A happy day in Kin

“Come on Twinkle, get up, get UP! You promised you would help me! You know I can’t do this without you!” Aline said, almost jumping through the room. Twinkle Star rather would’ve turned around again, sleeping some more, but she realised today she really couldn’t do it, because today was the day. The day of the wedding of Togli and Stanno. For almost two weeks they had been working really hard to get here, and now the day was finally here. Twinkle Star had been so relieved the evening before that they actually had gotten everything finished in time. The castle looked absolutely stunning; the throne room was repainted, there were new tables and chairs and couches, the dining room was decorated, the outside of the castle was cleaned, the garden looked even neater than before.

It appeared as if Queen Katine’s change was lasting; she had been bonding with Togli a lot the last few days, and they actually got a long just fine. Togli’s pregnancy was beginning to show, though it wasn’t that obvious yet. If you wouldn’t know she was pregnant, you wouldn’t be able to see. Stanno was really proud of his soon-to-be wife. They always looked so happy together that Twinkle Star couldn’t help but feeling jealous a bit every time she saw them together. Many times she wondered if she would ever find a soul mate like that, or maybe she had already found him, but had she left him for something far more important? Twinkle Star didn’t know. But today, it seemed just a little bit less important than usual. The wedding was today, and that was most important right now.

“Alright, alright, I’ll come. I know I promised I would help you. Now, where do we start?” Twinkle Star said, as she removed the sheets from her body.
“What about with you? No offence Twinkle, but you look like a mess.”
A little glance in the mirror proved Aline was right; Twinkle Star’s long hair was all over the place, her face looked still tired and she had rings below her eyes. Yes, she really was tired from all the hard work she had done, and she was sure everyone who helped was. But she was proud of her work, and happy that she could’ve made this day a bit more special to Togli and Stanno.

Of course, the ponies in the castle weren’t the only ones that had been working hard. After the official note had left the castle twelve days ago, the entire city came to life. All the ponies worked hard to clean every inch of every little street or path. The main road was made exceptionally beautiful. Flowers were ordered from every possible place, and the street was decorated with them, and also with banners, lights and balloons. The royal couple would make a tour though the main road after the ceremony, so it had to be gorgeous of course. A lot of ponies had come to the city to see this tour, and Twinkle Star had heard every inn was completely full, and ponies were forced to sleep with friends or relatives, or maybe even complete strangers that would offer them a place to sleep. The official guests, like the mayors of the towns, the governors of the regions or lower nobility of course stayed at the castle, and it was exceptionally busy now. Except for Regina and her family, there were no other Royal guests from other countries. Katine wanted to invite some ponies, from Tokowa for example, but there simply wasn’t enough time. It would take three weeks to get to Tokowa and three weeks to get back, so it simply couldn’t be done. But it didn’t really matter that much. Katine was more concerned with the happiness of her son and Togli than with other royals, which Tiwnkle Star thought it was an extremely good thing.

“Now, get over here Twinkle, in front of the mirror. I’ll do you first, so you can help me out without having to worry about your own looks. How’s that?” Aline asked impatiently.
“Yeah, sure, that’s fine.” Twinkle star answered and she moved to the place Aline wanted her to be.
“What do you want me to do? Want me to cut it again, or keep it long and, I dunno, give it some nice braids or something?” Twinkle Star thought about this for a while, and then decided:  “I go for the braids. Make like two smaller ones, one at the top and one at the bottom. Let the middle part loose. How’s that?” she asked, and Aline smiled.
“You know, you’re really getting the hang of this, Twinkle. One day, I might entrust my own hair to you.” She said to her friend while she began to brush her long hair. Twinkle Star began to laugh.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Aline didn’t respond. She was too caught up in her work. Twinkle Star admired her friend. She mght be a bit silly at times, but she had been Togli’s personal assistant the last few weeks, and she had done a great job. Apparently, the wedding veil and crown were absolutely gorgeous, and Aline and Togli had made the veil together, to match the old crown, which was always originally worn by the future queen at her wedding. It was over five hundred years old, or so Twinkle Star was told. Of course, to someone from the Old Friendship Lands this wasn’t that old, but for Kin, it was quite exceptional.

Twinkle Star admired Togli too. After she had heard about the seal in her mind, she appeared to continue with her life as usual. Twinkle Star was sure it had to bother her, and she had to be upset about it, but she was great at not showing it. To the outside world, she was just the happy bride-to-be. Of course, Twinkle Star had thought about the seal as well. How could she not? There was something strange at work in this world, someone had to have given her that seal. Someone extremely powerful. But who was it? Was it a pony? No, it couldn’t be. There existed no pony powerful enough to perform something like that, right? But then who, what was it? And more importantly, why would anyone do that? It was not as if Togli could have known something in her life that she was not allowed to remember. What had she done anyway? Lived with her mother in a remote village in a deserted place of the continent. No way it could have been like that.

But once again, Twinkle Star realised, it didn’t matter that much today. She didn’t even want to think about things like that. She only wanted to have fun. So she watched as Aline worked on her hair, and in no time, it was absolutely stunning. Two perfect braids and her loose hair flowed like waves of the ocean.
“Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.” Aline said proudly, after she had added a small layer of eye make up to Twinkle Star’s eyes. Twinkle Star agreed. Not much later they left the room, only to cross the hall and wake up Stelline and Crystal. It was time for their make up, too, and even though they resisted even more than Twinkle Star did to getting out of bed, they both finally came out and Aline and Twinkle Star worked on the hair of both of them. It didn’t take long before both of them looked like real princesses, especially Stelline after she had put her little crown on her head. After they were done there, they left the room and went to Regala and Regina’s room, to do exactly the same there, except Regala and Regina were already awake. Regala was extremely nervous. After all, this was the only wedding of one of her children she would ever attend, and what’s more, she had given up on dreaming about a day like this for a long time. But the day was actually here, her daughter would get married. Regina was a bit nervous, too, as she didn’t like to act so official in front of so many ponies. She couldn’t help but make a few lame jokes about when one of her daughters would get married, something Twinkle Star didn’t really appreciate. After they were done with Regina and Regala, Aline dismissed Twinkle Star and she headed towards Togli’s room. Twinkle Star would only see Togli at the ceremony, which was supposed to begin within one hour. Aline would definitely make it.

Twinkle star went down and had a small breakfast with her two sisters. They talked about the wedding and watched as all the guests entered the castle. Twinkle Star noticed all the mayors wore exactly the same dark green cape, except the buttons in the front each had a different design on them, the symbols of the different towns. Twinkle Star was surprised to find out all mayors were male, but Stelline explained that was to show to superiority of the queen. Twinkle Star didn’t really get it, but it was quite a sight, all those important people together. After a while they, too, decided to enter the throne room, which was now filled with lots of ponies sitting in nice lines facing the throne which was on the north side of the room. Twinkle Star and her sisters were to sit in the second line, behind the direct family and her mother and aunt. She was pleased to see she was actually sitting behind Yuuro, who was sitting between his sister and his father.
“Hi there, Yuuro.” She smiled.
“Hi there Twinkle Star! Isn’t it great? Day’s finally here!” Yuuro said exited. Twinkle Star agreed completely.
“I know, it’s wonderful. All the hard work we put into this is finally paying off, right? Are you proud of your brother?”
Yuuro nodded firmly. “I sure am! I’m so happy for him!” He said , showing off his pride with a huge smile on his face. Twinkle Star couldn’t help but grin.

Five minutes later, a pony blew on a trumpet. Twinkle Star’s heart almost skipped a beat. It was about to start!
“The queen of the Friendship Lands, Regina, and her sister, princess Regala.” The pony with the trumpet announced, and Twinkle Star watched her mother entering the room, wearing the official crown of the new lands on her head. Regina smiled a bit to the ponies that stared at them, but Regala was too nervous to look either right or left.
After they sat down, the pony announced: “Queen Katine of Kin.” Katine entered now, wearing a dark green cape, which was much larger than the ones of the mayors and more detailed with a golden brim, and a golden crown on her head. She walked towards her throne, and sat down on it. After Katine had sat down, Stanno entered. He wore a smaller golden crown, and a dark pink cape, tied together in the front with  golden colored brim.
After he stood next to his mother’s throne, the announcer said: “Princess Togli of the Friendship Lands.” Even though Twinkle Star had to get used to the title princess of the Friendship Lands, she was amazed with Togli when she entered the room. She also wore a golden crown on her head, however this one had a golden heart in the middle. It indeed looked old, but it was really shiny and looked like the prettiest crown in the room. Her two-layer veil fell over her back and just touched the ground. Aline entered the room behind Togli, and sat down somewhere in the back. She was obviously proud of Togli, who looked absolutely stunning. She smiled shyly at Stanno, who also was totally amazed with his pretty bride. When they stood next to each other before the throne, Katine began to speak.

“Welcome, friends, family. I want to thank you all for being able to come here on such short notice. We are here together today to celebrate the wedding of my son, prince Stanno, and princess Togli of the Friendship Lands. When I first saw these two together, it was hard for me to imagine they would ever get together. But when I found out that these two had found each other in love, it became obvious to me that they would only be truly happy if they spend their lives together. Therefore, today, we will perform the ceremony that will bind these two for life. But first, some ponies will want to speak. I first want to invite Queen Regina of the Friendship Lands.”

Her mother was going to give a speech? Twinkle Star couldn’t recall that her mother had ever mentioned this to her. She looked a bit confused as her mother walked towards the throne and stood in front of it.
“Hello, everyone.” Regina started when she stood right. “I guess I have to start with saying, that I was just as surprised by this wedding as everybody else was. Because not only did we learn about the wedding, we also found back Togli, who was separated from her mother in an horrible storm two years ago. So you can imagine how happy my family was, to find her back and to find she had found so much luck in love. I am glad to announce this is the first wedding in our family in sixteen years, which is a happy start for all of us. I am glad, and proud, to be here, not only as a queen and friend, but also as aunt of Togli. I am happy she found you, Stanno, and I am sure you will take great care of her. I, and with me my entire family and kingdom, wish you two the best of luck and happiness in the near and further away future.”

The room began to clap while Regina resumed to her seat. Next was a nanny of Stanno, who told the room she was glad her ‘little boy’ had found such a sweet girl and that he had become such a fine man, who would undoubtly would become a great king one day, especially with Togli at his side. After her, an official from the country held his speech, and told them what a reat day this was not only for the two lovebirds, but also for the country. After he sat down and the clapping had once again ceased, Katine rose out of her throne.
“Thank you all, for your wonderful stories. There is little for me to add, but to say this is one of the happiest days in my life as a mother. Now, it is time for the ceremony.” A pony came from the side, carrying a silver plate. Another pony walked behind it, with a silver vase. The silver plate was placed on the table that was between Katine and Togli and Stanno, and the silver vase was given to Katine. She poured the water from it on the plate. Then, she put her hoof in the water, and dripped some water on Togli’s head.
“Togli from the Friendship Lands,” Katine spoke with a soft but somehow caring voice, “Do you take Stanno from Kin as your true life partner, and do you promise to stick with him trough bad and happy times, until death calls you?”
 Togli nodded.
“I do.”
To Twinkle Star’s surprise, the water that was just dripped on Togli’s head, began to glow in a golden light. She had never seen something like that before, but to the ponies in front of her, it all appeared to be completely normal. Was this some kind of magic water?

Katine continued the ceremony by dripping some water on Stanno’s head as well. “Stanno from Kin, Do you take Togli of the Friendship Lands as your true life partner, and do you promise to stick with her trough bad and happy times, until death calls you?”
“I do.” Stanno said, a little louder than Togli. With him, the water began to glow as well.
“Will you both please put your left hoof in the water?” Katine asked, after the two ponies from earlier had put the plate on the ground. Both ponies put their left hoof in the water, and a light began to shine from the water. It crept up their hoofs, and right above them it changed in two golden rings; one with a jewel of some sort for Togli, and a clear golden one for Stanno. Twinkle Star had to blink a few times before she believed those rings actually came out of the water, but hey, she had seen weirder stuff. Togli and Stanno kissed when the rings were in the right place and the water had ceased to glow. Then, all the ponies got up and began to clap.

“One day, Twinkle Star, I’ll be there with the girl I love.” Yuuro whispered to Twinkle Star, while everybody was clapping for the newly wed couple, who were now facing the crowd, smiling. She smiled to him.
“I’ll be there, Yuuro.” He looked up at her, with a surprised but yet happy expression on his face.
“You promise?”
Twinkle Star nodded. “I promise.”
Kid is too cute, Twinkle Star thought. But if he would really find that girl of his dreams, she would definitely be there. After a few minutes of clapping and cheering, the couple left the room together. Twinkle Star knew it was time for their tour through the city, and Regina, Regala, Katine and Katine’s husband followed the couple. The others were to stay behind and go to the reception room, where drinks and some snacks were waiting. The ceremony hadn’t taken long, but Twinkle Star was impressed none the less.

When the couple and the parents had left the room, it was time for the others to move to the dining room. Twinkle Star soon caught up with Aline.
“Man! Didn’t she look gorgeous!” Aline said exited, and Twinkle Star couldn’t do anything else but agree.
“She definitely did, Aline. You did a great job.”
“What was up with the light show over there? I couldn’t see anything from back here.” Aline complained. “
Oh, I don’t know. Katine put some water on their heads and when they said I do, it lightened up. And then they had to put their hoofs in the water, and the water became two rings.”
“Yeah, right.”
“No, really! I saw it!” Twinkle Star tried to convince Aline, who didn’t really believe the story.
“It’s true, you know.” Yuuro told Aline, and both Aline and Twinkle Star were surprised at Yuuro’s sudden appearance, but hey, he was small and it was very crowded.

“Do you know what just happened?” Twinkle Star asked, and he nodded.
“Yeah, I do. The water has a fancy name, but we all call it hiding water. You can put objects in it, and they will reappear when the ones who the objects belong to touch the water. They simply did that with the rings. The lighting up of the water on their heads was just some fancy trick of my mother. It is said that long ago a water existed when someone made a promise he truly, deeply intended to keep. But it’s just a legend, and no one can prove water like that actually has existed. So my mom uses this trick with her powers to light the water up. It’s not that hard, really, and it looks nice.” Yuuro explained to them, while they followed the crowd to the dining room. Once they were there, they decided it was way too busy in there. They quickly grabbed some drinks and a cookie for each, and they left the room and walked outside. The garden was nice and cool, though more ponies got the idea of going outside. But it was definitely more quiet than inside.

“It was a really nice wedding.” Twinkle Star said, and both Yuuro and Aline agreed. “It’s not over yet, of course. We still got the large dinner this evening.”
“With all these ponies in one tiny room?” Aline asked surprised, and Yuuro laughed.
“No, silly. We’ll sit with the other royals in one room, and the others all eat in another. It’s well taken care of.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I can’t wait to congratulate Togli and Stanno.” Twinkle Star said, while she took a sip of her drink.
“me neither.” Aline said. Twinkle Star enjoyed being outside for a while. It really was a nice weather; the sun was shining, there were hardly any clouds in the sky, and it was a really nice temperature. This all was something rather rare for Kin, especially for Kise. It was cloudy most of the time. It was hard to believe Stanno and Togli were married now. It was all official, the ponies of the country knew it, and it was only a matter of time before the pregnancy would be announced. Twinkle Star smiled when she realised everything had worked out for the best.

“I’ll be sad when you al leave.” Yuuro said suddenly. Leave… Twinkle Star hadn’t even thought about it. But Yuuro was hitting some painful truth here; they wouldn’t stay much longer. They had already stayed more than a week than that they originally planned. Wouldn’t Ivy and Fleur get worried by now?
“Yeah… I’ll be sad, too. Yuuro. I really like it here. But we have to go home, soon. Will you come along when your family will visit our country?” Twinkle Star asked the young boy.
“Oh, can I? Mother never allows me to come along on whatever trip!” Twinkle Star smiled at the young boy.
“Of course you can come. I will make sure your name is on the invitation list.”
“Oh, yay! That’s so great! I really like you all, I can’t wait to see your country! Is it just as beautiful as you are, Twinkle Star?”
 Twinkle star couldn’t help but blush with such a compliment from the boy, and Aline had a hard time trying not to laugh.
“Well, I don’t know about that, but it’s a really nice country, with lots of green… trees, fields, grass… We don’t have a city, only very small villages. Our castle is on a remote spot. Nobody lives close to us.” Twinkle Star explained while she thought of her new home, and she had to admit she was actually missing it.
“It sounds gorgeous. I’ll be there. I promise.” Yuuro said, and he winked at Twinkle Star.

Of course, the royal ponies had dinner in the official dining room, while the others had dinner in some other large room Twinkle star had helped cleaning in the days before. But she could of course eat with Katine and the just married royal couple. Of course, Twinkle Star and Aline took their time to congratulate the newlyweds, and she was happy to learn the tour through the city had been great, and all the ponies had been really supportive and sincerely happy. The dinner was the best and largest she had had so far in this country, and she had a lot of fun during dinner, as she sat on a table with Aline, Yuuro, and his father, just like the first dinner they had in Kin. That seemed like ages ago now, as so much had happened since then. After dinner, there would be a drink in the castle once again, however, they were dismissed for an hour to refresh. When Twinkle Star and Aline walked up the stairs, they were greeted by Steline.
“Hey, you two, Mom asked us to visit her in her room after dinner. Will you come?” She asked them, and both of them agreed, wondering why Regina would want them all together. When they entered the room, they noticed all the others were already there, including, to Twinkle Star’s surprise, Togli. When they were all in, Stelline closed the door behind her.

“What’s going on, mom?” Twinkle Star asked her mother.
“There are two things I want to tell you, before we go down to dinner. First, the day of our departure. I know it is something we haven’t discussed yet, and even though I preferred to have a talk with all of you before deciding, I think it is a good idea if we all agree to leave the day after tomorrow. I know it is sudden, however, I feel like I can’t leave Ivy and Fleur alone much longer. They have to worry about us, as they expected us to return by now. I really don’t want to leave them alone anymore, and there is nothing left for us to do here. We already stayed a week longer than originally planned.”
Even though Twinkle Star was disappointed with this decision, she knew her mother was right. And somewhere deep within, she wanted to go home as well. When they all agreed to leave the day after tomorrow, Regina said: “And for the second point, Regala here wants to make an announcement.” Regina stepped back and all heads turned towards Regala.

“All of you… I think you all know how happy I am since I realised my daughter had not died two years ago. She is here, alive and well, and carrying her child. You all know how relieved I was to find out all of you were alive, and I want to thank Twinkle Star especially, for opening my heart. However, I have decided not to return with you to the Friendship Lands. I have already discussed this with Katine, Togli and Stanno and they all agreed that it was best for me to stay here. That way, I can help Togli recover her memory, and she can once again get to know me. Besides, I can be there when their child is born, and I can help Togli with raising it. I really feel bad about leaving you, but I’m not far away, and I definitely will visit you all soon, and often.”

Twinkle Star sighed. She had expected this the moment she had realised Togli was actually alive and right here. Of course Regala wanted to stay here. Who would not? But still, she somehow felt bad about losing her second aunt as well within a month. She still remembered Damina’s departure. But at least she knew now both ponies were alive and well, and she could visit them whenever she wanted.
“I think we all understand very well, aunt Regala.” Crystal said, while looking at her sisters. They all agreed.
“We will miss you, aunt Regala, but of course we understand. Anyone in your position would want the same. Just promise you will visit us a lot!” Stelline said, and Regala laughed.
“Of course I will!” Togli gave her mother a hug. “Thank you, all. I am so happy that my mother will stay with me in this important time of my life. I’m glad you all agree.” She said.
“Of course we agree, you silly girl!” Twinkle Star said. “We all want you to be happy, and Regala too, and for that, you have to be together.”

“Now… I think that was all, unless anyone has something else to say? I think we have enough time to say goodbye to Regala tomorrow. Why don’t we go refresh ourself and enjoy the drink downstairs?” Regina proposed, and they all agreed. Crystal, Stelline, Aline and Twinkle Star left the room. They said goodbye at their bedroom doors, and somehow Twinkle Star was relieved to close the door behind her. Finally, a bit of rest. It had been a busy day.
“Don’t you feel bad about leaving?” Aline asked.
“Yeah, I guess. We had a great time here, much better than I expected. But, you know, we have to get going home, too. Lots of things await us there, too.”
“No wedding, though.” Aline said a bit disappointed.
“Well, let’s hook you up with someone and get married yourself.” Twinkle Star said laughing, and Aline threw a pillow to her head.
“It’s not funny.”
“Oh yes, it is. Anyway… I do look forward to going home, you know. A bit of peace, or something. Finally some rest.” Twinkle star said, already relaxing at the thought.
“Rest, you?” Aline said, while she grabbed her brush from the vanity.
“yeah, yeah, I know. But hey, who knows what’ll await us at home. Lots more adventures, I’m sure. There is still a lot we don’t know about this world, don’t you think?” 
Aline smiled at her friend through the mirror. “You never give up, do you?” Twinkle Star didn’t answer, but she knew her friend was right. And who cares? She didn’t easily give up, neither did she want to. Why sit around when there are adventures waiting for you out there?