His name was Astley, and he was the ugliest unicorn in the land. It didn’t bother him all that much, but he always had a desire to be beautiful, a desire that he told no other unicorn about. The children who visited the mall where Astley lived wouldn’t run screaming from him, no, he wasn’t that atrocious looking, but they would often fight over who had the misfortune of riding “the ugly horse,” as they often called him. Many times they had even waited for the next Merry-Go-Round ride rather than have to ride him.
In the dark of the night the zombies came, which angered Astley, yet also inspired envy. The zombies weren’t the mindless, vile creatures that people imagined them to be, rather more of a stunningly beautiful group of creatures who desired brains, but would often settle for flesh, simply because brains were hard to find in such a thoughtless world. They didn’t come to the mall every night, but they always came at least once a week, usually more towards the weekend. They never came near the Merry-Go-Round where Astley and the other unicorns cowered while they were in the mall, but rather pillaged their way through the food court, eating whatever meat they could find. While it’s true that zombies particularly enjoy humans, they would settle for any type of meat when eating humans became particularly difficult, as it was in such a time as when Astley lived in the mall. Every once in a while, one of the zombies would rampage through the mall, furious at not being able to eat the human brains that he or she so desired. After the zombies had left on such nights, the unicorns would leave the Merry-Go-Round to clean up the destruction left behind, making it seem as if the zombies were never there. The humans lived in ignorance when it came to the mall’s on goings at night, because unicorns and zombies could not be seen on the security cameras. All of the unicorns hated the zombies for being creatures who eat nothing but flesh, brains, and whatever other organs that came inside an animal.
All of his life, Astley secretly nurtured his dream of becoming beautiful, while he also dreamed of revenge on the zombies, for being such evil creatures. Day after day he was tortured by his own looks and his inability to act against the zombies. The other unicorns told him to stop worrying about it; there was nothing they could do, and they just needed to live with it like they always have, but Astley couldn’t just stop worrying. Unlike the other unicorns, he was filled with anger and hatred, which are two things that no one ever associates with unicorns.
Finally, he snapped one evening when the zombies were ransacking the food court for any meat they could find. He charged full on at a feeding zombie, screaming obscenities in the air in the magical tongue that only unicorns speak. The zombie looked up and screeched as Astley lowered his horn, planning to impale her. She dodged, rolling to the side as if she were some kind of ninja. The other zombies dropped their own food, sensing something far more entertaining, and began to come closer. They surrounded him, grabbing at his delicate silvery skin, pulling on his silvery mane and tail. Astley felt as if he was being ripped to pieces, and the other unicorns just stood in their places on the Merry-Go-Round and watched fearfully, whispering gossip about him. A couple of zombies went for his brain, while the one he had attacked went for his heart. As painful as the whole experience was, he didn’t once scream, only because he had brought this on himself, and felt he deserved it. No one helped him, no one saved him, and the room was filled with the sounds of zombie laughter, flesh tearing, and eating.
After some time, the zombies fell away, and Astley began to believe they had left him to die, cruelly making it last longer. Instead, he was reborn, and found himself to be a beautiful and elegant creature, far superior to anything he had ever seen before, even the zombies. Astley had become a zombified unicorn, a mix of the two most gorgeous creatures on earth, creating the most stunning thing ever to exist. The other unicorns cowered in fear at what he had become, but he was no longer bothered by their trivial and superficial nature; he was far too hungry for that. The other zombies shared their food, and told him of how he must live in order to keep from truly dying. They left quickly, just before the mall began to open. Astley stayed behind, preferring to masquerade as an incredible unicorn statue at the entrance to the food court.
People gasped and pointed at their first sight of him, and before the week was over, news crews were lining up to do a piece on the mysterious work of art left in the mall one night. The zombies visited twice weekly, as before, and Astley felt indebted to them. They had made his dream come true, one of them, anyways. Although, he couldn’t help but thinking every time the zombies left, he had really failed, for the beauty wasn’t his own.
In the dark of the night the zombies came, which angered Astley, yet also inspired envy. The zombies weren’t the mindless, vile creatures that people imagined them to be, rather more of a stunningly beautiful group of creatures who desired brains, but would often settle for flesh, simply because brains were hard to find in such a thoughtless world. They didn’t come to the mall every night, but they always came at least once a week, usually more towards the weekend. They never came near the Merry-Go-Round where Astley and the other unicorns cowered while they were in the mall, but rather pillaged their way through the food court, eating whatever meat they could find. While it’s true that zombies particularly enjoy humans, they would settle for any type of meat when eating humans became particularly difficult, as it was in such a time as when Astley lived in the mall. Every once in a while, one of the zombies would rampage through the mall, furious at not being able to eat the human brains that he or she so desired. After the zombies had left on such nights, the unicorns would leave the Merry-Go-Round to clean up the destruction left behind, making it seem as if the zombies were never there. The humans lived in ignorance when it came to the mall’s on goings at night, because unicorns and zombies could not be seen on the security cameras. All of the unicorns hated the zombies for being creatures who eat nothing but flesh, brains, and whatever other organs that came inside an animal.
All of his life, Astley secretly nurtured his dream of becoming beautiful, while he also dreamed of revenge on the zombies, for being such evil creatures. Day after day he was tortured by his own looks and his inability to act against the zombies. The other unicorns told him to stop worrying about it; there was nothing they could do, and they just needed to live with it like they always have, but Astley couldn’t just stop worrying. Unlike the other unicorns, he was filled with anger and hatred, which are two things that no one ever associates with unicorns.
Finally, he snapped one evening when the zombies were ransacking the food court for any meat they could find. He charged full on at a feeding zombie, screaming obscenities in the air in the magical tongue that only unicorns speak. The zombie looked up and screeched as Astley lowered his horn, planning to impale her. She dodged, rolling to the side as if she were some kind of ninja. The other zombies dropped their own food, sensing something far more entertaining, and began to come closer. They surrounded him, grabbing at his delicate silvery skin, pulling on his silvery mane and tail. Astley felt as if he was being ripped to pieces, and the other unicorns just stood in their places on the Merry-Go-Round and watched fearfully, whispering gossip about him. A couple of zombies went for his brain, while the one he had attacked went for his heart. As painful as the whole experience was, he didn’t once scream, only because he had brought this on himself, and felt he deserved it. No one helped him, no one saved him, and the room was filled with the sounds of zombie laughter, flesh tearing, and eating.
After some time, the zombies fell away, and Astley began to believe they had left him to die, cruelly making it last longer. Instead, he was reborn, and found himself to be a beautiful and elegant creature, far superior to anything he had ever seen before, even the zombies. Astley had become a zombified unicorn, a mix of the two most gorgeous creatures on earth, creating the most stunning thing ever to exist. The other unicorns cowered in fear at what he had become, but he was no longer bothered by their trivial and superficial nature; he was far too hungry for that. The other zombies shared their food, and told him of how he must live in order to keep from truly dying. They left quickly, just before the mall began to open. Astley stayed behind, preferring to masquerade as an incredible unicorn statue at the entrance to the food court.
People gasped and pointed at their first sight of him, and before the week was over, news crews were lining up to do a piece on the mysterious work of art left in the mall one night. The zombies visited twice weekly, as before, and Astley felt indebted to them. They had made his dream come true, one of them, anyways. Although, he couldn’t help but thinking every time the zombies left, he had really failed, for the beauty wasn’t his own.
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