The one who raised me

Rain felt like her eyes were opened after a long, long sleep, and all of the horrors of the previous day came back to her at once. It was so much she could not even handle it all. She felt dizzy and almost fell back to the ground again, but the little girl supported her.
 “Hikary…” She whispered as she stared into the eyes of Twinkle Star. The one that had released her seal… She could hear Aras scream behind Twinkle Star. Of course he was not pleased. This was what he feared… Because Twinkle Star was the only one able to undo whatever he had done.

Hikary… It used to be her name once, long ago. Until he took it away from her, and now she wasn’t even sure if she could get it back.
“Hikary… who is she?” Twinkle Star asked.
“My name… Hikary is my name… or it used to be.” Whispered Rain, and she saw Twinkle Star nod. She understood. She knew. She remembered.

Her first memory, the last one he ever sealed… all the small things that happened in between… They all flashed before her eyes. She did not remember it all. The eyes of her mother… vaguely, but it was so long ago and she had still been too young. The night his minions came for her and her sister. The night they took her away… Did she really remember it or only because her sister had told her about it when they were young?

She glanced at the other… her sister. There was no emotion, no spark of recognition in her eyes. She might as well have been dead. She did not remember. Now that Aras was back to full strength, he was finally able to seal her properly. Not only her mind, but her feelings, her emotions, the things that kept breaking through his seal, they were all locked away. She was a slave to him not, bound to do his will whatever it was without question. To think she had been like that, not too long ago…

It used to be different. When they were young… They lived in the darkness of the mountains. For twenty years all they did was hide. He taught them how to use their powers, how to command his creatures, how to survive… How to do everything he needed them for. Her sister was different. He used to teach her other things as well, things she was no part of. She only remembered the look in her sister’s eyes after she had had one of her private lessons. So sad, so empty, so alone…

The only moments he was angry with them was when they had fun, when they laughed. But they had been children, they had not been able to help it. They had to have fun… even in their dark little life. The times she and her sister had slipped out to the watching tower, to look out over the green country beyond. Oh, how they would fantasize about how it would be to live there, out in the sunlight, in the green… but it was always so far away.

And the day they had decided to get away… They never got very far, and he was furious. He had them locked up in the dungeon for what felt like a year. They grew older, and more distanced from each other. Her sister… was always busy with her special lessons or her special tasks, and she got her own things to do as well. Until the day of the eruption… His magic protected them. They were far enough from the volcano’s, up high enough from the smoke and the lava. They had to stay inside for over two weeks before he allowed a minion to go look. The creature never came back. But in the end they were able to go outside again. Everything that had once been green and good was gone. The forces of nature had turned on the Friendship Lands.

He was relieved, furious, all at the same time. Relieved that the old magic was now buried forever, furious because the crown had been buried with them. He needed it, all his life, he desired it, and now it seemed out of his reach.

The ponies that had survived… those that had climbed the mountains, he killed them all. He had no use for them, and they had to disappear because they knew of his whereabouts. So many of them, their bodies scattered on the slopes of the mountain. That was the first time he sealed both of them. They were not supposed to cry for those ponies, they should not care, but there was only one way to stop them from doing so and that was to make them forget.

After the eruption, their training changed. No longer were they trained to challenge the Queen, but they were trained even more in survival. He send them out, both of them, one day, into the old Friendship Lands. He knew the castle was buried, and he wanted to see if the crown was still there, under the layer of rocks and clotted lava. That journey, those images… she was almost grateful that those memories had been sealed away. There had been nothing left, nothing at all of the green country she used to fantasize about.

The crown was not there. They searched for it, with their powers as he had taught them, but it was not there. So many other things lay buried under the thick later of rocks, but not the Queen’s Crown. That day… She had never seen him more furious. He had hoped Medina had died that day, under the lava, and that the crown lay buried there, waiting for him to dig it up and use it. Maybe Medina had died, but the crown was nowhere to be found.

He made them look for it. Everywhere, every part of the continent they were supposed to search. But they could not find it. Hidden in the shadows, Rain saw the green world outside for the first time. And she loved it. She did as he bade her to do, but meanwhile she enjoyed the light of the sun, the shadows of millions of leaves in a forest, the sound of running water, the laughing of children… Things that she had only dreamed of her entire childhood.

One day, when she returned, he hit her. He always had, but it was worse than usual. Her sister was gone. She did not respond, she did not return. And Rain had to go look for her. How long had she searched before she had found her? More than two years, she was sure. At least two winters passed by, two winters she was not allowed to the darkness she called home because she had not yet found her sister. Being away from him for so long, out in the wild… She began to realize that her life could be different. But she never forgot that he kept a close eye on her. Always, one of his minions followed her, making sure she did not make any contact with any pony from the outside.

That beautiful spring morning… that day, far to the west, she found her. Her sister, living like they had dreamed off their entire childhood. She had hoped to hide, she had hoped to stay hidden from him forever. But Rain had found her and as soon as she had his minions appeared, taking her home. When Rain arrived her sister had been locked up. She did not remember anything from the place where Rain had found her. He had sealed her.

Her sister had not been the same ever since that day. Rain began to fear her. She had become so silent, so alone, and so loyal to him… and she was kept away from Rain. But it did not escape Rain that her sister had been sealed several times more. Her memories of that place, they were too strong for him to lock away forever. He had to seal her again, and again, and again.

Her sister no loner went out searching for the crown. He kept her close by, in the mountains, so that he could watch over her. Sometimes she had a special mission but Rain had never known much about that. They lived separate lives now. If she had remembered, she would have longed for the days they used to play together. But he had sealed those memories in her as well, and she had forgotten who the yellow pony was. She had become his other helper now, the mysterious pony with the empty powers who she rather avoided.

One stormy night Rain had been ordered to open the gate. It had actually surprised her, because nobody ever entered through the gate. All of his minions took the side road, which lay hidden. When she opened the gate she was surprised to see another pony. No pony had ever set foot inside his lair except her and the other. But here she was, a beautiful pony with dark pink hair that seemed to sparkle in the moonlight. Her eyes stared at Rain and without saying a word, the pony stepped inside.

Rain led the pony to his room, where she stayed to long Rain feared he had murdered her. But after two days Rain was ordered to take care of the pony. She no longer looked as magnificent as she had the day Rain had let her in. To Rain, it looked like coat had turned instantly grey and her hair had lost all of its shine. But most of all, the life was drained out of her eyes. What he had done to her, Rain had never found out. But Illuvia, as she was apparently called, never became the same pony afterwards.

Illuvia stayed for a few more months. Sometimes she did not visit him for over a week, sometimes she spend several days in his room. Rain never asked why. It was only on Illuvia’s last day in their mountain hideout that she told Rain. She was leaving, and she was pregnant. Of him. Rain could not believe it at first. How could her master, who was notable to take any shape, make a woman pregnant? The signs, however, were obvious and Rain did not doubt Illuvia.

Illuvia said she and her master had the same goal, to restore the link between the earth and the Heavens, but that she did not agree with his ways. So she would leave, in search of her own way. And she would take his child with her. The night that she left it was storming outside, and Rain was afraid that Illuvia might not make it out of the mountains in the dark. But Illuvia insisted.

The moment Rain had closed the gate, he called for her. He ordered her not to lose track of Illuvia. He had allowed her to go because he could not order her to stay, something that struck Rain as odd because he had never failed to order anyone anything. She did as she was told, of course, without question. She was there, hidden in the shadows, when Câlin was born. She reported back to him and he was pleased. His daughter, he said, his link to the Heavens if anything else failed…

Shortly afterwards she was sealed again. Later she was relieved of following Illuvia and forced to focus on the new Friendship Lands, and later, on Twinkle Star. She had to bring the copper stone to him, Illuvia’s crown… And now she had murdered Marana on his command. She had created the darkness that enclosed them now. All because she had never been strong enough to fight him, because she had never even questioned his commands.

It was not over yet. Her sister was standing there, her eyes empty, her soul drained by his seal. Wearing the black crown made by Illuvia. She would still do whatever he ordered her to do. And if she unleashed her powers, none of them would be able to defend themselves. But if her sister’s seal would also be broken, maybe… they would have a chance. Because everything he had done, everything he was about to do, would only result in more death. And Rain refused to allow that to happen.

“Twinkle Star…” Rain whispered.
“What is it?” the pink pony replied.
“To defeat him… we need my sister. As long as she is on his side, there is nothing we can do… not even you.”
“Your sister?” Twinkle Star asked, obviously confused.
“Yes… the yellow pony wearing Illuvia’s crown. You must break her seal, Twinkle Star. My sister Taira… she is the only one able to defeat a God.”