Regrets

She was the Lady Amalthia, unicorn and human. None of the other unicorns could have realized what a sacrifice she had made for their release from the Red Bull, and no human could understand what it is like to love and be forever parted from love. Caught in between two very different worlds, she was a very confused being.

A soft whinny from behind the unicorn shook Amalthia from her thoughts of past times. A stallion stood behind her, his coat light silver that matched his eyes, his horn was white as his mane and tail.

She bent her head as she turned towards him, smiling a little when he nuzzled her.

"You have that look again."

"And what look is that, Zephyr?" Amalthia's tone was sharper than she would have liked.

"Have you been thinking of that human again?"

"It isn't any of your concern."

"Oh, but it is. The elders were very impressed when you saved us from the Bull, Starmane."

"Don't you dare call me that!"

"It is your name."

She turned away from him, pacing restlessly. "It was my name..." She replied softly.

"And still is."

Her snort cut him off. "Never again. Starmane is no more, as I've told you many times."

"And who is this Amalthia you keep mentioning?"

"I am."

"You're Starmane."

"I will have nothing to do with that life!"

"St- Amalthia... please tell me what's troubling you."

"Why do you care so much? You share my forest, sir, not my life." Amalthia backed away from him.

"You know I would have it otherwise."

With a sharp whinny of fear Amalthia turned and ran. Zephyr watched her go, his silver eyes clouded with shadows.

The stallion paced by his pool, staring at nothing and everything as he thought. It was hard remembering all their long years trapped in the sea by the crimson sentinel, but for now he felt those memories needed to be brought back. Perhaps they would lead him to the end of the puzzle he had come to know as Amalthia.

He had been a foal when the Bull came for them, just beginning to taste what his adulthood would be like. Then his herd had been driven to the sea to prance about on the waves for the Old One's delight.

None of the others liked the sea, but for a long time he had played in the shallows everyday without a single sorrow. There were so many wonders, such as the tiny fish that lived in shells or the bits of coral that sometimes appeared near the shores. He loved how the tiny fish would dart around his hooves as he played with the other colts, trying so see which one could get closest to shore. Most of them got too scared to continue long before they reached their goal.

But as the years faded Zephyr came to hate the sea and it's dangers, but he especially hated the Old One in his tower and his pet, the Bull. What right had they to imprison the unicorns?

It seemed as though nothing would ever change. Many of the elders had given up all hope of returning to the forests where they belonged, but some of the youngest of our herd still dreamed of fresh green grass to roll in. Then one night he looked into the sky and the Bull was chasing something white and more beautiful than anything Zephyr had ever seen.

Amalthia had never known the sea, only the cool green of the forest. She was wise and innocent... and full of untold pain. She ran from the Bull but he chased her to the water like he did the rest of us, and he had tried to cry out to her, to give her hope, just as he knew all the other unicorns were trying to do. But she did not hear them.

He saw her magician change her into a human, and he watched her as she watched the see from her tower, unaware of her brethren in the depths. And he'd watched that... human... confess his love for her, make an idiot out of himself to draw her attention. Worse, he saw her emotions only complemented the human's.

Zephyr had always believed that they would return to their trees. Now he drifted on the waves, as hopeless as the elders. Their one chance had passed, and there would never be another way out.

And yet, the impossible had been accomplished. Amalthia returned in her true form and defeated the Bull, freeing them from their prison and destroying the Old One's castle. He had stayed behind. He had watched her heal the human and run to her forest, and he had followed her.

At first, she had shied away from him and refused to let him live anywhere near her. But all the other forests had unicorns, more than they could spare, and hers was the only one that could handle another. And Zephyr was the only one willing to take the empty space in her life.

But the beautiful Amalthia was not like the other mares that he had met in the ocean. Her eyes... they held such regret and heartbreak that Zephyr just wanted to run the human through who had done this to her. No unicorn should suffer as much as she was.

When he mentioned this to her once, for a moment her eyes lit with a fire that must have filled them before her fight with the Bull. "I cannot sorrow. Unicorns have returned." She had said. But later she still had the same, lost look.

Zephyr sighed softly. There had to be a way to help her, to win her. There were times when he cursed the fact that unicorns fall in love very easily. Even more often he cursed the faithfulness of that love.

Amalthia had to have something she wanted besides that human. He simply needed to find what that something was.

Well, that's it for now. I may write another chapter if this one turns out to be any good, but normally I write for other sections and this particular one is sort of odd to write for, despite my interest in the subject. Anyway, I hope that you like it so far, and I really appreciate any comments you have. hint hint