The night sky glittered with stars as I dragged my tired body along an abandoned road. The air had rapidly cooled as the sun set, ushering in cold, eerie darkness. My dress, still intact, (And white somehow) fluttered in the wind flowing towards me. My long, unruly blonde hair was fully on display now, as I lost its tie somewhere in the auction theatre.

What happened to me? Just 20 hours ago I was enjoying a nice breakfast with Isabella and Gardenia. I miss them. I miss my sisters. I miss the fights. I miss the ritual goodnights we yelled through the hallways at 8, and how we would always wake Isabella, who slept early at 7. I miss the games we played in the yard, and how Matron would sometimes join in. But above all, I miss the food. I’m so hungry.

I rummaged through my deep dress pockets, searching for some morsel of food. Then I touched something. Something cold. Pulling the object from my pocket, I looked at it. It was a crystal. A message was engraved, “Celestia”. Of course. I know what this is, I read about it in school at the orphanage. It’s one of those things old cults used, calling crystals. They’re supposed to allow you to commune with gods. But those aren’t real, right? Was this what Arcturus gave to me? Does this mean he was some kind of cultist? Holding it up to the sky, I watched as moonlight glittered through the crystal.

“Call to the moon.” I whispered, my voice fragile.

“Celestia.”

The crystal shattered in my hand, the shards moving together as if they were weaving moonlight. Embedding themselves in the floor, each crystal piece came to a halt. Intertwined in the air, threads of moonlight warped like supernovae to form arms, legs, eyes, and a face. Before me was a girl. Her body glittered like a thousand stars, long, flowing blonde hair stretching to her ankles. Piercing violet eyes stared into my soul, bare feet levitating a metre above the floor.

“Are you Celestia?”

My voice quietened against the imposing aura of the goddess, her lips parting to speak, but nothing past that.

“I go by many names. Celestia, Stellara, Child of the Cosmos… but yes, that is me.”

She didn’t articulate the words, yet they were clear. A pink-blue python coiled itself around her body, floating above the ground.

“What do you ask of me, child?”

I paused for a second, deliberating my words.

“Arcturus gave me this calling crystal.”

“Ah, Arcturus, the fallen Acolyte. I suppose he saw something in you.”

“I- I don’t think so. I was the only one alive in the theatre. Apart from the other guy, anyway.”

“No, child.” Celestia skipped through the air, wrapping her astral arms around me.

“What?”

“No, you weren’t the only one alive. I was there, too.”

“H-how?”

“That is not important now.”

“I-I want to go home.”

“Your home is with us now, child.” She whispered, a comet glittering in her empty eyes. It streaked through space, stopping just as quickly as it started.

“No it’s not. I want to go back to Matron, and Gardinea, and Izzie --”

“They’re gone now. Come with me, and your future will look less bleak.”

Gone. They’re gone.

I avoided Celestia’s gaze, thinking on her proposal.

“So why should I trust you then?”

“Why would I lie to you? The emotions of a child are beyond me.”

“W-what?”

“Just come with me, child.”

“I wanna go home.”

“This will be your new home.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“To the stars.”

I paused for a moment, deliberating her words. ‘To the stars’. A very ambiguous statement. Does she mean to space? Or maybe it’s a metaphor for something…

“I see the confusion in your eyes, child. What is the matter?”

“What do you mean by… ‘to the stars’?”

“Child, is it not clear? I mean space.”

Well, that was more direct. I can tell she’s getting annoyed. Maybe I should go with her? It’s not like I have anything better to do.

“So I see you have decided.”

Snapping my head up to look at her, I nodded.

“Very well then, child. Take my hand.”

She held out a star-encrusted hand, swirling with galaxies. Placing my palm on hers, the wind picked up around us and I blacked out.