LEGEND OF THE GODDESSES
the tropics, 25,057,594 years ago
Through a field of thick jungle grass, a flock of tiny serpents flew in a perfect formation. The serpents were black, with dark green eyes that lacked whites, white spikes running down their backs, and spade-shaped tails. Each one had two pairs of enormous flippers behind their head that allowed them to fly.
One serpent fell out of the formation, sinking to the ground. The rest of them turned in unison to look at her.
"Ah," said the formation's leader. "It's the old one…"
The elderly serpent tried to lift her head off the ground. "Lift me, my clan," she rasped. "I am but tired…"
The leader shook his head. "You know the immutable rules of nature, old one. Those who fall stay where they lie."
The old one's eyes widened. "No! You… you can't!"
"We must," the leader said solemnly. "Survival of the fittest, don't you know. Goodbye, old one."
The clan turned as one and flew off into the field.
"No!" the old one cried. "NOOOOOOO!"
Her cries were in vain. Not even an echo came back to her.
The elderly serpent bared her fangs in fury. "Sssurvival of the fittessssst," she hissed as she beat her flipper-wings with enough force to lift off the ground. "Sssuch is the rule that the ssssserpentsss preach. Very well then. I will prove that I am fitter and better than all of them! The fittessst… shall be I."
She rose out of the tall grass, rotating on her axis in midair to spot the place where the fields ended.
"To the foressst," she said to herself. "Where sssome go to die… I go to live."
She flew toward the solid wall of date palms. However, this trip of barely a hundred feet took its toll on the old serpent's thoughts. On the tips of the tall blades of grass, insects observed her curiously. Birds flew overhead, calling to one another. A hideous gray rat at the spot where the meadow met the forest glared up at her and hissed.
By the time she reached the first tree and pressed herself tightly against its trunk, she was painfully aware of the fact that she was only four inches long.
"By the ssssstars, that was harrowing," she said raggedly. "Everywhere I turn, sssome hazard waiting to take my life. How unfair it isss! Why mussst everything and everyone be greater than a lone, tiny ssssssserpent?"
She made her way up the tree, through its dates and leaves, finally settling at the very top, exhausted and heaving.
Just above her, a spark of pale blue magic appeared, steadily expanding into a small orb, that enveloped the tiny serpent before exploding with a violent poof!, blasting her away.
When the blue dust cleared, there stood Fork, the pixie pony, his horn still glowing a bit with the magic that had brought him there. He had one hoof held against his forehead.
"Oh man, oh man, oh man," he muttered. "Oh, this is messed up, this is so messed up…"
The elderly serpent rose up in front of him, facing away. Her body was crackling and sparkling with his magic, her muscles going through violent convulsions… but all of this passed, the serpent stabilized herself in the air, and when she opened her eyes, they were now that very shade of pale blue.
"What… isss thisssss power?" she hissed. "Thisss immenssssse ssstrength… witsss and magic… Yesss… YESSSSSSSSS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
She flew away at a great speed, leaving Fork staring after her with his jaw hanging open.
"Could that have been…?" he said to himself. "No… no it couldn't." He held his sapphire charm bracelet up to his face. "Could it?" he asked the jewel.