Stelline’s secret! A unicorn’s gift

“Yeah, come in…” a voice softly said, a few moments after Aline knocked on the door. Yep, another day of not coming out and talk with us, Aline thought as she entered Stelline’s room. As usual,the room was light and tidy, and as usual, Stelline was sitting on her large bed.
“Hi there, Stelline. I got your breakfast.” Aline said to the princess, when she had put her plate on the table.
“Thank you, Aline.” Stelline answered, without looking at her.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Aline asked, even though she knew what the answer would be.
“No, thank you. You can go now.”
Just like every other day. Aline gave a quick bow to her princess, and then softly left the room.

Once outside with the door closed, she couldn’t help but sigh deep. Once again, no change. This had been going on for almost two weeks now. About a week after they had returned here, Stelline began to withdraw herself from the social life in the castle. She didn’t help out her mother anymore like she used to, she didn’t talk with her sisters anymore, she didn’t appear before inhabitants of the country. She didn’t even attended the ceremony where two ponies were given the right to live in the country, something she had said before that she was really looking forward to. But she hadn’t been there, like with most things. And now, she wouldn’t even come out of her room. She looked so pale, Aline had been worried she was ill, but Stelline had simply asked her to leave her alone. Aline shook her head, not knowing what else to do. She had been given the task of taking care of Stelline, but how could she if Stelline kept sending her away?

Oh well, she had done her job for this morning. Bring Stelline food and water. She would return early afternoon with lunch, and she would clean her room a bit. Best she could do now was report to her queen. So she walked through the corridor to the throne room, but she found it already busy when she arrived. Ponies had already arrived, this early in the afternoon, to discuss things with the queen. Regina had her serious look, Aline observed, and she knew better than to disturb her queen right now. So she turned around, not really sure what to do next. “Best go to the garden to look for Tsuyo.” She said to herself, and turned around to walk to the door. An autumn breeze was in the air, she observed, and most trees had gone yellow and red already. It wouldn’t be long before they would begin to lose their leaves for the winter. Briefly she wondered if Twinkle Star would be okay in weather like this, but she quickly shook her head. No, she said firmly. She would not worry about Twinkle Star. It had almost gotten her ill the first week they were here, and it was not something either she or Twinkle Star would be helped out with. Besides, she had Stelline to look after. Twinkle Star would be all right. She was a big girl, she could look after herself.

Aline just wanted to walk to the vegetable gardens, when her heart skipped a beat. A pony was approaching, and she knew exactly who he was. One of the ponies that had been with the ceremony one and a half weeks ago. And once again, she couldn’t keep her eyes off him.
“Hey there, Aline!” He said happily as he approached her.
“H… hi there, Junai.” She said, already feeling the blush on her cheeks.
He was so handsome… He was white-yellowish, and his quite short hair was yellow with a few pink stripes. His hoofs were larger, as was usual with male ponies, and he had very dark eyes. He wasn’t that much older than her, either. From what she had gathered, he had been travelling for a while before asking to settle here. He was not from the old lands, but had grown up close to a forest somewhere in the east. But now he wanted to have a stable live, after a few years of travelling. So he was building his own little farm close to one of the small villages, to make his own vegetables and fruit. Most people in the country lived like that, anyway.

“What’s up?” He asked when he was standing in front of her.
“Oh… nothing, really. I was just on my way to, eh… see Tsuyo.” Aline stammered. Her heart couldn’t stop beating fast.
“Oh, I see. Am I holding you up?”
“oh no, not at all! I’m not in a rush! In fact, I was on my way to her because I didn’t knew what to do otherwise.” Aline simply looked at the ground, she just couldn’t look him in the eyes.
“And what about you?” She asked him softly.
“Me?  Well, I was on my way to see the queen. I need more wood for my house, and I have to bring a tree down for that. But I need her approval to do so.” He answered her.
“Oh… I see. Well, I was just at the queen’s place, but she is rather busy now, I’m afraid… seeing some other ponies. You can wait, of course.”
He smiled at her. Softly, and sweet. So pretty…
“Do you want something to drink? I can get you something, if you want…” She proposed, though she was immediately frightened at the thought of being alone with him in the small kitchen.
“That would be great, Aline. Thank you.”

She blushed even harder, if that was even possible. She muttered something like “follow me” and together, they walked inside. She couldn’t help but stare in the mirror on their way to the kitchen, to see if her hair was all right. She was disappointed to see it wasn’t great, like it could be. Some hairs weren’t in place, and it didn’t shine as it used to. But it could be worse. She led Junai into the kitchen, where she gave him a glass of Tsuyo’s freshly made apple juice.
“It’s great!” He said enthusiastic after he had tried a sip, and poured down the rest of the glass at once after that.
“So, Aline… how is life at the court these days?” He asked her, after he had put down his glass.
“Oh, it’s okay. Ivy and Fleur are helping out Tanade village with their jewellery project, you know, which they will sell or trade on a foreign market. They seem to enjoy it quite a bit, haven’t been home in days. The queen is just busy as usual, and you know Crystal and Twinkle Star are gone… they won’t be home soon. Tsuyo is doing her daily job of preparing food and all. I clean the rooms and I look after Stelline.” She explained to him.
“What’s up with her, then? Rumors are going around that she isn’t well, but nobody has ant concrete information.”  Junai told her. Aline wasn’t happy to hear rumors were spread about the princess’ condition, but she knew it couldn’t be helped. Ponies just want to know what is going on at their court, and after all, she was their future queen.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you either. She just stays in her room all day, doing nothing. She doesn’t want to come out unless she absolutely has to, nor does she want any visitors. I bring her food thrice a day and I clean her room, but that is the only contact she has with me. I don’t know what it is with her.” She told Junai, somehow relieved to be able to talk to someone about it. And to her surprise, she finally realised how worried she was about Stelline.
“Maybe she is just… homesick, or something?” Junai proposed.
“What? No, how could she be? She’s at home, right?” Aline asked confused.
“Yeah, I know, however… she’s been travelling a lot, right? Maybe she is just missing that. Maybe she doesn’t like to stay in one place a long time.”
That sounds more like Twinkle, Aline thought. But Stelline… no, in fact, she had gotten the idea she was calming down more instead of growing restless when she was at a place longer. So she shook her head.
“No, I don’t think that is it, Junai. I think it’s something else, though I do not know what.”
He shrugged. “Okay. I’m sure you know more of it than I do. Maybe she’s….”

But Junai couldn’t finish her sentence, as the queen suddenly entered the kitchen. “Oh, hello there Aline, Junai. What are you two doing here?” She asked, while she poured herself a glass of the apple juice as well.
“Waiting for you, my queen.” Junai said, and Regina began to laugh.
“I’m sorry I had to make you wait, Junai. There were other ponies seeking my advice.”
“It’s okay, my queen, really. We weren’t bored, anyway. We were having just a nice conversation.” Junai told his queen. Aline was amazed how gracious he was able to talk. To her, he had been friendly and nice. To the queen, he was full of respect and gallantness.
“Oh? What were you two talking about?” Regina asked, while she sat down next to Aline.
 “About Stelline, my queen.”  Aline said. “We are just so worried… Why won’t she come out and talk to us?”
The look on Regina’s face immediately changed. From the happy queen, she transformed into a worrying mother.
“I don’t know, Aline. I don’t know. I wish I could find more time to spend with her, to find out what has been bothering her so. But I’ve been so terribly busy ever since we came back to Kin. And with all my daughters gone…” Her voice faded as she took another sip of her apple juice.

“Why don’t you go talk to her now?”  Junai suddenly proposed.
“What? Oh, no, Junai. You came here to talk with me, right? I don’t want to let you wait so long, either. After all, you are busy too, with your house and all, it has to be finished before the winter comes, and…”
“My queen,” he interrupted her, “I’m sure I’ll get my house finished in time, even if I have to wait an hour longer here for you. Really, I don’t mind. Why don’t you two go now? I’ll be fine. Maybe I will help out Tsuyo in the garden.” He winked at Aline, who once again began to blush.
“Well, if you really don’t mind…” Regina hesitated, but Junai was already on his feet.
“I really don’t. You can find me in the garden!”

Aline and Regina sat silently as they saw him walking away out of the kitchen, until the sound of his hoofs faded into the corridor. He was nice as well… Aline almost slipped into a day dream of them together, walking through the autumn’s forest, dancing with the falling leaves. She was rudely woken up when her queen got off the bench.
“Well, let’s go to see Stelline, shall we?” she proposed, and Aline nodded.  She followed Regina out of the kitchen, through the hall towards Stelline’s room.
Regina softly knocked on the door, and said: “Stelline, honey, is it okay that we come in?”
The response was a simple “hmmm…”.
Aline followed Regina through the door, and she noticed Stelline had eaten the food Aline had brought her earlier.
“Honey, are you okay?” Regina asked, after she saw her daughter sitting on her bed. So pale, Aline once again observed.
“I’m fine, mother.” Stelline said softly.
“No, sweety. You’re not fine. I can see it, Aline can, everyone can. And I don’t want you to hide it from me. You’re my daughter, and I love you. Why can’t you tell me what is going on?”

To their surprise, Stelline got tears in her eyes when her mother said those words. Regina sat down beside her, and hugged her daughter. Aline didn’t really know where to go or what to do, so she just stayed where she was.
“Oh, mom…” Stelline sobbed.
“What is it, honey? Why can’t you tell me?” Regina asked.
“I can’t, because, I… I don’t understand myself…”
“Well, but sweety, maybe we can help you understand. Why don’t you tell me?” Regina said with a soft voice Aline had never heard before.
Suddenly she realised how much Regina loved her children, every single one of them. It made her suddenly miss her own mother’s voice and touch.
“I… I don’t understand how it happened, for I have never seen a man in that way before, but, I am carrying a child, mother…”

Aline almost fell over. Pregnant? Did Stelline mean she was actually carrying a child? Now that was an answer she had not expected. But to her surprise, Regina wasn’t all that shocked. All she said was,
“Do you really not understand, dear?” When Stelline shook her head, Regina smiled faintly.
“After you were born, I looked up everything I could about unicorns in the old books. Now, I found out a lot of things, about the special powers you would possess, the things you would be capable off, and the achievements of unicorns in the past. Now, Stelline, one of the things I read about was the unicorn’s gift.”
 “What’s that?” Aline asked, when Regina paused.
“It is the gift to get pregnant without the need of a male. A unicorn is able to create a soul, because her own is so strong. And her body is able to create a body to that soul. Ordinary ponies need both a man and a woman to create a soul, and the woman’s body creates a home for it. But a unicorn’s soul is so strong, it is capable of creating a new one entirely herself. The pony is not a clone of the mother, but a unique being. She can’t control when this happens, but it is said to happen in places where a child is needed. Unicorns weren’t that common among higher royalty in the past, as you both know. But in the past, the steward families, like yours, Aline, had more power than they had in our time. Unicorns were born there, and sometimes, if they could not find a fit man, the unicorn created a child herself. It is said that Daiya’s child was born that way.”

Aline was shocked. Getting pregnant without the help of a male? Wow, unicorns really were something, she realised. And she was the descendant of a pony like that…
“So you think that is what happened to Stelline?” Aline asked, and Regina nodded, not to her, but to her daughter.
“I’m positive. Your body has decided there is need for a child here, a new generation. And I don’t even think it was that wrong.”
Stelline smiled at her mother. “Neither do I, mother. It’s just… I wasn’t prepared for this.”
“Nobody ever is, dear. Not even normal ponies. But there is no need to hide yourself anymore. You should be proud, not ashamed. Why don’t you come with us outside? It’s lovely autumn weather, right Aline?”
Aline nodded at her queen, and she was relieved to see Stelline get up. She still didn’t really grasp all that had just been said. The ability to create your own children… poor Stelline had to raise them without a husband, too. But she wouldn’t be alone. She would be there to help her, and Aline was sure all the others at the castle would do the same. And she couldn’t help but smile when she realised Stelline was going to give birth to a new heir, the first queen of this country with no memories of the old Lands. Maybe that was exactly what this country needed.