Just about eight years went by.
Karma wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but she scoured the Celestial Realm up and down to look for the soul of her exemplar. She couldn't find it anywhere. Every day she looked; she searched in areas both populated and empty, to no avail.
One day, Karma was trotting along at a hurried pace when she saw Serendipity laying with her back on the ground, her color almost blending in with the mix of milky colors that made up the Celestial ground. Karma held one paw up off the ground and gasped softly as she was mildly surprised at noticing Serendipity. Seeing the rabbit in this state was somewhat alarming to Karma, but not in a way she had come to expect.
Of course, Serendipity often liked to startle Karma; whenever she could, if possible. But even after that small gasp, Serendipity didn't react. The bunny Celestial had a despondent look on her face, and let out a groan.
"You surprised me," Karma piped up, wanting to humor Serendipity for a reason she couldn't explain. "I almost didn't see you there."
"Meh," Serendipity rolled over to be flat on her belly, plopping her head down onto her hands. Her paws sunk into her cheeks.
"What's the matter, Serendipity?" Karma walked slowly over to the bunny. "It isn't like you to be so mopey."
"It's Nick," Serendipity mumbled. "He's sad, so I'm sad."
"Well, it doesn't have to be that way!" Karma tilted her head up and gave a proud grin. "Nick is just one mortal, and you don't have to-"
"But he's my exemplar, Karma," Serendipity whined, huffing, "my onliest one. I can't help it if I'm pathetic."
Karma tried very hard to swallow a quickly forming grin. "I think- I think you mean empathetic, Serendipity."
"Eh, maybe," Serendipity flicked her arm out, opening an astral window so she could see Nick. The small fox was huddled near a staircase, weeping.
"What- what happened to him?" Karma grit her teeth, wincing.
"He was gonna join the Junior Ranger Scouts," Serendipity looked longingly up at the display. "But he was gonna join a group that only had prey mammals in it. And- and they ostracized him and made fun of him."
"Oh, that is not okay," Karma's brow fell. "The ones going against that young fox will get their due, and your exemplar will receive recompense."
Serendipity turned her head over to Karma and, for once, was quiet. Karma felt uneasy at observing Serendipity's blank face.
"Do you really think that's how it's gonna work?" Serendipity challenged. "With my exemplar?"
"No mammal is above justice," Karma shook her head.
"You said it yourself, Karma," Serendipity looked away from her, "we're the most different of all Celestials. You're the orderest Order, and I'm the chaosest Chaos. I don't think Nick will ever get what he deserves as long as he's my exemplar. Even if he's a really nice, really sweet boy... I- I just feel like I'm doing something wrong." Serendipity released a shuddering sigh, trembling a little.
"What would that be?" Karma's brow raised as she saw Serendipity's distress. She tried not to be too concerned, but the image of the bunny who lost her will to float was upsetting to her.
"Well, you know I have my sense for when something unexpected is going to happen," Serendipity pointed at her ears. "I can almost hear it, like 'go that way, there's going to be a surprise'!"
"Yes?" Karma nodded once.
"Well, I've gotten a few big ones about Nick," Serendipity frowned, her breaths coming quicker. "And the first time, he lost his father. Now, he had his dreams crushed right in front of him. I feel like... I feel like I'm being mocked..."
"Because the surprises are bad, and not pleasant?" Karma wondered.
"Because I could stop them!" Serendipity shot a pitiable look to Karma, and she saw the distress in her eyes. "If I'd- if I'd just changed one traffic light here or there, or just- just mixed up the forms so Nick joined a different chapter of the scouts, one with a predator in it... maybe none of this bad stuff would have happened to him..."
"N-no, Serendipity, no," Karma shook her head firmly. "Nick... he may be having a difficult life, but you cannot interfere."
"It'd just be a little!" Serendipity grit her teeth hard, standing on her hind feet. "C'mon, changing a traffic light would hardly be noticeable interference."
"Serendipity," Karma said carefully. "You remember that Surrender did nothing when his exemplar was on Earth. And even then, his exemplar changed the world. Who knows what would happen if you interfered? You well know one little change can have a host of ramifications-"
"Yeah, but Surrender's... Surrender! And he's an Order Celestial!" Serendipity begged. "I'm- I'm Chaos! Maybe I'm supposed to interfere! Maybe that's what I'm missing! Maybe all this bad stuff is happening to Nick and- and it's my fault for not fixing it!"
"You will not interfere, Serendipity!" Karma shouted, slamming a paw down on the ground. "Have you considered that he might be having a hard life to teach you a lesson? That perhaps not all of life's surprises are showers of confetti and coins? Maybe that's what your exemplar is meant for!"
Serendipity's jaw dropped slightly. "...You can be so cold, Karma." The bunny turned her head away from the canine.
"...I- I have to go, Serendipity," Karma said, turning her body. "There's... something I must do."
"Leave me alone," Serendipity said heavily, drooping to the ground and forlornly looking at the upset fox kit again.
Karma grit her teeth, then took off running. She felt emotions welling up within her. She didn't really mean what she said regarding Nick. In fact, she felt that misfortune in the fox's life might be her fault. She broke into a full run as she whizzed by different areas of the Celestial Realm, looking for some sort of clue to where the lost soul might be.
"I must fix this," Karma muttered to herself between pants. "I can't believe I've been so blind. Of course Serendipity's exemplar is out of alignment; mine isn't on Earth to counterbalance the two. I must find my exemplar's soul and bring it back to Destiny, or else that poor fox will be miserable all of his life. I just know it!"
Karma's rapid pace attracted Acceleration's attention, and he ran up alongside her, effortlessly keeping pace with her fastest running speed.
"Not now, Acceleration!" Karma shouted.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Acceleration's colorful pupils blinked in confusion. "I rarely see you looking so wild."
"Not! Now!" Karma clarified. "This is something one of Order must do!"
Acceleration looked momentarily offended, then sighed. "As you wish, Karma." Acceleration took off much faster, leaving a red streak of light in his wake. Karma slowed her pace, giving a frustrated groan at her tendency to shove Celestials of Chaos away from her.
"Think, Karma," she said to herself. "What would your exemplar do? What would you... ah! I'd go back to my abode. I'd complete a circle." Karma headed back to her Territory, but paused. "No... no wait. My Territory is not where my exemplar came from... it came from the Garden of Souls!"
Karma lost no more time, and rushed over to the Garden of Souls. There were many newborn souls there, and they all looked indistinguishable from one another.
"Come on... one of these souls must be it..." Karma said worriedly. "Even after all this time up here, is there nothing the soul can do to distinguish itself?"
After at least an hour of looking, Karma was getting desperate. From nowhere, an idea struck her. She thought it foolish, but she figured she might as well try. Karma tilted her muzzle upwards and let out a long, loud howl, then a second one.
A few souls parted from her, seemingly instinctively put off by the sound. They seemed to almost clear a path for Karma.
"The third time is a bond, it is a completion!" Karma exclaimed, letting a third howl out. Yet another wave of souls cleared for her, leaving just one in the midst of them. It was almost curiously hovering right near the base of the Source.
"Ah!" Karma felt a shiver of desperation, rushing forward and looking over the unmarked soul. She sniffed at it. "It's you, isn't it? You smell... traveled. You've been wandering for a long time, haven't you?"
The soul's only response was to start floating around in circles.
"It is you!" Karma felt a burst of relief. "Okay okay, enough exploring for you, little one. We must get you down to Earth. Balance must be restored."
The soul seemed eager to follow Karma as she trotted off. Not wanting to be careless, Karma made sure the soul was following her as she left.
"So you're one hundred percent sure it's my exemplar," Karma's eyes crossed as the soul flitted about near her forehead.
"Soul identification is my specialty, Karma," Destiny said with a testy look down at the canine. "It is your exemplar. Not Serendipity's, not some other soul that has yet to walk the Earth, yours."
"Please send it immediately," Karma pleaded. "I fear that without my exemplar on the Earth, Serendipity's is experiencing an imbalance of primal forces."
"As you wish," Destiny said, drawing the soul toward her. As before, it resisted, but it could not escape. It swept up through Destiny and in between her horns, where it was shot off to Earth in a spiraling, vaguely circular fashion.
"Go and live, soul," Karma smiled, nodding as her tail swept a couple of times. "Bring balance to the Earth. One exemplar of Chaos, and one of Order."
"Two of Order," Destiny corrected.
"Two!?" Karma sputtered. "Wait- what!?"
"You're forgetting Surrender's exemplar," Destiny droned in dry amusement. "That soul lives again."
"But..." Karma looked very alarmed.
"Just because a soul finishes one earthly circuit doesn't mean it can't enjoy another," Destiny blinked slowly. "Surely you knew that."
"Oh no... what have I done?" Karma cringed, her shoulders coming up.
"Relax," Destiny groaned. "You're so dramatic. You know there is just one more Order Celestial than there are Chaos Celestials."
"Oh- of course, of course," Karma nodded rapidly. "You're right." She let out a long sigh. "Yes, everything is fine. Order must slightly outweigh Chaos. It is the natural way of existence."
"You shouldn't be so quick to panic," Destiny laughed dryly. "Everything has a way of working itself out. You should know this better than anyone."
"Yes, but there's a personal responsibility on my part that I failed," Karma frowned. "From entrusting you with my exemplar's keeping to thinking it would be a good idea not to send it simultaneously with Serendipity's."
"I don't believe that it will matter too much one way or another," Destiny smirked. "What will happen will happen, and nothing will stop that."
"I suppose we shall see," Karma said with a small frown, and walked away from Destiny.
Karma caught her tailtip twitching occasionally. She sat up alert, her forelegs proudly placed on the ground as she stared through an astral window to Earth. She tried to control the welling feelings, and mastered them just in time when Serendipity started approaching, floating toward Karma curiously.
"What're you staring at a bunch of dumb bunnies for?" Serendipity's voice was dubious as she drew forward cautiously. Karma said nothing, smiling serenely. Serendipity flitted up in front of Karma's view, giving her a skeptical glance.
"Serendipity, please move," Karma said pleasantly. "Bunnies are not dumb."
"You're in a good mood for once," Serendipity scoffed. "So what made you have the change of heart? What are you doing?" Serendipity's face became obnoxiously inquisitive.
"Waiting for my exemplar to be born," Karma smiled wider.
"What!?" Serendipity spun around and gasped enormously. "Wait, what!? Is that- is that the mother? She's a bunny!?"
"Indeed," Karma rolled her eyes, her voice rich with a playful sarcasm. "I don't know why I expected anything else, really."
"Your exemplar's a bunny!?" Serendipity started giggling uncontrollably, flitting around in the air erratically.
"Yes, yes, laugh it up, fluffball," Karma groaned in good humor. "My exemplar's a bunny. I'm trying to stay away from Destiny; I want to see if I can pick the exemplar out from the litter when it's born... or if I'll have to get Destiny to tell me."
"Maybe your baby bunny will have magenta eyes!" Serendipity smiled.
"Perhaps," Karma shrugged. "Or perhaps I will know they are my exemplar through other means."
"So uh..." Serendipity cocked her head, her body rotating to look at the very pregnant female bunny through the window. "What's- what's it mean that you have a bunny and I have a fox?"
Karma sighed with a smirk, shaking her head. Her voice came, and it was nearly fatigued.
"I have no idea."