Damina’s Decision

Twinkle Star literally fell over when the stone released her. For a while she just lay down, trying to breath softly. Everything around her was dark, and the stone was slowly losing it’s glow. What on earth had just happened? The stone had talked to her. It had held her in a mind grip, just like Fiume had done a few times before. Only this time, it was stronger, much more powerful. It completely took over Twinkle Star’s mind. What was this stone? How could it talk? Twinkle Star had heard of stones containing speech, but not stones who could talk from themselves.

And what was it talking about? The true heir to the throne… Why should Twinkle Star find her? She had already found her. The heir to the throne was sleeping only a few feet away. Slowly Twinkle Star tried to get on her feet, but she felt her body was still to painful to move from the fall. She glanced at the stone again and noticed it was completely dark again. All the light was gone and it was back to being just the stone it had been the entire day. Twinkle Star wondered if anyone else had seen the light, but everything was quiet and all the others were asleep. They couldn’t have seen it.

Twinkle Star tried to get up again, with more luck this time. She got on her feet and slowly she walked back to her blanket. When she passed Stelline she remembered what the stone had told her. The true heir to the throne… Would that mean…? No, it couldn’t be. Twinkle Star shook her head and she resumed walking. She had so many questions, and she knew she wasn’t going to find and answer anytime soon, which already annoyed her. But for now, she just wanted to fall asleep and for a while forget what just happened.

When Twinkle Star woke up the next morning it was still very early and all the others were still asleep. Slowly she got up and she walked towards the lake to refresh herself. For a few minutes, she had forgotten all about the stone while she was drinking, but when she turned around and saw Damina’s house, she remembered. Slowly she walked towards the house. She didn’t really want to confront the stone again, or being sucked in like last night, but she still had to know if the stone really was back to normal. For some reason she didn’t feel like she had to see it anymore, like last night, but she still was drawn to it. Somehow she felt linked to it, like she had to solve it’s mystery, like it was some part of her life which she couldn’t exclude.

When she peeked around the corner she sighed with relief. The stone was still there, just as it had been last night. There was nothing that looked extraordinary. The stone was a nice copper color now, and almost see through. The white mist in the centre was still there and whiter than ever. It had purified nicely. If she didn’t know any better, she would think it had all been a bad dream the night before. Slowly she walked around the stone, but she didn’t dare to touch it. “What in the world are you?” She said softly to the stone, before she turned around to walk back. When she walked around the corner of the house, she saw Damina sitting at the bank of the lake. Twinkle Star was happy to see she finally had some company. Slowly she walked towards her aunt and greeted her with “Good morning”.

“Oh, good morning Twinkle Star. Have you slept well?”
Twinkle Star nodded a bit. She didn’t really know how to answer. Would she tell her aunt the truth?
“That’s good. Isn’t it nice Twinkle, a morning like this?  I love the mornings. My daughters are always up late, so I can be by myself in the morning.” Her aunt said, while she was looking at a point on the other side of the lake.
“It is nice,” Twinkle Star answered, “And I know what you mean about being alone. I love travelling with Aline and Stelline, but I don’t mind being alone once in a while.”
Damina didn’t answer. For a while, they just sat there, saying nothing, doing nothing, really. The only sounds they heard were the songs of the paradise birds and Aline’s occasional snoozing. Every once in a while a fish jumped up from the lake into the fog that softly hung above it.
“The stone has purified nicely.” Twinkle Star said to kill the silence. “It’s all nice and clean now. I wonder what that white mist is though.” She tried to sound as normal as possible.

“I know. I checked on it earlier and it looks great. It’s a beautiful stone, but to be honest I have no clue about what kind of stone it is. I have never seen one before, and I can’t remember reading about it either.” Damina answered.
“Do you think there is anyone out there who knows?”
“I don’t know, Twinkle. I don’t know any other countries that worked with magical stones like we did. The Tokowa lands may know something about holy stones, but I doubt they would know anything about this stone. It’s a mystery, Twinkle Star. I would like to discuss it with my sisters.”
Twinkle Star looked up. “You mean, you’re coming with us?”
Damina nodded. “Yes. But I won’t stay, Twinkle. I have thought about this. I want to see Regina and Regala again, and I am really curious about the new Friendship Lands. However… I don’t feel like leaving everything here behind. I love this place, and I want to spend my life here. I have been through much, but I build this all up and I refuse to leave it behind. I will come with you and I will stay at the new Friendship Lands for a while, but I won’t stay forever.”

Twinkle Star smiled at her aunt.
“I understand. I wouldn’t leave either I guess. You worked hard and you got a new life. I am thankful you will come with us for a while though. I am sure Mother and aunt Regala will be happy to see you again.”
Damina smiled. “I hope. I will be happy to see them, anyway.”
“What about Testi and Vesti? Will they come along?” Twinkle Star asked and Damina shook her head.
“No, I don’t think so. Testi is still grounded anyway, and I do not think Vesti would want to leave her sister behind. They both like their lives here and they do not really care about the past. Their lives are here, Twinkle Star, and I do not want to bother them with a pain that is not theirs.”

A short silence was broken by some mumbling from Aline.
“I think your friend will be awake soon. What do you think, Twinkle star, when should we leave?” Damina asked her niece.
“Hmm… I’d say as soon as possible. I know Aline is anxious to go to the new Lands, and I don’t mind going back soon either. Besides, It will be a three week journey.”
“So how about we leave tomorrow morning? We have one more day to prepare and relax before the big journey.”
Even though Twinkle Star was not happy to go back into that desert, she agreed with her aunt. The sooner they would face it, the better, even though she really enjoyed this oasis.

“What about the stone?” Twinkle Star asked.
Damina was thinking for a moment, and then answered: “I’ll take it with me. It doesn’t belong here Twinkle Star, and I want my sisters to see it. I’ll probably leave it at the castle. I don’t know. All I know is, it doesn’t belong here.”
Tinkle Star was happy with this answer. She didn’t want to leave the stone behind, even though she was a bit afraid to come near it again. At that moment, she heard Aline mumble something, and she supposed it meant something like good morning. She looked behind her and she saw Aline standing on all fours, looking very sleepy.
“Well, good morning to you too, Aline! Get yourself refreshed. We’ll leave this place tomorrow morning.” Twinkle Star said to her friend, who was a lot more awake when she heard this news.

“Chocolate pie?”
“no.”
“Peach cake?”
“Nope.”
“Vanilla ice?”
“No.”
“Peach ice cream?”
“What? No!”
“strawberry pie then?”
“Darn it Fleur, no! I am not going to tell you what kind of dessert I am making you hear?” Ivy snapped at her sister.
“oh come on Ivy! I promised I wouldn’t tell Crystal!” Fleur begged.
“Yeah sure. But anyway, it’s a surprise for all of you, not only Crystal! It’ll be nice I promise, now change the subject or I might not make the dessert at all!” Ivy said and with that, she walked out of the door and into the garden.
“all right all right,” Fleur said as she followed her sister, “I won’t start again.” “Good.” Ivy said shortly. She was tired of her sister’s constant begging. For days now she had been trying to find out what kind of presents everyone was getting Crystal for her birthday, and Ivy regretted the fact that she had told Fleur about the fact that she would make the dessert to Tsuyo’s dinner. She was glad she hadn’t told Fleur about the little necklace she was making Crystal as well.

“It’s a nice morning.” Fleur said, obviously trying to change the subject.
“It is,” Ivy answered, “It’s going to be a nice hot day. How about we go to the Ima river at noon for some refreshment? I’m sure Tsuyo and Regala won’t mind.”
 “Sure!” Fleur said excited. “But what about mom and Crystal? They’ll be home today or tomorrow.”
“So? Just because they went to that party doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun of our own, right?” Ivy said.
Regina and Crystal had bee gone for two days now. They had been invited to a party on the far east of the little country. Some ponies had decided to create a little village there. There already were some farms pretty close to each other, and some ponies that had just arrived in the country had been invited to build some stores and houses there. It was officially a town now which was celebrated with a big party and a fair, and of course the queen and the heir couldn’t miss it. Of course, Ivy had been envious of Crystal. She got all the attention, and it almost felt like the entire country had forgotten about her in only a few weeks. She was no longer the heir to the throne, she didn’t go with her mother to things like this anymore, she was just the second in line now.

Fortunately, her mother didn’t feel like that and neither did her aunt. Ivy was fond of her aunt Regala; they got along quite well and Regala was interested in the same things a Ivy. But Regala lived a private live and Ivy didn’t meet her as often as she would like. Especially now that Regina had left, Regala was hardly out of her room. Ivy had seen her in the garden last night from her balcony, looking at the setting sun and enjoying the flowers closing for the night.

Ivy heard some hoofsteps and when she looked behind her she saw her aunt coming towards them. She was happy and surprised to see her aunt outside during daytime. It didn’t happen often.
“Hello there, aunt Regala. Nice day, isn’t it?” Fleur said when she noticed her aunt as well.
“It really is. I’m sure it’ll be a nice day. Why don’t you two go outside for a while or something? It seems like such a waste to be inside the castle walls all this time.” Regala said.
“Oh, but we were planning to go to the Ima river. It’s great for some refreshment. You’ve never seen it, have you aunt Regala?” Ivy asked and Regala shook her head.
“Why don’t you come along then? We can show you around a bit in that part of the country.” Ivy proposed.
“Oh, that would be nice Ivy. I would love to.”
Ivy smiled happily. “Great! We were planning on leaving at noon.”
“I’ll be there.” Regala said and she began to walk into the garden, but she hesitated and turned around.
“oh, Ivy, we got an invitation. Your mom asked me to handle mail and everything while she was gone, but I’m not exactly sure what to do with this.”
“What kind of invitation?” “From some other country, what is it… Kin? They asked us to visit them in two months for the birthday of their heir to the throne.”

“Not Kin!” Ivy and Fleur yelled almost at the same time.
“Why? What’s wrong with it?” Regala asked confused.
“It stinks! They have all these strict rules and their queen is a complete bitch.” Fleur said.
“I hate it there. We’ve been there like two years ago. They’re all posh and think they’re so much, but they’re weak and can’t even govern their country well. Mom said a lot of ponies are really poor there.” Ivy added.

Regala smiled. “Well, we’ll discuss it with your mother when she gets back okay? For now, let’s just relax on this fine day. I’ll see you two at noon.” Regala walked away from Ivy and Fleur and disappeared behind the castle.
“You know, you’re forgetting one thing Ivy.” Fleur said.
“I am?” Ivy asked, not knowing what her sister meant.
“You forget the hottest pony ever to walk this earth. You know, the heir to the throne of Kin, Stanno.”
Ivy almost began to drool when she remembered him. “Oh yeah.”