The fourth stone

Ruki slipped through the darkness of the cellar like she had done the night before. This time, though, she was heading in another direction. It would not do to visit the unicorn again before she had fulfilled her promise to her. Last night, after her visit to the unicorn, she had slipped out of the castle and visited Takato, telling him everything the unicorn had told her. Together, they had come to the conclusion the unicorn had been part of the group the blue pony that had once followed her had also belonged to.

So, most likely, the ponies she was going to free now were the same ponies looking for her. She had objected to this at first, but Takato had insisted she’d do it anyway. After all, the rest of her message was so worrisome that he felt they had no other choice. Takato did not know much about the guardians either but he did remember his history lessons, in which was spoken of five powerful deities ruling the sky and the earth together, keeping them balanced.

If those stories were true, and assuming the unicorn had been correct Shanjahen definitely believed them to be true, then he had to be stopped at all costs. The unicorn’s family seemed to know more about this, so it was vital that they would be rescued out of Shanjahen’s clutches.

Ruki pulled her black cloak tighter around her body. Even in the middle of summer, the dark cellar was cold. She pulled the hood over her head and hugged the bag she was carrying tightly. It held five stones Takato had been working on. If they worked properly, ponies carrying them would not be detected by prana. However, Takato was not sure they would work and he was certain they would not last very long, so Ruki had to make haste. The ponies had to leave the castle grounds by morning or the stones would lose their powers completely. Ruki was praying they worked in the first place; they had not been tested.

Takato had explained to her where the prison cells in the cellars were. There were three in total, and obviously one was ruled out as that was where the unicorn was, so that left Ruki with two options. One of these was heavily guarded by prana, and Takato advised against checking that one unless she had no other choice. Even as a child the force there had frightened him. So she would go to the other prison cells first.

Takato had properly explained her how to get there, but down here in the darkness of the cellar it was extremely difficult to find her way. She knew she had to find a door on her right about now that would lead her to the next hallway, but all she felt was brick wall. It took her ages to find the door, and she finally found it in a place she was sure she had already covered before.

Slowly, Ruki made her way through the cellar. It truly was a maze; Ruki was curious what all this space was for, but as she had to pass through everything in total darkness she couldn’t figure it out. Finally, she reached a hallway where she could see light at the end; she soon realized it was light that came through a window in the door. She must be getting close, she thought, assuming she had been going in the correct direction.

She walked to the window, and peeked through it. The next hallway was lit with a few torches, much like the hallway the unicorn was kept in. Once again, there were no guards in here; they were probably guarding the door on the other side. Ruki opened the door carefully. There were several doors here, but she saw only light behind one of them. They must be there, she thought. Carefully she approached the door, and peeked in through the little window. She saw three ponies; one was lying on the cold floor on a dirty blanket, and two others were sitting against the wall. In the centre of the room stood a large candle that was about to die out.

Ruki instantly recognized the blue pony, sitting against the wall. It was the pony that had chased her in the city. Now that she could see her properly though, the pony did not look evil or otherwise harmful. The other pony sitting against the wall was a boy, she saw; His dusty coat was purple and his messy mane was blue. She did not recognize him.

Her gaze shifted towards the pony on the floor. The pony was golden and her coat seemed to radiate in the candle light. It did not take long for Ruki to recognize this pony, even though she had seen her so long ago for the last time. Ruki had never thought to see her mother again, and definitely not in this way. Still, here she was, locked up in a dungeon. Ruki’s heart was raging in her chest, filled up with questions and anger and happiness and sadness.

But somewhere, deep down, she knew it all had to wait. She was carrying Takato’s stones, and if they did not get out quickly, they would never get out and all might be lost. Ruki pulled over her hood more and hid her golden hair beneath her cloak. She took out her device and opened the door of the prison. The ponies instantly looked up.
 “No time for questions. If you want to get out, wear these,” Ruki handed them all one of the stones on a necklace, “and follow me quickly. We don’t have much time.”

“Who…” The blue pony said as she got up.
“No time. Later. Just follow me.” Ruki said.
She knew they had little time but she did not want to talk to them either. She handed them all a stone and once they wore them, she gestured them to follow her. When the first pony, the purple boy, walked through the door Ruki’s heart skipped a beat. If the stones would not work, the guards would come storming in instantly.

However, nothing happened. Everything remained silent.
“Good. Hurry.” Avoiding her mother’s gaze entirely, Ruki walked towards the other door and opened it.
“In here.” She said, and once the three ponies had entered the darkness, she followed and closed the door behind her. She led the three ponies through the cellar, hoping desperately she would find the proper way once more.

After half an hour, Ruki realized she was on the right track when she saw the light of the corridor coming through a door above them. She climbed up and peeked through the window. All was silent. Like before, the corridor was completely deserted.
“We need to be silent. Walk as fast as you can, as silent as you can, and follow my lead at all times. The door is not far away, but there might be ponies up still.” Ruki whispered before she opened the door.

“What time is it?” The blue pony asked.
“Deep in the night.” Ruki replied. She didn’t even know the precise time herself. All she knew was that it had been just past midnight when she had said goodbye to Takato.
“Let’s go.” She whispered.
She opened the door and the four ponies quickly walked onto the corridor. Ruki closed it again so they would not leave any traces, and they went on their way.

It was deep in the night and almost all ponies were asleep. They quickly entered the servant’s quarters. There were no guards here, and all servants who were still up were not in here. They had to remain silent though, so they would not wake anyone. She led the ponies to the kitchen and they quickly left the castle through the door Ruki had used before.

“Run, now.” She said once they were all outside and the door was locked again.
They trotted through the garden, towards the weak spot, and quickly emerged out on the street. Once there, Ruki could hardly believe they had made it out alive, without anyone noticing it. Still, it would not last long. The High King would soon find out his prisoners were no longer in their cell. They had to get off the street before that happened.

“Follow me. I will lead you to a safe place; it’s not safe for you here on the street.” Ruki said, and turned right away. In the moonlight, she could see her mother’s face more clearly, but she couldn’t bear to look at her. She did not look very well. Her legs were thin and her coat was dirty; her face looked sad. She detested this person who had turned her away so coldly; and yet she longed for her; she longed for the warmth she had once left her home for.

They had to move on to the headquarters of the Bond. They walked along the road, and it did not take long before they reached the door of the Bond’s house.

Taira followed the cloaked pony through the dark streets. She still could not believe what had just happened; they had escaped the cell of the High King. Who this pony was, she did not know. There was something strangely familiar about her, and yet the pony seemed cold and distant like a winter night. Taira took a deep breath; even the city air seemed fresh after so many days inside the cellar.

The cloaked pony entered the garden of a large mansion and Taira and the others followed. The mansion was dark, like all others; there was no light behind the windows and the dead stones stood in contrast with the purple glow of the mansion’s garden. The pony opened the door and they all followed in, relieved to be away from the open street. They heard noise and a moment later a pony appeared in front of them; a blue male, as far as Taira could see in the darkness.

She could see the cloaked pony nod. “The mission was a success. I will leave them up to you now, Takato; I would like to get some rest.” The cloaked pony said.
“Yes. Of course. I will see you tomorrow morning.” The male said with an unusual deep voice. The cloaked pony trotted up the stairs without taking off her cloak, and they were alone with the blue pony.

“Please, follow me.” He said to them, and they followed him into what appeared to be a living room.
The room was filled with maps, paperwork and books scattered over two large tables. Taira got the impression the room was well furnitured and decorated, but she could not be sure as there was no light except the faint moonlight that came in through the back windows. “Unfortunately I can not light any candles; I do not want to draw attention to the mansion. I did, however, make some fresh tea and I prepared some food. Please, take all you want.” He said, pointing at a big plate covered with fruit and sandwiches. A strange combination to be sure, but Taira and the others were so hungry they could not care less.

“While you eat, please let me explain. My name is Takato, and I am the heir to the throne of the High King. Please, do not be alarmed; me and my friends actually oppose my father. He did some horrible things in the past and we have reason to believe he is planning to commit his biggest crime yet. Therefore, we wish to remove my father from his throne before it is too late. It seems, however, that time is running out.”

“Yes, we gathered as much.” Hikary answered. “Please allow me to introduce ourselves. We are ponies from the east, and we came here on a mission. My name is Hikary, and these are Yuuro and my sister Taira. Taira and me are princesses, and like you Taira is the heir to a throne. We came here because we were send on a mission coming from the guardians themselves; we need to gather their five stones to summon them to save the earth from fading together with the heavens. As a prince, I have no doubt you have also noticed it; the fading of the stars.” Hikary summarized. Taira was surprised her sister entrusted all of this to a stranger. Usually she is so cautious; what made her trust this blue pony? Was it because they had no other choice but to believe him?

“I have. I believe your story, no matter how hard it is to believe. I am interested in hearing more, but please allow me to explain. The girl who rescued you had found your friend the unicorn before she found you; it was her who begged her to save you three first. She is being tortured and used by my father for his ultimate goal. It seemed strange to me at first, but after hearing your story it does so no more. It seems my father is following an old prophecy that he believes tells him to force out the guardians by breaking one of their stones. We believe he has this stone in his possession and is not far from actually attempting this.”

“What? The High King has a stone?” Hikary exclaimed, completely forgetting her food. Taira, too, could hardly believe what she heard. All this time, the fourth stone had been so close to them?
“It is what we believe, yes, but we have no proof. I only heard of this earlier today. Ruki has talked to the unicorn; she will…”
“Ruki?” Taira exclaimed.
“Yes… the girl who rescued you, Ruki.” Takato explained, not understanding Taira’s reaction.

It couldn’t be. The girl… Ruki. Taira dropped her apple and dashed out of the room and up the stairs. She saw a door was open, and ran into the room. A pony stood there, her golden coat illuminated in the moonlight that slipped into the room through the large open window. She turned her head, and Taira saw the eyes she thought she would never see again; the eyes of her golden daughter, Ruki.