through it just fine,” explained Celestia, watching as her secret sister whispered soothing words into Luna’s ear.

“Please, allow my...sister to finish.” said Amalthea, pulling her head out from behind Luna’s ears. She nodded to Celestia, who nodded back in acknowledgment and looked towards the girls.

“Yes, Amalthea is my sister, but Luna is also my sister, but this has been so for thousands of years. Long ago, in this very land, centuries before Equestria was ever founded, unicorns were practically worshiped as the highest and most powerful of all the creatures. Nothing could match up to our strength, our majesty, or our magic.”

“But you’re not unicorns! You’re alicorns!” Twilight cut in. “Amalthea is not an alicorn, so how can you say that she is your sister? How does any of this make any sense?!”

“Yes, Luna and I are of alicorn origin, but that does not make Amalthea any lesser part of my family.” The snow white equine fell to her haunches, then slowly descended to the floor until she lay flat on her stomach. “We share the same parents, but Amalthea was the middle child.”

Amalthea nudged Luna to her hooves, the black and blue alicorn having ceased her crying only a few short minutes ago. Luna looked away from her sisters and the girls, not wanting to experience any more pain from sorrowful memories.

“May I explain, Celestia?” Amalthea asked. “Or would you prefer it if you did?”

“Go ahead, Amalthea. I fear that if I tried to explain it, Luna may descend into sadness again.” Celestia waved Amalthea off, signalling her to begin. Amalthea nodded and turned to face the girls.

“You see girls, thousands of years ago, Celestia, Luna, and I lived together in a grove of peace made all of our own. We tasked ourselves everyday to keep the world which we lived in balanced. Of course, we were much younger back then, which made our everyday plans a little difficult. Celestia raised and lowered the sun and the moon, for Luna was just a little one and her magic was not strong enough for such as task. My job was to protect the innocent creatures of our domain from harm, such as predators or natural disasters. We lived in such a way for decades uncountable, until the Red Bull came...”

Celestia felt it right that she picked up the rest of their history. “To the North lived a bipedal species of mammals, vicious and infamous for their heinous acts of killing and violence. They have long since died out, but their actions still run red with the blood of those that have suffered at their might. But, out of all of them, lived a single creature. A king with such a distaste for the world outside, he felt only sadness and misery for his entire life.”

“What does any of that have to do with the Red Bull?” Twilight asked.

“This king felt that the only way to restore happiness in his life was to capture and hold none other than the most beautiful and majestic creatures to have ever existed.”

“The unicorns...” Luna whispered, shuddering.

“One day, the king made a deal; a deal with a devil, the Red Bull. Luna and I left our forest home to lower the sun and raise the moon, just like we did every day. We trekked through the land, and scaled up the side of the tallest mountain until we reached its peak. But, when we arrived, Luna felt that something was terribly wrong. It was as if all the world was silent; void of all noise. The unicorns that we usually passed by were not there to greet us.”

“There was nothing but silence...” Luna whispered through partially-opened lips.

“Then, as we descended the mountain, the ground beneath us began to shake. The earth split open and crumbled as hundreds upon hundreds of unicorns sped towards us, sweeping us by left and right. The looks in their eyes were horrible; menacing; terrified. They were running in fear. Fearful for their lives. On the rise, the Red Bull ran behind them, chasing the unicorns to the ends of the earth. For a minor second, it turned its gaze to Luna and I. His eyes were filled with rage, his soul with fire, and his body with pain, terrible pain. Just as the unicorns were, we were frightened beyond belief. For reasons unknown, we could no longer control our actions. We wanted to escape the beast’s gaze, but couldn’t. Our minds were compelled to turn and flee. We ran with the unicorns, day and night, never stopping. We grew tired, weary, and just when we thought the worst was over, the Red Bull herded us to the sea, where we were kept as his prisoners, defenseless, powerless, and without any hope of rescue.”

“So, where was Amalthea when all of this happened?” Twilight asked.

“I...” Celestia’s mind drew a blank. “I don’t know, Twilight.” She turned to face Amalthea with worried eyes. “Where...where were you when the Red Bull took us away? Where were you, Amalthea?”

Luna, eyes wide with sudden epiphany, rose to her hooves and backed away from Amalthea, lips quivering. “Where were you while we suffered? When we were forcibly torn away from each other?” Stray tears began to fall from Luna’s eyes.

“Selene, please--” Amalthea started.

“No!” Luna shouted. “You are not worthy to call me by that name! You left us, and you know it!”

“She did not leave us, Luna. We left her, alone and without family,” said Celestia.

Luna opened her mouth to respond, but only sobs came out, broken and full of hurt. Giving up entirely, she fell to her haunches and let her head hang low, allowing Amalthea to approach the grief-stricken princess and lovingly pull her into another hug.

“I’m sorry, Amalthea. I’m just so sorry...” Luna whimpered. Amalthea whispered calming words into her supposed sister’s ear as her sobs began to clear up.

“The elements of the cosmos...” Twilight whispered, looking down at the floor, deep in thought.

“Please forgive me, princess,” Rarity perked up. “But there’s just one thing I can’t seem to wrap my head around...”

Celestia turned away from the tearful scene, and looked to Rarity with teary eyes of her own. She nodded her head once, acknowledging her request to speak.

“Referring back to Twilight’s questions, how is it that Amalthea is related to you and Luna as a sister?” asked Rarity. “I don’t see many similarities here, save the height and horn length.” she pointed out, taking back and forth glances between the two.

“I think we all wanna know that, sugarcube,” said Applejack, nodding in sync with the other girls.

“I’ve got it, everypony!” exclaimed Twilight. “The cosmos! The elements of the cosmos!” Twilight rose to her hooves and spun around to face the girls.

“Their names, everypony, the similarities! Think about it!” Twilight turned in the opposite direction, streaking a sweeping hoof across the three equines. “Just look at them! Same height, same horn length, and oddly enough, same hairstyle, but there is one little difference that makes them unique!”

“Well, ah’ don’t see any wings on Amalthea there. That’s ‘bout all I could give ya,” said Applejack.

“Close Applejack, but not quite,” said Twilight. The purple-haired unicorn turned full circle, scanning the many bookshelves around the room until her eyes fell upon one. Using her magic, she levitated a large, felt-bound omnibus down from the shelf and up to her face, opening it and flipping through the many aged pages before stopping.

“I never thought that these names would come up, but hearing Amalthea say them only makes them more true!” Twilight beamed while she stared down at the book’s text.

The unicorn looked up from her reading and pointed a hoof to Celestia.

“Alectrona...”

Then to Luna.

“Selene...”

Finally, she pointed to Amalthea.

“And...well, Amalthea!”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” demanded Rainbow Dash.

Twilight giggled, giddy with excitement having finally pieced it all together. “It’s all too obvious, Rainbow Dash! Those names are incredibly old, but their meanings remain clear. Alectrona, the sun; Selene, the moon; and Amalthea, the stars! They’re the elements of the cosmos, all three of them! In today’s dialect, those names translate to yours truly. Celestia, Luna, and Amalthea, which stays the same. They’re meant to be together! If one falls away, they no longer remember who they really are. Most of their memories would just vanish in a short time.”

“It seems to be that your times of study have paid off, Twilight,” said Celestia, smiling at her student’s accomplishment.

“Thank you, princess,” Twilight replied, smiling back before closing the book.

“But names aren’t going to help us now...” Luna spoke up in a whisper. The dark-maned alicorn freed herself from Amalthea’s embrace and looked towards the girls with worried eyes. “The Red Bull is getting closer. I can feel it...”

~~~~~

He made it.

At long last, he had arrived, weary and exhausted.

His head hurt. His chest hurt. His legs hurt.

His entire body was in pain. Terrible pain.

With each step he took, another blade of ice cleaved through his bulk. His inferno flicked, threatening to die out as another wave of jagged snow slammed into his midsection. He cried out in agony, screaming bloody-mary.

For days now he had been running across this icy, hardened land, never stopping, never resting; not even for a second. He saw nothing along the way, his senses carrying him wherever they may take him.

He took another step forward, powering through the remainder of the icy torrent. When it cleared, he bulked up and charged ahead, completely ignoring the pain as he started up a tall hill. He was so close to his prize that he could almost taste the sweet nectar of triumph.

Soon, very soon, his troubles would be over. All that he had worked for, all the pain that he had suffered would soon grant him victory over the last of his sworn enemy.

Within a minute’s time and at the speed of freight train, he came to a thundering halt at the top of the hill. He stared down from the high point; down at the sight of a prosperous village on the valley floor.

It didn’t make any sense. The marauding race of which his old master belonged to had long since died out. Did some fraction of their species survive their own destruction?

Nevermind that for now. The scent he had been following was still thick in the cold air. He took it all in, savoring in the mystifying luster. It would be a glorious day for him indeed to end the accursed unicorn’s life once and for all. His original prime directive was no longer necessary. Taking the time to chase the unicorn to its watery prison would only slow him down, and may possibly kill the unicorn in the process.

Upon taking in a second whiff, he realised that he was closer than he thought. He followed the trail with his nose until his own eyes fell upon a tall, tree-like structure. A binocular inspection with his ominous eyes revealed that it was in fact, a home carved out from a massive oak tree. Most intriguing, but he wasn’t here to admire the village architecture.

His prize was in there. Cowering behind the tree’s thick walls like a rat in a trench. No barriers would stand in his way. If he could run through a mountain and live, then he could most certainly take down a few mere walls of wood.

His suffering was almost at its end. He reared his head to the sky, looking up to the dark, drab clouds that blanketed the roof of the world. Most of his memories were gone, burned and charred by the flames of hate that lived within his soul. A cruel form of memory loss, but to him, nothing else mattered in the world right now.

With anger and pain still boiling in his molten heart, he parted his jaws and belched a flaming, thunderous roar; a roar so powerful and strong, that the force of it vibrated the air around him and tore a large, gaping hole in the clouds above, which was quickly mended by a rogue head wind.

Much to his annoyance, already at a great height, another snowy wind came around, slamming into his face head on, blinding him. He didn’t care. So long as his other senses led him to his enemy, he could care less about anything else in the world.

He positioned himself for a charge on the hilltop, poising his legs underneath his massive girth.

It was time. Time to end it all.

Part 6

“L-Luna? How close is he?” Celestia stammered, fearing for the lives of everypony in the room.

Luna’s entire form shook with fear. Her legs quivered, her cloven hooves rattling against the hardwood floor beneath her. The bull was close, and getting even closer with each passing second. Ever since she was informed of Amalthea’s presence in the land, she experienced countless nightmares every night; sometimes during the day even. Every night for the past few days, she would awaken in a cold sweat, shivering in Celestia’s arms, eventually told that she was screaming in her sleep. Her nightmares were mere figments of future events; things that she knew would eventually come true, and when they did, Equestria was going to need a miracle.

“Luna?” repeated Celestia. “How close is the bull?”

...

“Very close...” whispered Luna.

Suddenly, as if a thousand banshees wailed with a force greater than any other, the library windows, both up high and down low, shook violently with the walls before cracking and splitting apart, sending shards of glass and wood splinters flying through the air like throwing knives. The girls screamed and ran for cover, ducking behind tables and chairs just as the projectiles came near. The three equine sisters dropped to the floor and covered their heads and faces with their hooves.

Amalthea winced in pain as she felt the harsh sting of several wooden barbs cutting into her skin from high above. She could feel blood trail down from the open wounds, dying small parts of her coat an unpleasant crimson color. She panicked, cringing with each attempt made to stand up straight, only to fall to the floor again to wallow in pain.

Just as quickly as it came, the wailing ceased. The walls stopped shaking just as the dust began to settle over the terrifying event. Chilly winds whistled through the open, windowless pores in the woodwork, blowing in flakes of snow every so often with each new surge.

Danger was coming, and in full force.

“Is everypony alright?” stammered Celestia, scrambling to her hooves in a panic before moving to assist Luna.

The girls moved out of cover, rubbing their ears and moaning in agony.

“Argh, geez that was loud!” moaned Rainbow Dash, rubbing her temples.

“You can say that again...” said Applejack, picking up her hat from off the floor and dusting it off before putting it back on.

“Aaargh! Geez that was loud?” questioned Pinkie Pie playfully as she bounced out from behind the cover of a bookshelf.

“Whatever...” mumbled Applejack, rolling her eyes.

“Girls! Amalthea’s hurt!” Fluttershy cried, leaning over the battered body of the sacred unicorn.

Luna was the first on the scene, having scrambled out of Celestia’s helping hooves and sliding her way across the floor to the aid of her secret sister.

“It’s alright,” said Amalthea, somehow finding the strength to rise to her hooves. She stumbled twice in doing so, only to be caught in Luna’s embrace and helped to her hooves again. “We have bigger problems to worry about,” she continued.

“She’s right, everypony,” said Celestia, turning to face the girls. “The Red Bull is very close. If he finds us, then there is very little chance that we would be able to stop him.”

“Wait, what?! What do you mean, princess?” exclaimed Twilight, baffled by Celestia near-will to flee from the danger. “If the girls and I were able to take down something as chaotic and powerful like Discord, then what makes you think that we can’t stop something as simple as a bull?”

“You have never seen the bull, Twilight,” Luna snapped angrily as she inspected Amalthea’s cuts and bruises, magically cleaning and mending each one she found.

“But that’s just it. Seeing the bull is the problem,” implied Celestia. “The bull’s gaze is what drove the unicorn’s into a state of fear. It would be nothing but pure terror; a horrifying experience unlike any other.”

“If anypony were to so much as glance in his direction, the unicorns of Ponyville would suffer the same fate that Celestia and I have been through,” Luna finished.

“Nopony else save Amalthea, Luna, and I know about the Red Bull and its capabilities. We need to drive the bull away from the town, making sure to get it as far away from here as possible!” exclaimed Celestia.

“Then let’s get out there and show him who’s boss!” yelled Rainbow Dash, leaping into the air and making an immediate streamline flight for the door.

“No!” everypony yelled, stopping Rainbow Dash mere inches from the handle.

“Look girls, the longer we stand here, the closer the Red Bull gets to Ponyville. We need a way to stop him, and fast...” warned Celestia.

“Banishment, maybe?” suggested Rarity. “Pardon my brash suggestion...”

“Turn the big guy in a big statue?” suggested Pinkie Pie, cocking her head.

“Neither of those will do,” said Celestia. “I would need to confront the bull to do such things, and confronting him is the problem.”

“So, we can’t use magic, nopony in Ponyville except for you three knows what he can do, and, to top it all off, we don’t know how to stop him. Great...” Twilight groaned.

Amalthea bit her lower lip, feeling trapped in a bubble of hardships. The bull was a creature of pure hatred. Nothing stood in its way. It didn’t matter how powerful or magical her sisters were. So long as the bull could see, no magical creature would dare stand against it. If you had a horn, then you were his sworn enemy.

But then, a thought came up in the satin unicorn’s mind.

If she managed to stand against the bull once before, then what’s stopping her from doing it again? She fought against the bull’s evil stare once before, and locked it away in its own watery prison, freeing the entire unicorn species in the process.

If she could do it in the past, then why not now?

“I have an idea...” spoke Amalthea, inciting the attention of her two sisters.

“Tell us, Amalthea, please,” begged Celestia.

Amalthea paused for a moment, breathing in deep before speaking. “Long ago, I defeated the bull and freed the unicorns, including Celestia and Luna, though this I can barely remember. The bull uses fear as its weapon of choice, but all fears, no matter how large or how small, can be conquered through willpower and courage...”

“What are you suggesting, Amalthea?” asked Twilight.

“We need to confront the bull, head on, and prove it to him that we do not fear him. From there, we can be rid of him for good...”

Luna huffed a hard breath through her nose, bearing a tough, hearty look on her face.

“She’s right,” said Luna, standing high and mighty. “We must confront the bull and drive him away from the land. It will not be easy. We just have to be brave, and never give in.”

The girls smiled, nodding their heads to each other in approval of the plan. Amalthea and Celestia turned and shared a smile with each other, feeling proud for their sister and her new coat of bravery. The nightmares that once troubled the dark alicorn were a thing of past, soon to be vanquished completely under the might of solemn bravery and kinship.

“Yeah!” yelled Rainbow Dash, pumping a hoof into the air. “We’re not afraid of some tub of lard with horns! We can take him!” Rainbow Dash leaped into air and hovered for a moment before kicking the door open, blowing in a wave of sheer cold air.

“Dash’s right, everypony!” exclaimed Applejack. “I ain't’ gonna sit around and let some big mother hubbard tear up mah’ town!”

“I’m with ya, Dashie!” shouted Pinkie Pie, leaping to Applejack’s side and forming up in a ready pose.

“As am I!” said Rarity, following suite.

“I-I’ll come along, if that’s ok...” Fluttershy whispered, smiling sheepishly while slowly moving to Rarity’s side.

Celestia and Luna smiled, feeling hopeful knowing that they wouldn’t have to step into such a difficult conflict unassisted.

The three sacred sisters led the excitable party out into the snow, stopping just a few feet away from the door. Off in the distance, faint screams followed by bared roars could be heard through the whistle of the snowy wind, coming from the center of Ponyville and echoing off the surrounding hills and mountains, sending a cold chill down everypony’s spine. So much for bravery.

“He’s here...” whispered Amalthea.

“Then we don’t have much time,” said Celestia.

Twilight sighed. “Splitting up isn’t going to work out. We’re just gonna have to hope that he finds us before we find him.”

“The bull is searching for me,” said Amalthea, starting off on a slow trot before looking over her shoulder and coaxing the others to follow. “I’m the reason he is here. If we do not find him, and fast, then more souls than mine would suffer...”

~~~~~

The screaming.

All around him, he could hear nothing but the screams of hundreds of panicking souls as he moved blindly through the cobblestone streets. The whiteness of the snow ahead of him impaired his vision, making his trek arduous but worthwhile. The snow beneath his massive body melted into pools of cool, clear water before boiling into a steamy vapor. He enjoyed the chilling effect of the hot steam rising around him.

Suddenly, he stopped, feeling the presence of another pest in his way.

He could feel the pest’s hate and need to defend the town. He could also feel the magic that emanated from its form before eventually driving up to a strong focal point.

Another unicorn; another pest.

He could hear the unicorn bark orders into the havoc surrounding him, keeping his magic charged for use on the defensive before releasing control of it, sending a bright, fiery ball of energy his way.

The energy slammed into his midsection like a swing from a broadsword, making him stumble in his walk. The pain was intense. His whole form cringed under the might of the force, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to let yet another pest stand in his way.

Ignoring the pain the snow brought on, he opened a single, fiery eye and gazed deep into the unicorn’s soul. Within seconds, the one-horned creature turned tail and fled, just like all the others.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the silhouettes of what he figured were tiny horses quivering the in the dark alleys between the damaged homes and shops, cowering in fear after watching several of their own beaten down by such a mighty, powerful being. It made him feel like a truly feared force again.

Through the clouded vision of his eyes, he could make out the tree home and the streetlamps next to it in the distance. With each step he took, the scent of his enemy grew stronger; guiding him; showing him the way.

He was so close to his prize, he could almost taste it.

~~~~~

“It’s worse than I thought...” said Celestia, baffled by the extent of the damage on the town as dozens of ponies ran through the streets, passing them by left and right.

“The bull’s getting close,” said Luna, taking a step forward. “Come on, he can’t be far...”

Luna led the party into Ponyville town square. All around, dirty snow covered the streets and clouds of dust peaked into the air, setting a thin layer of musty fog reaching up to everypony’s chest. It was like a ghost town. Shops and homes were vacant of all light, the available only light source coming from the street lamps above.

“I-is he...h-here?” Fluttershy stammered, shaking in fear.

Before Luna could open her mouth to reply, a low roar sounded out nearby, and a large, flaming wooden cart hurled out of a nearby alley and slammed into a nearby building, smashing into pieces upon impact. The ground shook beneath their feet as their worst nightmare stomped out of the alleyway into the open, snarling like a rabid dog. The girls could practically feel Celestia and Luna’s bodies quiver in the midst of the fire and ice.

As soon as the beast stepped completely out of the alleyway, a horrified mother and her equally frightened foal bolted out of the same alley, speeding away on swift hooves.

The bull must have noticed their fear. He swung his massive body around to look at them, only to stop halfway at the sound of a soft voice; a voice filled with both shock and hurt.

“It’s you...” said Amalthea, bravely stepping forward towards the bull with Celestia and Luna at her side.

The bull turned back around and furrowed its flaming brow, flashing his horns in the chilly open. With what looked to be a great pain to him, the bull widened his eyes, darting them left and right. Celestia and Luna cringed, but held their ground. They could see the fear of thousands of precious souls swirling the bull’s red, rougious eyes.

It was all coming back to them. The unicorns, the separation, their imprisonment...

“Enough!” yelled Amalthea, stamping her hoof, pulling the bull’s menacing gaze away from her sisters. “I’m the one you came here for, not my sisters!”

The beast gave little response to Amalthea’s outburst, brushing it off as if he knew about the secret sisterhood between the white unicorn and her similarities.

“Your gaze will have no effect on me. I have seen evil before, and it’s standing right in front of me.”

Amalthea dug a hoof into the snow and lowered her neck, pointing her horn directly at the bull. She stared up at the bull’s fiery back, resisting all temptation to look at the bull square in the eye.

“I have defeated you before, and I will do it again,” exclaimed Amalthea boldly. Celestia and Luna smiled at each other, feeling proud for her sister’s bravery to confront such a horrid monster.

“Then I will be at your side,” said Celestia, stepping up next to Amalthea.

“As will I,” said Luna, following suit.

“Don’t forget us!” exclaimed Twilight, crawling up behind the three sisters with her friends in tow, bearing the same menacing looks and poses as Amalthea.

The bull raised its head, looking over Celestia’s shoulder at the crowd of young mares behind her. Everypony before him stood ready and without fear. His fiery gaze would have no effect on them so long as they stood as one.

The bull sneered at the formation before lowering his head to the ground, hiding his eyes away from the magical legion.

“It’s over for you,” said Celestia. “You’re outmatched, and underpowered. I am giving you only one chance. Leave now, or face eternal banishment...”

Luna shook at the sound of Celestia’s final word. For a split second, she became sympathetic for the bull. Banishment wasn’t exactly a friendly retreat, and the time you spent in banishment all depended on Celestia’s mod. She felt relieved to have only received a thousand years in banishment, but there’s no telling how long the bull would suffer in solitude for the things he has done.

Suddenly, off in the distance, a clap of thunder sounded off in the cold air, heightening everypony’s senses.

“Thunder?” questioned Rainbow Dash, looking up towards the cloudy sky. “Since when do you hear thunder during the wintertime?”

“And what’s mister big and scary laughing at?” asked Pinkie Pie, pointing to the red hot beast who was releasing gasps of breath that sounded very much like laughter.

“What’s going on? Why are you laughing?!” stammered a wide-eyed and worried Luna, taking a few precautionary steps backward.

“That’s an interesting thing to ask, Selene...” spoke a low tone, demonic voice. Everypony gasped, and Amalthea stumbled back in surprise as the bull lifted its gigantic head again.

In an instant, the heat that surrounded the bull’s body exploded into a roaring inferno, shooting white-hot jets of flame several feet into the air, scorching the rooftops of nearby buildings. The girls leaped back to avoid the immense heat. Celestia, Luna, and Amalthea however stood their ground, shaken but remaining vigilant.

As the flames died down, the glow in the bull’s eyes shifted from red to an ironically angelic off-white, radiating and intermixing with a vibrant hue equal in strength to Celestia’s sun.

“So,” spoke the bull. “Here we stand after so many centuries...” said the bull as he scanned his vision across the three sisters, taking note of how much they have changed since the last time he saw them.

A bolt of white lightning flashed in the distance, followed by yet another clap of thunder. The girls were starting to get worried as a chilly wind picked up, throwing snow from the rooftops and onto the beast’s back, only to vaporize immediately into a fine steam.

“I-It t-t-talks?!” Fluttershy stuttered, cowering in fear behind Applejack’s mane.

“Did you really think that bravery was going to save you in this hour, that it was going to get me to leave this wretched place and never return?” asked the bull, slowly making his way towards the equinal triumvirate.

“Get back, girls,” whispered Celestia over her shoulder as she, along with Luna and Amalthea, backed away in direct proportion to the beast’s movements.

“I am not here for them, dear Alectrona. I am here for her...” grunted the bull, turning his gaze to Amalthea.

“Well good luck trying to get through us, pea brain!” insulted Rainbow Dash after she leaped off the ground high into the air.

“Insolent pests, the pegasi...” the bull snapped, baring his teeth at the ambitious rainbow mare. “There’s a reason why the unicorns are better than you in every way! You’re nothing more than pests, brown smears of weakness on the face of the earth...” Rainbow Dash growled at the bull’s last words, holding back the sheer temptation to fly down there and punch the annoying, snot --or flaming rather-- nosed bull square in the jaw.

“And just how do you plan on herding every unicorn in the world to your prison in the sea?” said Amalthea, putting on a smug, but serious grin.

“Herding them? Prison?” the bull chuckled. “Oh no, Amalthea, that would be too much work for one such as I.”

Amalthea reared back, looking to her sister’s with a shocked expression. “W-what? What do you mean?” she stammered.

Celestia and Luna looked to each other, confused.

“You see, I’ve learned something during my thousand year imprisonment,” said the bull as he began to pace from left to right. “If a weakling such as Amalthea managed to lead me into my own prison, then what do you believe went wrong? If I were to imprison the unicorns again, then somehow, someway, another spiteful creature will rise and attempt to free them. This, I cannot allow...”

The bull ceased its pacing before continuing with his speech. “I must rid this world of all unicorns forever! And there’s only one way to do that...”

Suddenly, it clicked.

The three sisters went wide-eyed with sudden realization. Why didn’t they see it before? The mad soul of the Red Bull would never rest until the world is free of unicorns, but over the course of a thousand years, the bull stirred with his thoughts. His motives must have changed, dramatically. Herding them to the sea would never work, and the nearest ocean was much too far away. His only option was, ironically, clear as day.

“W-what’s he talking about, Twilight?” asked Rarity, shivering.

“I-I...” Twilight could barely get the words out, her mind having been petrified with fear upon realizing the bull’s intentions.

“He doesn’t want to imprison the unicorns...” started Amalthea. “He wants to--”

“Kill. Them. All. And make them suffer, just as intended...” said the bull, growing impatient. The bull huffed a jet of blue flame through his nostrils before turning to glare at Amalthea.

“You were once the last...” said the bull, digging a forehoof into the ground. Celestia and Luna poised and readied themselves to strike at a moment’s notice. “But now...you will be the first!”

On those words, the beast broke into a furious charge, running faster than even the most dexterous of ponies. Heavily underestimating the bull’s speed, the three sisters leaped out of the way just in time, missing his horns by mere inches. The girls scattered as the mighty beast came barreling towards them at great speed.

The bull skidded to a stop, nearly running into the front face of a shop. It whirled around, readying itself for another hard charge.

From high above, a very close, but extremely loud crack of thunder resounded in the sky, bringing with it flashes of white, jagged streaks that stretched across the grey sky as far as the eye could see.

Just as the winds began to pick up, a deep, powerful moan echoed through the streets, curving and twisting in pitch in tune with the wind.

“Can you hear him, Amalthea?” taunted the bull. “He is crying out to you, warning you of the horrible fate that awaits you...”

“What is he talking about, Amalthea?” asked Luna, worried for her distressed sister.

“Your little wizard friend won’t be around to protect you this time. I made sure of that...”

Amalthea bared her teeth, narrowing her brow at the smug creature as her frustration boiled into intense, violent anger.

“I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done to him!” Amalthea shouted, lowering her horn in the bull’s direction. Her eyes threatened tears having been forced to pull back to old memories. The sights, the sounds, and the flames above all painted a picture in blood in her eyes. She began to worry deeply for those around her, but the most tearful thought of all, was the fate of her relations back home. If only she could have done something about it. If only, just for once, her emotions would not get the better of her, forcing her to take a guilt trip to hellish places still buried deep in her memory while the world outside wreathed with danger.

She was the reason why the bull was released from its watery prison. She alone doomed Equestria to a horrible fate.

“He can not save you, and you know it!” shouted the bull. “Your fate is sealed, one way or the other. You, your friends, and every unicorn in this world will burn by my sight!”

Another crack of thunder came around, this one being much closer. The winds started to gain speed as the low moaning grew louder. Dust and snow from the low ground started to kick into the air, dampening everypony’s vision in a white blanket of discolored ice.

“No matter what you do, no matter what sort of trick you play, nothing, and I mean nothing can save you now,” growled the bull as he lowered his horns for his next charge, digging one hoof into the ground to ready itself once again.

“Amalthea, don’t listen to him!” said Celestia, coaxing her sister out of her sad stroll down memory lane. “We can do this. Luna and I are by your side!” she finished as Luna stepped up next to Amalthea with a smile on her face. Amalthea smiled back, feeling content knowing that her sisters would be there to help her through and through.

“It matters not,” said the bull. “Even through this, you must realize that you are doomed...”

Suddenly, a surge of cold wind slammed into the bull’s midsection, making him cry out in pain as the flames on his skin hissed and flickered. All around, a fierce snowstorm blew through the streets, knocking everypony save the three sisters to their knees. With frightening speed, the storm grew in ferocity, running wild without the presence of a team of pegasus ponies to stop it. Not even Rainbow Dash’s strength could keep her on her hooves as the winds blew her down with the rest of her friends.

From high above, like it were an angel descending from the heavens, the black snow clouds began to shift and break apart, leaving a large, gaping hole in the sky directly above the drastic scene. Bolts of lightning flashed and thunderclaps resounded everywhere as a beam of bright green light shot out of the gaping maw and struck the ground in front of the bull. The bull stepped back, watching the mystical act with flaming eyes of anger.

Within the space between the sisters and the bull, something spectacular was taking shape. Flares of white light grew in intensity as the green light within formed an astounding shape, bending into rounded curves to form what appeared to be a head and legs.

Everypony watched in awe as the green silhouette of the incoming entity formed into a body unlike anypony had ever seen before. Its pose was like a dragon’s, standing high and mighty, two legs and tail, with its forelegs positioned just right. In its left paw, it carried a long, bumpy stick with a spherical endpoint at the top.

“What is that?” uttered Amalthea, stepping further back for safety.

“You should know me, dear friend, and I am here to put an end to this...” spoke the booming, elderly voice of the glowing apparition.

On those words, all light surrounding the apparition faded away, taking the dark silhouette along with it, revealing to everypony a being that they completely misinterpreted before.

Standing boldly before the bull stood none other than the roving wonder himself, Schmendrick the Magician, clothed in elegant burial robes with a long, grey beard running down his chin. He had no hair, save a few grey streaks across the top and whatever scraps of hair existed behind his ears. The great man stood tall; a good seven feet from the looks of things. Amalthea was stunned.

“Amalthea?” whispered Fluttershy nearby. “Is that who I think it is? Is that the friend you were telling us about?”

“I thought this guy was supposed to be dead!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

“What are they talking about, Amalthea? What is he?” asked Celestia, looking to the white unicorn for an answer.

“Will you just stay quiet?” yelled the old bag in raspy breaths, looking over his shoulder before turning back to face the bull. “Now, what do we have here?”

The bull staggered back, awestruck at the sight of a living, breathing creature from the species of his memories, long forgotten. He had only seen such a creature one other time; his master, or rather his majesty, King Haggard.

“I take it that you remember me?” questioned Schmendrick, smiling a coy, wrinkled smile while bringing his staff to bear in both hands.

The beast snarled, baring his teeth. “You were supposed to be dead!” he growled. “I was sure of it!”

“Death works in...mysterious ways,” said Schmendrick, rubbing his chin all the way done to the end of his epic beard. “But for you,” he started, lowering the business end of his staff in front of the bull’s face. “Well...for you, death will be the least of your worries,” said Schmendrick with a chuckle.

Keeping his staff pointed at the bull, Schmendrick looked up to the sky, where the gaping maw of the hole still stood wide open. From the far edge of the hole, bright rays of sunlight began to shine down upon them as the sun started to peek over the practical horizon. It was breathtaking to say the least.

When the sun came out in full force, everypony turned away to shield their eyes from the light, but Schmendrick just kept on staring without a care in the world. The heat felt from the rays was intense, and everypony save the three sisters backed away to a cooler patch of ground, but Schmendrick just continued to stare, seemingly scanning his eyes across the white-hot solar surface. Any daring pony who did that would have his retinas crispy-fried by now, but the old man paid no mind to his vision.

“No, death is too good for you...” whispered Schmendrick, looking back at the bull. “You need...time. Hard time.”

“H-he’s not considering what I think he’s considering, right?” said Luna, shaking in her hooves having put two and two together in just a few seconds. In her eyes, the solution was both painfully obvious, and mortally feared.

“You wouldn’t dare...” growled the bull, making a move to stand again.

“You belong within a cell; your own dungeon more like!” yelled Schmendrick, lifting his staff back up to his side. “No earthly prison could ever hold you or your anger! There is only one punishment meant for a beast such as you...”

Schmendrick lifted his staff a few inches off the ground before ramming it down to the hard. Sparks flew out from the base of the staff upon impact, and the earth beneath the two hot-headed beings began to shift, pushing away clumps of snow and dirt until only the cobblestone of the streets remained. Tension built up high as the bull found himself bound by the magician’s whim.

The spherical tip of the great magician’s staff began to glow a bright white as another fierce wind picked up from behind, howling through the narrow alleyways nearby as more cracks of thunder came and went like the echoes of war drums. It were as if a grand ritual were taking place, summoning forth the strongest of the elements. Amalthea, though still shaken, was getting a bit excited, anticipating what the roving wonder would do next.

It was over for the bull. He had nowhere to run. He was doomed, and by the looks of how he was backing away, he knew it. No prayer nor piece of black magic could save him from his fate long overdue.

“To the sun with you...” uttered Schmendrick, bringing his glowing staff to bear in both hands again.

Light and magic gathered all around the fiery beast, constraining the bull and muffling his desperate roars. Fluttershy, even with her likeness for animals, could hardly watch as the helpless creature was catapulted into the sky in a cocoon of white light before vanishing in the midst of the sun’s flare, never to be seen again.

Epilogue

Three, equally-timed raps came from the door, alerting Twilight Sparkle to rise from her book reading.

“Come in!” Twilight shouted over her shoulder, closing the book, making sure to mark her place first before turning around in her chair.

The door lever twisted and turned before unlatching. The heavy door creaked open, and a tall, broad-shouldered guard took two steps into the room before stopping, keeping his head held high.

“Forgive the interruption Miss Sparkle, but her royal highness, Princess Celestia requests your presence in her chambers,” spoke the guard through his golden helmet.

“Thank you, sir,” replied Twilight with a smile.

Twilight levitated the book back into it’s place on a nearby bookshelf before stepping down from the chair and following the guard out into the hallway. The two continued to line the many corridors and passageways until they came to a tall, curved staircase.

“Did she give any reason why she wants to see me?” Twilight asked as they started up the stone steps.

“No, Miss Sparkle. All I know is that it’s a private meeting. Her royal highness Princess Luna is with her, plus one guest, but I know nothing more than that.”

After much climbing, Twilight and the guard stopped off at a very tall, elaborately decorated door. There must have been every gem under the sun embedded in the door’s face. Gold and silver outlined each and every carved symbol and piece of colored stone, symbolising Equestria’s sudden prosperity as of late.

The guard raised a foreleg and knocked three times on the door. From behind the door, a muffled voice keyed up. Both guard and lavender unicorn backed away as the door began to open, stopping only after a few seconds, leaving a small gap in the doorway only about a meter wide.

“I must return to my duties. Her Royal Highness is expecting you. Good day,” said the guard, turning around and walking back to the descending flight of stairs.

Not wanting to keep her mentor waiting, Twilight did a quick once over of her appearance before stepping through the doorway.

The princess’ bedchamber was the most lavishly decorated room in the castle. Even though she’s seen it more times than she could count, the level of luxury always fascinated Twilight. Everything from the crystal chandelier up high to the tapered floors rugs below spelled luxury in several languages, each one of them ending off on a soft note.

“Over here, Twilight,” spoke up Princess Celestia from across the room, sitting next to Luna at a chess table. The lady Amalthea sat on the other side of the table, focusing hard on her chess pieces as if they were part of a test. Twilight smiled and trotted across the room to her mentor’s side.

“You can do it, Thea,” encouraged Luna, posing as Amalthea’s opponent in the match.

The white unicorn looked up and nodded before returning to her thoughts. Very carefully, Amalthea flared magic into her horn and lifted a bishop piece off the table, placing it in an empty space facing an interesting formation of knights on Luna’s side.

“It’s her first game, and Luna’s teaching her how to play,” whispered Celestia into Twilight’s ear.

“And it’s much more difficult than I imagined,” said Amalthea with a nervous chuckle.

“You’ll get the hang of it. It just takes practice,” said a cheery faced Luna.

“Would either of you care if we postponed this now that Twilight’s here?” asked Celestia with a smile.

“I suppose,” replied Amalthea, stepping away from the chess table.

“Fine,” Luna groaned, rolling her eyes playfully. “But let’s make it quick.”

The two sisters took up positions next to Celestia’s sides, forming a regal line for the talk ahead.

“Twilight, I guess it comes from the three of us when I say thank you for all that you and your friends have done in the past few days,” said Celestia. “Thanks to your help, we have averted a danger unlike any other, and once again, Equestria is safe.”

“Thank you, princess,” replied Twilight with a smile. “But to be honest, we never expected such a bizarre twist of events! We were just expecting a simple friendship.”

“I’m more in favor of Schmendrick’s actions,” Amalthea spoke up playfully. “You heard him. We had little chance of beating the bull by ourselves. Who knows what would have happened had he not arrived?”

“We could have taken him! I know we could have!” yelled Luna, inciting giggles from Celestia and Amalthea.

“I doubt that, princess,” said Twilight with a smile. “Anyway, is there anything else you wanted to tell me?” she asked.

“All I ask is that you keep the events of the last few days a little bit on the...quiet side,” said Celestia.

“Somepony’s gonna find out about your secret sisterhood eventually, princess,” Twilight pointed out. “You can’t keep her locked up in your bedroom forever you know.”

“Oh, I’ll reveal it eventually...” started Celestia. “Why wouldn’t I? After all, it’s not like she’s the last. No...”

“She’s the last no more...”

The Last No More

All around, the winds calmed themselves down to a mild breeze before dimming out completely, halting the storm. It was finally over. Everypony let out a deep sigh of relief as the hero of the hour turned and locked eyes with Amalthea, smiling a short, wrinkly smile.

She wanted to break down in tears; happy tears, joyful for the rather dramatic return of her closest friend, but Amalthea knew better than to make a scene such as that. She needed closure, of both friends and family.

“It’s been too long, dear,” said Schmendrick with a chuckle as he slowly made his way across the snow, using his staff as a walking stick to balance his creaky steps. “Never thought I’d see the day when you would step out of the grove.”

Amalthea smiled, taking heart to the old man’s dull antics. “You brought me out of the grove, remember? When the bull--”

“Aye, I did...” Schmendrick cut in, raising a hand before lowering it again. “But it was for your own protection. That you must remember.”

The great magician took notice Amalthea’s two similarities, who were both smiling short, friendly smiles as complement.

“I take it that these two are your family long forgotten?” asked Schmendrick. Amalthea nodded. “Alicorns, eh’? And to think I’ve seen the last of them...”

The aging magician was truly a marvel to behold. During the heated argument between the bull, Celestia must have detected energy levels at least five times that of what any other unicorn could put out. His power might even be a match for her own magic, given the proper circumstances.

The princess looked behind her to find the girls shaken, but alright. Most of them looked upon the face of the stalwart magician in awe while Twilight stared at Celestia with hopeful, pleading eyes. Taking the hint, Celestia sent a smile and a nod her way. Twilight smiled back and coaxed the girls to follow her with her hoof, leading them to her mentor’s side.

Schmendrick turned his gaze away towards the girls and smiled, not appearing the least bit surprised.

“Well, Amalthea, I can certainly say this,” said Schmendrick before he began chuckling. “For being one of the last, I’d say that Mother Nature prefers coloring over design...”

“Mother what?” questioned Twilight, cocking her head.

“Nothing, nothing at all,” Schmendrick waved it off. Celestia tried her hardest to contain a goofy grin.

Suddenly, another clap of thunder roared in the air just as the sun began to set over the sky hole’s horizon. Alarmed, Schmendrick looked down at his wrinkled, cracked...fading hands. He smile dipped down into a sorrowful frown. He knew this moment would come as he dug his staff into the ground and leaned against it.

“Sch-Schmendrick?” stuttered Amalthea, looking worried. “What’s wrong?”

“I-is he sick?” asked Fluttershy.

“Is the poor soul tired?” asked Rarity

“Ah’ think ya’ll better take a look at this...” said Applejack, standing at the base of Schmendrick’s feet.

Everypony followed the cowpony’s gaze down to the base of Schmendrick’s robes, only to gasp at an alarming sight, or rather an alarming shadow.

After looking down at Schmendrick’s base themselves, the three sisters became frantic with worry.

“Sch-Schmendrick? What’s happening?” asked Amalthea, taking a step forward. She reached out to try and help the old man to his feet, but to great surprise, her hoof went straight through him, going through him from front to back.

“I was hoping to have departed by now, but I’m afraid it’s come to this...” uttered Schmendrick as he watched Amalthea slowly pull her hoof away in confusion. The satin unicorn’s eyes started to quiver as she examined her snow white forehoof.

“Schmendrick...” Amalthea whispered, her eyes hastening the threat of tears.

“I am still a dead man, Amalthea, merely a shadow of what I once was,” said Schmendrick. “My corpse was defiled and my burial sight burned to ashes, but my soul lived on. With it, a great of deal of magic remained with me, allowing me to communicate with the world of the living...”

“So that’s how you spoke to me each time I went to visit you...” Amalthea muttered.

“And every time in between,” Schmendrick continued. “When the bull attacked, I used my magic to send you away. It hurt, but at least you would be safe. For days I wandered the land, a lone, restless soul searching for the one he cared for the most. When I learned that the bull had found you here, I feared the worst. I saw you from up high, here, taking your stand against the beast with your friends and family. The bull had gotten stronger, and I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing! I tried calling to you, shouting at you from afar, pleading you to run away!”

“So the thunder...” Amalthea whispered.

“That was you?” questioned Twilight. Schmendrick nodded.

“It failed, and the situation seemed hopeless. Confronting the bull, even with your sisters would have been a terrible mistake. You might feel strong in numbers, but it would not be enough. I myself had to confront the bull, but doing so cost me a great deal of my strength, and whatever magic I had left was all that was keeping me on this earth, until now...”

“But if that’s what’s been binding you here...” Twilight started.

“Then very soon, I’ll be gone for good...” Schmendrick finished, releasing a pent up of sigh. “Amalthea, we must leave. I only have enough power within me to send you back home, but I certainly cannot force you. You may do as you wish.”

Amalthea was on the verge of releasing the floodgates. Her lips and legs quivered as Luna motioned to comfort her. Sadness and anger toyed with her mind several times in the past, but never as much as this. In her mind, she questioned herself repeatedly as to why.

Why did the Red Bull return?

Why did she forget about her sisters, and how special they were to her?

Why did Schmendrick take such a stupid, foolish risk that only succeeded in breaking her heart?

She looked all around, taking in the smiling faces of the girls. A scene such as this had to be the biggest mystery of all to her. Amalthea was in pain, yet instead of physically comforting her like her sisters did, they just stood back and smiled. It made her feel warm inside, like being wrapped in a blanket near a log fire.

Then, she looked to her sisters. While they were not smiling, their still, patient expressions managed to give her some comfort.

“He’s fadin’ pretty fast gals,” warned Applejack. “We’d better hurry.”

“Amalthea,” said Celestia, moving close to the satin unicorn’s side. “No matter the choice, know that Luna and I will always be with you,” she said with a smile and a nuzzle to Amalthea’s neck.

The white unicorn nuzzled back before turning to face the magician. “Schmendrick...” Amalthea started with a calming smile. “For countless centuries, you have cared for me, and watched over me, never once turning away...”

“Well, I did my best anyway,” The old man managed a chuckle.

“Of course,” Amalthea chuckled back. “My friends, my relations; you watched over us all, and for that, I thank you. My life in the forest was a peaceful one, but when the Red Bull found me, I imagine that he did more than just attack me.”

“Aye, once he destroyed my burial site, he burned everything, and in the rain no less! How he did that, I do not know. Sadly, I could not find the others. They either ran, or were killed. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” said Amalthea with a smile. “You saved me from death, and now I can return home, but what home is there to return to?”

Amalthea looked back at her smiling sisters before continuing. “At long last, I’m with my family again, and though my memory of them is short, I could never be happier.” Amalthea turned back to the grinning magician. “This is where I belong, with my family, and my new friends...”

“Noh’, Thea!” said a smiling, teary-eyed Luna as she wrapped her forelegs around Amalthea, squeezing her tightly. Celestia chuckled lightly before joining in on the sisterly hug. The moment was just too adorable for a certain group of friends to pass up. Only seconds later, everypony joined the equinal hug, delivering a brand new welcome that Amalthea would certainly cherish forever.

“And so, it is decided,” said Schmendrick, looking up to the sky before looking back down again. “It is time. I must depart...”

“I will miss you Schmendrick, deeply I will...” uttered Amalthea as the girls broke away from the hug.

“And I you. Farewell.”

Without any assistance, Schmendrick rose to his feet and limped away to where the bull once stood before turning around.

“W-wait, Schmendrick!” yelled Amalthea, startling her sisters. “How...how is your wife, Molly?”

“Oh, dearie, I’m doing just fine...” spoke an angelic voice from up high. Alarmed, everypony looked up to the sky, gasping at the sight of a strikingly beautiful, off-white winged angel hovering above the ground. The angel smiled and gave a short wave before turning to Schmendrick. “Ready to go?” asked the angel.

“You never were the patient type,” Schmendrick replied to the angel with a chuckle.

“I’ll never forget you Schmendrick.” said Amalthea.

Schmendrick said nothing, but instead nodded his head in reply before taking the angel’s hand. Within moments, the last of his essence vanished into the ether, the angel following suit, neither entity to be seen ever again. The hole in the sky sealed itself as a still breeze rustled through everypony’s hair.

For once in Amalthea’s life, the entire world seemed at peace.