Taira’s temporary future

“I see.” Hikary heard her mother say. “And when will it be delivered, then?”
Hikary peeked into the throne room. The ambassador from the trade route was still there. Apparently, there had been a big spring downpour on the side-road of the trading route that led to the Friendship Lands, which had caused a landslide, making it basically impossible for big carts to cross until the road was fixed. And this at a time when the country was awaiting goods for the summer fair. Lots of ponies had come to complain about the delays of their shipments, but before the ambassador had arrived, there had been very little the queen was able to do about it.

“It should take at most a week for the sand to arrive. Then another week for my men to fix the road in such a way that carts can pass it again. We’re very sorry about this, your Highness. Please, I hope you understand we are doing everything we can to fix this in time for your summer fair.”
Hikary walked on, reminding herself that these issues were none of her business unless the queen asked for her help or advice. She had other matters to attend to.

She walked out of the castle into the spring morning. The flowers were blooming and the sun was shining, surrounded by a few small white clouds that seemed to have lost their way in the unending blue sky. So far, the spring had treated them kindly. Apart from the downpour that had caused the landslide, there had been only a regular amount of rain and plenty of sunlight which made the crops and plants and flowers grow nicely. If the road could be fixed in time so that the merchants could arrive with their goods, the summer fair that would announce the end of spring and the start of summer, would come along nicely.

She was going out now, to see if the mail pony had arrived yet. She expected him any day, and she hoped for a response to her letter. So far, she had received absolutely zero. If there would not be any replies this time, Hikary knew she would have to take other actions. She would have to travel to one of the big libraries, to search the old books for clues about ancient magical stones. For now, though, she preferred to hold on to that small ray of hope that a letter would come.

When she opened the gates of the castle wall, her first thought was that the pony she saw walking along the road in the distance was the mail pony. Upon closer inspection, however, she saw that it were in fact two ponies. Confused for a moment she wondered why the mailman had company. Then it hit her. “Taira! Ivy!” She yelled, running towards her two sisters. After so many months, her sisters had showed up at this unexpected moment.

“Yo!” She heard Ivy yell. “We’re home!”
Hikary rushed over the path towards them. The first thing she did when she reached them was giving them both a good hug.
“You two are back! I’m so relieved you are safe!”
“Of course we are, what did you think? Though I have to say we’ve had quite the journey. It’s good to be home.” Ivy replied.
“I’m glad you’re home, too. Now, let’s go inside. I’m sure you two can use a good bath and some nice food. I’ll ask Tsuyo to prepare it all right away.”
“Thank you, my sister. That is very kind.” Taira replied.

When they arrived at the castle, Hikary rushed off to find Tsuyo and to inform her sisters that Ivy and Taira had returned. When she had done that, she rushed into the throne room.
“Hikary, did I not tell you I was in an important meeting?” Her mother asked when she saw her rushing in.
“Yes, my lady, you definitely did. However, I bring good news. Taira and Ivy have returned home.”
“I see, that is good news indeed. Ambassador, I hope you can excuse me for a moment so that I can greet my two daughters who have returned from long journey?”
“Of course, your highness. I will wait here.” The ambassador said kindly. Regina followed Hikary out of the throne room.

“Did they succeed?” Regina asked once she had closed the door behind her.
Only now did Hikary realize she had not given that any thought at all. She had been too relieved to find her sisters safe to even consider their quest.
“I… I don’t know. They are only with the two of them. I… there was no sign of her daughter, I’m afraid.”
Regina drew a deep breath. “I see. I was afraid that would be the case.”

Hikary led her mother to the kitchen, where Taira and Ivy were already eating a nice vegetable soup. Hikary was surprised at the speed Tsuyo could get food on the table when it was necessary.
“Mom!” Ivy exclaimed. She jumped off her chair and embraced her mother. “We’re home.”
Regina held her precious girl for a moment.
“Yes, you are home. I’m so relieved to see you safe. I take it you had a good trip?”
“Yes… it was amazing. I saw so much. Unfortunately… we did not succeed in everything.”

Hikary saw the sparkle in Ivy’s eyes, and she realized it was different from what it had been. No longer was it innocent and pure. A sparkle of maturity had replaced it, a sign that this pony understood the world a little bit better than before.
“Ivy!” Hikary heard Fleur exclaim. The youngest girl of the family ran into the room and embraced her sister. “You’re back! I’m so relieved you’re back!”
Yes, Fleur was definitely relieved. She had never said it, but Fleur had sincerely missed the guidance of her older sister. They had never been apart before, after all.

More happy encounters followed when Stelline and her baby girls entered the room. Ivy almost fell over when she realized how big they had gotten. Regine returned to the throne room, ensuring her daughters that she would soon be back to hear their complete story. In the meantime, Taira and Ivy took off to take a long bath to clean themselves from the long journey.

Hikary once again left the castle, in a more cheerful mood this time though wondering what had happened with Taira’s daughter. She would hear it all later, she was sure. For now, she focussed on the mail pony. As expected, she saw him walking on the road. He was never a day late, Hikary knew. A small mail company led by some ponies linked to the trade route made sure your mail was delivered once every two weeks. At the same time, the pony took any outgoing mail. This he took to a central place somewhere along the trade route and from there it would be distributed further. They were highly efficient but Hikary knew they were pricy. An ordenary pony would never be able to afford them.

“Greetings, your highness.” The mail pony said when he arrived at the gate. “Quite a lot of mail this time.”
He followed her inside. It was custom that the pony would be given a good meal and a place to sleep for one night.
“We have quite some outgoing mail, too. How has your journey been?” She asked.
“Just fine. The weather is quite nice.” He commented.

Once inside, he handed her the bag of mail. She opened it and when she went through it, she noticed there was one letter addressed to her. A reply. It couldn’t be anything else. She quickly opened it after noticing from the return adress that it was in fact from queen Daryia from the beach country of Madash. She quickly read the contents.

Dear princess Hikary,

The contents of your letter worry me deeply. Like you, I have also noticed strange things in the world around me. Our winter star that guides our sailing boats recently dissapeared from the heavens. I have consulted all of my advisors, but none know anything about the whereabouts of a stone like the one you mentioned. However, I seem to remember that there is an ancient legend here of a stone buried in the ocean that shines brightly in starless nights to give sailors light to find their way. I am sure there is something about it in our archives, but I am currently unable to do research on this myself. I therefore want to give you and your family free access to our archives and library. If you wish, feel free to come by any time that suits you. Please visit me in my palace when you do.

Yours truly, Queen Daryia

Hikary sighed. It wasn’t exactly a letter she was hoping for, but it was more than nothing. A light that shone on starless nights sounds too coincidental to not look into it. She would have to set out for Madash, and research the archives. There was nothing else to do.

“I’m so sorry you weren’t able to find your daughter, Taira. We will do anything we can to aid you in finding her.” Regina said.
They sat in the throne room around a big table. The large candles on the wall and on the table were the only source of light as they exchanged experiences and stories and drank a bit of wine. Taira had just finished telling what had happened to them in Batafurai. Hikary was saddened to learn they had not been able to find Ruki, and that Fjaril’s mother had died during their stay. It must have been hard for them.

Hikary had not yet told her story about her journey, her encounter with Vin or the message of the stone. For a little while longer she just wanted to enjoy sitting here with her family, without thinking of any stones or the end of the world. It all felt so unreal and far away right now, and she had no desire to pull it back in. She would come to it later.

“Thank you, mother. I truly appreciate that. I just wish I had an idea on where to start looking for her now, but I truly have no idea.” Taira took another sip of her wine.
“We will find a clue. Don’t worry, Taira. We will find a clue and we will find your daughter.” Regina ensured her heir.
“Thank you, mother. And until that day comes, I promise I will do my best to learn everything about being a good queen.” Taira smiled.
Hikary could see that her sister meant what she said.

“So… Ivy, you’ve been tired almost the entire evening. Tell me about your experiences. Did you like Batafurai?” Regina asked with a smile. It was true; Ivy had let Taira do the talking almost the entire time.
“Oh, mother, it was so beautiful. I am silent because I know my words cannot describe how it was like. Do you know prana, mother? The power of the earth that flows through all the living things that are bound to it, like trees and plants. It glows pink. The entire valley of Batafurai was glowing brightly. It is the only place in the west where the prana is so strong that actual talking and intelligent butterflies live there. They are such magnificent creatures, mother. I became good friends with them, but especially one of them called Sindo. He became such a good friend of me… I really miss him.

And it is all thanks to Fjaril’s family. Only they have the power to protect the prana and use the forces of the Holy Stone of flowers to make sure nothing can take it away.”
“I’m sorry… the holy stone?” Hikary said out loud.
“Oh, we didn’t tell about that yet. Inside Batafurai in the middle of a lake lies a powerful stone that extracts the prana from the earth and makes it flow through the endless streams through the entire island so that all the plants and trees have access to it.”
Hikary gasped. There was no mistake. She did not doubt it even for a second. That stone was the second stone.