Memories of Medina

“They’ve grown so much, Stelline. It’s unbelievable.” Twinkle Star exclaimed when she looked at the two little ponies that were playing on a carpet while the morning light shone through the see-through curtains. Little Joyeux looked more like Stelline now. Her eyes, her nose… Yet it was somehow so hard to believe that this little girl would one day be queen of the Friendship Lands. And little Éclat… he was like a miniature version of their father. He had grown more than his sister as he had been smaller at birth, but he looked as big and as healthy as his sister now.

“They have, haven’t they?” Stelline said with a proud smile as Joyeux poked against a small ball that rolled away from her, giving her a reason to start crying. Stelline picked up the little girl and began to comfort her. She has become a real mother, Twinkle Star thought. She loves her children so much… Stelline’s room was now more a baby room than a room fit for the heir to the throne, but it probably did not matter to Stelline at all. The children already had their own room, but Stelline preferred to keep them close anyway.

“Well, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?” Stelline asked while she put her child back on the carpet where she continued to play.
“About the mind seal?”
Twinkle Star was surprised that Stelline said this, as she had not mentioned anything about it to her since she had returned to the Friendship Lands, now two days ago.
“Yes… How did you know?”
“Mother already told me yesterday. Don’t worry about it, Twinkle Star. Of course I will help you. Just say when.” “How about this evening?” Proposed Twinkle Star. Of course, she had already talked about it with Câlin, who had reluctantly agreed.

“Sure. Just bring Câlin to my room after dinner.”
Stelline put little Éclat back on the carpet after he had crawled towards the ball that Joyeux had pushed away.
“Thanks, Stelline.” Twinkle Star smiled. So tonight she would now whether Câlin had a mind seal… She shivered. On some level, she didn’t want to know at all. But she had to know…

“Isn’t it weird, though, that you stumbled upon Marana, in the middle of nowhere? You think it was fate that brought you there? I mean, if you hadn’t taken that wrong turn back then…”
Truth be told, Twinkle Star had been wondering about that several times herself. If she had not strayed from the route she had planned, she would never have met Marana. But she had been lost, and then the storm drove her towards Marana…
“Yes, fate… maybe. Maybe something else… Or simply coincidence altogether. What matters is, the crown is here, and it’s safe. And Marana will be here soon, too.”

“Yes… I’m curious to meet her. It’s hard to believe… She’s the last one to have met Medina.” Stelline said softly. Twinkle Star had forgotten; Stelline was the one who had spend the most time with their grandmother. Stelline was the heir, after all, and she had to learn how to rule a queendom… and there was no better way to do that than to simply watch how the queen did it.
“I know, Stelline.” Twinkle Star said. “Medina… She was like a second mother to you, right? It was a shock for me, too, to learn she had really died back there. Maybe, somewhere, I had hoped… like all of you, that she had survived also…”
Twinkle Star’s voice faded away when she saw the tears sparkling in Stelline’s eyes. Then, she began to smile.
“Do you remember, Twinkle Star… when she used to take all of us on a small walk through the countryside, showing us all sorts of things… And the one time she took us to that old shrine in the forest… it was all covered in leafs and dirt and plants and all, and we just wanted to play tag, and she got so mad at us for not listening because it was such an important place? I feel bad now, that we did not pay more attention…”

Twinkle Star had to smile now, too. Of course she remembered that. She had been the youngest back then, and they went to the shrine with their grandmother, which was supposed to be such an honor but she had not really understood why…
“I remember, Stelline. And do you remember how mother was always so humble before Medina, and we could not understand why, because she never was like that when she was alone with us?”
“Yes… she was like that. Mother greatly respected her mother. Everyone did. She was such a honest and good queen, or so everyone said… I think she was, too.” Stelline said while she dried her eyes with a napkin of her children.

A moment later someone knocked on the door and Ivy entered the room. She smiled when she saw the little children play, as everyone did.
“Hello, Ivy.” Twinkle Star greeted her younger sister.
“Hi, Twinkle Star, Stelline. How is everything here?”
Twinkle Star once again thought Ivy looked distressed, but she still had not found a reason why that should be so. Did Ivy not want to be a steward after all? No, that couldn’t be it… She had been so positive before.

“Everything is fine here, Ivy. Twinkle Star was just here to see my children, she hasn’t seen them for so long.”
“They’re adorable, aren’t they?” Ivy asked Twinkle Star with a smile.
“They sure are.” Twinkle Star smiled back.
“So, what brings you here, Ivy?” Stelline asked.
“Well, I just talked to mother.” Ivy said while she sat down on a chair. “She wants to hold some kind of memorial service for Medina, you know, now that there’s no doubt anymore whether she is alive… But she wants to do it when Marana arrives here. Because she is the only one… who is absolutely sure.”

A memorial service… It sounded like a good idea. After all, most of the ponies living in this country still remembered Medina, the last queen of the old Lands… It would surely come as a shock to most that Medina had really passed away, and a memorial service would give them a place for their grief.
“The only thing is,” Ivy continued, “mother doesn’t know when Marana will arrive. Do you have any idea, Twinkle Star?”

“To be honest, not really… For starters I don’t know how much time she will spend in Madash. Second, I don’t know how long it will take her to reach this place. It is, after all, very well hidden in the mountains and it might be troublesome for her to find it. But she should arrive before the first snow falls.” Twinkle Star explained.
“Let’s hope we will have snow at all this winter…” Ivy said while she looked out of the window. Indeed, there had yet to fall any rain. The fields were getting dryer and dryer, and the sun wasn’t helping, either… Twinkle Star was surprised there had yet to be any fires.
“I am sure there will be. Patience, Ivy.” Stelline said to the girl, who was now staring absently out of the window.
“I hope you are right, Stelline. And I hope the rain will come in time to save the harvest…”

That evening after dinner, Twinkle Star sat with Câlin in her own room. Câlin wasn’t looking forward to Stelline inspecting her, but Twinkle Star tried to comfort her the best she could.
“It won’t hurt, Câlin. In fact, you won’t notice at all. And it only takes a few moments. You’ll be playing outside before you know it, but it is really important and it has to be done.”
“I know those things. I just don’t like it, that’s all. But if it is that important to you…”

The little girl was sitting in the sunlight that came through the window, making her hair glitter as if it was made of gazillions of little diamonds. She felt bad about making Câlin do something she didn’t want to do, but she just had to, for her own good, even though Twinkle Star had no idea what to do if Câlin would actually have a mind seal put on her memory. So many questions flooded her head… Was there any connection to the mind seal her cousin Togli had? Who could possibly do such a thing, and what could she do about it?

“Well, shall we go, then?” She said to Câlin, who got up and silently left the room. Twinkle Star followed her and they both went down the stairs. Câlin stopped in front of Stelline’s room, and Twinkle Star knocked. Stelline said “please come in” from the other side and Twinkle Star and Câlin entered the room. The children were in their little beds now. Joyeux was asleep, but Éclat was making soft sounds and was constantly moving his front hoofs.
“He can’t sleep.” Stelline said when she noticed Twinkle Star was watching her son.
“It’s sweet.” Câlin commented, and indeed, it was adorable to watch.

“Well, are you ready, Câlin?” Stelline asked as she motioned Câlin to sit down.
“I guess.”
“Well, there is no need for you to worry. It’ll only take a few moments.”
“Yes… I know.” Câlin said, but she still didn’t sound too enthusiastic.
“Well, then, I shall begin. Just try to clear your mind, and if you can, try to think of the moment when you touched the crown.  You don’t have to, but it’ll be easier and over soon.” Stelline said, and she closed her eyes, and Câlin did the same.

Stelline’s horn soon lit up, like it had done when Stelline had researched Togli. It had taken her five minutes back then, to figure out what was wrong, and Twinkle Star had hardly begun to wonder whether it would take this long again when Stelline opened her eyes.
“And?” She asked anxiously.
 “It’s… okay. There’s nothing. I couldn’t find any seal. I think something happened that scared her so much she simply forgot. Maybe she will remember one day… Câlin, could you give Twinkle Star and me a moment to ourselves?”

Câlin blinked, looking confused, and looked at Twinkle Star whether this was okay.
“Go ahead, Câlin. Why don’t you go look for Fleur, see if she has some time to teach you how to make perfumes?” Remembering Fleur had promised her this only the day before, Câlin smiled and almost trotted out of the room.

“What is it?” Twinkle Star asked when Câlin had closed the door. She knew Stelline had more to say that she did not want to share with the girl yet.
“Her mind… it’s different, somehow.” Stelline said.
“What?” Twinkle Star didn’t understand.
 “Yes… different. I don’t know how to put it. And to be honest, I don’t know if her mind has been sealed or not. I couldn’t even enter it. It was like nothing I have ever seen before, Twinkle Star. As if… I was not permitted to enter, as if I was not worthy enough.” That did sound weird… and yet, somehow, Twinkle Star was not surprised at all.
“You have never experienced this before?” She asked, and Stelline shook her head.
“Nope. Never. Not that I have done this very often… But no, never.”

So there was another reason why Câlin was special… and different. Her mind could not be penetrated from outside… Well, Twinkle Star thought, if Stelline couldn’t probably nobody could, so the chances for her receiving a mind seal were pretty slim, and she said so to Stelline.

“Yes… I think you are right. I don’t think anyone could…” Stelline’s words were interrupted by some roaring sound from outside. It took them a moment to register what it was, and when they rushed to the window neither of them believed what they saw.
“The sun was shining brightly only a few minutes ago!” Twinkle Star exclaimed while the first drops of rain hit the ground. And looking at the clouds that were circling above them now, it would be a while until it would stop raining.