The Chase is Half the Fun

Zephyr had an even harder time finding Amalthia this time, but he finally did find her beneath a grove of willows, her white mane fading slowly into the weeping green of the branches. Her purple eyes were closed as peacefully as if she was asleep, and he was hesitant to wake her from even this moment of peace she seemed to have found.

But peace could not last forever. She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at him, as though she had always known that he had been watching her. He found himself frozen in her amethyst gaze before she half turned away, letting out her breath wearily.

"What is it you want of me, Zephyr?"

He was taken aback by the despair in her tone. "To talk."

"And what could I possible have to say that you would be interested in?"

"What happened to Starmane?"

She didn't speak for so long that he thought she would not answer. "She is the unicorn I was before I became human."

"You are not human now."

"But I know human emotion. You cannot imagine what regrets are like, they are infinitely more painful than sorrow could ever be."

"Then why do you hide the pain, keep it to yourself? Why not let another help you through it?"

"Because... because I am not human. He cannot help me anymore than he has."

If the human she spoke of had been before Zephyr at that very moment, he would gladly have run the other male through with his horn. "Humans are not the only ones that matter. You can wait for him all you want, cling to humanity all you want, but he will not come and find you."

"You do not know him."

"Starmane, he is human. Humans cannot understand what it is like to be a unicorn, to be free and unfettered as we of the forest are. He can never understand you."

"Neither can you understand me, Zephyr. I will not let you."

The determination in her eyes made his heart sing. "Gallop with me."

That, at least set her off balance. "What...?"

"Gallop with me. Run through the trees again; outrun the wind and the moon. Forget for now your troubles, just for a moment." He sensed her uncertainty and lowered his voice, almost pleading. "Please, Amalthia?"

Violet eyes considered his silver ones for a moment before she nipped playfully at him and ran.

He let her gain a head start before he bounded after her, past trees and mountains and the other animals of the forest, forgetting everything except that he needed to catch up to his beloved. Zephyr could only hope that she felt the same way.

She ran much faster than he recalled, and he was beginning to have trouble keeping up with her by the time she finally slowed near the edge of the forest, flicking her tail and prancing about like a young filly. Zephyr smiled, recognizing Starmane in her eyes again instead of simply Amalthia, the human woman with human attachments.

He came forward and nipped at her mane, nuzzling her gently. She watched him carefully, the whites of her eyes beginning to show, and he backed away and lay down in the long, cool grass of the forest.

Starmane lay next to him slowly, ready to bolt at any moment, but he didn't move at all.

Then a hunter and his dog entered the forest, and Starmane retreated deep into the mind of Amalthia, letting the human girl take over again. She rose quickly and ran again, this time not out of enjoyment but out of fear.

Zephyr's head drooped in disappointment. Perhaps there was no getting through to the unicorn trapped inside of her. Perhaps the woman who was once called Amalthia would always cling to her regrets and bitter wishes until the humans she ached for were long since dust and forgotten by all but her. Perhaps there was nothing he could do to rid her of this torment.

He remembered their run. He remembered seeing her take on the Bull alone. And somehow he knew that he would never give up. There was a way to get through to her, and he would find it, even if it meant his own eternal torment.