Princess Luna: I sensed an uneasiness in Parcly as she fell asleep, longing for a reconnection with her roots. Her dam is a Scottish highlander, but her sire is Chinese; she has kept the latter’s practices close, even through an untimely separation and her ascent into royalty. I whispered in her mind, sparking the insecurity into a desire…
 
Parcly: So when I went travelling my first stop was the temple at Haedong Yonggung. Even a genie makes wishes of their own sometimes, and I prayed for confidence in myself and what I did, that I would be a beacon for others just as Luna is a beacon to me.
 
Spindle: Then again, these temples are very common not just in South Korea, but in Japan and China too. They share parts of their languages, have similar quirks in their cultures and have invaded each other at one point or another.
 
Parcly: Deep philosophical and personal questions lingered within, even as I trotted away. What type of creature am I? Are Celestia and Luna movers of the universe or mere role-players? What would it feel like to be non-existent? I tried not to answer them, even as they pounded at my conscience - true knowledge always has connections.
 
Spindle: We came across a vaguely Mediterranean plaza nearby, again with classy outlets next to idiosyncratic stalls. Parcly wasn’t fooled or mesmerised and darted straight to the food court for lunch. However, she did explore afterwards while having a chuckle at its decorations, for Hearth’s Warming was on its way.
 
Parcly: Pretzels and candy canes were on display, but I had better things to savour: my birthday three weeks prior to Hearth’s Warming (the day after Twilight’s) and the Busan Museum of Art where a Photo Finish exhibition was in full swing. Her bandwagon paintings shared the same avant-garde feel with my own, but the subjects were diametrically opposite and sometimes in disconcerting colour, which pushed me to the brink of vomiting rainbows.
 
Spindle: Tired after that eye-popping barrage, Parcly took a power nap (after full nightfall), then had for dinner what all the stallions of South Korea’s palace paladins eat: a hot pot filled with radishes, rice cakes, cornflowers and the like. She had to ask for the spices to be removed, though - she can’t tolerate more than a morsel of them.
 
Parcly: Finally, to top off my stint in Busan I went to the Hearth’s Warming celebrations in the shopping belt I had visited the day before. Now this was a true harmony of sights and sounds, something I could carry in my heart to the capital of the country the next day.