Going Home

“It was a nice day when we left the oasis. Of course this didn’t matter, considering we’d be walking through that damned desert all day. I felt quite bad about leaving the oasis, to be honest. It was such a nice place! I loved the temperature there and playing in the cool lake. It was so great. But of course, we never came there to stay so we had to leave, and I really wanted to get to the new Friendship Lands. Damina came with us, but Twinkle told me she was not going to stay at the new lands. She would return one day to the oasis, because she had her life there and she didn’t want to give it up. But she wanted to come with us to see her sisters once more, so there she is. Damina took the stone with her. She said she wanted to leave it at the castle with Regina when I asked her why. I wonder if there’s more to it, but I didn’t like to ask more. She was a little annoyed with my questions, it seemed.

Fortunately, this journey through the desert was much better than the first one. We encountered those desert monsters once, but they were asleep and Damina led us pass them safely. The water became disgusting the second day. It was really hot but of course we had to drink it. We had more than enough, fortunately. I was happy to drink some cool water when we left the desert.

I’m so glad those twins are gone. Testi was still grounded and Damina wanted them to start working on the jewels already when she was gone. Of course I liked Vesti, she was really nice, but Testi… according to Twinkle star she suffered from their way of living, and from Damina’s past, but I don’t see why she had to take it out on me. Twinkle said it was because I was so much like her, but I could be carefree and all. She wanted that too and that’s why she was jealous and wanted me out of her way. I don’t get it, I never had feelings like that. But I guess she did, and I was the victim of her feelings. But she apologised again, short before we departed. She said she was really sorry and that she never had anything against me, and that it was all her fault. I don’t really feel like forgiving her, but considering I’d probably never see her again, I told her it was okay and that I would forgive her.

We slept in the same inn in the same town after we left the desert, but we took a different road from there on. The first two days the road was dry as well with hardly any plants or trees along the road and it was hot as well, but there were some streams and there were some houses here and there, so it was better than the desert in many ways. Slowly it changed though, and there was more green in the landscape. We stopped for a day after a week or so at a farm. Damina knew the ponies who held the farm, so we could stay there for free for a day to relax.

I spend that day working on my hair, really. I mean, all this weather changing is sooo bad for it! And the yellow dye is about to come out. I should dye it again, but I’ll do that when we get to the new lands. I have to say, my hair is pretty soft lately. It is probably the pure water from the lake that made it so soft. I spend hours in that water trying to get that chocolate out. It has to be the water; I’m damned sure it’s not the chocolate anyway.

I talked a lot with Stelline that first week. I had the feeling she was opening up to us more and more. She is quite a fun girl, but she is really shy and really unsure. When I asked her to clean our blankets one morning she got all nervous because she was afraid to do something wrong. Te poor girl. I tried to convince her it was not so bad to make a mistake once in a while, but I guess she is just too scared that anyone might get hurt because of her. It is so weird to think she is the same girl we encountered in the mountains so long ago. She was so full of hate and so angry back then, but I guess it was just her way to cover her fear.

I don’t really know how she will ever become a good queen, when she’s so afraid. But then it wasn’t sure she was going to become queen. After all, Twinkle promised her that she didn’t have to if she didn’t want to. But when I think of what Twinkle told me, how her mother tried to persuade her to become queen only because she was the oldest alive, or so she thought.

I am curious about Regina. I’ve never met a queen, and I wonder what she is like. Would she really be as strong and as royal as in the stories I have heard? Damina has some grace about her that I find hard to describe, and I figured that is what royal ponies have; a grace that makes you respect them and thrust them, something that makes you sure these ponies know what is best for you. Twinkle doesn’t really have it, and to be honest, neither does Stelline. I think it’s because they haven’t lived like princesses for so long. I mean, both of them have been on the run for the last sixteen years.”

Twinkle Star peeked at Aline from underneath her blanket, and she had a hard time trying not to giggle. Aline was writing fast and looking around her like mad, seeing if anyone is awake. Twinkle Star wondered if Aline really believed that nobody knew she was writing in a dairy. She didn’t do it every night, but Twinkle Star had seen her doing it at least trice now, since they left Aline’s village to look for her aunt Damina. Twinkle Star of course wondered what Aline was writing, but she knew she would never ask. This was Aline’s secret and, bless her, probably her only one. Twinkle Star knew some secrets are important, and she didn’t want to take it away from her.

Twinkle Star had secrets of her own that she would never share with anyone, but she knew she would never have the guts to write them down, out of fear of somebody discovering it. She admired this in Aline, she knew how to handle things that happened to her, so that she wouldn’t faint under the pressure. But she did wonder if Aline was writing about her and the fact that she was a Pegasus pony. She didn’t want any of that information confirmed on paper, but if Aline wanted to write about it… there was nothing she could do.

“Talking about Twinkle… She has been acting strange, or at least she did in the first part of our journey back. She was quiet and she seemed to think a lot. I mean, even more than usual. Sometimes she just was so… absent-minded. Like she was pondering over something big that only she knew. I couldn’t help wondering if it had to do anything with her wings. She hasn’t talked to me about it since that day and I suppose it is fine. I don’t understand anything of it and I never, ever heard about a Pegasus before. I knew about unicorns, I knew that they were more than just a legend, or at least I had been told there was truth to the old stories, however… The fairy tales I heard about Pegasus ponies were nothing but tales, stories, something someone made up long ago. I wish Twinkle would talk to me more about it, but I don’t think it’ll happen, or at least not while she doesn’t understand either, because I am sure she does not, or she would be more confident and she wouldn’t keep it a secret like that.

Anyway, the second part of our journey was different. While Twinkle Star appeared to cheep up a bit more, Stelline became more and more quiet. I know she is scared to face her mother. I thought we had talked enough sense into her that it wasn’t her fault about Joker dying, however the guilt is a strong and deep feeling. It won’t fade in a few weeks. It’ll probably be years before she not only knows, but feels the truth as well.

The second part of our journey was different, looking at the weather as well. The landscape was far more greener and we passed through a forest a few days ago. We had some rain as well, and even though I usually don’t like rain, it was a nice change from the hot weather we have been in the last few weeks. We slept outdoors most of the time. Two days ago we came across the border of the Tokowa lands. We didn’t enter the country because we didn’t really had any reason, but Damina told us about the country.

While it is a lot smaller than the old Frienship Lands, the Tokowa lands are old allies of the Friendship lands. They have royal pendants as well, though theirs are weaker than the original pendants of the royal family of the Friendship lands. Their royal family has royal powers as well, as most do, but the Tokowa family understands them and knows how to use them, while most royal houses don’t understand and don’t really care. Because of this, the Tokowa lands have developed quite some skills with their powers. They gave a part of their kingdom to Regina, who developed the new Friendship Lands there, or so Twinkle said but I am not too sure about the details of that. I’m sure I’ll find out about it when we are at the Friendship Lands.

I am really curious what I am going to do there, to be honest! Twinkle said she would offer me a job in the castle, and I’ll probably be a maid or something, doing their hair for special occasions. I’m really looking forward to it! I know my history now, my family’s history, and I know it is my duty to help the royal family. I wish I could help them more, help them protect and rebuild the country, however I am not really sure how I would do that. But maybe time will tell. I do not know what the future holds, but I am anxious to what will happen.

I don’t have to wait much longer though. Tomorrow we will arrive! Before sunset I saw the mountains that were the borders of the new lands in the distance. I’m a bit nervous now and I know I can’t sleep. I know the others are nervous too. I can’t wait to see the castle. Even though it’s small, it’ll be the first castle I’ll ever see. I’m curious about Twinkle’s other sisters as well. According to her, they are all really different from both her and Stelline. I really hope they’re not like Testi though. I’m gonna try to rest a bit now, It’ll be a big day tomorrow, and hopefully I can write again soon, when I have my own room.”

Twinkle Star noticed Aline let her quill out of her mouth. She was done with writing. Twinkle Star knew Aline was nervous about tomorrow. So was she. How would her mother react? Would she be upset again, like she was when Twinkle Star left? Would she force Stelline to become her heir? And most of all, who is the heir at the moment? Would Crystal have taken that place, or would it still be Ivy? And what about Regala? Was she here yet? She had to be, it was two months ago now that Twinkle Star had met her. She was sure Regala had arrived by now, if she indeed had went back. There was so much Twinkle Star didn’t know and which she was about to find out, that she, too, wasn’t able to sleep.

When Twinkle Star turned around her eyes fell on Damina’s bag, which contained the stone. The entire road the stone had been on her mind, sometimes more than others. But the stone had not been out of Damina’s bag so Twinkle Star hadn’t been able to see if there was anything unusual, but she didn’t expect this to be the case. She was pretty confident the glowing and the talking was an incident; it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon again. But of course that didn’t answer the questions she had about the stone. What was it, how did it know her name, and what did it mean? Once again, the questions roamed through Twinkle Star’s head, and once again she had no answers.

But she knew there were more important things right now. She was going to see her mother again tomorrow and she would do whatever it took to make the encounter going better this time. What would her sisters say? Would Crystal be mad at her for leaving her? While Twinkle Star was thinking of tomorrow, Aline fell asleep, leaving Twinkle Star the only one awake. But Twinkle Star was too occupied with her thoughts that even she didn’t see the light of the eyes staring at them from the trees. Eyes that had seen her before, eyes that didn’t blink once until they disappeared in the black of the night.