The speech

Ruki slammed the door shut behind her, completely out of breath. She had managed to lose that pony, and make it home safely. Who was that? Ruki was so sure she had seen that pony before, once, a long, long time ago, and surely the pony recognized her too, or she wouldn’t have chased her all the way. But when, and where, she had seen that pony, she had absolutely no idea, for she did not recognize her at all.

“Ruki?” Ruki looked up and saw Takato standing in almost the exact same spot as he had been standing that morning, giving her the strange thought that he had not moved at all.
“Yea… it’s me.”
“Why are you back already? Where are the others?” Takato asked.
“I… was followed.” Ruki admitted.
Takato’s eyes grew big. “What? By who?”

“I don’t know.” Ruki shook her head.
 “A… a blue pony. Female. Older than me. I’ve… I dunno, I don’t think I ever saw her before, but somehow she looked strangely familiar.”
“A woman, eh…” Takato closed his eyes and sighed. “Then at least it’s not someone from my father’s guard. But Ruki, honestly, why did you run back here? Are you sure she didn’t follow you all the way here? It could have betrayed our hiding place.”

Ruki blinked at Takato, realizing that it was something that had not occurred to her in the slightest bit.
“I… I’m sorry…” She stammered.
“Well, it can’t be helped. Let’s just hope that she did not chase you all the way here, and that she had no evil intentions. Now, explain to me in detail what happened.” Ruki told Takato everything, and by the time she was almost done, the door of the house opened once more, revealing that Sakurako had also made it home.

“Oh, Ruki! Thank goodness you’re here! When you dashed off like that we didn’t know what to think!” She exclaimed as she hugged her friend.
After explaining the events once more to her friend, Sakurako, too, shook her head.
“I saw her too, that blue pony, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her before. She didn’t look familiar at all… in fact, she did not look as if she was a native of ZoroAster. But apart from that, I didn’t get a good look at all.” Sakurako had to admit.

“I don’t think she followed me all the way here.” Ruki said softly, closing her eyes.
“Let’s hope she didn’t, or our entire operation might be in danger.” Takato said. “Well, for now, we can at least say it’s no longer safe for you to go out, Ruki. I won’t allow you to go to the speech of my father tonight, and until we are sure the pony that chased you either means no harm or has left the city, you’re going to have to stay inside.”
 “But…” Ruki started, but Takato instantly interrupted him.
“No, Ruki. I mean what I say. It’s too dangerous, for you, and for all of us.”

Ruki wanted to protest, not only because she wanted to go to the speech and hear what Shanjahen had to say, but also because she was curious what this pony wanted from her. She wanted to go out again, find the pony and spy on her to discover what that pony’s business was. Surely if she was just a visitor to the fair she would not have chased Ruki so. Unfortunately, though, Ruki realized the sense in Takato’s words. If this pony had any bad intentions, it would be far too risky to let her be found again.
“Yea. Okay. I’ll stay, but promise me you’ll send ponies to find her. I want to know who it was, and especially why.” She made Takato promise.
“I will. But you have to realize we might never find her. You know how crowded the city is now. The odds of finding her are really, really low. But I promise you, I’ll have everyone keep their eyes open.” Takato promised.

Out of breath, Hikary stared out over the square. Ponies walked past her, annoyed at her because she was not moving, blocking her view. She had truly lost her… Ruki. Hikary didn’t really know if she was excited, relieved, annoyed, or desperate that she had both found and lost Ruki in about 15 minutes. But she was here. There was no mistake whatsoever. The resemblance to Taira was stunning. While both her coat and mane were a bit lighter, Ruki could be Taira’s twin. The golden girl, Ruki…

Realizing that she had no idea where to go and there were too many options, Hikary decided to backtrack and find her family. Should she tell them? On the one hand, Hikary knew she owed it to Taira to tell her this news. After all, Taira had wanted to see her daughter for so long… but on the other had, no matter how sure she was, she had no idea where Ruki was now, and finding her again in this crowded city would be quite impossible. Would it be okay to raise Taira’s hope with something they might never trace again?

As she walked, Hikary shook her head. She would find Ruki. Her sister’s daughter, her niece, the heir to her mother’s throne. How, she was not sure yet, but she would definitely find her before they left this city. She would have to discuss this with Yuuro, she decided. She had not told him who the girl was he had once seen in the library of Kin, but she knew he would understand if she explained.

Making her way through the crowded streets of ZoroAster, Hikary soon found her way back to where she had agreed to meet the others. They were sitting on two benches, enjoying the nice weather, waiting for her. Obviously, the concert had lasted shorter than her excursion and her chase through the city.

“Hello all. How was the concert?” She greeted them.
“It was wonderful! They mixed traditional music with more modern instruments. The music from the west is truly beautiful, Hikary, their instruments are so different from ours, probably because they’re made of wood and, well, prana flows into threes and such!” Hikary had never seen Stelline this enthusiastic before. She knew her sister loved music, but she had no idea she was so passionate about it. “I’m glad you all had a good time.” She smiled.

“How was the museum?” Yuuro asked.
“It was very interesting. I didn’t learn that much, due to the language problem, but I did gather some interesting information. They, once upon a time, worshipped the guardians here, along with the Supreme Goddess. I got the feeling those were linked together. I’ll tell you all about it later, but I think we should make our way to the main square now. The speech isn’t too far off, and if we want a proper place where we can hear everything properly, we should go now.”

Everyone agreed, and they soon made their way to the main street of ZoroAster. While maybe an hour had passed since Hikary had last been there, the place was already crowded with enthusiastic ponies. The stage in front of the castle gates was ready. They managed to find a good place where they would definitely hear Shanjahen properly, and where they were not too close to draw attention. Still, it would still take two hours for the speech to start.

To pass time Hikary explained what she had seen in the museum in detail, and Stelline went on about the concert. Still, the wait seemed to last forever, and Hikary was plagued by her thoughts of Ruki and her doubt whether she should share this or not. She knew now would not be the best time because she was certain Taira would dash off to find her, forgetting about the speech.

Still, after almost three hours of waiting, because as Taira pointed out a king appeared whenever he felt time was right and not whenever he was expected, the torches on the stage were lit, a sign that Shanjahen would appear soon. The crowd, which had grown so large Hikary could see neither the beginning nor the end, grew excited. Apparently this was the only time of the year where the High King showed himself in public like this, so naturally it was a special event.

After another thirty minutes or so, a man appeared on the stage. He was not the High King, Hikary could tell instantly, but probably a highly ranked official there to announce the High King. “Dear ponies,” he began, and Hikary was shocked to hear his voice come not only from the stage but from all around her. How did they do that?

“On behalf of the Asterian state I would like to welcome you all to the annual summer festival, and we all hope you enjoy the fair and our beautiful city to the fullest.” Hikary was too amazed by the sound to actually pay attention to the announcer’s words.
“The trees!” Yuuro said suddenly, and instantly Hikary understood. The announcer, obviously from royal birth and thus able to wield prana, used his link with the earth to make the prana of the trees reflect his words. Amazing.

“Very soon, the High King himself will speak to all of you. First, though I would like to announce a few things. First of all…”
“It’s truly amazing what they can do with prana. I dunno, it seems more convenient than our powers.” Taira whispered to her sister.
“Well, yea, it is amazing. I don’t think ours is less convenient… but maybe unlike us they didn’t forget how to wield it.” Hikary replied.

The announcer kept on talking for a few minutes explaining some things Hikary didn’t really care about, but finally, it was time for him to step aside to make place for the High King. As the announcer left the stage, it seemed to Hikary night instantly fell. The bright shining prana that had surrounded them for days now seemed to disappear and the fires on the stage seemed to dim as well.

A purple light appeared on the stage ,and even though she had no way to handle prana she could still feel the immense force the pony emitted. Shanjahen, High King of Zoroaster… she could barely see his features for all the prana of ZoroAster seemed to float around his body, making him shine as bright as a star in the night sky, or whatever was left of those. Hikary felt she was truly incapable of grasping the sheer power Shanjahen displayed here, even though she was sure he just did it to impress his subjects.

“My dear, fellow ponies,” Shanjahen started, and his voice boomed through the city.
While the prana no longer glowed on the trees, it somehow still channeled his voice to every corner of ZoroAster. Hikary now realized sitting this close didn’t make a difference; if they’d been at the gate they would have heard Shanjahen just as well.

“My thanks to you for coming to ZoroAster for yet another unforgettable summer fair. My speech, this year, will be slightly different from what you are used to, for I have a special announcement to make this year.” Hikary’s heart skipped a beat. So they were right all along…. There was something special going on. And Shanjahen definitely did not want to delay whatever he was going to say.

“I will not repeat the formalities I have been making last year, and every year before that, because I am sure you all are well aware of what they contain. As you all know, some months ago a new law has been enforced, first in ZoroAster alone, and then all over Asterian. I am well aware this law did not sit well with some of you, but it was only necessary.

Very soon, some new laws will be enforced on the country. The day after the fair, the first of these will go into effect, which will contain that all ponies of the nobility will need to hand in a copy of their family trees to the royal house. Other laws will be announced soon. Please keep in mind these laws are absolutely necessary.

I will also announce a Royal Order. If any pony, be he from Asterian or another kingdom in the west, has a unicorn somewhere in his lineage that he is aware of, he is to report to the royal office immediately. Disobedience will be punished accordingly.”
Hikary stared blankly at Taira, who had turned completely pale. She knew they were both thinking the same thing. Shanjahen needed a unicorn, and Stelline was their key into his castle.