BACK TO THE BEGINNING — A small beginning

When she opened her eyes again, she was at the edge of the Amethyst Realm. The path was still there.

She did not need to ask Helio which way to go.

She began to walk.

Aurora was waiting farther along, near the orange tree. The winged mare lifted her head as soon as she saw her.

They both smiled. They could still feel the closeness of the Blue Planet in their bodies.

They sat in the tree’s shade for a while. They shared an orange and told their host it was time to return to their communities. Skyblue left a piece of the fruit on the earth, as she had learned to do with the dwarves.

“Do you know what you’ll do when you get there?” Aurora asked.

Skyblue looked down the path.

She had imagined grand conversations, dragons ready to listen, questions she would finally have answers for. She also knew her village well enough to know that her homecoming might be quite different.

“First I want to hug my mother and father,” she said. “Then I’ll go and see Evarista. And Ernesto.”

Aurora nodded.

For the first time, a small beginning seemed enough.