ORIGIN

Something was new. Different. Unique. Like everything else, sprouting among the cracked stone and rising from little to nothing but what was formerly a speck of before. The sapphire stood stark against the green outlining it, shimmering in all manner of gold and long-built magicka. It seemed the proximity to the epicenter—the Spire, of course—had served this little neonate well, nurturing powerful reservoirs of influence already. Perhaps, also a powerful personality, as the life within yawned awake and found water to be foreign in its lungs. Her lungs, she determined in the midst of her panic. Encompassed by stone, her tender little face was already marred by a look of wild-eyed confusion and distress.

Her too-long arms suddenly left their comfortable position holding her body in a fetal position. The neonate tossed her head up abruptly, stubby horns sending shards of her shell flying and allowing cooler air to seep in. Apprehensively, she shivered for a moment before clawing desperately for the hole she had created, stubby fingers slipping across the edges and tearing off little chunks as the stone suddenly, magically became brittle.

With a loud yelp that gargled in her throat, she slipped out of her chrysalis, sliding across the grass slightly with the inner membrane in tow. Tentatively, her stone had already begun to glow with a strange light, magicka pooling to her palms as she drew herself up into a sitting position, hunching over and shivering. Finding a gentle warmth emanating from her fingers, she eagerly rubbed them up and down her shoulders, marveling at the feel of drying hairs. A whole new world! And she hadn't even looked past her own bubble yet!

At first when her eyes opened, she had been more than comfortable remaining where she was. It was dark, but it was warm here. She couldn't see past her own chrysalis, but if she listened closely enough, she could hear things. Sometimes, it was only a rustle of leaves or the creaking of a branch somewhere high above. Sometimes, however, if she was very lucky, she could hear footsteps wandering by, and perhaps even muffled, quiet voices.

For a time, she was at peace.

As the days stretched on and on, however, she began to grow. Larger and larger, until her neck was pressing uncomfortably against the walls of the moonstone chrysalis and her legs were tucked awkwardly under her belly. It became suffocating. It became hard to listen to the world around her. How long had it been, since she heard the quiet rustle of branches or the skittering of something else outside? She had almost begun to grieve the sounds of life from outside her chrysalis.

The silence was deafening. It became hard to breathe. It became too hot within her chrysalis, to the point that, for a moment, she thought she may burn alive within it. When the foal had begun to lose hope, she heard something. Something. After months of nothing, suddenly, there was a dull crunch from somewhere outside, from somewhere nearby.

She lifted her head, though bumped it against the top of her chrysalis. What was that? It had been quiet for so long, and yet she has heard something. Curiosity filled her gut as she shifted and tried to turn within the moonstone prison, but as she did, she heard a muffled crack as her own legs broke through the gemstone.

Her world came, quite literally, crumbling out from under her. The cold flooded her chrysalis and hit her belly like a kick to the gut. With a quiet yelp. the unicorn came slipping out from under the shattering chrysalis and landed on the mossy cave floor, briefly dazed. And very cold.

That, currently, did not matter however-- she had more important things to do, like finding out where that sound had come from. The foal lifted her head, looking around, until she caught sight of stark yellow and black against green.

Was.. that it? What was it doing?

She edged forward, slowly, staring wide-eyed at the young gorilla. "Are..." she hesitated, voice like a tinkling bell, as she stepped on stilted legs even closer to Elspet. "Are you.. alright?" The unicorn eventually asked, moving until she was by her side, staring down at her hands.

Still clutching at her shoulders and reveling in the warmth her hands offered, Elspet turned to look at the soft voice calling out to her. Her eyes widened at the sight, because that right there was a beautiful creature. "Me? Yeah, I'm ok! How about you?" She twisted in place, planting her knuckles on the ground as she did so.

Cantering towards the unicorn, Elspet chirped, "I like your horn! And..." She paused, momentarily at loss for the word, before making an 'ah-ha!' sound and continuing, "and your tail!" Ah, yes, she wished she had one too! She thought she'd look cool with one. Spotting the empty chrysalis some distance away, the infant vibrated with excitement. "Oh, oh! We hatched together, right?" Then, with ever the short attention span, the sweet thunder child glanced at the world around her, taking in the sights. Life was magnificent.