The rain clattered against the windows and Twinkle Star was started from hr sleep by the loud rumble of a thunder somewhere in the distance. Even though Twinkle Star didn't mind rain, she was a bit annoyed that it still hadn't stopped. It had been raining for four days in a row now. Tomorrow they had to leave for Kin, but by the looks of it the rain wasn't going to stop falling. Slowly she got out of her bed and opened her curtains.

Outside, everything was still grey. She jumped up when a flash of lightning was immediately followed by a loud thunder. The thunderstorm was close. She realised this was once again a day in which she would not leave the castle, and she was utterly bored with that. with weather like this, there weren't many visitors to the castle either, and she was done talking with the others about this weather. What was there left to say about it, anyway? But at least today she could do some packing for the journey. Regala and Regina had already figured out which road they were going to take a few days before. Apparently there was quite a good connection between the new friendship lands and Kin, and they didn't have to sleep outside once on their journey. Of course, the fact that they were travelling as a royal family helped with getting a place to sleep every night.

Twinkle Star looked around in her room. She had moved into this room a week or two ago. Her bed was made of iron which curled together near the top and the bottom of it. Her walls were painted in aqua with pink stars here and there. There was a large mirror across the room on her wall. The room wasn't big, but it was okay. It was on the first floor next to Fleur's room. Crystal's room was on the other side of the castle, but also on the first floor. Stelline had gotten the room of Crystal, as they had decided it would be the room of the heir, even though Ivy had never slept in it, in the sixteen years she had been the heir.

Twinkle Star left her room after she had brushed her hair, and when she got downstairs the smell of fresh pancakes greeted her. She began to walk a little faster towards the kitchen, where she found Tsuyo cooking and Aline sitting at the table. "Good morning, everyone." She said.
"Hi there Twinkle. You're up early!" Aline said.
 "Yeah. Stupid thunder woke me up, and I didn't feel like sleeping anymore. Guess the weather hasn't changed a bit." Twinkle star said, as she sat at the table too, across Aline.
"I know, Twinkle Star," Tsuyo said, "It's horrible. I hope it's better tomorrow when you leave. You want some pancakes too?"
"Oh yes, I'd love too." Twinkle Star answered.

"I wonder where all this rain comes from though?" Aline asked. "It's been such great weather before!"
"Well, it's not that unusual, Aline." Tsuyo answered, while she turned one of the pancakes around. "We've had rainy days before in summer, and when it comes, it'll last a while. But because of the mountains, the summers are usually pretty dry. I'm sure this is the only rain we'll have this summer."
"You know a lot about this country, don't you Tsuyo?" Twinkle star asked.
"I guess. You learn a lot when you hang around the queen for so long. And we have to know a lot, how are we supposed to help out the ponies who live here if we don't know anything?" Twinkle Star and Aline nodded. Tsuyo was right.

Just when Tsuyo put her first plate of pancakes on the table, Regina entered the kitchen. As every morning, her mother looked refreshed and ready for another day of royal duties.
"Good morning, everyone." She said when she entered the kitchen. "My, Twinkle Star, what are you up early."
Twinkle Star smiled. "Couldn't sleep because of the thunder, mom." she said, and Regina smiled to show she understood.
"It'll be a quiet day today again, won't it Tsuyo?"
Tsuyo nodded. "I guess. Ponies don't like to travel with this weather. But everyone knows you will leave tomorrow, so maybe some of them will come anyway, because they know they have to wait a couple of weeks before they get another chance." Regina nodded while she took a pancake off the plate and put it on her own plate.
"Aline, will you do my hair this evening? I love what you did to the hair of my daughters, and I'd love to see something nice with my hair as well for our journey." Aline immediately beamed with pride and Twinkle Star had trouble not to laugh. She knew Aline was happy the queen appreciated her work, and now she wanted it herself!
 "I'd love to, my lady! How aboutafter dinner this evening?"
"Sounds fine to me!" Regina replied, as she put the first piee of the pancake in her mouth.

A few ponies indeed showed up that day, as Tsuyo had predicted. Some ponies had urgent matters that couldn't wait a few weeks. Twinkle Star didn't do much that day. She read a book her mother had written on the building of this country. It had been so much work, but everyone had worked together, and it had turned out great, Twinkle Star decided. When it was late in the afternoon she decided to go upstairs to pack her bag. There wasn't much she was going to bring along, just some basic stuff like some things for her hair, Aline would kill her if she wouldn't, some jewelry her mother had given her earlier for occasions as this, her blanket just to be sure. When she was done, she sat down on her bed. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to leave at all. She had enjoyed the past few weeks here. This place truly began to feel like home.

But she knew she was a princess again, after being on the run for sixteen years, and with that came some responsibilities. And she would enjoy travelling with Aline again. She was happy her best friend would come along. Damina would travel with them as well for a few days, before she took off in a different direction. She would definately miss Damina and all her knowledge. Now that she was almost about to leave, Twinkle Star felt bad about not asking more about holy and magical stones, but there wasn't any time left for that now. But the mysterious stone was going to stay here. She would be able to inspect in when she got home, she decided. Maybe she could figure out more about it later. Who knows, maybe it would talk to her again. Twinkle Star got off her bed and put the bag in a corner of her room. it was done now. She decided to go downstairs to see if she could help anybody.

When she got off the stairs, she walked into Stelline. who just came out of her room. "Hi there, Stelline." Twinkle star said.
"Oh hi, Twinkle Star. Do you have anything to do?" She asked. Twinkle Star shook her head.
 "Could you maybe please help me out with packing my bag? I have to decide which jewelry to take. I got so many of this stuff the last few weeks that I'm completely lost."
Twinkle Star smiled. Stelline in fact did got a lot of stuff from all the inhabitants of the country that were happy he was back. Twinkle Star had gotten some items, too, but not nearly as much as Stelline. Of course, Stelline had been in the public a lot more than she had.

Twinkle Star followed her sister into her room. She loved Stelline's room. it was white with silver, not unlike the unicorn hallway they had been near the old lands, which seemed like ages ago by now. Of course it had been repainted when stellnie got this room in her own colors. A silver box stood on Stelline's white table, and it contained all kinds of jewelry. Twinkle Star helped her sister pick out a few beautiful necklaces, and the golden ring she had gotten from their mother, which was very alike to Regina's red one.

"Are you nervous about going to Kin?" Stelline asked, while she put her jewelry in a smaler box that fit in her bag. Twinkle Star shook her head.
"No, not really. Why should I be?" She asked.
"Well... it's our first appearance as princesses, right? Aren't you scared that you might fail?"
Twinkle Star smiled at her sister. "Not really. I'll just be me, you know. Who else can I be? Are you nervous?"
 Stelline shrugged her shoulders. "A little. I am the heir, right? And what if that Katine really wants me and her son to get married? I don't feel like getting married at all right now, you know."
"Well, then you don't, right? It's your decision, and mother knows that. I don't even think she wantd you to marry that guy. Do what your heart tells you to do, I'd say." Twinkle Star said to her older sister, while she put the leftover jewelry back in the big silver box.

"Yeah I know, but, you know, what mother told us about Anrui and Reine... I'm just... scared that I might be forced into something I don't want to, and that I might be unable to control myself, and..."
Twinkle Star looked at her sister. Has she really been worried about that? "Oh Stelline, please, don't worry. You'll be just fine, I promise. Nobody will foce you into anything, and you are nothing like Reine. It's a different world, we're different ponies. I promise I won't let anything happen that might force you into something."
Stelline smiled faintly at Twinkle Star. "Thanks, Twinkle. You're a great sister to have."
"So are you." Twinkle Star smiled back. She meant it. She was happy her sister was back, and that she had changed so much from how she waswhen she first met her.

Twinkle Star didn't really knew what felt so weird when she woke up the next morning. It was only when she opened her curtains when she noticed there was no rain clattering against her window anymore. In fact, it was almost nice weather compared to what it was the last few days. There were still clouds in the sky, but they weren't nearly as dark as before and it had stopped raining. The ground appeared to be soaked, though. Twinkle Star fiercly hoped the roads would be good to walk on. She quickly brushed her hair and got her bag, and walked downstairs. In the hallway, Crystal and Stellie were already waiting.
When Twinkle Star asked when they were going to leave, Crystal replied: "I guess soon. Aline was here just a second ago but she left to help mother pack some last-minute items."
Twinkle Star just wanted to say she understood, when Aline and Regina appeared, both wearing their bags.

"Are we all ready, ladies?" Regina asked her daughters, who all replied with an enthousiastic yes. She then turned to Ivy and Fleur who came out of the kitchen.
"Will you two take care?" She asked them.
"Yes, mom, you asked us a thousand times. We will take care. Nothing will happen to us or the castle, I promise." Ivy answered a bit annoyed.
Regina had been so worried last night she had asked them a thousand times whether they would be fine.
"Good. Well, I guess we'll be off then. I'll see you two in a couple of weeks."
"Bye, mom!" Fleur said. "Good luck!"
"Yeah, good luck!" Ivy added.
"Thanks, we'll need that." Regina said, and after another goodbye they all left the castle. Twinkle Star enjoyed the smell of the morning. It was refreshing and new. A new journey was beginning, and as she looked back on the castle once more, she wondered what was awaiting her in Kin, and on her journey. She would miss this castle, her home, but she was anxious of new adventures. She smiled one last time and then followed the others.