The impossible task

Taira could not open her eyes, because the wind would surely cut them out. Not for the first time, she cursed the one who had decided the far north would be an excellent place for a stone. Snow had piled up on her clothes and the weight did not make their travels easier. The roads had disappeared long ago, but still they carried on, for her daughter was certain the stone was even further north.

They had set out from Kise two weeks ago. The first five days, they had travelled in relative luxury. Yuuro had gotten his royal seal, so they could sleep in inns for free and get proper food. Plus, the roads were properly maintained and it was relatively warm, at least compared to this freezing cold.

It had been quite interesting to see all the different parts of Kin. Surely, the country was made of stone more than anything else; there were no forests and no fields. There were trees all right; evergreens scattered between the rocks and on the slopes of hills. Plants grew there also, and moss, but the kind of vegetables and fruit they produced was quite different from what Taira was used to. Taira began to understand why Kin depended on trade so much; their soil was simply not capable of providing enough food for its inhabitants.

Its villages and towns were, not surprisingly, made out of stone. Where in Kise most houses were partially made of stone and partially made of wood, out in the countryside wood was so scarce the entire houses were made out of stone. It was readily available and provided better isolation against the continuing cold.

The more north they went, the colder it got. Slowly the trees and plants gave away to cold plains and everlasting snow. Five days ago, Yuuro had announced they had officially left the country of Kin. They had continued to move west more and three days ago they met the breach, slightly south of where the old bridge had been. They had moved north from there, following the breach closely as much as the terrain allowed them.

Yesterday, finally, they had met the bridge Ruki had once crossed, where she claimed she had felt the pull of the stone strongest. They had stopped there, hoping they had gone north enough. Crawling close to the treacherous ledge, Ruki said she could feel the pull of the stone… but she was convinced they had to move even further north.
“It’s not here.” She had said. “We are close, but it’s not here. It’s further north.”

How much further, Ruki had not been able to say. She had never gone much further north either, so she didn’t know how it would feel if the pull would be stronger. They had spend the night in a cave Ruki knew from her past visit, which gave them nice shelter and they were able to get a fire going, so for the first time in what felt like ages Taira had felt truly warm again.

And now, here they were, following the breach ever north into the wastes of the world, where nothing lived and nothing grew. If something should happen to them, they would be lost forever; there was no one here to help them. They were on their own. Every once in a while, Ruki approached the breach to feel if they still had to keep going. So far, Ruki had made them go further and further.

After an hour or two the storm had calmed down. The clouds passed by, revealing the dark sky. So very little stars were left now… Not even fifty, if her count the night before had been correct. The moon shone as bright as ever, though, so she could see where to put her hoofs. Not that it mattered- there was nothing besides snow.

Taira glanced at the others; everyone looked so silly in the clothes Katine had given to them. Their green cloaks covered their entire body and were extremely thick; they kept them warm properly even in the coldest of storms. Their necks were covered by large thick scarves, and their heads were covered by hats that even kept their ears warm, making hearing a bit hard sometimes. Finally, their legs were covered by leg warmers, which had made walking difficult in the beginning, but Taira was thankful for them nonetheless; she did not like to think what this wind and snow would do to her legs otherwise.

“We should check one last time.” Ruki urged.
“I agree. After that, we will have to set up a camp. It’s getting late.” Hikary added.
Taira was not a big fan of getting so close to the breach in the dark, but she had to admit there was barely any choice; the daylight hours were too few here in the north to check regularly. Night reigned here.

The four of them once again approached the breach, which was about a hundred meters away from where they were walking. Its location was obvious; the gap in the blanket of snow could barely be missed. They only stayed so far away because the ground underneath the snow could be treacherous, and they didn’t want to risk anyone falling in.

The breach was growing smaller rapidly, Taira noticed as they got closer. She could see the other side so clear now. Compared to the big gap they had crossed in the south, this was only a small crack in the earth. She silently wondered how small it would get even further north; would they be able to jump across? For now, obviously, they couldn’t. But who knew what the north would bring; maybe it would completely close to continue underground only? She didn’t like going north too far, but she couldn’t help but admit she was curious.

“And?” Hikary asked.
“It’s… close.” Ruki whispered while stepping closer to the breach. It was only a few meters away now.
“Be careful dear.” Taira said, worried every time that something should happen to her daughter. She could not lose her again.
“I will… It’s just…” Ruki was close now, so close to the dark depth below them. “She’s calling me… she’s calling for help…”

“Ruki!” Taira yelled, suddenly aware that this was not normal.
 She jumped forward and held her daughter, stopping her from walking straight into the depths. The empty gaze in her daughter’s eyes was terrifying. How could something have such an influence on her girl when she couldn’t even feel it?
“Ruki, stop!” She yelled before Yuuro or Hikary had noticed what was going on.
“It’s so close… a little bit further north…” Ruki said, trying to move on.
 “I know. But you can’t go down here!”

“Look!” Yuuro yelled suddenly. “Over there!”
Still holding her daughter, Taira looked up. She hadn’t even noticed how bright it had become. She looked up and noticed the entire sky had turned purple which was slowly fading into mint green. A large curtain of light hung slightly north of them, making everything so bright Taira could have read a book.

“The aurora…” Taira whispered. And then she felt it. The faint but unmistakable cry for help, the pull on her mind… as if someone was trying to reach out to her. It was so faint and so far away, but it was there none the less. An irresistible voice crying for help.
“This is…” She looked at Hikary and Yuuro, but neither of them seemed to feel anything; they were just staring at the beautiful aurora ahead of them.

“It’s there… at the base of the aurora, is it not?” Taira asked her daughter. Ruki looked up, her muscles finally relaxing.
“Y… you can feel it too now?” Ruki asked, stunned.
“Yes… I think so. As if someone is pulling on me, begging me to come help her. It’s very, very faint though.” Taira admitted, suddenly doubting if they really felt the same thing.
“I… I’m happy you can feel it too. Her desperation… I don’t think I could have endured it on my own much longer.” Ruki whispered softly enough so the others wouldn’t hear.
“She’s so… alone. So desperate. So strong. This stone alone feels so much stronger… so different from the other three combined back at home.”

“I’ve never felt anything like this before. Not even at home from the other stones.” Taira said.
“It’s so… sad.”
 “We must help, mom.” Ruki said. “It’s the stone, I know it is. Only you and I can feel it… I don’t know why, but…” Ruki stammered.
“Maybe it is because our powers are strongest… because only we are able to detect it. It’s calling to our minds… Maybe it can not communicate in any other way. The other stones, whenever they communicated with Hikary it was like this also.” Taira guessed.

“That could be… maybe this is how they talk. Through their minds only.” Ruki sighed as she sat down in the snow. “Do you think they are alive then?”
"I…” Taira had never thought of it that way. She knew the stones had talked to her sister, but somehow she had never seen them as actually being alive.
“I don’t know. Maybe we will find out once we have all five. Maybe Twinkle Star will be able to tell.” Taira whispered so that Yuuro and Hikary could not hear.

“Yea… maybe.” Ruki said, gazing at the darkness inside the breach. “We’ll reach it tomorrow, I think. It can’t be much further.” She added.
“Then we should find a place to rest now. We can’t just keep going on. We’re all tired. Let’s move away from here and find a place to set up camp.” Taira smiled. Tomorrow… their journey north would be over.

“So you’re really going.” Fleur sighed, glancing at Ivy’s backpack. Ivy had known Fleur would not be particularly happy about it, but she still didn’t like it.
“Yes. I’m really going. Tomorrow morning, I’m gone.” Ivy answered, slightly annoyed. Why didn’t her sister just understand how important it was to her? She had told her over and over she would go… but still, Fleur was annoyed.

“Look, Ivy, it’s not that I mind… you know I don’t. I think I can understand why it is so important for you to go to Batafurai one last time, before they take the stone away. You like it there so much, and that butterfly there is your best friend. I understand. But why the secrecy? Why didn’t you just go with Taira and the others when they left a month ago? Why won’t you tell mom personally?” Fleur asked.

“Because…” Ivy sighed and fell back in her chair. Their living room, which used to be her mother’s old bedroom, suddenly felt very small. “Because, if I went with them, I would first have to go all the way to the north. I’d only be in their way. I want to have some time there, alone, before it disappears forever. It’s not that I didn’t want to go with them, but… this is something I need to do on my own.”

Fleur sighed deeply, sitting down also. “It must be a magical place then, if you feel so strong about it.”
“It… it truly is. I wish you could see it also, Fleur, before it disappears forever.” Ivy said softly.
“I know. I wish I could, too. But my place is here. Someone needs to take care of this country while you’re gone, Ivy, and you know mother won’t be able to do it alone. She’s growing old.”

“I know.” Ivy answered.
The last time she had met her mother she had looked ten years older. Worries over the future, the stones, and ruling a country that grew bigger every year… Her mother was growing older, and she had already been through so very much. Ivy was happy Aline and her were able to help out with the more local problems. Reflecting on what she had anticipated her tasks would be as a queen when she was smaller, Ivy couldn’t help but think her current job was not that much different.

Helping ponies make decisions, solve quarrels, deciding where houses could be build, organizing events… those were all her tasks now, but once that had been the only thing her mother had been doing. Maybe those were not the tasks of a queen after all… But Ivy was none the less happy that they were hers now.

But all of that had to be put aside for now. Tomorrow, she would travel to Batafurai alone, and she desperately hoped she remembered the way. She didn’t like leaving everything behind for so long, but she knew she’d never be able to forgive herself if she didn’t go. Whatever her family was up to in the north, she had to go to Batafurai… to see her friend Sindo one last time, and say goodbye before it was too late.