The Seed of Hope
Beneath the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters, the Tree of Harmony rested. Its crystal b,ranches sparkled, the area around it was calm and serene. However, from within the tree, its soil was in conflict. It sensed its death on the horizon.
Having grown from a mere seed imbued with fragments from the souls of a group of close friends that would later be called the pillars, the tree had never considered a true end. It knew of death, of course, it was the cycle of life that the living would be born and live to old age. However, it had never felt what would be considered old age. Its power had simply grown from a sapling, its special properties absorbing magic to make itself grow. As it grew it gained more understanding of the world around it, feeling harmony and disorder all at the same time. Even from its infancy, it knew it had some purpose in the grand scheme. The ability to contextualize such feelings would come much later.
Its first glimpse at its potential came in the form of pockets in its crystal branches from which grew objects of immense power. They were part of it yet separate in their own way. The very essence of its planters having been crafted into physical objects to focus its magic upon. There they sat for countless years, waiting for those worthy enough to take them and serve the will of harmony. And one day those new bearers came, two tall mares named Celestia and Luna, power flowing from them like mighty waterfalls. The tree knew of why they had come, feeling from its very core that this was what needed to happen to stop the chaos that ran rampant over the land. Reaching out with its primitive senses, it felt the harmony within the two alicorns and soon bestowed the gems to the two. Even when apart from its fruit, it could still feel the power of harmony as it was foreseen. The realm would be safe so long as they wielded those objects.
Years passed with the bearers remaining harmonious, but within its core, the tree could sense a disturbance an imbalance yet to be corrected. Thus when it came time to make a choice of what actions to take, harmony transcended conceptions of time, seeing the ripples from beyond. As one soul was sealed in the moon, the tree felt emotion from the other. Loss, an emotion that was familiar, yet the tree could never explain why. Thus many generations passed without disruption, but as the time grew closer and closer to Luna’s return the Tree of Harmony stirred more as possibilities and consequences all came into being. Yet still, the tree acted on mere instinct, much like a wild animal simply doing what needed to be done.
When six new bearers arrived, the tree felt pride as all the little pieces came together into what would grow to be a grand moment in harmony. Something felt different however when the new bearers connected with the tree, something it would not fully grasp until later. It watched events unfold from Discord’s return, to a changeling queen attacking Canterlot, and back to Discord once more. Each time the elements were used the tree’s own soul grew just a bit more, absorbing thoughts and feeling from its connection. Things progressed smoothly for a time until the tree felt another large ripple from the future, one so large that steps had to be taken.
That is when its first taste of fear began to take root as vines of black and blue came forth from the ground, the tree’s power far weaker without her fruits to boost it! The choking vines coiled around it slowly smothering the magic within its branches. For the first time it could ever recall, it faced uncertainty. A future not fully realized by harmony. Yet fate decided to grace it as the tree’s fruits returned to it. Its core burst with renewed energy, burning away the intruding vines! It was within that moment that the tree knew it needed a plan. The ripples were still coming, its fruits alone would not be enough to satisfy the balance of harmony. So it was that magic built within the tree siphoned off a part of its maturing soul, channeling it into a new seed.
The infantile seed would require the essence of each bearer, a pure source of the elements of which they represented. Hope rose within the tree as each of the bearers unlocked their potential just as the waves splashed against the shore. The surge of harmonic magic was enough to transform the seed into what would be needed, its power augmented to defeat a mighty foe. When the imbalance had been restored, the seed was planted and a grand castle grew from the earth, embedded with the tree’s magic as well. This expansion allowed for better reach of its senses, making it able to find subtle yet important ripples that required physical intervention.
Even as problems were resolved and harmony maintained the storm clouds still lingered, waves growing in intensity as the time came closer. It soul grew faster over time, gaining its new insights into the world around it. The storm was ignored for the sake of exploration of its new perceptions on harmony and friendship. It had learned as much from the bearers as they had learned from it. The sense of pride returned to it in bigger strides with each new accomplishment that occurred. It had never felt excitement until now.
Then the dreading feeling came. The storm it had sensed for so long reached its peak as large waves crashed upon the shores, and it stood there in its direct path! In many ways, it had known this was coming, for it had predicted so. In other ways, it felt it had just started to feel alive and at one with this world. It had passed the torch to other creatures to spread harmony but was its fate really to die? To be snuffed out after so long? Its senses stretched out, searching for a way to save itself somehow.
As the storm cloud became darker, a beacon of hope rose before it. The castle seed, its offspring in a way, could live on and so would it. Even as the dark magic clung to its roots and ready to rip them asunder, the tree pushed out as much life as it could along the mana pathways towards its goal. As the castle sparkled ever so faintly, the tree’s mind blanked with a crashing roar of crystal! One final gift to the land it had protected for so long.