Journey to Madash

“Look, Câlin… You see that stream up ahead? It’s the border of the Tokowa Lands.”
“Oh… Who are they?”  Câlin asked curiously.
“It’s a country at the foot of the mountains… the end of the mountain group that holds our home, too. It’s quite large, but not densely populated. Their queen helped Queen Regina build the Friendship Lands, though, and our countries have lived in friendship for a long time.” Twinkle Star explained, while she studied the fields of Tokowa. They had left the mountains behind them a day ago already, but this was the southern border, where there wasn’t so much as a hill to be seen.

Indeed, the fields reminded her of a farming colony. Farms were spread over the land, surrounded by fields filled with different kinds of grain, vegetables, fruits and herbs. Twinkle Star realized the ponies of Tokowa had to be quite wealthy, if they were able to grow such a diverse group of plants. The lands looked peaceful enough, and Twinkle Star wouldn’t have minded to spend a few days there, if they weren’t on a journey with a different destination.

“Are we visiting this place?” Câlin asked, and Twinkle Star had to shake her head.
“No, unfortunately. We have to travel on, Câlin. We have come quite far, but there’s still a longer way to go.”
They had, indeed, traveled quite far already. They had left the Friendship Lands five days ago, and they were already beyond the mountains. They tried to rest during the day, and fly a bit by night, but Twinkle Star could see that Câlin had to get used to this new ritmn, so they were also walking a bit during the day and didn’t fly all night long.

“We should rest here for a while.” Twinkle Star decided.
 It was way past noon already, and they had walked for several hours now. She could see Câlin was delighted when she heard this, and Twinkle Star herself thought they deserved a good rest. She opened her bag and took out a few apples and pears. We need a new supply of food soon, she realized. Their stock wouldn’t last another 48 hours. But to buy food, they had to get back on the road, which they had been avoiding for the past few days. Even though the road was easier to travel on, it was quite a detour, and when they stumbled upon a rock or a steep slope or anything, they could always fly over them. But there were no shops or houses on the path they took, and to buy more supplies they had to get to the road, which would definitely lead them to a village within a day.

“Listen, Câlin,” Twinkle Star started while she gave Câlin a pear, “we have got to change our direction for a little bit. We need to buy food and some other stuff, so we have to get back to a village. To get there, we need to get back to the main road.”
Câlin didn’t reply, but Twinkle Star was sure the girl understood. Twinkle Star realized the road lay south of them, so that was where they had to go… leaving the Tokowa Lands behind them.

While they ate, neither of them spoke. Câlin seemed to be lost in some kind of daydream, as, Twinkle Star had realized, she was quite a lot of the time. Sometimes Twinkle Star wondered whether she should ask Câlin what was going on in her little head, because she was indeed rather curious, but every time she realized that if it was something that Câlin wanted to talk about, she would tell her herself. Yet even despite the fact that Câlin didn’t talk that much, Twinkle Star was glad she didn’t have to travel alone.

“So why are we going to Madash, actually?” Câlin asked out of the blue. Twinkle Star blinked a few times before the question registered. Câlin hadn’t seemed interested in the goal of the journey at all, or in the reason why…
“Well, they invited the queen to visit them this summer. But as you know, the queen is too busy for such a thing right now. She asked me to go in her stead, because an alliance with Madash could mean a great deal to our kingdom. Besides, I have been there last fall, and I am the only one that knows the royal family of Madash…”
Twinkle Star’s voice disappeared in the wind, as she realized that she had to explain to them what had happened to her sister… that she was murdered, and that she was taking care of the murderer’s daughter right now…

“Crystal…” Twinkle Star whispered, while she felt the tears stinging in her eyes. She hadn’t thought of her sister in quite a while, trying to forget… but once again she felt that was not a thing that she would ever be able to do.
“I’m sorry…”
“What?” Twinkle Star said confused.
“Your sister… I didn’t want my mommy to, but…”  
“I know, Câlin. I know. And I want you to know I’ll never blame you for this. No one will.”
 Câlin smiled gratefully. Twinkle Star knew it had to be hard for Câlin also. Because no matter how much others would accept her for who she was, she’ll always remain her mothers daughter. And she loved her mother, and Twinkle Star was sure Illuvia had loved her, too.

“Thank you… Twinkle Star.”  Câlin said softly. Silently, they finished their lunch. Checking the sun, Twinkle Star realized it was going to be evening in about two hours already. If they wanted to reach the road, and hopefully a village, by the end of the evening, they had to take off now. Twinkle Star furiously hoped they would meet a village before the night fell, because she really wanted to sleep in a bed for a night.
“Are you done, Câlin? If so, we better get going. I don’t dare to fly out here, in full daylight, but we have to hurry a bit, if we want to reach the road in time.”
Câlin replied only by getting up and picking up her little bag. Twinkle Star closed her own, and within five minutes they were on their way again.

The journey south proved more challenging than anything they had traveled until now, but this was also because they didn’t want to fly. They had to make one exception, though, when they encountered a large crack in the earth that seemed to stretch for kilometers on either side. There was no other option than to fly over it, but it wasn’t that much of a problem, as there was no house or road anywhere near them. In fact, the land became more deserted the more south they went, and for a few moments Twinkle Star began to wonder whether they were traveling in the right direction. Fortunately, only thirty minutes later they reached a slope and at the bottom Twinkle Star could clearly make out a road, including some ponies traveling on them. What was more; in the distance they could see a small village.

“Well, Câlin, we made it!” Twinkle Star said enthusiastically.
“So we did.”  Câlin replied plainly.
When they reached the road they got some funny looks from other ponies, because it was rather unusual to come from the north, but Twinkle Star didn’t even care. She would be able to sleep in a bed tonight! This made her smile more than anything else. It was okay to sleep outside, and she was used to it, but after spending months in a nice bed, it had become some kind of luxury she had gotten rather used to.

The sun was setting when they reached the little village of Tanguar, as it was called. It was a typical village on a main road, with lots of inns, food shops, and very little private houses. There were some farms outside of the village, but most ponies made their living by providing services to travelers. Twinkle Star found a little inn in the centre of the village that didn’t seem to be too crowded, and fortunately, there was one room for two persons left. She paid the innkeeper in advance for a night and a meal, and he led them up to their room, which was rather small, but it would do just fine.

“Well, it looks like we were lucky. It’s rather busy in town, right? Well, with summer coming up, loads of traders and salesmen go on the road to buy and sell their stuff.”
“Are we on the trade route, then?” Câlin asked curiously, but Twinkle Star had to disappoint her.
“No. This one leads to the trade route, though, if you follow it in the opposite direction. It’s much more crowded than this road, and larger. But it doesn’t really go here… not many ponies live in these parts. It’ll get even more deserted the more we travel towards Madash.” Twinkle Star explained.

“I see… I’ve hardly ever been on a road. We always avoided them…” Câlin said.
It seemed rather logical to Twinkle Star that her old company did so; after all, Câlin’s aunt Chifre and her daughter, Corné, were both unicorns, and as nobody even knew of their existence… If too many ponies saw them, rumors would spread, and Twinkle Star was sure that was exactly what they had wanted to avoid.
“Well, I can show you a part of the trade route on our way back, if you want.”
“Oh, yes!” Câlin exclaimed.

On their way back… Twinkle Star couldn’t help but think of her recent fight with Aline. She would have to face her some day, and she wasn’t looking forwards to it. How could Aline suddenly start telling her what to do? What on earth had given her the idea that she could do such a thing? Besides, she had been totally wrong, too. Câlin enjoyed traveling, Twinkle Star was sure of that. She was sure that this journey would be good for Câlin, and for their relationship as well.

Silently Twinkle Star wondered if she and Aline would ever make up. Not just because of the fight they had, because she was sure that was something they could work out if they wanted, but mainly because she had the feline Aline had changed so much in the time that she had been to Madash the first time, and afterwards, too… She didn’t blame Junai, but she felt that their relationship, and Aline’s new position as steward had forced Aline to grow up so much... and Twinkle Star was sure she herself had changed, as well.

“Twinkle Star?” Câlin interrupted her thoughts. She saw Câlin had already taken off her bag and stood in the doorpost.
“I’m sorry Câlin, what is it?”
“Are we going to have dinner? I’m hungry.” Twinkle Star smiled.
“Of course we will. Let me take off my bag first.” She took off her bag and placed it on her bed, and then followed Câlin through the hall, into the dining room, where a warm meal was waiting for them.
“This looks great, right, Câlin?” The girl nodded while they both grabbed a plate and put some of the deliciously smelling vegetables on them. They sat down on a small table in the Cornér of the room. Neither of them spoke while they ate, but the smile on Câlin’s face showed Twinkle Star that she was definitely enjoying the good food after some days of eating apples, pears and some other stuff that wasn’t nearly as good as this. Twinkle Star silently hoped there would be fresh bread for breakfast tomorrow, as well.

“Twinkle Star…” Câlin said when she was almost done eating,
 “Yes?”
“This is fun… thank you for taking me on the journey.” Twinkle Star couldn’t help but smile broadly.
“Thanks, Câlin. I’m glad you’re enjoying the trip. And I’m glad you came along, too. We’ll have loads of fun coming up, still, I promise.”
This made Câlin smile, too. She didn’t say anything else, but Twinkle Star enjoyed the silence between them while they finished the last of their food. They would have fun, arriving in a beach country in the middle of summer, visiting the beautiful palace of queen Daryia… She would personally make sure Câlin would enjoy herself. And when they got home, she would be able to prove Aline she had been right all along. Besides, what could possibly happen that would prevent Câlin from enjoying this journey?