“It is your birthday.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you are a year old. You have lived to see each of the seasons of the year, you are bigger than you were, and closer to growing into who you will be.”
“But what was that mean?”
“Whatever you make it mean.”

Taika remembered the smile her mother had given her, and their brief moment of shared affection before they had nipped each other into a game of chase that had brought them through the mountains at least one of them had come to call home. At the time of their fun the filly had pushed her mother’s words from her mind, deeming them unimportant.

Days ago the mare had wandered away from her daughter. It was the second time Taika could recall this happening. Instead of taking advantage of her mother’s disappearance to create more havoc in the world in which she lived, the spirited creature climbed the face of the Peak. By the time she reached a particular cliff, night had fallen and she stared out at everything around her.

A year. She had walked with the world below her hooves for a year. Right now, on this ledge she looked into the star filled sky and kicked at the rocky mountain. She was caught between the heavens and earth. In the year she had chased faeries, hunted trolls, played in the manes of gods, raced pirates, and freed fantasy from the horrible grips of reality. She danced to the tunes of horses who celebrated deities and studied the faces of souls who had suffered at their hands. Her heart had raced with the spirits that ruled the sky and created more dreams than the countless stars that winked down at her.

She looked over the ledge the stood on. Souls who had seen the cruelties of the world, warriors who believed in only the strength of themselves brought her back to reality. Life was on earth, and trust was found there. A herd was a family, and your family was with you everywhere, even as she stood alone on the rock’s face. Water, earth, and sky were real and solid. You could see them, you could feel them. There were times if you were not wise or clever they could hurt you. The physical aspect of the world was all around you, and that was what you needed to know, believe, and respect.

One year. All the seasons. Changes came, changes went. Warmth gave way to cold just as day yielded to night. Something was always changing, nothing seemed solid and structured. One hoof kicked at a rock, tossing it over the side where it hit another and forever changed the appearance of the ageless mountain. Even she had changed drastically in her year of life. Born the color of her mother, time had dusted her black coat with a layer of grey and the sun had begun to claim the chocolate locks of her mane and tail and turn them to flames. Nothing had remained the same for long. If it had, Change would take hold and have its way.

Her mind had been opened and had remained open. Dark eyes looked over the ledge of the Peak before glancing up. Excitement sparked in her spirit as she continued to gaze in a place where the stars met the earth. She had never left the island, but she knew there were others out there. From her vantage point, she could see them in the waters. Some of them rose into the sky like her mountain, while others seemed to hug the sea that surrounded them. They held the tales and the stories of creatures and horses she yearned to know. On those islands there could so easily be beasts greater even than her wildest fantasies. All she needed to do, was go to them.

Stars twinkled at her as the moon smiled at its child. The cool spring wind brushed through her wild growing mane. Magic of the world touched her deeply. As solidly as she herself touched the earth. To her there were too many things in this world that remained unexplained. Her mother had explained to her it had only been a year, and she still had another year before the world considered her an ‘adult’. She thought about everything she had learned, and everything she had yet to learn. There was no possible way she could comprehend everything about the world around her, have everything explained. She simply had to trust and believe that existence was true.

Just because things could not be seen, did not mean they were not real. Something could leave your sight, but still exist behind you. The magic was what was around you, the belief made it real.

The night started to slip into day as Taika made her way back into the foothills of the Peak. Her mind and her heart at peace, while her spirit shined within her as bright as the rising sun.