The darkness of the old lands

The first rays of the sun touched the darkness beyond. They wouldn’t change anything. It was still dark. It would remain dark there, forever. The amount of lives lost… Not for one second would she forget about it. Rain stepped down another stone and resumed to walk on. The path, if it could even be called that, was hard to see and treacherous. Sometimes the ground just gave in beneath them, or a huge stone would block their way.

Only rocks and stone… the remains of the once hot lava that destroyed everything. There was no soul alive down there now, Rain knew. Except for maybe Aras’ creatures. Maybe. After all, she and Vin had followed their trail for days now, but they had yet to find any creature. Well, any living one that is, as they stumbled upon several carcasses.

It was surprising that the creatures never went to the true old lands. They were still in the mountains, following a small road. In fact, they had not gotten closer to the old lands at all. Not even Vin understood where the creatures were going. He had been so sure the creatures would go back to their roots. But maybe they were looking for a world that has already been destroyed, Rain thought.

The snow had ceased to fall, but the ground had remained slippery. The blankets she and Vin had gotten from the dungeons had been so filthy and they smelled horribly, but at least they kept them warm. Vin’s coat was really thin from the lack of sunlight. Rain had been surprised to learn Vin’s coat was actually white. After he had been through some rain it was clear the greyness of his coat was nothing but dust.

Of course, Rain had wondered whether she could trust Vin or not. Sure Aras might be gone, but what about Vin? He had dwelled in the darkness for so long… But, she found out, she had been completely wrong. Poor Vin… His mother was captured by Aras shortly before she and Taira were kidnapped. He needed her to take care of the children he would soon steal, as his creatures would definitely try to harm them.

Aras wasn’t even too mad when he heard she was actually pregnant. Instead of killing the child or killing them both, wghich he could have done, he decided to keep the child and use it to force her to stay. Leave, he told Vin’s mother, or I will kill the child. Of course Vin’s mother would not dare to risk her son, so she stayed, raising her and Taira, raising her own child.

She died when Vin was only five years old. Hikary did not remember much of all of this. Her early years were quite blurry in her memory, but, she guessed, this was the case with everybody. She remembered a pony taking care of them, feeding them… but they were kept separate most of the time anyway. Vin was raised by the creatures after his mother’s death. Well, Rain thought, Raised was a big word. They brought him food and water. He was forced to take care of the ponies that were brought in as his prisoners. And he remained to do just that, until Taira had defeated Aras.

Rain almost slipped, but Vin supported her. They had to follow the trail, but in the mist it was so hard to see where it would lead them. The carcasses of the creatures became more plentiful as they got further away from the lair. They became hungry, Rain knew, and they were simply eating the weaker ones among themselves. They encountered what was left of them.

“Thank you.” Rain said when they reached steadier ground,
“For helping me.”
“No problem, my lady. Are you not hurt?” Vin asked.
Rain was a bit annoyed once again at the formal tone in which Vin addressed her. She had asked him so many times to stop doing that, but he insisted. It made her regret that she ever told him who she really was. But from the moment she saw him she had felt this strange urge to be honest with him. She did not want to lie, because she did not want to excuse herself later.

“No, I am fine, thank you, Vin. Let’s move on.” She said.
She could not even see the trail ahead through the mist, but as she stepped forward she began to see a particularly large carcass lying next to the road. There had not been such a large one before. They must be very hungry, Rain realized. They would have to be careful. Rain did not know how many there were and Vin did not, either. She could use her powers to protect them, but she did not know how much she could take.

Hunger, Rain realized as she walked past the carcass, was something she had forgotten about a long time ago. Vin, too. He was rather thin, but he was still going on and not complaining. They were both used to living without food for a long time. Water was not a problem. Rain could still control the clouds to summon rain, but in here she hardly ever had to. It rained almost every day, and if it didn’t the air was still moist. The snow was still there, but it was so little it was not something to worry about.

“I think we’re gaining on them.” Vin announced when he looked at the body of the creature. It was ripped apart, and only the black wings and the black skeleton remained. They had eaten the rest.
“What makes you think that?” Rain asked.
“It looks… fresher, than the other ones. It was killed less long ago.” He said, while turning back to the road. The body smelled horrible, and they were glad to be away from it.

“Well, that’s a good thing, then. I don’t like being this deep into the mountains. The further we go, the more we have to go back. There is no other way out of these mountains now.” Rain said.
“We will be fine. There have to be other ways out.” Vin said, but he could not conceal his worry. “I hope there are. I mean, I know they were there, but the eruption has probably destroyed most of them.”

Rain sighed. It was true enough. She did not remember going out too much before the eruption, but the mountains… Not many ponies went into them but more than enough crossed them. Apart from the large gates there were several ways in and out of the old Friendship Lands. They just had to find one they could cross once they had obtained the stone.

She could not see the Friendship Lands now, and she was glad that she could not. A few days ago they had seen them, and they had looked out over nothing but darkness and destruction. Stone, sand, smoke… it was all there was to the country that had once been her home, her dream. It was painful, and sad… That of the beauty and strength of the past was nothing left but this. The crown of the world… it had fallen into despair and smoke.

“I’m sorry, Vin.” She whispered while they walked along the path.
“Sorry? For what?” Vin asked, surprised.
“For taking you here. You should go out, see the world, enjoy the rest of your life. And yet you are here, with me, inside these treacherous and depressing mountains. It should not be like this.”
“Oh, my lady, please, do not be sorry. I chose to go with you out of my free will. And I would never enjoy anything if I knew you were out here alone.”

Rain was flattered by his chivalry. He wanted to protect her… no one had ever felt such a thing for her before. She did not dare to tell him she would probably end up protecting him. He had no powers, and his body was not strong, either. But, she enjoyed his company more than she could possibly say. Someone who knew her pain, who had seen the darkness in which she had lived in for so long… She would gladly protect someone like that.

“Thank you, Vin. I really appreciate that. And I’m glad you are coming with me. I promise, once we have the stone and are out of this place, I will show you the beauty of this world. Even though I have only just started to see it myself.” Rain smiled.
“Let’s discover it together, then.” Vin winked.

Rain was suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling that began to float into her heart. She was still discovering new emotions every day, but this was not like anything she had ever felt before. Nor could she remember ever feeling something like this before. It was so strong, and it seemed to give her strength, as well… And for some reason they reminded her of her sister, Taira.

For she was the only one who had ever spoken to her about this. The overwhelming feeling when you look into a man’s eyes… it seemed so surreal, back then. Taira… would her sister have remembered by now? About her lover, the west, her child? She had remembered it all, almost instantly. But she could never tell Taira. She would not believe her unless she remembered herself. And Taira would not remember if she told her, for she would throw it away as a lie. But it was true, it was all true… the next heir had already been born.

Rain looked at Vin once again, who was walking slightly in front of her now. The feeling instantly returned to her. Was she actually falling in love? She had not thought that such a thing existed for her. Yet here she was, overwhelmed by this strange feeling in her chest every time she looked at the thin, dirty pony who was set on protecting her. Emotions… even to her, they were a strange thing.

Twinkle Star was glad with her day off. Oh, she loved the company of Kiyoi and Câlin, but she did not mind to be alone for a day while they were off to the village to get supplies. Of course, she was never really alone anymore. Every day she could feel her child grow stronger inside her. She had never thought she would be so aware of her child until it was born, but she was only a few months pregnant now. And she already knew her better than anyone else ever could.

Only now, now that she felt how close a mother was with her unborn child. She felt she truly understood Aline’s actions. If someone would make her lose her child… She did not know what she would do. The love she felt for her child… it was almost unlimited. And it surprised Twinkle Star that she felt this way now not only for her unborn daughter, but for Câlin, too. After all, she was her daughter now, too. And she would never love one more than the other. Her two children… She had grown to love them so much. And one of them wasn’t even born, yet.

Twinkle Star did not know how it could be that she was so aware of her child. Were it her royal powers, or was it something else? She had talked with Stelline while she was pregnant, and even though Stelline had been aware of her children… she had not even known it were two. Twinkle Star, however, was extremely aware of her child’s spirit. She could feel it grow stronger every day. And Câlin could feel it too, strangely enough.

It was so strange, to hear Câlin talking about her unborn sister as if she was already there. And it made Kiyoi feel a bit left out. He did not have any royal powers, or anything that made him detect his unborn child… and apart from her slightly swollen tummy there was no proof yet of the girl’s existence for him. But, Twinkle Star had to admit, he never showed that it bothered him much. He tried his hardest to make things comfortable for her, even more so than she actually felt comfortable with.

And, she was glad to see, he was truly bonding with Câlin. More and more they spend time together. Kiyoi loved to teach Câlin about the forest, and Câlin loved to learn. Kiyoi had admitted he loved to tell someone about his beloved forest to someone who was so honestly interested. And Câlin had already asked her why they had not been there before because she loved it so much. Twinkle Star could not suppress a smile when she realized the girl probably actually blamed her for not going here sooner.

Yes, her life… it had changed so much. She would be a mother the coming summer… no, she already was a mother. Câlin, her unborn little girl, Kiyoi… They were a family now, and she loved them more than she had ever loved anyone. Feelings that she had never quite understood now raged through her with every heartbeat. And to protect the ones she loved… she would give up everything.