Takato’s research

Ruki stared at Takato, but only because she had nothing better to do. This was becoming so boring, she recently wondered more and more why she was still lingering here with him. And staring at Takato wasn’t that much fun, either. He was just standing there, in the hole in the snow they had just dug, not even blinking. She didn’t get it at all… and he still refused to explain.

Maybe she should just leave… but then again this was not the first time she thought of doing just that. And she knew she would not do it in the end. She liked spending time with Takato… Even if she was bored so much every day. She liked to look at him, especially when he was really focussed. That determined look in his eyes… Made her feel safe, somehow.

Besides, she was curious if he would find anything. It would be best if he did not find anything, of course… but she was so curious. The powers of the earth, of the west… they were not hers. But could she feel them? Would she be able to sense them even if they were not hers to possess?

“There’s nothing here.” Takato sighed. He walked towards her.
“Nothing at all once again? Well… that’s good, right? Where are we going now?” Ruki asked. Her brown cloak was stiff from her standing still for so long. The cold was fading a little, she thought… spring was getting closer. But it was still too cold to her liking.
“I was thinking a little further to the west. Close to those trees over there.” Takato replied.

Ruki followed Takato to the trees. They had not visited this area before today. It was weird… trees were scattered over the field but it was not like a forest or anything, more as if someone had just randomly thrown the trees on the ground. When they reached the couple of trees Takato had chosen, he stopped walking. But instead of starting digging in the snow right away what he usually does, Takato just stared at the trees.

“Is something wrong?” Ruki asked.
“No… not really. It’s just that I’ve never seen trees like this here before. I thought they were unique to the west… But maybe I was mistaken.” Takato said while he started to remove the snow.
Ruki joined him, happy to have some excersise instead of standing idle all the time.

While they were digging, the snow began to fall out of the sky once more, making their work quite futile. Yet they managed to reach the ground. When they were done, Ruki retreated under the trees to hide from the falling snow, even though the leafless branches did not give her much cover. Takato had meanwhile taken his usual position. What he did, Ruki once again thought, was still a mystery, and she was dying to find out. But he would just not answer her.

Suddenly she noticed the trees were weird indeed. The only trees growing in this area were evergreens, while these had lost their leaves for the winter. And what was more, the branches were a strange combination of purple and brown. She had never seen them before… She raised her hoof and touched the tree. It even felt weird…

“Ruki! Let go of that tree, NOW!!!” Takato suddenly screamed, and Ruki let go of the tree at once, shocked.
But it was already too late. She could not describe the force that pushed her back. It was a bit like the earth itsself had come up and pushed her away, but something like that did not happen at all. She fell in the snow a few feet away from the trees and Takato was instantly by her side.

“What was that?” Ruki asked while she tried to get up.
“It was… what I have been looking for all this time.” Takato answered while he supported her, not taking his eyes off the trees.
“Right… so will you now tell me exactly what it is?” Ruki asked, dizzy from her fall. Well, she would no longer take no for an answer anymore. It was attacking her now, for crying out loud.

“Yes… I guess I have no choice. Are you ready to walk yet?” Takato asked.
 “Yes… I think. Why?”
“Because we’re going back to the cave.” Takato replied. Ruki followed Takato through the snow. The cave was quite a long walk away from where they were now, as they had already researched the closer spots.
 “You don’t have to do your research anymore?” Ruki asked.
“No.” Takato said.
“What just happened back there… it was proof enough for me. I have to get back to the west as soon as possible.”

“The west? But I thought you said we could not go there until spring comes. And that will take at least another month or so. The snow has not even started to melt yet.” Ruki said.
“We’ll just have to try. This is more urgent than I first thought, Ruki. I must speak to my… fellow researchers.”
“Right.” Somehow, Ruki was not convinced. Well, she was convinced of the fact that Takato wanted to go back, but his fellow researchers… it just did not feel right when he said this.

“So, what was it? The… thing that attacked me? You promised you would explain now.” Ruki asked while she followed Takato through the snow back to their cave. It was still quite far away, so he’d have plenty of time to explain.
 “Yes. All right.” Takato said, but for a while longer he did not began to explain, probably wondering how he had to start.

“You know I told you, that I was looking for traces of the powers of the west here, right? That I was suspecting that the power of the earth which dwells in the west was slipping into the east.”
“Yes… Sort of.” Ruki answered.
“Well. The power of the earth is what gives life to every flower, every tree, every creature in the west. The high king of the west, and his sons, are capable of using this power to their advantage. It has been given to them once by the Gods of the earth. They have long since faded, but their strength remains in the earth.

The High Kings have always looked after the west. But in recent years, several… odd things have happened in the west and they all seem to be linked to the Earth’s powers. Therefore, it has been suggested that the balance of the east and west is fading. That’s why I came here. To see if the breach, that separates east and west and that keeps the powers of the east and west apart, is failing.

I could not find any evidence of this until today. Recently I began to hope that we were wrong, that there was indeed no trace of the powers of the earth around here. But today… you proved me I was wrong. That what attacked you, Ruki… there was no mistake. It were the powers that until recently were sealed to the west.”

“So… why is it so bad that they’re mixing? Why were they separated in the first place? And come to think of it… what exactly are the powers of the east, then?” Ruki had so many questions she did not know where to start. Of course she had an idea of what the powers of the east were. After all she had spend days inside dusty libraries looking for clues of winged ponies, she had read a lot there…

Takato could not hold down a laugh.
“You really want to know all of it, don’t you? Well, let’s see. The powers of the east are the powers of the Heavens. The High Queens of the past held that power to retain order and peace in the entire east with the help of the winged Guardians. But over time they began to fade. And as they faded and pulled back into the Heavens. The High Queens could not hold their power. The east became divided, and the bloodline of the High Queens became the bloodline of the Queens of the Friendship Lands, until some sixteen years ago even that country was destroyed.

I do not know exactly why the powers are divided, but legend says that when the Supreme Goddess Vitalia created the world she created a balance between east and west, between male and female so that none should ever rule over the other. The ponies, however, wanted to rule over the other because they both thought they had the right ideas and refused to share or listen. So a war broke out and after years of fighting the beautiful world Vitalia had created was destroyed. To end the fighting she created the breach. She let the leaders of the males rule over the west and the leader of the females rule over the east.”

“Oh…” Ruki did not know what else to say.
 She had never heard this story before. Yet the name Vitalia was not unknown to her. The Great Mother… She had come across the name a few times while looking for information on the Winged ponies. In fact, that had been her only hit… as the Goddess was known to have wings, or at least in legends.

“Well, whether the legend is true or not, it is a fact that never, ever the powers of the west have crossed over the breach. Did you know that the moment someone from the west sets foot in the east, he can no longer use the earth’s powers? And it’s the other way around, too. The Queens of the east can not use their powers in the west.

If these powers should mix… I do not know what will happen. Maybe both parties will be unable to use their powers. But maybe it will clash. Maybe the old wars of the legend will break out again. I do not know what exactly will happen if the breach should completely lose it’s power, Ruki. But it is not something good. Therefore I must go back now, to inform my fellow researches of what just happened. Will you come with me? So we can explain the story together?”

“Yes… sure. But I have to advance, too.” Ruki answered. She could already see their cave in the distance.
“I know you do, Ruki. But maybe my friends  can even help you.” Takato suggested. Well, if they knew as much as Takato did, that might even be true… and she trusted Takato.
“Well, okay, then. I’ll come.” She said, and Takato smiled.
“Good. We’ll stay here for the night, and we’ll leave tomorrow morning. The faster we get back, the better. Now we’ll just have to pray that we can at least cross the northern bridge.”

Ruki breathed the cold air of the winter night. She could simply not fall asleep anymore. Takato had told her to go to bed early because they would travel a long way the next morning, but as a result she was awake now and morning had not come yet. She gazed at the dark, dark sky above her, realizing once more that the sky was darker than it had ever been. Another star had died… Would she ever find an answer to that? Or a solution? Takato did not seem to notice… Nobody did.

As she gazed at the dark sky a strange thought occurred to her. Were the events related? The balance between the west and east was shifting, and the stars were fading out of the sky…
“Vitalia…” Ruki whispered, before she knew what she was saying. The Great Mother, the Supreme Goddess… Was she even someone who really existed? Or was she just a figure out of a legend, created to explain the existence of the world?

Ruki glanced at the dark sky once more before she headed back into the cave. Sleep or no sleep, at least it was warmer in the cave. It was weird, she thought, how quickly she had gotten used to this little cave. It had been her home for a few weeks… She had not spend that much time in one place ever since she had left her father. She would miss it… strangely enough.

When her eyes had adjusted to the even deeper dark inside the cave she noticed Takato was still asleep. He looked so cute, so vulnerable, sleeping like this… So different from the Takato she had seen this afternoon. He did not look determined or strong, but sweet and alone. Well, he no longer was alone. She would go with him to the west… and who knows where else.