A/N: I’m not abandoning my other story “Care Bears: Family Adventures” this is just something I wanted to work on.
Care Bear Magi: Life
Chapter 1: Origin
The mother bear reared up and roared which forced the male bear to back away and avert his gaze lest he tempt her wrath. Only when the male had left her sight did the mother bear drop down and usher her young cubs away from his scent.
The male bear sighed as he watched them go. They were almost certainly his children, he recognized the smell of the mother from before hibernation, but he couldn’t get near them. He shouldn’t have been surprised, as a male bear he was an anomaly in wanting to look after his children. Some might be surprised to learn that bears made very poor fathers, at their worst they would kill cubs in order to force their mothers to mate with them. This bear wasn’t like that, his only desire was to be a father; it was this desire that set him apart and caused him so much grief. This was the second time he had fathered children, kept watch on their mother until they hibernated and then approached them the following spring only to be chased off. At least he wasn’t nearly killed by the new mother. Let it never be said that the bear didn’t learn from his mistakes. This time he left well enough alone, rather than continuing to pursue the mother and her cubs in an attempt to protect them like he had last spring, for which he received a scar on his left side to remember her by.
With little else concerning him, the bear headed for a nearby stream to slake his thirst. As he drank he half-heartedly swiped at a couple fish that swam by, not really feeling like eating.
The sound of galloping hooves drew he bear’s attention. He’d heard this before when the humans hunted in these woods. He backed away from the river, the echoes of the galloping seeming to come from all around him. He heard the human’s sounds over the galloping, followed by the loud *BANG* from one of their weapons. Terror filled the bear as he whipped his head around, trying to decide where to hide.
The bear turned one way just in time to see a white horse with a spiraled horn on its head emerge from the trees, galloping straight towards him. Its horn glowed bright white as another *BANG* from the human’s weapon rang out, this time accompanied by the splintering of wood as it struck a tree. The horned horse looked up just in time to collide with the bear, its horn exploding with white light and then, they were gone.
A moment later the two horseback hunters arrived at the scene, only smelling some of the ozone from their disappearance. They moved on, hoping to find their quarry.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The bear and horned horse were adrift in an glowing void of mist and light. At first there was only a mild hum in air around them, and then immense pain filled their bodies.
The bear heard a voice in his head, that somehow he knew was from the horned horse. “What is this pain?! What’s going on?!”
The bear opened his mouth and gave a cry of pain, a strangely human-like cry as his body convulsed around him. “Whaaaat?” he rasped out. The horned horse turned to face him and seemed to be… shrinking. The bear had no more time to comprehend this as a bright white light filled his vision and the pain became overwhelming.
The bear came to lying on soft grass. He lay still, listening for any humans nearby. When only silence greeted him he stood up to look around, only to find the feeling under his paws somewhat off. He raised a forepaw and cried out in shock, his paw was bright blue and moreover it looked like a human hand!
“What’s going on?!” He clapped his new hands to his mouth, falling forwards without them to support his body. That was the human language; not only could he speak it but he could recall the words the humans from before had spoken, and understood them: ‘Faster! Faster!’ ‘Don’t let her get away!’ The memory of those words ringing in his head jolted his memory and his pushed himself back into a sitting position, he scanned the area for the horned horse that had crashed into him.
The horse was seated nearby, her back to a tree. Her once white fur was now moss green, except for her belly and chest which were still white, and she looked sort of like a human, though much more slender than any he’d seen. Her hind legs had cloven hooves at their ends but her forelegs, or rather arms, ended in hands each with four fingers and a thumb. Her short mane was platinum silver, as was the tuft of hair and the end of her thin tail and the feathers of fur trailing off her legs, and there was a dark green valentine heart on the end of her muzzle.
The horned horse noticed the bear move but just stared at him for a moment before she asked, “Are you alright?” her tone of voice was flat.
The bear was astonished to hear her speak but he managed to reply, “I-I’m fine, as much as I can be. What about you?”
“I’m not hurt but,” she raised a hand in front of her to get a good look at it, “we’ve changed.”
“What are you?” the bear asked as he tried to stand on his hind legs, like he’d seen humans do, only to stumble and fall back to his rear.
“I’m a unicorn, or I was, I think I still am… maybe…” the humanoid unicorn stood up, using the tree for support in her shaky new biped form. Once she was stable on her feet, the unicorn reached up to touch the spiraled horn that stuck out from her forehead, feeling it just to reassure herself it was still there.
“What’s a unicorn?” the bear asked as he walked over to the same tree on all fours before he used it to help him stand as the unicorn did.
“We are a race of ancient creatures, guardians of nature,” she said. “However I haven’t had contact with any other unicorns in years; I was in your forest searching for others when those hunters attacked me. I meant to teleport myself to a grove where I could be safe.” She looked around at the sparse forest, “It seems I managed that at least. I’m sorry I did this to you.”
“It’s fine,” the bear said. Now that he was standing he took a moment to check over his body. The rest of his fur was still bright blue, save for his belly chest, which were white just like the unicorn’s. He had hands and he wiggled his now much more flexible fingers, clenching and unclenching his fingers experimentally. The rest of his body felt softer, while he didn’t feel weak he looked more plump than he had before, less muscle and more fat. “But why did we change?”
“I don’t know. I only used emergency teleport magic. Even if did try to change us intentionally I could not create a form like this.”
“I believe I have the answer for that.” The echoing voice from overhead startled the bear and unicorn who both looked up and nearly lost their balance at what they saw. It was a giant five pointed star with eyes and a mouth, hovering so close to the ground that it eclipsed the sun, though the star’s own glow provided plenty of light.
“Who-who are you?” the bear asked.
“I am the Great Wishing Star, and I am partly responsible for your current existence. I saw your emergency teleportation and poured some of my energy into the astral corridor you used to ease your transformation.”
“Ease it, what do you mean?” the unicorn asked.
“You are part of a group of creatures that will be known as the Care Bear Family. Every animal that could join the family has some special quality that allows them to change, with a little extra push. Like you,” the star turned its gaze to the bear, “A male bear that wishes to be a father and care for his cubs, rather than simply abandon them or worse: kill them.” The bear smiled and blushed slightly, a very unfamiliar sensation.
“However, for you,” the star turned to the Unicorn, “I almost had to force your change before it was too late.”
“Too late?” the unicorn’s eyes went wide.
The star nodded, “Yes. You are the last unicorn. The magic of the world is fading, becoming inert. So little magic is in use these days that it could not sustain the energy of the unicorns. Over the last few centuries, they began fading away one by one, a fate that you too would have suffered had I not saved you. Now, as a Care Bear, your power will be sustained by emotions and your magic will not fade as the others did.”
As the star spoke, the unicorn’s once muted expression shattered. Her eyes went wide, her mouth fell open, and a powerful new emotion opened a pit in the base of her stomach as tears formed in her eyes and she began to shake. The Great Wishing Star continued, seemingly oblivious to the unicorn’s plight. “From this day forwards, for your kindness and caring you will be known as Sage Heart Bear and Life Heart Unicorn.” As the star spoke these words both the bear and unicorn’s bellies began to glow. When the glow faded there was a heart formed from rainbow colored dust on Sage Heart’s chest and an apple tree with heart shaped fruit on Life Heart’s chest.
“You will live here on this island, protected from those who wish to harm you, until you meet the rest of the Care Bear Family. When you do you will protect them from their enemies as the Care Bear Magi. Until then, grow, be healthy and-” Life Heart’s sudden sob cut him off as she stumbled away, tears streaming from her eyes as she struggled to breath over her crying.
“Oh my, I should have expected this,” the star said. Sage Heart was about to run off after her when the Star halted him. “Wait, Sage Heart Bear. Before you go I must impart something upon you. In addition to the other powers of a Care Bear, which you will learn on your own, you have another power. You can reach out and control the elements around you, I can’t say exactly how but when you have time you should practise. Now go, Life Heart Unicorn needs you.”
“Y-yes,” Sage Heart nodded before he took off at a sprint after Life Heart, tripped over his own feet, stood up, then slowly jogged after her. The Great Wishing Star briefly watched him go before his image vanished.
Finding Life Heart wasn’t difficult at all. Now that the star’s overbearing presence was gone her sobs were easy to hear, especially since the trees in these woods were spaced much farther apart than in his old home. Life Heart was curled up on the ground next to a tree, gasping breaths in between heavy sobs, her tears staining her face and the ground beneath her. Sage Heart tipped toed over to her but froze when Life Heart spoke.
“I-I’m the l-l-last,” was all she managed before she broke down sobbing again. Sage Heart finally got next to her and crouched down next to her.
“Life Heart?” he put an arm on her shoulder. Life Heart was shaking in her grief. On instinct Sage Heart hugged her, pulling her close. Her sorrow was contagious and soon Sage Heart was crying too, albeit silently.
Neither knew how to tell time the way humans did but they remained like that long enough for the shadows to shift slightly by the time Life Heart calmed down. Tears still leaked involuntarily from her eyes as she sat up, her back next to the tree. Sage Heart release his hug and sat next to her, his back up against the tree’s trunk as well. Life Heart sniffed and rubbed her eyes, taking in a shuddering breath before she spoke.
“Th-thank you, Sage Heart.”
“Umm, you’re welcome, but I didn’t really do anything,” Sage Heart shrugged sand shuffled uncomfortably where he sat.
“You stayed with me. You didn’t leave or… fade away-hay-hay!” Life Heart started bawling again and almost instantly, Sage Heart embraced her.
“There there just…” Sage Heart bit this lip as he tried to find the right words, “Just let it all out.”
“I’m t-t-trying but I c-can’t handle thi-hi-his!” Life Heart suddenly threw her arms around Sage Heart, pulling their hug closer. Her bawling didn’t take nearly as long to subside this time as she spoke, “They’re all g-gone, all *sniff* all of them. I’m the la-la-last unicorn!” She sucked in air through her teeth and once again began to bawl.
The sun had risen overhead by the time Life Heart calmed down, still embracing Sage Heart. “I’m sorry, I’m just not used to this.” Life Heart sniffed and wiped the wetness away from her now puffy, red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained face and some snot away from her heart-stamped nose.
“Not use to what, being sad?” Sage Heart asked.
Life Heart nodded, “Before I… changed I didn’t feel much. I don’t remember if it was always this way but my emotions have always been very dull. I never felt strong… anything except fear when some humans chased me.” The green unicorn hugged her knees up to her chest, “I should have done something, I should have found the other unicorns and done… something I…”
Sage Heart put a hand on her shoulder, “Don’t blame yourself, that’s not going to help anything. You’re here, you’re alive. I know it’s so soon after you heard but… maybe be happy that you’re alive and here and safe.”
“I don’t know…” Life Heart continued to clutch her knees up to her chest until both her and Sage Heart’s stomach’s started growling. “Maybe we should find something to eat.”
It didn’t take long for Life Heart to find a bush with ripe blackberries on it. Hunger overtook Sage Heart and he practically dove at the bush, grabbing the berries with his mouth and scarfing them down. Life Heart momentarily forgot her sorrow as she watched Sage Heart satisfying his hunger. She managed a small smile as she approached the bush and leaned forwards and carefully took some of the berries off the bush in her mouth, chewing more slowly and swallowing. The pit had re-opened in her stomach and after swallowing the berries she began to tear into the bush, using both her mouth and hew new hands to tear berries off the bush and cram them into her mouth.
Moments later, the blue bear and the green unicorn lay on the ground next to the bush, their hands and faces stained with blackberry juice and their hunger sated. The pit in Life Heart’s stomach had been filled and she felt a bit better, enough that she didn’t feel like she was going to burst into tears any moment.
“This grove is just like the others,” Life Heart said.
“What do you mean?” Sage Heart turned his head and cocked an eyebrow at her.
Life Heart didn’t turn to face Sage Heart as she spoke. “This place is a unicorn grove, no living creature other than unicorns can enter here. We made them millennia ago as places we could hide if we were in danger or needed to rest in seclusion. The teleportation spell I used was created to bring me here, to someplace safe. There will always be food here and anyone who sees the island will think it’s an unimportant chunk of rock and ignore it.”
“Then why can I be here?” Sage Heart asked, pointing a finger at his own head.
“If that Great Wishing Star turned me into this Care Bear form then maybe he changed the grove to only let Care Bears in. That’s why he knows we’ll be safe.”
Sage Heart just nodded as he digested this information.
They lay in silence for some time before Sage Heart sat up. “I’m going to look around, if this is our home I want to know what’s here.”
Before he could stand up, Life Heart’s hand shot out and gripped his wrist. Sage Heart turned his head and his eyes widened as he saw Life Heart tearing up again. “Please don’t leave!” she pleaded as she rolled over to hug his arm.
“I’m not leaving I just, want to look around…” Sage Heart shifted his eyes nervously. They sat in silence for a minute before Sage Heart asked, “Why don’t you come with me?” Life Heart just nodded and released her hold on his arm, letting both of them stand up. As soon as they were on their feet Life Heart took Sage Heart’s hand in her own. She smiled at him, he smiled back and they set off.
The rest of their day was spent exploring their new home. The grove was a small island dotted with various fruit trees and bushes, spaced far enough apart that they could almost always see the shoreline, and was small enough that they could walk from the short rocky cliff that overlooked one side to the sandy beach on the opposite side with the sun moving only slightly across the sky, and was dotted with various fruit trees and bushes spaced far enough apart that they could almost always see the shoreline.
Life Heart and Sage Heart stood on the beach, hand in hand, and stared out across the sea at the mainland some distance away. The sky glowed orange as the sun reached the horizon and a light wind rustled their fur and Life Heart shuddered, though she said nothing.
Sage Heart narrowed his gaze and shielded his eyes as he stared at the mainland, “I think there’s humans over there.”
“I think it’s one of the human’s cities,” Life Heart said. “I’ve never been close to one before.”
Sage Heart’s face lit up. “Well, let’s go see it!” he tried to pull Life Heart towards the sea but she held him back.
“I…c-can’t.” Life Heart was trembling. Sage Heart stopped and stared at her. She was shaking as thought she were out in the cold, and he grip on his hand was becoming painful. “P-please don’t go!” Tears began to stream from her eyes.
Sage Heart cast a quick glance at the opposing shore then turned back to Life Heart and pulled her into a hug. They stayed motionless for some time, Life Heart softly sobbing into Sage Heart’s shoulder before he carefully guided her back into the shade of the forest as the sky darkened.
The day had worn the both of them down, perhaps due to their transformation earlier that day, and partway into their walk they moved into the shade of the largest tree they had found and lay down, sheltered by the thick branches as night fell. Life Heart’s arms once gain wrapped around Sage Heart as her trembling stopped and she began to breathe normally. Exhausted she drifted off to sleep.
Sage Heart stayed awake for a short time, holding the unicorn close lest she have another breakdown. “Don’t worry, I promise I’ll be here when you wake up,” Sage Heart whispered. He yawned and fell asleep.
