Ruki’s western spirit

It felt good to be home. Well, of course, I’m not really home, Ruki had to keep telling herself, but the west felt so familiar it really felt like she was home. The pretty trees with their Prana energy flowing over them in dark blue or purple or pink. The flowers that could bloom even in the harshest conditions. The balance between ponies, animals and plants that was lost in the east. The west… the place where she felt at home.

Of course, it wasn’t like her pretty home up north here at all. The forest in which she had played, the lake which had been her mirror, the open mansion that had been her home… none of this looked even closely like it. It was still cold here; snow covered the top of the trees hiding their Prana, flowers were hidden, animals sought shelter from the cold. It was only natural, of course, but still she longed for the true coming of spring so that she could see with her own eyes that she was indeed back in the west.

Takato seemed equally glad to be back in the west. After their scary adventure on the northern bridge, which was now gone because of their crossing, he seemed to become more cheerful and less serious. Ruki was glad with the change, even though Takato was still more serious and silent than she was. But she had by now accepted that it was just who he was.

They had been travelling for over ten days now, ever going deeper into the west but hardly going more southwards even though that was what Takato had promised. Ruki became more and more curious to see Takato’s fellow researchers. He didn’t talk about them much and if she asked questions about them she only got a superficial reply. She had soon accepted he would not tell her more so she would just have to wait and see, but as always she could hardly suppress her curiosity.

She had all but forgotten about her own research. She was looking for information on winged ponies, but it didn’t seem as important as it used to be. She wanted to support Takato and help him with his research. She had told him as much, but he had only smiled and said ‘thank you’. She still didn’t really know what to make of Takato. Yes, he was serious in what he did, but what it was exactly he was doing apart from his research in the east, she still didn’t really grasp. She hoped she would get a better idea of who he was and what he was doing once they arrived at his home, or wherever it was they were heading.

Sometimes she caught Takato staring at her, which made her feel rather uncomfortable. If he noticed she knew, he only smiled, which made her feel even weirder, and it usually made her blush. What was this strange feeling that came over her every time she noticed this? She had no idea, but it didn’t feel all too bad. But right now, she noticed, he was just staring ahead on the snowy road. Once again, he was lost in thought, and Ruki felt bored.

“Ah…” She stopped walking as she saw a tree completely free of snow. Its prana glow shone brightly, and the tree looked like he was completely made of pink rather than green. A beautiful large evergreen, shining with the power that roamed in the west.
“It’s beautiful…” Ruki whispered.
“Yes… it really is. I missed the glow of prana while I was in the east.” Ruki had not noticed Takato had stopped alongside of her.

“You know about prana, right?” Takato asked her.
“Of course.” Ruki said, feeling offended that he thought she could not know. After all, she was well raised by her father and he had taught her all these things.
“Prana is the power of the earth that flows in all living things. Here in the west it shows in things that grow from the earth itself as a pink, purple or blue glow, showing they are healthy.” She told Takato.

“Right. But do you also know it is exactly this power the high king and his family can command?” Takato asked.
“Well…” Ruki had to admit her father had once told her about this, but she hadn’t really been paying attention. She had loved to learn about prana because she had thought it was so pretty, but once her father had begun to talk about how others she would never meet could use it, her mind had drifted away. She had to admit she regretted it now.

To her surprise, Takato began to laugh. “It seems like you really don’t know a lot, do you, Ruki? Well, I can tell you… about prana, I guess. Prana is that which gives live to everything. It is the living spirit of this world. It is not what gives or takes live, but it is what maintains live. In short, you could say that the existence of prana in something shows it is alive.

And it is this power that the kings of the west have access to. Of course the high king is the most capable of all to use prana, but even lesser kings can use it. Unlike the royal powers that the queens of the east can use, it is not something that dwells inside them, but something from the earth that some are able to use, and others aren’t.”
“So… what about the living things in the east? Do they not use prana?” Ruki asked.
Takato made it seem as if it was something every living thing needed to live, and yet he was shocked to find it existed in the east.
“To be honest, there are still debates about that. Some say the living things in the east have their own power, similar to that which the royal families use, while others say prana also flows in the east but is simply suppressed by the heavenly powers. So far, no one seems to have truly figured it out, but then again not many ponies actually go to the east to research it.”
“I wonder what it is…” Ruki whispered.
She loved the glow of prana, the sign that the trees were healthy and living, and she had missed it in the east. None of the trees showed any sign of it. Except for… how could she not have noticed it?

“Takato, those trees I was close to the day I was attacked by the eastern powers…”
“Yes, those were affected by prana. You couldn’t see it the way you can see it here, but, it was definitely prana which I felt the other day in the snow, and I am sure it came from the west. Those trees should not have grown there, but they somehow could because they dwelled on prana. Whatever the reason is, it should not surface and be active like that in the east. It’s worrisome, Ruki.”

It’s worrisome, Ruki. Ruki knew that if she would get a copper for each time she heard that, she’d be stinking rich by now. Of course it was true and all, but she did not see how all the worrying would help. Takato… she didn’t want him to worry so much.
“I know it is, Takato, I know it is. But it’s not going to help you, all this worrying. How long till we arrive?” She asked, in an attempt to lift his mood.
“A few hours.”

“What?! A few hours? You didn’t tell me we were that close already!!!” Ruki exclaimed, completely surprised. She had thought they would still have to travel several more days.
“I didn’t? Oh, well, we’re almost there. We should reach it before the sun goes down, I’m sure. Aren’t you relieved we don’t have to sleep in the snow again?” Takato asked, trying to be cheerful.
Well, she was, but somehow she also felt a little bit disappointed. Her days traveling with Takato would be over soon. She hadn’t realized it was something she was sad about. Did she really like to be alone with him that much?

Confused with her own conflicting feelings, Ruki walked on through the snow. The road was barely visible. The forest was quite open here and there were lots of open spaces, but she could see it would get less open ahead of them. Was his house hidden in that forest? Why did he live in such a remote place, anyway? Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen a sign of civilization in days.

And why hadn’t Takato told her they were that close? Did he feel the same way, too, did he like to spend time alone with her? Well, he hardly ever talked… even though it had gotten better the last few days, ever since they crossed the breach. She didn’t know what to do with this. But soon, they would arrive at his house, and there would be other ponies, and it would all be different. True, she had never felt as comfortable around someone as around Takato… Was she afraid she was going to lose that feeling?

Ruki realized, as she walked through the snow-covered forest, that she trusted Takato completely. She did not know why, but he made her feel so secure and safe that she could not think of any other feeling she might have with him.

She followed Takato through the forest while pondering over her own feelings. The road was hardly visible and at times she wondered if it really was a path at all. Did Takato actually know where he was going? How could there possible be a house in a remote place such as this? There didn’t seem to be any resources, either. There wasn’t even a river close by for water, was there?

Ruki didn’t share any of her doubts with Takato. She trusted him to be right. He had always been, she realized, just as her father. In many ways, he was not like her father at all, but she trusted him just as much as she had once trusted her father. And she promised herself she would not betray that trust herself like she had done to her father. She would make sure she could be there to support him, to be there for him if he needed her. This time, she would not disappoint the man in her life that she trusted, because she did not want to lose that trust by betraying him herself.

“We’re almost there.” Takato announced after a while.
Ruki looked around, hoping to see some kind of civilization, but she didn’t see any. She was sure now, Takato’s house lay hidden in these forests, though she could not fathom why. As she followed Takato through the trees, she was sure that he had strayed from the faint road that they had been following. So it wasn’t even located at a road… Why would he want to live so far from the rest of the world?

Ruki knew she had not been wrong the moment she saw the house. It was nothing like any ordinary house in the west would look like, and if she was honest the wooden house reminded her more of an eastern house than anything else. The one story house was build with wooden planks and it’s roof was made of straw. The only thing made from stone was it’s chimney. It was rather large, Ruki noticed to her surprise as she got closer. At least twice as large as any regular house. How many ponies lived there, exactly?

When they arrived at the house, Takato knocked on the door. Ruki wondered why, as she had been sure it was her house, but it soon became clear. She heard a pony approach on the other side.
A female voice said: “Name the password.”
“Asana Gue Ra Rue Ka Na.” Takato answered. Ruki recognized the language to be the Old Language, but she did not understand what it said. She heard the sound of keys and a moment later the door opened.

A very pretty young girl appeared before them. Her long dark purple mane flowed over her soft purple coat. She looked at Takato and began to smile before she walked up to him.
“You’re back! Prana be praised, you’re back!” She exclaimed. He instantly hugged her, and kissed her on the cheek.
“I missed you, Flora…” He whispered to the girl.
“Let me introduce you.” He said to her, when the girl, who was apparently named Flora, finally let go.
“Flora, this is Ruki, a girl I met in the east. Ruki, this is Flora, my fiancée.”