8 Realms of Magic

by AzuraKeres

EP 1: Where Destiny Lies|CH 14

Lune Star opened her eyes to a field of luscious lilac grass. The soft wind brushed across her coat and onto an endless field leading to an orange sky. Within the horizon, Star saw enormous mountains scaling high into the clouds.

It was like Star had fallen to a fantasy land of a fabled story. She questioned if it was all real, but her five senses negated the thought.

“How did I get here?” Star asked herself. She knew she was next to her friends mere moments ago. However, from where she stood, she couldn’t say she was in the luminous forest anymore.

Star a peculiar blur of colors within the distance. Curious, she traversed the field until she came upon a hill.

A tree one could only imagine in fiction stood atop it. She gaped upon the chromatic leaves rustling in its branches.

“It’s beautiful,” she commented.

“You have returned,” Star perked to the sound of a soft voice. When she blinked, she noted a mare that wasn’t there before.

A lilac mare garbed in a blue kimono. Resting atop a branch, the mare smiled down upon Star. “Welcome, young one,” the mare said. “My, you have grown so much.”

“Wha…” Star stood slack-jawed at the mysterious mare. Within a blink of an eye, she appeared within her sight. It defied logic in Star’s mind.

The mare descended from the branch and floated softly before Star. Star faltered back from the mare, astonished by the mare’s height. She stood twice of Star’s size.

And her emerald mane. They flowed endlessly even when the wind was no longer to dance with it.

Star could not draw a single word to draw. Her mind was wholly blown away.

The tall mare stifled a chuckle. “Please excuse me, young one. But I cannot help finding amusement from your reaction.”

“Oh,” Star muttered. Her face blushed averted from the mare for a moment. “Sorry about that. It’s just that… you’re so tall.”

“There is no need to apologize,” the mare assured. “I imagine your feeling is understandable to common eyes.”

“Thanks…” Star said. “Um, so, are all norns normally tall?”

“I am Mistmane,” the mare introduced herself with a bow. “And no, I am no norn.”

“Then you really are a spirit, right?”

“Let’s just that I am a wanderer from somewhere far, far away.”

How far are we talking here?

“And might I ask for your name?” Mistmane asked.

“I’m Lune Star,” Star answered with a bow of her. “My friends and I came here hoping you could give us answers. Supposedly, you can read into the future of others.”

“I suppose that is why you guessed me for a norn.” Star confirmed Mistmane’s claim with a nod. “Yes, I do possess the ability to glimpse into untold events of others. However, my existence within the Cosmic tree is for another purpose.”

“Another purpose?” Star repeated. “I don’t think I follow.”

Mistmane sat on her haunch and clapped her hooves together. The boom from her hooves made Star’s coat straighten. It was as if the sound resounded through her body.

Mistmane pulled her hooves apart, and between them floated eight seeds. Each held a respective color of red, white, blue, yellow, pale blue, brown, green, and black.

“Seeds?” Star said. “Why do they look like that?”

“These are no normal seeds,” Mistmane said. “They were birthed from the purest essence from the eight realms with the sole purpose of rivaling a powerful giant that threatens all realms.”

“Seeds and a powerful giant? Wait, are you telling me those are the cosmic seeds!?”

Mistmane smiled. “I’m happy to see the tale has not been forgotten over the eon.”

“That’s just supposed to be some folk tale, right? There’s not a single historical record ever mentioning they existed.”

“Perhaps so. An inevitable fate to those who left to time for centuries.”

“But what does that have to do with me?”

Mistmane clapped her hooves again. When they drew apart, the seeds were no longer there. “This powerful foe, a giant foe, Sutr, birthed from the scorching flames of Ogomund​, will soon break from its seal. In the coming years, his rage will sear through the Cosmic tree and turn it to ash.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that?” Star gave a nervous grin. “You mean to tell me that the world is pretty much going to in a few years from now?”

“Without the aid of the Cosmic seed, the Cosmic tree is left helpless before this giant. Before that can happen, the seeds must awaken to worthy bearers.”

A thought perked in Star. One that drove her heart to beat rapidly. “Am I one of those bearers?”

“Perhaps so,” Mistmane said. “However, I would like your aid to find those individuals worthy of the Cosmic seed.”

Star raised an eyebrow. “You’re entrusting me to find bearers of mythical seeds to stop a giant spoken in legends? Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, I’ve spent my entire life sheltered in this realm.”

Mistmane approached Star. She was again astonished by Mistmane’s size, frozen still. Despite Star’s shock, Mistmane placed a hoof upon Star’s shoulder. “Lune Star,” she said. “You are the only one I can trust with this task.”

“But why? I came all the way here just to figure out what purpose I supposed to have in my life. I don’t even know what my brand is supposed to tell about myself.”

“Ah, your cutie mark.” Mistmane observed the mark on Star’s hip. “A symbol of the world you walk. I cannot fault you for your confusion.”

“…Cutie mark?”

“But I can say a mark such as yours requires a wide experience to understand its meaning.”

“Can’t you just tell me? It’s why I came here.”

Mistmane shook her head. “Your fate is something that cannot be told. There is far more to be gained from the journey than the destination.”

“What!?” Star glared at the mare. “Are you saying you won’t tell me my destiny!? But you have to! I put my friends through a lot of trouble to get here. And I’ve already spent so many years trying and failing to figure this out on my own! I can’t do this anymore!”

Though Star threw her heart out at the tall mare, Mistmane kept a knowing smile. “Your desire to know your fate is indeed powerful,” Mistmane said. “But don’t you think you have limited yourself by staying in the light for too long. You must see what else the world has to offer.”

“Isn’t that what I’m doing right now?”

“You have ventured into the bright woods seeking answers. However, this is only your beginning. By experiencing the world, only then will you come to fully ​comprehend your cutie mark.”

“You want me to…” Star spoke in a low voice. “But I can’t.”

“Star, it falls to you to make that decision. You are the only one that can where fate will take you.”

“It’s up to me?”

“With that in mind, what shall you do? Will you aid my search for the bearers?”

“I… I still don’t think I’m the best pony for the job. But say that I agree to this, where would I even start?”

“Follow wherever the wind takes you and you shall find what you seek.”

Star… Star!

A voice rippled the space around Star, pricking a pain upon her head. The meadow landscape blurred, its bountiful botany becoming hard to specify.

“It would seem it is time for us to part,” Mistmane said.

Star widened her eyes at this declaration and rushed to grab hold of the tall mare. “Wait, I still have questions. You can’t leave me!”

Mistmane brushed her hoof against Star’s cheek. Her endearing smile felt motherly to the desperate mare. “Do not fear, young one,” she assured Star. “As long as you follow your feeling, then we are bound by fate to find each other again. All I ask is for you to look into your desires and determine what you shall do to attain them. I have faith in you, young one.”

The tall mare glowed in bright light. Star had only blinked once against it and then found herself dawned upon by her friends. Her body laid next to the Cosmic root that she noted a portion unwounded from her hoof.

“It finally let go of her,” Star heard Yori. She lifted her body up, craning her head to a newfound pain.

“Hey Star,” she heard Ratty. “That plant had you speaking some odd drivel in your sleep. You doing, okay?”

Star looked upon the Cosmic root. She had no words to explain what she had experienced. “I think so.” She looked at her friends to watch her in concern. “Guys, I think I’m ready to go home.”

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A Reunion Within The Meadow

Artwork by Doodle-Mark