The abducted crown

“Change is something inevitable. The rejection of change means the rejection of possibilities. And every single step you take changes the course of your life. But change can also bring back those things from the past. Change does not only mean that things will be different, it can also restore things to the way they used to be. This is why the teachings of the Guardians circle around Change. It is the spill upon which the religion is built. In this book…”

Ruki slammed the book shut. What crap was this? She brought the dusty book back to the shelf, making so much noise that the dusty ponies around her gave her annoyed stares. She shook her head. For two weeks now, she had been searching through this forsaken library, but she was getting extremely tired of it. There was nothing… She walked through the hallway, her hoofs slamming on the stone floor.

If only at least one of the books had contained anything of importance. She hadn’t found anything. Ponies with wings… ever since she had met her, the vision had not let her go. For months now she had traveled from library to library, from special side to special side, to find anything at all related to winged ponies. The only thing she had ever found was that Guardians were portrayed as winged creatures, a long time ago… But that was exactly everything she had found.

She didn’t even greet the librarian as she walked pass his desk and opened the great wooden doors that protected everyone from the storm outside. Fall… Well, if this storm was only a message of what was to come, she wasn’t looking forward to it. She hugged her bag as she trotted through the streets towards the bakery where she had found a temporary job. She had to deliver bread now… Tomorrow there would be more time for research.

Truth be told, she didn’t even know where she was. Somewhere far up north… Was this actually Kin? She didn’t know. It didn’t show anywhere, though. And somewhere, she preferred not to know. Not knowing made her feel less alone, somehow… As if by not knowing her location she couldn’t be alone, either. The empty feeling… It haunted her even on these deserted streets.

“Câlin! Câlin! CÂLIN!” Twinkle Star’s voice was hoarse from the yelling, but she refused to give up, especially now that the sun was setting. She couldn’t believe another day had gone by already. How many days had she been searching now? But she couldn’t give up. She simply couldn’t. Fortunately Tsuyo agreed, and she was helping her look. But they had searched the entire surroundings of the castle, by the river, in the forests and villages, but there was no trace of the girl, or the crown.

A dark feeling was coming over Twinkle Star now. She didn’t allow herself to think things like this, but she couldn’t help but feel the two mysteries were somehow related. Someone… must have taken both Câlin and the crown. There was no other explanation, even though she hoped Câlin would appear any moment. But it didn’t happen. It was simply impossible for her to have dissapeared like this. There was simply no explanation Twinkle Star could think of.

Her mother had said that maybe someone wanted money, or something like that, but they would have informed them of their demand by now, right? And she couldn’t have walked away… There was no reason for her to do such a thing. Hadn’t she called her mom the day before? It had crossed Twinkle Star’s mind that maybe Câlin had gone looking for her mother. Had she not really grasped the idea that Illuvia had died? But she found it so hard to believe, somehow. She had been so sure that Câlin was handling it well…

“Twinkle Star… I think we should head back to the castle.” Tsuyo said from the other side of the bush.
“What? No! It’s not dark yet!” Twinkle Star protested.
“I know, Twinkle Star… but it’s no good to linger here any longer. We can always go back later, but she’s not here right now. You know that. We’ve been yelling and searching for hours now. Please, let’s go back. Let’s have some food and water at least. We need our strength if we have to go on looking.”

Twinkle Star wanted to go on looking right now, but even she could understand Tsuyo was saying something that made sense.
“Yes… you’re right. But please promise me we will go look for her again later… or at least tomorrow."
“I promise. Maybe some others want to join us again tomorrow. Now, let’s go.” Tsuyo walked back to the road and Twinkle Star followed her.

Some clouds were blocking the light of the sun, making the whole scene feel even gloomier. Câlin… where was she? Had someone taken her? But if so, why?

After fifteen minutes of silent walking the castle appeared in front of them. It was just so weird… because of Câlin, she hadn’t thought about the crown all that much, but it seemed so long ago now, that she had last seen Câlin… She would have searched out of the country, she would have crossed the entire continent if it meant finding Câlin, but she had no idea where to look.

She had slipped out, those first few nights, to go look further, across the border, but she hadn’t found any sign of Câlin. It was as if she had vanished, without leaving one single trace. But she hadn’t been able to keep that up. She was exhausted, even now. Not only because she had been looking so much and ate way too little, but also because of the constant crying. She couldn’t suppress it, and she felt so weird about it. There had never been anyone in her life that had made her feel so devastated after she had been left alone again…

The trees that stood in the field reminded Twinkle Star that fall was coming again soon. Summer had gone by so quickly… And now the trees were turning yellow again. It seemed only yesterday that she had pointed out the little spring flowers in the fields to Câlin. They felt so empty now, like they were nothing but sweet memories, slowly drowning in a river that was turning gold and then endless silver…

They passed through the gate that the guards opened for them. It felt so weird, so unnatural, to have guards at the doors. It hadn’t been necessarry in the Old Lands… but her mother was losing faith in her own powers. She blamed herself, Twinkle Star knew, for the loss of the crown, and the loss of Câlin… Her job was to guide and protect and right when the token of that job had been returned to her she had lost it. Her poor mother…

The castle garden looked horrible. Nobody had paid it any attention after that fateful day. The only part that was well kept was the vegetables garden, but even so it was only because they needed that food for the coming winter. Her mother was more determined than ever not to depend on the farmers. Tsuyo opened the door for her, and Twinkle Star stepped inside. The corridor was deserted, but it was close to dinnertime… Everyone was probably getting ready for dinner.

The wailing sound of a child’s cry came to her from the other side of the corridor. Probably one of Stelline’s children, but it hurt her, even a small sound like this… “I will see if the maids have started on dinner yet.” Tsuyo announced as she walked to the kitchen, leaving Twinkle Star alone in the corridor. She had hoped it, so strongly, that today it would not be like this… that she would not be alone like this. But there she was, once again, alone, without Câlin.

“Twinkle Star!” A voice yelled, and Twinkle Star recognized Aline. She had stayed here, all this time, to help comfort both her and Regina. Junai had gone back to the new parts, but Aline had refused. Twinkle Star still wasn’t sure whether she should be grateful, or just feel sad, that her friends thought she could not handle this on her own… even though she knew it was the truth and she needed Aline more than ever. But she did not desire her friend, she wanted Câlin safely back home…

“Hello, Aline.” She said without looking up.
“Oh… You didn’t…” Aline didn’t even have to finish her sentence.
“No. I didn’t. Once again, I failed to find her.”
“No… no, Twinkle Star. Don’t say things like that. You didn’t fail. We will find her.” Twinkle Star knew her friend was only trying to comfort her, but it annoyed her anyway.
“How can you be so sure? Maybe we won’t find her, and then what? Who knows where she is! She might be lost out there, waiting for me, all alone, without knowing where she is…”

Once again, the tears hurt behind her eyes. How could she live with this?
“I’m sorry, Aline…” she whispered, and she ran off into the garden, through the gates. She only stopped running when she was halfway into the field with its long grass, and she almost tripped. It was no use, she knew now. The crescent moon was already visible in the sky.

“My dear, dear Câlin… Where are you? Why did you leave… why?” She said while she allowed the tears to leave her. They said it would help, but it didn’t. Of course it didn’t. No many how much tears she would shed, they would not bring her back. And it felt as if only a miracle could, now.

“We’re almost there.” The other one announced.
Of course, she knew. It was useless to say so. As for the girl, well, she would notice when they arrived. But she kept quiet. It didn’t do to pick a fight with the girl around. She didn’t like the way the girl looked at her if she corrected the other one. And what was even more annoying, the girl was now calling her Rain, too. He would definitely punish her for that, but she did not think it was wise to correct His daughter.
”It’s only dark here.” The girl commented.
Well, it was true, but the shadows would soon be visible. She wondered if the girl would recognise it. Had she even been here, with her mother perhaps? No, she could not remember it. Illuvia had kept the girl far away from here. Well, maybe from stories. Surely Twinkle Star must had taught her.
“It is dark, yes. But keep on walking.”

The journey had been ridiculously easy. She had feared the girl had not been able to keep up, but she was. She had gained a great condition on her last travel with Twinkle Star. It had only been a little more than two weeks, when they had left the new Friendship Lands. And they would arrive early in the morning. Not His favorite time, but she would not let Him wait. The crown was still safe in her bag, and she would deliver it to Him right away. His time was almost there…

“Look, there it is.” The other said, and pointed towards the huge shadows in the distance. They covered the stars, but otherwise there was hardly any separation between them and the night sky. The moon was not strong enough… But even she could see them now. She looked at the girl, who was still having trouble to see what was out there.

But she noticed. As they got closer, she heard the girl gasp. Had she realized?
“I though no one lived here anymore… or so Twinkle Star told me.” She whispered.
“Well…” the other was going to say too much, she knew it, but it was of no importance to stop her now. “No one lives there anymore, except us. We moved in when everyone left. The Old Friendship Lands… It’s the perfect place for your father.”