Deep into the mountains

Both Ivy and Hikary gasped as they looked up to the high mountains. Behind them, the water of Fiume silently fell down into the river. How a waterfall could be without any sound, Hikary did not know, especially when the water came down with such force. Still, it was like the water was only softly flowing in a silent stream, instead of falling down straight from high up in the mountains. And they had to find a way up...
“It’s so steep…” Ivy said. “How are we ever going to get up there?”

“We’ll find a way. There has to be.” Hikary said determined.
For a few days now, they had been close to the river. And for a few days, Hikary had become more and more convinced that the stone she was looking for was the reason why this river was as pure as it was. She couldn’t point out what it was, and that frustrated her, but she was so sure…
“Let’s go follow the mountain. I’m sure there is a way up.” Hikary said while pointing to the left.
“Sure, okay.” Ivy agreed, and they both left the river behind them, following the foot of the mountains to the north.

It had been five days ago when they had reached the village. The last village before they would cross the plains and one of the most distant villages on the trade route. Still, it had been crowded and it bustled with trade. Hikary had been extremely happy that they did not had to look for an inn for they were all full. It had taken her a while to find Aline’s old house. A young couple lived there now, maintaining the vegetables store. They had once been childhood friends of Aline.

With the letter Aline’s mother had given them, the young couple had been happy enough to let them rest in their guest room for a few days, so they had been able to rest and gather supplies for their journey into the wild plains. Hikary had assured Ivy that they needed food for at least two weeks for there was none to be found, but they needed food that was dried and easy to carry, so in the end it had taken them several days to find all the suitable goods.

Ivy had ended up having fun in the village, as she had met some of Aline’s old friends. They were happy to meet her and to hear all of Ivy’s stories on how Aline was doing, and in turn they showed her around the village, and it had made Ivy happy to have seen a part of Aline’s old life. Aline, after all, had become one of Ivy’s best friends. And with Ivy away Hikary had had some time to do investigations on her own.

She had quickly learned no one ever crossed these plains. No wonder, as there was nothing left but ashes and brown stuff on the ground. Once, a beautiful forest stood there, but the eruption had caused the forest to burn completely to the ground, and no green had ever grown there again, as if the ground itself was cursed. Ponies that had gone there had never returned, and so the ponies of this village still believed it was haunted.

Of course, Hikary knew why the ponies had disappeared. They had been unlucky enough to run into Aras’ helpers… who knows, maybe even into her or Taira. It was no curse… it had only been pure evil. But she was not about to explain that to the ponies here. It might be for the best that no one went there for a long time. So much evil, pain and suffering those mountains, plains, and lands had to endure… it would take a long time of purification for that to be cured.

A few days ago, it had finally been time for them to make the journey. They had followed the river all the time, for it provided them not only with a direction but also with fresh water. Hikary had not guessed the old Friendship lands were so far away. She had expected to reach them after one night, but reality proved otherwise. On other sides of the mountains, the way to the normal world was a lot shorter, but here, where the forest once grew, the plains truly seemed endless.

Yet now, in the end, they had reached the mountains. However, where the mountains were relatively easy to access and climb on the north and eastern mountains, close to Aras’ lair, it seemed to be impossible to get up here. Still, they had to, because here the river originated, and that was their destination. So, for the first time on this part of their journey, they now left the river behind them to look for a way up.

They had been walking over rocks and dirt all day, and the closer they had gotten to the mountains, the worse it had become. Sometimes they had to take a detour because there were huge boulders in their way, and more than one time one of them had tripped. This, Hikary knew, was all dirt from the eruption from all those years ago, blocking their entrance. But at least they were something they could climb over, unless the true mountains ahead of them.

For a long time, the mountains didn’t change much. They remained too steep to climb. They saw a cave somewhere, a little higher than they were now, but it didn’t bring them any hope of progress except for a place to stay during the night should they find a way up. The sun was shining brightly on their backs and both of them were rather warm. If only it was a bit cooler, it would make looking so much easier. It was already getting rather late, Hikary knew, and they had been travelling all day. They were weary, and the excitement of finally reaching the mountains had quickly worn off when they had realized they could not move on.

At some point they found a way to get up, but it didn’t bring them much further than the cave they had seen before.
“Ivy… maybe we should stay here for the night. It’s too warm now, with the sun shining on us the way it does, and we’re both tired. Tomorrow morning we will be rested and the sun will be hidden behind the mountains.” Hikary said.
Her little sister smiled. “I was hoping you would say that.”
They entered the cave, and they found it would guard them from cold and wind during the night.

Ivy quickly ran off to fetch some more clean water from the river, and Hikary set out to find something to start a fire with, but there was nothing she could use. No wood, nothing. It had all disappeared on that fateful night so long ago… She almost got angry with herself for not realizing this sooner. They would have no boiled or cooked food until they left this place. Ivy returned quickly with the water, and she, too, was disappointed that Hikary had not been able to make a fire. Still, they made the best of it, eating the dried food as they had done so far, and after their dinner they both quickly fell asleep.

The next morning when the two of them had a small breakfast, they set out to climb the mountains further. Even though it hadn’t looked like it earlier, they found that the best road to follow was close to the river. The rocks and stones were piled up there, and they could use those to climb. It was hard, and it was dangerous, but they both managed to climb up without hurting themselves too badly.

The higher up they went, the faster the water of Fiume seemed to come down. Still, Ivy noticed, it made very little noise. They had a smaller waterfall back at home, but that one always made a tremendous amount of noise so that you could not even hold a proper conversation when close to it. But Fiume… sounded little more than a little stream going slightly downhill. It was truly fascinating.

After a few hours of climbing, they arrived on what seemed like an unnatural platform. The walls were completely straight and the ground was flat. Someone had made this place, Ivy soon concluded, and Ivy already knew where they were now.
“Hikary… I don’t think we can move on this way.” She said to her sister, who had already curiously walked a few steps on the platform.

“Why not?” Hikary asked.
 “Aline… she told me about this place. You know she once was here, right, with Twinkle Star? Ahead lies… what she called the unicorn sanctuary. None can enter unless you have both a pendant of the royal family and an heir of Daiya with you, to activate the door. Well, they ended up being lucky as Aline might not be a unicorn, she is from the Daiya house. But I’m not… and neither are you. And neither of us have a pendant.”

Ivy could see her sister thinking this over for a moment.
Then, Hikary turned around and faced the water. “well, then we must go another way.” She stated.
 Realizing what Hikary meant, Ivy gasped. “Are you mad? We can’t cross the river here! Do you not see how fast the water is flowing? We’ll totally be swept away by the water and die falling!” Ivy said as she stared at the water falling down in front of her.

“I don’t think so.” Hikary said.
Her sister walked up to the river and put her hoof in it. She closed her eyes for a few moments, and then got up and carefully set a foot in the water. Ivy squeezed her eyes closed, not wanting to see her sister being swept away by the force of the water.
“It’s okay, Ivy!” her sister yelled, and Ivy slowly opened one eye. She was amazed as she saw her sister standing in the river. The water did not seem to flow slower, but for some other reason the force of it did not touch Hikary.

“Come on, we can cross! The ground is pretty stable here. The platform extends all the way to the other side, so you won’t slip or trip, either.” Hikary tried to assure her.
Still, even while seeing her sister stand there, and even while hearing her sister’s reassuring words, Ivy felt her heart pound while she set her first hoof in the water. Completely expecting to be swept away, Ivy was amazed to realize that it did not feel like that at all.

Just like how the water sounded like a little stream going slightly downhill, so it felt. It was not as if Ivy did not feel the water at all, for she definitely felt it soft touch on her legs, cleaning her hoofs. But it was soft and gentle, not strong and devastating.
“Woah, this is amazing!” Ivy exclaimed, as she walked further in.
“Isn’t it? Now, let’s walk on.” Hikary said, and Ivy followed her sister across the river.
The ground was, like Hikary had said, indeed very flat still, as if the river had barely touched it. Well, it probably hadn’t. The river was quite broad, and it took them a few minutes to reach the other side.

There, the platform was still in existence, like it was on the other side of the river. However, the walls here were a lot less steep, and it even looked like they could climb up here.
“What are we going to do? Follow this road or climb up?” Ivy asked, while they both sat down to drink a bit.
“I don’t know, Ivy. I would love to take the easy way and follow the road, but I am afraid it will not lead us to our destination. This road once led to the unicorn sanctuary, after all. I do not see why it would bring us to the origin of the river. So, I’d say, we continue climbing. I know this looks harder than any we have climbed so far, but I do not think it will be long. We’re over halfway there, by the look of things. Are you up for it?”

Ivy stared at the mountain above her. Yes, it would be hard to climb that. Even though the wall here looks like it was broken, and therefore easier to climb, it was a lot steeper than they had to climb so far. However, Hikary’s words made sense. That road would not lead them to their destination, and most likely, it would bring them down rather than up. So, Ivy decided, they would have very little choice.

“Okay. Let’s climb up, then.” She agreed.
They finished their water and when their bags were closed again, they began their climb once more. While Ivy struggled to lift herself, she thought of her younger sister Fleur, who was guarding her castle, and minding her duties as steward, until Ivy had gotten back. Was she doing okay? She had hoped to give her sister something to do so she would feel more useful. Hopefully, it had worked, but Ivy was also worried if her sister would do a proper job. Well, she thought as she held on to the rock, that was nothing she could change now. She was here now, so close to the place she was born, looking for a stone out of a prophecy she had never heard herself.