The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Equestrian

The room was perfectly dark when Starlight finally woke. Due to the covers tightly draped over the windows, she couldn't see if the sun had risen, though a sense she'd gained through her mountainous trek told her it was still pre-dawn. It didn't feel like pre-dawn. The air was warm around her, and another body slumbered close beside.

Her senses and memories returned much faster this time: this was a town where ponies could never get cutie marks and no one would care, and this was her new home. The mare nearby was her... caretaker? Starlight wasn't sure what their relationship was, other than that Maple was trying, so she would have to, too.

But for then, Maple was sound asleep. Starlight was hesitant to get up and go about her business, both for fear of waking the mare and because she had no idea exactly what her business would be. But falling back asleep was out of the question; as hard as she had pushed herself recently, there was only so much rest her body could take. She had to get up. She had to do something.

She could always test her magic, of course. Maybe it was working again? She hadn't tried the night before, and it had been too soon before that... and she couldn't have taxed it that hard. Concentrating, she dragged her horn back into her awareness and forced energy toward it, bidding it to light up.

It did... with a shower of teal sparks and a stab of pain. "Ow!" she grunted, immediately stopping and wrapping a hoof around her head.

Behind her, Maple stirred. "Nnguh? Wuzzwrong?"

Starlight cringed; she hadn't meant to wake her host. "Sorry! Nothing," she hissed. "I'm fine. Go back to sleep."

"Starlight?" Maple's head rose, in the middle of a giant yawn. "Nnmph... is it morning already?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Starlight curled back up, drawing away. "I didn't mean to wake you!"

Maple yawned again. "No, I... usually don't sleep in. You must... be wide awake though, right?"

Starlight held still, not saying anything.

"Two minutes," Maple muttered. "Just..." She flopped back down, facing away from Starlight, and resumed her slow, steady breathing.

Stifling a sigh, Starlight relaxed too. Waking her host up in the middle of the night wouldn't be a good way to get off on the right hoof at all. Hopefully Maple was asleep enough that she wouldn't remember it in the morning, or would think it was a dream.

Just as Starlight finished purging her worry and started setting her train of thought on a more interesting track, though, Maple snuffled and sat up. "All right," she said, blinking. "That'll do it. I'm awake now."

Starlight folded her ears. "I didn't mean to wake you up..."

"Oh, stop apologizing," Maple chided. "I told you, I'm an early riser. Now, what time is... hmm."

"Huh?" Starlight tilted her head.

"About an hour left until sunrise," Maple softly proclaimed, staring intently at the gray light leaking through the window coverings. "Well?" She turned to look at Starlight in the darkness. "Since we turned in early last night, would you like to talk about anything now?"

Starlight shrugged.

"Hmm..." Maple looked upwards, wracking her brain. "I'm curious where you're from. We thought for sure it would be Sosa, but you sounded surprised when we mentioned that last night. Would you like to tell me that?"

"I..." Starlight looked down, conflicted.

"Oh... well, if not, let's see..." Maple's eyes lit up with another idea. "I could tell you about where we are right now! Of course, I have no idea what you already know, so..."

Starlight gulped, feeling herself pushed toward a decision. "If I tell you where I'm from..." She fought back the clamminess that came with doing or saying something irrefutably bad and harmful to one's reputation. "Will you promise to keep it a secret? And tell nopony else?"

"Even Willow and Amber?" Maple gave her a concerned look.

"Not yet? Please?" Starlight didn't mistrust Willow, but she barely knew anything about the yellow mare and didn't want to sound like she was picking favorites. "I just... well..."

"All right. I promise." Maple edged closer, leaning in politely.

Starlight sighed, and relented. "Okay. I'm from the south."

"The south?" Maple's brow scrunched. "But there's nothing to the south. If you follow that river we found you on for about thirty miles, you reach a cliff that's so tall, we call it the edge of the world! It's higher than even pegasi can fly. Ones who try really hard sometimes make it, but when they come back down, they say there's just more and more above it... or they never come back at all."

"I fell off that cliff," Starlight muttered, hanging her head. "If I'd been able to get down the proper way, I wouldn't have needed saving."

"You... fell off?" Maple blinked in confusion. "But how did you get up there? Even pegasi and griffons have trouble! You can't even fly!"

"I told you," Starlight stubbornly answered, "I didn't. I went the other way. From the south."

"But... that's impossible..." Maple's jaw was hanging. "Those mountains are supposed to go on forever! There's nothing beyond them!"

Starlight stuck out her lip. "Yeah there is. It's called Equestria. And there, everyone has to get a cutie mark when they're young, and they all thought there was nothing to the north of the mountains. So there."

Maple blinked again, eventually managing, "...Are you sure?"

Starlight was about to roll her eyes when she remembered Willow's request to be nice. "Mhmm."

"Woah."

Now it was Starlight's turn to blink. "You believe me? Just like that?"

"Well, it explains why you were so confused earlier," Maple breathed. "If that's true, you must have come from a completely different culture. Maybe even different magic! You would have had to, if you could find a way to get that many ponies branded!"

"Yeah." Starlight's mood darkened. "I don't miss it."

"Oh?" Maple's ears folded slightly. "Now I'm even more curious. Something big must have happened to you to take your chances with a supposedly infinite mountain range..."

"You could say that," Starlight muttered.

Maple drew closer, laying a hoof around Starlight's shoulders. "Can you tell me about that?"

Starlight looked up, eyes wide. "So it doesn't matter that I'm from Equestria? You don't care?"

"I think it's exciting," Maple offered hesitantly, acting like she was wary of a trap. "I've always loved stories of far-off lands. And I bet most of the ponies here do, too. You could get super famous if you told everyone..."

"No!" Starlight pulled back, alarmed. "I don't want to be famous! I'm just an ordinary pony!"

Maple looked hurt. "You don't? I think it would be fun..."

"No," Starlight pouted, slowly allowing Maple to re-hug her. "All I want is for everyone not to treat me differently for some dumb bit of magic I can't control and would be stuck with for life, or because I refuse to get one."

"Will you tell me why?" Maple gently asked, pulling her closer.

Starlight looked at the window coverings, and they were still unlit and gray. "Well..." She had come this far. She might as well tell Maple everything. "Okay."

Comments

[Hap]

The adorableness continues.

[alamais]

Just as Starlight finished purging her worry and started setting her train of thought on a more interesting track, though, Maple snuffled and sat up. "All right," she said, blinking. "That'll do it. I'm awake now."

Welp, I hate Maple. My 'two more minutes' inevitably turns into three more hours. Friggin' morning people.

[FloydienSlip]

Does she still have Sosa's journal, or was that lost in the fall?

[Czar_Yoshi]

8304588 Still has it.

[Texus]

The mare nearby was her... caretaker? Starlight wasn't sure what their relationship was, other than that Maple was trying, so she would have to, too.

I'm going to try not to juge to soon, but I kind of hope you milked it a bit for what it's worth I mean, with maybe Starlight having problems to get along with her.

Now I hope they let her her opinion and Starlight isn't just accepting it if Marble should say "of course it's alright to get a Cutiemark or something like that.

[PropMaster]

Maple is an absolute sweetheart. <3

GRDC: 3

[AppleTank]

ayy

[Merula]

Glimmy is starting to open up. Maybe now we can learn what happened

[Walrusesarecute]

Starlight looked at the window coverings, and they were still unlit and gray. "Well..." She had come this far. She might as well tell Maple everything. "Okay."

Ok, so is there some bomb shells of extra knowledge going to be given here?