Ivy disobeys

“Go on with your attacks tomorrow. Let them think it is over for now. And right when they think it might be safe… we will scare them again.” He ordered the other.
The other bowed and took off as He ordered her to do so.
“The crown.” He said to Rain, who quickly got up and got the Queen’s crown out of her bag. She was shocked to see the crown had gotten so black. In her memory it was pure red, but it looked almost darker than her own clouds now.

“Hmm… not enough, not enough.” He said.
His dark wings were almost invisible against the dark clouds that hovered above them. They had taken cover in the bushes on the other side of the valley. He didn’t want the ponies in the castle to be able to see them, but she was sure they wouldn’t even be able to look this far in this darkness. “And the other one?” He asked.

Ah, the other crown… the one Illuvia had created. She took it out of her bag, but it didn’t seem to have changed at all, and He seemed to be very disappointed that it was so. His eyes went from Illuvia’s crown to Câlin and back.
“Well, it will have to do. Hide them.” He ordered, and he began to walk away. When he had taken a few steps he apparently changed His mind.
“Remember…” He said, not even looking at her. “If any of them leave the castle… notify me at once. And kill them, all of them… except Regina.”

Ivy didn’t know how long they had been locked up in the castle now. With the darkness outside she didn’t even know what time of the day it was. Stelline had said it was about to become evening, but Ivy had no way to make sure that was right. It didn’t even matter now. They were locked up in the castle and her mother didn’t seem to be finding a way out, either.

Regina had locked herself in the throne room and had forbidden any of them to disturb her unless it was something really important. Stelline was asleep now and Tsuyo was still with Aline, while Fleur was doing some chores for her. So she was all alone, feeling so utterly useless because there was nothing she could think of that she could do that would help any of them… Except maybe making dinner, if there even were any supplies in the kitchen.

“That might not even be such a bad idea…” Ivy said to herself as she jumped off her bed, happy to have found something to do. She rushed downstairs to the kitchen, where she ran into Fleur, who was cleaning some towels.
“Hey, Fleur.” Ivy said.
“Hey…” Fleur responded while focusing on her task. Only when Fleur looked closer she saw that the towels were painting the water bright red.

“From Aline?” Ivy asked. Was she still bleeding that heavily or were those towels old?
“Yes… Tsuyo just gave them to me. I can’t believe she’s still losing blood. It’s been hours since the baby was… well, you know. I don’t think it’s supposed to be like this.”
No… Ivy was sure it wasn’t supposed to be like that. She decided to go to Tsuyo first, to see if there really wasn’t anything she could help Aline with, before making dinner.
“I… I’m going upstairs for a bit. Going to ask Tsuyo if there really isn’t anything I can help her with.” She announced. She left Fleur to her work and walked back up the stairs.

She walked along her own room to the guest quarters where she saw Tsuyo just leaving Aline’s room. The look on Tsuyo’s face gave her a cold feeling inside. Something was very wrong… She could see it. “Tsuyo…” She said softly.
“I was… no, how is all with Aline?” Tsuyo sighed and motioned Ivy to follow her away from the door.

“Not so good, I’m afraid… She is still losing a lot of blood. This can’t go on like this, but there’s nothing I can do about it as long as we’re locked up in this castle.”
Ivy knew that the force field would not be lifted any time soon. Her mother was working on a solution, but Ivy wouldn’t be surprised if it would take her several days to come up with something.

“So what if nothing can be done? What will happen to her?” asked Ivy concerned.
“She will… She won’t make it. She’s just losing too much blood. If this goes on for another two hours…” Tsuyo didn’t finish her sentence, but Ivy could fill it in herself. Only two hours…
“What can we do? Isn’t there anything we can do to save her?” Ivy begged. She simply refused to let Aline pass away because of this.

“Well…” Tsuyo said as she walked into Twinkle Star’s room. It was small and dark with only a bed and a cupboard, and Ivy was unsure why Tsuyo went in there.
“Look over there… you see that tree?” Tsuyo pointed at some dark point somewhere in the distance.
It was hard to see… everything was so dark outside. But when her eyes got adjusted to the darkness Ivy was able to make out a large tree and she realized Tsuyo was pointing at the large tree beneath which Regina had told them about her older sister Reine last summer.
“Yes, what about it?”

“Below that tree grows a specific kind of herb. It stops severe bleedings and makes the body produce new blood faster. It grows only in fall when it rains a lot… Large, purple leaves. I’ve seen them there even yesterday, but I never thought about getting them. And now… I’m afraid it’s the only thing we can use to save Aline, but your mother would never let me go…”
 “Of course she will. I’ll go talk to her. I’m sure she’ll let one of us go if Aline’s life depends on it.” Ivy was sure she was right. She promised Tsuyo to go see her mother right away, so she rushed off to the throne room.

She didn’t knock on the door but walked in without letting her mother know. Regina was sitting on one of the couches with her eyes closed, but she jumped up as soon as Ivy walked in.
“What is it, Ivy?” She asked, sure something bad had happened.
 “Mother… I need permission to leave the force field.”
“What? No! Why are you asking this, you know the dangers of going outside!” Regina cried.

“I know mom… but Aline is really ill. She is still losing blood and if we don’t get a herb that grows in the field she will die!” That silenced her mother for a bit. She had definitely not thought Aline’s condition was that bad. Surely Regina would allow her to go, now. Or at least allow Tsuyo to go.

“Ivy… I know Aline is really ill. But I can’t let any of you risk your lives out there. If you go out you’ll probably just killed off in a second. You can’t defend yourselves against those… monsters out there. You saw what had happened to Junai. Rushing out won’t help Aline.” Regina said while she sat down on the couch.
“Mother…” Ivy didn’t even know how to reply to this. How could she say such a thing?

“But Aline will die if we don’t do something!” she cried.
“If you go out there you’ll die, Ivy! I’m sorry, but you’re too valuable to me. I won’t allow you to go out there and risk your life.” Regina said, obviously upset now, too, but Ivy refused to acknowledge that. “You’re sentencing her to death!” Ivy yelled.
“If I send you out there I would be doing the same to you! You will not go out there!”
 “Fine!” Ivy yelled and she ran out of the room.

She had felt the force of her mother’s decision hitting her. No doubt her mother had used her own powers to convince her, but it didn’t work. It would never work. She would get the herbs to save Aline. She just had to. She’d rather die trying than to sit around and let Aline die. She ran to her room and grabbed her black cloak, making sure no one saw her.

When she opened the door of the castle the wave of cold air hit her in her face. It had gotten cold… The sunlight had not touched the earth all day. The moist had left the air and the earth and had made place for a chilling feeling that crept through her cloak and coat right to her bones. The field was hovering above her like a protective bubble. It looked so feeble, as if one touch would destroy it. Well, she had no time to keep staring at it. If she wanted to be out before her mother would notice she had to hurry.

She rushed to the gate and opened it. The bubble touched the ground not even a meter away from her. Would Stelline notice if she went through? She just had to risk it. A strange chill went through her body when she touched the barrier. For a moment she felt like it resisted her, not allowing her to get through, but then it felt as if it opened and she was able to slip out.

She ran as fast as she could to the large tree. She had trouble locating it in the dark. It was one tree… one dark shadow against the everlasting darkness in the sky. The terror of the night before crept over her once again. Feeling the wet grass under her hooves brought back memories she had tried so hard to ignore. Images of Junai falling flashed before her eyes. Câlin’s scream… It once again penetrated her ears as if it was everywhere and she could not escape it.

“There’s someone.” Câlin announced.
She immediately looked up. Had she been too busy looking for food for the little one that she had not noticed anyone coming? The other and her Master were far away now… she had strayed quite a bit in her search for food. They wouldn’t notice it. But now that she focused her attention she felt it, too. It was unmistakable. The same force she had felt only the night before.

“Who of the two?” She asked.
Câlin was silent for a moment, standing still as if she ordered everything to remain silent. Would she be able to identify the pony? She was sure it was someone from the castle, or at least someone with powers or not even Câlin would have been able to feel it at such a distance.
“Ivy. She’s over there.” Câlin pointed at the large, lonely tree in the valley.
She saw someone move now… Yes, definitely Ivy. Her master’s words came floating back to her. If any of them leave the castle… notify me at once. And kill them, all of them…

Ivy cursed the darkness. How would she be able to ever find the herbs here? Large, purple leaves… Well, it all looked the same in the darkness. But she had to find them. She just had to. Her heart began to beat louder each second. Her entire body was telling her she should not be there and it took her all her strength to keep herself from running back.

Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw it. On the ground, an entire group of large leaves which were of a dark color, something she could see even in the darkness that surrounded her. “These have to be it…” She whispered while she began to gather the leaves. One, two, three… How many would Tsuyo need? She decided not to risk anything and to take as many as she could possibly carry. She took off her cloak and put the leaves in it. When she was sure there weren’t any leaves left, she tied her cloak like a knapsack and lifted it, noticing it was incredibly light.

Finally, she could give in to her instincts and run home. She couldn’t believe she had made it. She would be back in minute and then Aline would be saved. Her mother would be mad at her for not obeying her orders… but she had saved Aline, and that was what mattered most to her. But when she turned around she did not look at the lights of the castle but into the eyes of a dark blue pony.