The prince in the west

“Will you believe there is actually more snow than yesterday?” Ruki asked while she walked out of the cave. “This is just crazy.”
“I’m not surprised. I kind of expected this, after seeing those clouds yesterday evening.” Takato replied while he, too, left the cave. They had been together for two weeks now, and the snow only kept piling up, making Takato’s research harder and harder.

Yet they kept going, and Ruki truly enjoyed it. Never in her life had she had anyone to share anything with, except maybe her father long ago, and now she had someone to talk with. Not that she shared everything with him… but it felt so delightful to share day to day activities with someone. Ever since she left her father, no, maybe even a while before that… had she been alone. Friendship… it had become a concept unknown to her. But now that she had sort of regained it, she began to realize she had missed it.

“Let’s get a little further away from the frozen river this time. The water is distracting me.” Takato said, and Ruki agreed.
Her helping existed of nothing more than helping Takato remove snow from the place he wished to inspect, but she enjoyed in none the less. Whatever Takato did after they had removed the snow, she didn’t understand at all. He was just standing there with his eyes closed, and at some point he’d stop and tell her he was done.

She hadn’t dared to ask what exactly he was doing, either. She had figured he would tell her, one day, but he hadn’t, and she couldn’t stop herself from becoming more and more curious.
 “So… what other places do you have to check? We’ve searched for over a hundred spots by now.” Ruki said while they walked through the snow.
 “Oh, there are so many places I should still check. Plants and trees… they all have a special connection to the earth, so in order to be sure, I have to check on all of them. Besides, I want to get a little closer to a pony village, to see if that influences anything.”

“Right.” Of course, Ruki knew what he was doing. He was searching the ground for signs of the power of the west that was said to slowly come over the breach into the east. But how he saw it, she didn’t know. She didn’t even know if he had found anything, yet.
“So… you never told me how you actually see these things. I mean, all I see you doing is standing still.”
“Yes, well… I never explained it to you as it is so hard to explain. I try to connect my mind to the earth. I would succeed if there even was a spark of those powers here, but so far, I haven’t.”

 Ruki still didn’t feel like she had an answer. So he hadn’t found anything yet… She still didn’t understand it.
“So… you are from Batafurai.” Takato said while they walked further through the snow that now reached to Ruki’s knees. Indeed, she had told him where she came from the evening before, hoping Takato would reveal something about himself as well. He had not.

“Yes… why?”
“No reason. It’s just that I heard the powers of the west are particularly strong on that island. I’m surprised you know so little of them.”
“Well… I left when I was still young. All my life I wanted to go to the east, for a reason… well, I did when I was only eleven. I left my father and grandmother. I can’t go back there now. Anyway, I never really paid much attention to anything my father tried to teach me. It was the east that I was interested in.” Ruki answered.

No, she could not go back there, not now, not after all she had done, all the pain she would surely have caused them. The powers of the west… she remembered her father trying to make her understand, but she never even pretended to pay any attention. Yet she also clearly remembered that when he saw that she didn’t really care, he stopped trying to teach her anything about the country. The east and her mother… all her life she had been convinced only they could teach her anything. Now both of them had proven her to be wrong.

“So why do you want to go back?” Takato asked.
“Because… I have found something here that I did not understand, and there is nothing in the east that can give me any answers. So my only hope is the west. What will you do once you get into the west, then? After you’ve done your research?” Ruki asked.
“I have someone there… who I have to tell what I found.” He replied simply, and Ruki knew better than to ask more.

Taira stared at the half lit sky. The stars were twinkling still, before they would fade for the light of the sun. Nobody was up yet except her, and she preferred it so. Her bedroom window was slightly open, allowing the fresh winter night air to enter her small room. She had been offered a bigger room several times now, but she refused, for she knew that it would be Twinkle Star’s room. And she did not want to take that, not just yet.

She knew Twinkle Star would not come back. Neither would little Câlin. Neither of them would ever set foot in this castle again. But Taira did not want to take her place. Se couldn’t, she wouldn’t, and she would never want to. The winged ponies… they were special. She would find her own place in the castle instead of taking the place that was now lost. But her heart was not fighting for her own place right now.

Ruki… her beautiful golden daughter, Ruki. Ever since she had remembered, that day in the cemetery, Ruki had been all she could think of. She had told no one else except the Aline girl, but she had left the following day to go to her little house in the new parts of the country. Ad she didn’t want to bother the girl with her joyful news that her child was still alive, either, as Aline was still mourning the loss of her own child.

For days, all she had done was reviving memories of those beautiful days. The peace of the island, her hope that her life would remain like that forever, the first days with her daughter, her happy friends the butterflies… one by one did they return to her, like river’s water that returned to the earth as rain. Her dear Fjaril… how she longed for the days in which she dwelled in his princedom.

But the reason she had not yet told anyone was because she did not know what to do herself. She wished her sister was here still. Rain had been there, she must have remembered too… how her world was like in those days. She would have understood, and she would have been able to advise her what to do. Should she go there, looking for her daughter and lover, her two most important persons whom she had ignored for over ten years? Or should she remain here with her mother, with her duty, to become someone she was born to be?

Deep in her heart she knew, of course, that she had to go there. She had to see them, explain everything that had happened, hoping that they would understand. She would never find peace in herself if she would not go there. But after she did, what then? Should she return here and live her life as queen, as she was born to do, or should she stay there, hidden from the world with the ones she loved most?

“I can not do that… I could never do that.” She whispered to the rising sun. Indeed, she could not. For even if she did she would not live the peaceful live she pretended to live, for she would always wonder what was happening to the world now that she had pulled herself out of it, while it needed her so. The heir to the Friendship Lands… no matter how much she desired her freedom, she would never be free again. It was her destiny to become queen and it was not something she could hide from, no matter how much she longed to do so.

And her daughter… was it her destiny as well? Her golden child… She had known it, the moment her child had been conceived inside her, that Ruki was special. Was her child, too, the heir to the throne of the Friendship Lands? After all, she was her first born child, and her royal powers were probably even stronger than hers, though Fjaril had used the power of the earth to control them, for it was not safe to have the Heaven’s powers in the west. Would she even know?

She shook her head, knowing that it was no use to think of such things. After all, unless she went there, nothing would change, nothing would happen, and she would know nothing more of the world that was meant to be. But to leave on her own right now… in the heart of the winter? It would do no good. She would have to wait… at least for her sister to arrive. Hikary… how long would it take her to find the stone?

She had not planned on sharing her memory with any other ponies until Rain would have returned, but she began to doubt that decision more and more with each passing day. Her mother would definitely want to help her, and would assist her in making a decision, she was so sure of that. More and more she began to realize it would be good to share this with her mother. After all, her mother knew that she was waiting for her memory to return, and that she had to do something… before she would become the heir officially.

Besides, she did not know how to keep this to herself for much longer. She wanted to share her joy… her sorrows, her tears. On her own, she could not express any of those feelings. Yes… she would have to tell her mother. Instantly, Taira got up and walked to her bedroom door. She had made her decision; she would share. Her mother would definitely be able to help her with her decision on what to do.

She walked out of her room through the dark corridors. Everyone was asleep still, but she was convinced her mother would already be awake. She had seen it, the morning strolls her mother had through the castle, the garden… A moment alone before she had to become queen again. She could feel her heart beating faster. She became so nervous… She had never told anyone about her little daughter before.

She could not find her mother in the corridors, nor in the kitchen, nor in the throne room. And she had not seen her outside, either. Was she really still asleep, then? Taira walked to her mother’s bedroom and slowly opened the door to find her mother still asleep. Disappointed, she left the room and closed the door. She would have to wait until her mother had woken up, but that would mean the others would probably be awake, too, and the queen was already so busy during the day, taking care of everything now that the harvest had been destroyed.

Well, it only meant she had to wait a little longer. Now that she had made her decision, Taira suddenly grew impatient. She wanted to tell her mother so badly that she had a grandchild. A child’s cry woke Taira from her thoughts. Ruki…? No, of course not. She quickly realized it was probably one of Stelline’s children, being already awake. Little Joyeux and Eclat… They were already beginning to speak. They grew so quickly, considering they weren’t even a year old.

Her Ruki, how would she look now that she was already a teenager? She had missed so much… Her mane were probably not too long but definitely not short either, while her tail was so elegant and long, and her coat had retained the light yellow glow… Yet how could she be so sure of this? A clear image of a beautiful pony appeared in her mind. Had she actually seen her daughter even after she had left?

No, that would be impossible. Ruki lived in the west, and Fjaril would never have let her go. And she had not been in the west ever since he had resealed her. No, she could not have seen Ruki… Her daughter was still safe somewhere in the west, and she would see her… When spring would arrive, she would go to the west and see her daughter. But for now, she decided to help her sister Stelline feeding her two little children.