Câlin’s dream world

“Mommy… blue.” Twinkle Star looked behind her, seeing her baby girl Meran play on the carpet.
Rain was hitting the windows furiously, making her worried about her husband. It was late and the weather was bad. Would he make it home okay? She smiled at the young girl, who was playing with her crayons and paper. She had just colored an entire sheet blue.
“Yes my dear, blue, very good!” she said proudly.
She turned around again to continue drying off the dishes.

“Mom… could you maybe help me with this?” Câlin asked.
Twinkle Star sighed, once again putting down the cup. Was she ever going to get the dishes done like this? She walked towards her other daughter, who was sitting behind the kitchen table, deep in her school books. For a little class like the one Câlin attended, Twinkle star was amazed by the amount of homework Câlin had to do each day. Still, when it came to biology and herbalism, Câlin could study for hours and still not get tired. Yet when it came to math or literature, her skills in studying  and paying attention were pretty much a lot lower, causing her teacher to worry often.

At the moment, though, Câlin was working on history, a subject she didn’t particularly like nor hate. “Of course dear.” Twinkle Star said, and walked to her daughter.
“What is the problem?” She asked, bending over to see her daughter’s history book.
“Well… the teacher asked us to describe what happened after the fall of the High Queen, but I’m not sure I understand.” Câlin asked.
“It’s described here, but…” She pointed at one of the passages in her book.

As Twinkle Star started to read, she got interrupted once more, this time by her youngest daughter.
“Mommy… red!” Meran giggled. Twinkle Star looked up, and saw her little girl colouring the white cupboards red with her pencils.
“Oh no…” She sighed.
She heard Câlin giggle as she got up to pick up Meran.
“But mommy, red!” She protested when Twinkle Star picked her up and put her in her playpen.
“Yes dear, very pretty. Now be a good girl and enjoy yourself here for a bit, ok?” She smiled, handing Meran her plush duck.

Meran quickly entertained herself with her toys, and Twinkle Star went back to Câlin.
“Now, let’s see…” she read the passage in Câlin’s book, but she quickly found that it was in fact really dull, and not clear at all. Whoever wrote this did definitely not have his target audience in mind.
 “I see your problem, dear. Well, let me explain it to you…” Twinkle Star sat down at the table, too. “You see, you have learned how the High Queen was the Queen above all others, right? And, that all the other queens swore their allegiance to the High Queen. Therefore, the High Queen could do things other queens could not, and she was in a perfect position to solve fights between countries peacefully.”
“Yes… I understand that.” Câlin said, while writing some things down.

“Good. Well, you see, when the High Queen disappeared, there was no longer anyone who was standing above all the other queens. So, this time, when they got into a fight, they had to solve it themselves instead of looking at the High Queen for help. However, because they had no experience in doing so, they failed, and some queens got into really big fights, forbidding the ponies that lived in their countries to talk to the ponies from the other countries. This, in turn, caused ponies to become really poor, because they could no longer sell their products to others.

Another thing that happened, was that a lot of the lore, magic and treasure of old times became lost. Stories that were passed down from High Queen to High Queen were forgotten, treasure was stolen and nobody was left who was able to master the powers needed to cast magic spells of the High Queen. So, to sum it up, after the High Queen disappeared, the world became a whole lot poorer.” Twinkle Star concluded, hoping she was explaining things well enough for her daughter to understand.
Thankfully, Câlin nodded. “Thank you, mom. That is a whole lot clearer than what the book says.”

“No problem, dear. If there is anything else you need help with, do let me know, okay?” Twinkle Star had half gotten up when her daughter’s voice penetrated her mind once more.
“Mom… Why did she disappear? The High Queen, I mean?” Twinkle Star sat down again, smiling at Câlin while keeping an eye on Meran, who was amusing herself with her plush toys now.
“Well… she didn’t really disappear. The family which brought forth the High Queens… they failed in their responsibilities and forgot how to use the powers given to them. Therefore, the crown that once marked one as the next High Queen disappeared the day the last High Queen died, and the heir to the throne simply became queen of her country, and not High Queen of the east.” She explained.
 “I see… thank you, mom.” Câlin thanked her.

Relieved that she could finally continue her dishes now, Twinkle Star got up and walked back to the kitchen. While the rain continued to hit the windows, she quietly worked on her dishes, wondering if Câlin realized she was a descendant of the High Queens they had been talking about. Did she know she belongs to that family? Well, that would be a nice subject for another time. Maybe she already knows… maybe she does not. With Câlin, it was always hard to estimate what she does or does not know.

When she was done with the dishes, she grabbed her Meran, bringing her upstairs to put her in bed. It didn’t take much effort to convince Meran to go to sleep this night. Usually she struggled a lot more, always thinking of new things to keep her awake, but on rainy days like this she always fell asleep quickly. When she was sure Meran was fast asleep, she turned off the oil lamp and went downstairs. Câlin was already putting her books away.
“Are you going to bed soon too, dear? It’s another school day tomorrow, after all.”

“Yes, I am. Can I read something in bed still? And will dad bring me to school tomorrow?” Twinkle Star smiled while helping her daughter putting her books in her bag.
“Of course you can read something, love. And I will ask your father to bring you to school tomorrow.” Twinkle Star assured her daughter, knowing Kiyoi would never be able to say no to a request from one of his girls.
 “Thank you, mom.” Câlin said. Twinkle Star gave her daughter a kiss on her cheek.
“Good night, love.” She said, and Câlin ran off upstairs, eager to continue reading her book.

Not much later, Twinkle Star herself sat down on the couch, reading her own book and drinking her tea, waiting for Kiyoi to come home. Right when she got completely absorbed in the story, she heard the front door, and a moment later she saw Kiyoi enter the house.
“Oh, dear, you’re completely soaked!” she exclaimed when she saw her husband was not wearing a rain coat, and she quickly jumped up to get a towel.

“Yea, I got completely held up in the village. Gizan once again came asking to get herbs from the forest, and I had a very hard time convincing him that we will never allow him to do that, but that he can give us a list of what he needs. He got really upset and had clearly been drinking… saying I called him a thief. By the time he had gone home it was dark and raining.” Kiyoi explained.
 “How are the girls?” Kiyoi asked after Twinkle Star had handed him a towel.
“Just fine. Meran fell asleep quickly, and Câlin went upstairs almost immediately afterwards. She may still be reading, though.” Twinkle Star told him while returning to the kitchen to make him a hot cup of tea, too.

“Then I will quickly check in on them and say good night if Câlin is still awake.” Kiyoi said, and he walked up the stairs. Twinkle Star could hear him talking quietly, a sign that Câlin was still reading. Not much later he came downstairs again, taking an oil lamp with him.
“She was indeed still reading. She loves that book so much. She’s going to sleep now though.” He told her.
“That’s good. I didn’t mind her reading for a bit… she went upstairs early and she’s been doing her homework all evening. She deserved some relaxing time before sleeping.” Twinkle Star explained, and Kiyoi agreed.

They both sat down on the couch, and Twinkle Star crawled up close to Kiyoi.
“I’m glad you’re home.” She whispered.
“So am I.” He answered her.
“So I suppose our daughter felt the need to show off her artistic qualities once more?” Kiyoi laughed, pointing at the kitchen closet, which still had red stripes over it.
“Yea, she did.” Twinkle Star said, smiling too. “I’ll clean it tomorrow. Câlin asked if you could bring her to school tomorrow, by the way.”
“Of course.” Kiyoi smiled. Twinkle Star hadn’t expected any less.

While Kiyoi began to tell all the things he had discussed in the town today, Twinkle Star found her mind suddenly wandering off to a forest she only vaguely remembered now. Because the last time had been a while ago, it took Twinkle Star a few moments to realize where the vision came from. Luckily, Kiyoi also noticed something was up with her.
“Is it Câlin again?” he asked, and Twinkle Star nodded.

One and a half year ago, it had happened for the first time. Whenever her daughter had a specifically strong or scary dream, Twinkle Star shared it. She suspected it was because of their bond becoming ever stronger. While Câlin never said she shared Twinkle Star’s dreams, it happened once every one or two months that Twinkle Star clearly saw what her girl was dreaming, whether she herself was awake or not. She suspected Câlins barriers to her mind were simply less developed yet, therefore she was unable to shield her own thoughts at moments like this.

Twinkle Star didn’t particularly mind, but she felt as if she was intruding on her daughter’s private thoughts. Still, it had helped her a few times when Câlin had had a nightmare, to go upstairs and calm her down. The vision of the forest changed now, revealing a rainy and muddy valley Twinkle Star remembered as the new Friendship Lands. It wasn’t a particular joyful sight. The leaves of the trees were black, the ground was a mix of dark green and dark brown and the clouds in the sky swirled together in a mix of dark purple and grey. Another night mare…

Câlin was running, running hard, but she did not see whether she was running away or running towards something. Suddenly, ahead of her, a big black castle appeared, somewhat resembling Regina’s castle but also different. Dark black clouds swirled around it while the wind was eerily playing with the black banners that stood on top of the towers. The one thing in this dream that stood out was a pink pony that seemed to radiate a strange light. She was standing in front of the castle, motionless.

First, Twinkle Star thought it was her, standing there, but when Câlin got closer she realized she was wrong. A pony with magnificent large wings, this was not her, but instead her cousin, Câlin’s real mother, Illuvia. “Câlin!” Twinkle Star could hear Illuvia yell. Yet, as the word left her cousin’s mouth, Illuvia began to dissolve, slowly fading away until she had disappeared. She could all but feel Câlin’s desperation, seeing her mother disappear like this. And it wasn’t even that far from what had really happened, either…

When Illuvia was all but disappeared, Twinkle Star finally noticed what was truly happening. Illuvia was being sucked in by the darkness of the castle. Her daughter… did she blame the ponies from the Friendship Lands? It wouldn’t even surprise Twinkle Star… there, she lost her mother, and she was exiled for things she did not even do. She just hoped her daughter would have forgotten her nightmare the next morning, but with dreams so strong that even she could see them, it was usually not the case.

The strength of the dream seemed to fade, and Twinkle Star once again became aware of her own house and Kiyoi next to her.
“Another nightmare… I just hope she is able to go on sleeping. I’ll go check on her to be sure.” Twinkle Star smiled, while getting up from the couch.
 Her poor daughter… she did not deserve to be tortured by the past like this. She was still so young, and had been through so much… But at least now, Twinkle Star was happy to confirm, her daughters lived a life as ordinary as possible, and she would do everything to protect that life.