Ivy and Sindo

The island looked just like it had before; a purple hill of trees and prana, visible only by those who really wanted to go there and who the island allowed to visit. Ivy slowly rowed the boat to the shore, all the while painfully aware that this would be the last time she would see this scenery. She wondered if the others would be here yet. By the look of things, the stone was still there… but that didn’t have to mean anything.

She tied the boat to the shore when she arrived, and climbed out, pulling her luggage with her. It was so silent… had it always been this silent here? Ivy heard no birds, no animals, there wasn’t even a gust of wind to make the trees sing. She couldn’t remember if it had been like this. Why couldn’t she remember? She had been here so often, and she remembered so much… sometimes, back in the Friendship Lands, she wished she didn’t remember this much.

She wished she would not remember the lovely smell of the flowers, or the happy chatter of the butterflies, or the prana glowing all over the island, or the beautiful mansion that seemed to fit in the environment so well you sometimes didn’t even notice it. She wished she wouldn’t remember all of this because it would soon all dissapear and her memories would make forgetting it so very difficult.

Ivy slowly walked over the hidden path that led her to the heart of the island. Beyond the trees the mansion was waiting for her, she knew. The mansion, the butterflies… the stone. And Fjaril, who now lived here all alone. He had never even met his youngest daughter Frika, Ivy realized once again. He had never left the island. And now soon, there would be no place left to protect. The thought made her shudder.

Ivy stepped into the purple fields, once again gasping at the beauty of the place. So peaceful, so gorgeous, so… alive. The only place in the world where prana still flowed this freely, unchecked, untapped. Unlike the kind in the West who used prana as he so wishes, Fjaril never used the prana of the island, and neither did nor could the butterflies, which meant the prana was mainly untouched and uncontrolled, the main reason this island was so special and the flow of the prana so strong.

“Ivy!” a familiar voice exclaimed.
Ivy did not have to look to recognize her brightly coloured butterfly friend Sindo.
“Hello there, Sindo!” She smiled, happy to see him.
“How have you been? Are you alone? You could have send us a message you were coming!” He said as he fluttered around her head.

“I know, I should have. I’m sorry, Sindo. I just left rather suddenly so I never had time to do so. But here I am. I take it my family is not here yet?” She asked the butterfly as they continued down the path.
“Are they not with you? I thought you would all come together.” Sindo replied.
“No. They had something to do first, so I went separately. They will be here soon though, I think.” Ivy said.

“Ah… we received Taira’s letter a while back. They are… going to take the stone, are they not?” Sindo asked. “Yes. They say it is time. Apparently they are now on their way to get the last stone. Apparently Ruki knew where it was.” Ivy replied. When she mentioned her niece’s name, Sindo gazed over the valley.

“So Ruki is coming back?” He asked at last.
“Yes. I think so.” A smile appeared on Sindo’s little face.
“I’m glad to hear that. I never thought I would see the princess’ face once more, before the end…” And once again, Ivy was hit by the reality of why she was there. The end… this entire island would cease to exist the way it did now.

“I do not know when though. To be honest, I thought they would have been here by now.” Ivy felt the soft stone under her hooves, the evenness she had not felt anywhere else. The perfect mansion loomed above her, inviting her in as she climbed up the hill with her butterfly friend flying silently beside her.

“Ivy!” Fjaril exclaimed as he rushed down the hill to greet her. The king of Batafurai looked as healthy and strong as ever.
“Hello, Fjaril. It's good to see you.” Ivy greeted him.
“It's good to see you, too! Did you have a good trip? Is your family...”
“They're not with me.” Ivy interrupted him. Best to take his hopes away quickly to reduce the pain. “I came alone. Taira, Hikary and Ruki went to the north first.”

“The north?” Fjaril asked, confirming Ivy's suspicion that Taira's letter had never reached him. She wasn't surprised; mail between the east and the west was scarce, so the mailpony only crossed the breach if he had enough letters. Or it would simply gotten lost in the mail; that happened regularly as well.

“Yes, the north. Ruki had discovered that the last stone was somewhere in the north... so they set out to find it. They would come here after. They left a good while before me though; I am sure they will arrive here sooner rather than later.” Ivy tried to sound convincing, but she was not sure if it worked. Fjaril was obviously disappointed. He longed to see her sister, Ivy realized, and he wanted to see his daughter again after so many years.

“I see. Please, come inside. I will make you some fresh juice. After that, please tell me all about this.” Fjaril offered. Ivy gladly agreed, realizing it had been weeks since she had anything else but water to drink. Fresh juice from Batafurai certainly was the best drink in the world with it's strong flavour and sweet taste.

Ivy had finished her third glass of juice when she was done telling her story. There were so many gaps still, she had noticed while she had told everything that had happened over the past few months. There was so much she did not know. Why didn't she know more? Had no one ever bothered to tell her, or had she simply not listened and asked? She didn't even know the answer to that.

“So... my daughter was convinced the stone was in the north somewhere near the breach?” Fjaril asked, putting his half empty glass aside.
“Yes.”
“And you said that when you crossed the Breach yourself, pieces of the wall were breaking off, falling down into the Breach itself?”
“Yes, and the local ponies were terrified by this. I saw it happen, it was... unnerving.”

“The Breach is dead.” Fjaril stated bluntly.
“Dead?” Ivy gasped, putting down her glass as well.
“Yes, dead. A few weeks ago... I felt a shift in the prana. Even here on the island, so far away from the breach... it's slowly slipping away. The breach is dead. A gap in the earth it may be, but it will never again function the way it did before.”

“You can feel it here?” Ivy asked amazed. She had always thought the island was completely secluded from the outside world; surely, as long as the stone was here, it could not be touched by anything coming from the outside world?
“Yes, I can feel it here. The prana here... the stone protects it, holds it here, prevents it from slowly dripping away into the outside world.

But even the stone has it's limits, and I fear we are facing those now. The Breach was more powerful then we are able to comprehend, Ivy. It not only kept prana here and your powers in the east, it not only was the physical barrier between the east and the west... it was also something more. Something that held the balance of power in this world. I don't understand it completely myself, and I am convinced I never will. But I can feel it... the prana is slowly dripping away.”

“You mean...”
“Batafurai is dying. Yes, that is what I mean. Even if your family would never need the stone of flowers... Batafurai would die. Maybe not this year, maybe not in the next ten years... but at some point not enough prana will be left to sustain this island the way it is now. Even if the stone remains here... like the Breach, Batafurai will die.”

The flames danced like dancers at the midsummer festival, swirling and twirling passionately, embracing each other with warmth and movement only to let go a moment later. Passionately they grew ever taller as she fed them more wood. The dark night sky loomed over her as Ivy tried to make out which part of the flame was fire and which part was prana. On this island, prana was everywhere; even inside the flames that could destroy everything else without a moment's hesitation.

“Aren't you tired?” Ivy did not have to look up from the flames to recognize Sindo.
“Nah. What Fjaril told me earlier... it keeps spinning in my head.” Sindo landed next to her.
“Yes... I understand what you feel. I can feel it too, you know. The prana... it is so little, but it is slipping away, one drop at a time, until one day there will be nothing left. No matter what you do now... this island is doomed, and so am I.”

Ivy needed no reminder of how her friend's life was tied to the island. “So how are things in the Friendship Lands? Do you still enjoy being the steward?” Sindo asked in an obvious attempt to lighten up her mood.
“Oh, yes... it is a lovely job. I meet so many wonderful ponies, but it is hard work sometimes too. Thankfully my sister Fleur is there for me usually... she is such a wonderful person. I wouldn't know what to do without her.” Even now, Fleur was at home, taking care of her work for her, so that she could be here.

“I would like to see it, you know.” Sindo admitted.
“See what?” Ivy asked, even though she knew the painful answer.
“The Friendship Lands. The world you live in; I would meet your family you told about, see the spring valley you love so much, adore the little castle you live in. But I'm locked up here in this beautiful cage; I can not go out, for I would die. Maybe I should, so that my death would at least be my own choice.”

“Don't be ridiculous, Sindo. You can't do that.” Ivy said, almost offended.
“I know. I can't. I shouldn't. But...” Sindo took a deep breath as the lovely butterfly was momentarily enchanted by the flames of the fire in front of him.
“Isn't it worse to be locked up here in this wonderful place which I love so much but which I can not escape, forced to await the day it will no longer be able to sustain my life?”

“Yes. I suppose you're right.” Ivy could not deny it. As they sat silently watching the flames of the fire she and Fjaril had build earlier that evening so that they could still sit outside without getting too cold, Ivy had to admit she had no idea how Sindo felt. She loved this island, yes, and she was so very sad to see it disappear; her friend knew he would disappear with it.

“I'll miss you Sindo. I'll miss you so much. The thought of not being able to visit you any more is just... unbearable.” Ivy couldn't recall when she started crying, but the tears were there all the same. Sindo didn't say anything, because they both knew there was nothing left to say. He fluttered on top of her shoulder and sat down there as he had done earlier during the nights in which they talked so often about nothing and everything at once.

The heat of the flames dried her tears quickly, but that did not stop them from coming. This distant island which she had not even known until a few years ago had become her second home, a place where she could be herself without any duties or any roles she had to play. And soon her family would be here and take it all away from her. And there was nothing she could do to stop them; indeed, she knew in her heart they had no choice.

“It's not fair...” she whispered as she lay down. She did not recall anyone putting a blanket over her, but when she woke up the next morning the fire had died out and she was covered by a warm blanket. Sindo was nowhere to be found, and neither was Fjaril. To her eyes, the prana shone as bright as ever, covering the entire island in a purple glow. The view made her feel as if the fire of last night was now burning inside her.

As she got up, Ivy felt refreshed. She folded the blanket and walked inside the mansion to get something to drink. It would all disappear; that thought would not leave her head any time soon. But it would not do to sit around and sulk, she thought as she gazed over the valley through the kitchen window. This might be her last visit; she would enjoy it to the fullest, together with Sindo.