Aras

Instinctly, she bowed for Him. The other and Câlin did the same. He didn’t respond, but simply stepped outside of the room for the first time in, well, who knows how long he had been there.
“Finally…” He whispered.
“Finally I will have my revenge on those that locked me in here. On her… The one hiding in the skies. But first… I will conquer what is rightfully mine.”

Yes, His voice had definitely changed. Maybe it was because she suddenly saw the one who had been talking to her for so long, but it seemed softer, but more commanding. As if He didn’t need to yell anymore to get their attention. Well, He didn’t have to do that anymore. His appearance alone was enough to make anyone obey.

When she looked at Câlin she noticed the girl was carrying the crown. She had no idea how she had gotten it, but the crown looked awful. Its natural shine, that it always seemed to have, had completely disappeared. It was so dark, now, which of course was to be expected. Had it lost all its powers, too?
 “You,” He said to her, “Bring Câlin to the dungeons and make sure she doesn’t escape. Then come to the high tower. You,” He pointed at the other, “follow me.”

She bowed when he took off with the other following him. She then looked back at the girl, who once again was looking scared now that He had mentioned the dungeons. She had to admit she didn’t understand this decision, either. Throwing his own daughter in the dungeons? What about all the stuff he had said before? But she would not disobey Him.
 “Come, Câlin.” She said, and she walked out of the room too, making sure the girl was following her.

He and the other had disappeared completely. Well, the high tower was the other way. Up, not down. They walked through the dark corridors once again, Câlin close at her heels. She brought the girl to the long staircase, and they began to descent it. The eerie feeling of the dungeon soon crept over her. There seemed to be more of His creatures than last time she had been here. Câlin screamed when one of them touched her.
“Hush, little one. Don’t draw attention to yourself and just keep walking.”
“I… I really don’t want to be here.” She said with a little voice.
“It’s His order. You should obey; He knows what is best for you now. Now come.”

They walked on through the dark staircase, ever going down. Only one or two torches were still lit. The creatures didn’t bother lighting them again. When they arrived in the dungeon only a few torches were lit. The pony guard was sitting at a table and he looked surprised when he saw her.
“My lady.” He quickly jumped up and bowed.
“What brings you here?”

“What else than His orders. Here…” She pointed at Câlin, “He asked me to bring her here. Be sure she doesn’t escape.”
The guard’s eyes rested on Câlin. Of course he noticed at once that Câlin was special. The girl still hadn’t mastered to hide her powers completely. He could feel her.
“Right.” He answered and he walked to one of the cells and opened it.
“In here.” He said to the girl.

Poor Câlin was crying now, and she was shaking her head.
“I don’t want to.”
“You’ll have to.” She said, and pushed the girl forward. She was still carrying the crown, but it wouldn’t be of much use to her now. He had drained all of its powers. Câlin walked into the tiny space and the guard slammed the door shut. He locked it and walked back to his table.

She stared at Câlin. She sat down in a corner and shrieked when a rat was fleeing away from her. This was no place for her… No, she was shocked at her own thoughts. She had to obey Him. Yet, this was His daughter, and only a little girl… She walked to the door and motioned the guard to follow her. He looked as if he didn’t understand, but he obeyed her like he should have.

When she was sure they were far enough from Câlin so that she couldn’t hear, she whispered, “Look after her. Make sure she gets the best food you can give her and fresh water. Keep the creatures away from her at all cost.”
He looked confused. Of course, he had never had had an order anything like this.
“Are these His orders?” He asked.
 She doubted for a moment, and then shook her head. “No. They’re no orders… just a request from me.”

The guard stared at her and then nodded.
“Of course, my lady. I will do what I can for her.”
“Thank you.” She said.
“It is changing… isn’t it?” The guard said when he looked her deep into the eyes. She nodded.
“It is. He… He has been restored. His plan will soon be set in motion. I am sure he will need the girl.”
 Ah…” His voice faded into the everlasting darkness. Was it just her view of things, or did he actually seem sad about it? 

“I have to go now. I’ll be back for her as soon as He wants her.”
The guard smiled, and then she took off, and she trotted up the stairs, ignoring and kicking the creatures while she went. She had to get to the high tower. It wasn’t so much as a tower, but more of a natural cave high in the mountains that would give them view over the entire old Friendship Lands.

Nobody came there ever since the eruption. There simply wasn’t anything left to see. And the ordinary ponies from the outside world… well, they were simply too scared to go back. Haunted, they said it was. Well, maybe, in a way they were right. The only ones she had ever seen here were Stelline and later Twinkle Star and that weird friend of hers. And not to forget, the incident three years ago with the girl… Well, she hadn’t been around then, but she had been told it was close. Hadn’t she also been a princess?

When she reached the top of the stairs she ran through the corridors and made her way to the other staircase that would bring her to the high tower. The stairs were even more uneven than the ones that led to the dungeons. They probably hadn’t been used for years. When she arrived at the high tower the fist thing she noticed were the dark clouds hovering in the sky outside, that she could see through the opening. The high tower was actually a cave high in the mountains, only when you stepped outside you would fall down the entire slope. Nobody had probably ever noticed on the outside, that was why it had been such a great look-out, especially when the Friendship Lands had still been there.

 Was it still day? She couldn’t see. The clouds were getting darker every second and she didn’t even have anything to do with them. The weather was unstable here, even without the influence of herself of the other. Her master and the other were standing at the window, looking out over the valley in front of them. She walked towards them over the uneven floor, almost tripping over a few loose rocks that she hadn’t seen...

“My Lord.” She bowed before her master.
He nodded to her, but did not reply. She stared through the hole, over the valley in front of them. It was so hard to believe that once the wealthiest country in the world as stretched out down there. There was nothing left now. Just ash and rocks. It was that she knew, otherwise she wouldn’t even have guessed so many ponies had once lived there.

“The crown of the world… That’s how they used to call these mountains.” He suddenly said when He noticed she was staring at the valley outside.
“For within lay the centre of the continent, the heart out of which everything was decided. The great castle… The gem of the crown. The Queen’s Crown is made after these mountains, to represent the strength of this place. Once this place was the where the Guardians touched the mortal world. But time passed and all fell into ruin, until one day their country was separated from the rest of the world, its secrets locked inside, and this valley became nothing more than the Friendship Lands. No one even remembers the stories told about that time now.”

Silence filled the stone room. Was that his plan, to restore the way things used to be, with him on top?
“Do you wish to restore it?” She asked. She had expected him to beat her, to punish her for her curiosity, but he didn’t. He had really changed… was he even the same person? He even began to laugh.
“No, I do not. They used to know me, you know, out there… Aras, is what they used to call me. Until… I disappeared. But there is nothing left to restore. No, things are fine the way they are now here. I do not seek to restore, only to destroy that what is left of that time.”

He fell silent once again and she didn’t really know what to do now. Should she talk? But before she had decided what was best, the other one began to talk.
“My Lord… what do we do now?” An obvious question, but she hadn’t even thought of it.

“We will conquer them. The ones that used to rule here. It is not this world I am interested in, just the heavens above us. And to get there, we have to get the royal house. But to get this far… There is only one way, and that is where I will need you both. We will head for the new Friendship Lands as soon as darkness falls tomorrow. Regina and her daughters… they are in for a surprise.”

“What about Câlin?” She asked, remembering the little girl locked up in the dungeon.
 “She will come with us. We will need her as well.” He said, “For she is the key and must not be left alone. Besides, she is the weapon we have against Twinkle Star. She might not be aware of who she really is, but her powers are within her, and we must control them, and I am sure Câlin is her weak spot.”

It all became clear now… why He had allowed for Câlin to remain with Twinkle Star for such a while. They had to bond so Câlin could be used as a weapon against her later. She did not doubt His tactics,  and after all it made sense, but would Twinkle Star fall for it?

“Come with me.” He said, but she knew He wasn’t talking to her but to the other. The other one nodded and followed Him. He paused when he was halfway into the cave, and turned to look at her.
“Make sure Câlin is ready tomorrow. Prepare the armies. Make sure they will be fit. They will not travel with us but I want them to be able to travel at once if I call for them.”
He didn’t even wait for her reply, but walked on to the stairs and disappeared, the other one closely behind him.

What He and the other one had discussed, she didn’t even dare to guess. She was excluded from it and she knew it. She had always known that when this day would come the role of the other would be so much more important than her own. But what that role was, exactly, He had never shared with anyone. She would find out soon.

Her gaze returned to the valley in front of her. It was so dark, all of it… And this was even a small part of the country. His story felt so hard to believe, so distant somehow. Had this wasteland really been the heart of the world once? Why had he told them, anyway? He had never told them anything without a deeper reason. The dominance of the world and the heavens… That was what it was all about. He would do anything to get hold of it, to rise higher than anyone had ever risen.

The darkness in front of her was only the beginning.