The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

In The Morning Sun

Valey felt like the only pony awake aboard the Immortal Dream by the time the sun rose. As much as she remembered their crew keeping odd hours, everyone seemed too exhausted to not take advantage of the reprieve, both from the previous night's battle and the last few weeks as a whole.

She stood on the deck, closed her eyes and strolled toward the shattered railing. A refreshing tinge of danger prickled her flank and stopped her from walking overboard, a reminder that her cutie mark was still there and she was too.

There wasn't much point in circling the boat again. She knew what the damage was: assorted pummeling all across the hull, broken wood beams and dented side finish. Parts of the wireframe used to support the harmony comet were bent heavily out of place. The engine room smelled like smoke, and the ship was likely gutted to a state where Arambai's laboratory would be needed to restore it to new. At least it floated, even if it reeked of too many ponies with too little hope. She had to do something about that.

Wings sounded on the horizon, and she looked up, seeing a squad of battered pegasus guards inbound, lugging stuffed sacks and saddlebags. "We found the food cache your friends described," the lead guard said, allowing his stallions to deposit their payload on the deck without taking his eyes off Valey.

"Neat. Any of you know how to cook?" Valey glanced at the rear entry. "Or have a working kitchen, for that matter? I'm not gonna put money on ours working too well right now."

The guards shuffled. It was clear from their postures which ones had witnessed her single-hoofedly defeating two monsters that had threatened to take out their entire team and which ones had been elsewhere.

"Whatever." Valey shrugged. "Just do your own thing, I guess."

---

It wasn't a professional breakfast, but Valey had figured a sword wasn't far from a knife and done her best to dice some fruit and add a little bit of honey for her friends. She visited the dining hall first, figuring Starlight and the others in the cabin would be among the last to rise.

"Hey, uhh..." She glanced around the room, still greeted by half-asleep ponies. "Breakfast?"

"You're back," Harshwater remarked, the only properly-awake creature of the bunch. She still took a bowl gratefully from Valey's spread wings. "About time."

"Thanks," Nyala whispered, curled up against an overturned chair.

Howe and Neon Nova rested in the kitchen, and from the looks of things they actually had done some work trying to straighten it up last night, because it was in a far better state than the library. Both stallions were fast asleep, though, or at least pretending to be.

"Snore it up, Pancake," Valey droned, leaving bowls for them anyway but getting a good idea of who the first ponies to go would be if the ship was as overcrowded as the dining hall made it look.

Saffron Sunflower was next, her leg bound in a splint. She took her bowl with a chuckle. "I sure am glad to see some food that isn't rations again. Getting tired of all the welcome backs yet?"

Valey grinned a little. "Nah. Probably not gonna for a pretty long time."

"Is that from the food we attempted to recover?" Gerardo asked blearily, lifting his head from nearby. "Should do wonders for our spirits around here..."

"Here ya go, Birdo. And Slipstream too." Valey passed him two bowls with a wink. "Don't think I'm not gonna ask about the way you're cuddling in your sleep later."

Gerardo was too tired to reply, going straight to his breakfast. Felicity was next, and Valey stepped toward her lightly-slumbering form with a frown.

Felicity's ears flicked up, trained to sleep lightly by a foalhood in Gyre. "Oh, darling. It's just you..."

Valey stopped in front of her. "Yeah, so what are you doing here? Same for the dudes in the kitchen. Weren't we on really awkward terms last we talked? Something about you betraying us and getting me to clear out an entire castle for you?"

"Guilty as charged, I'm... I'm afraid." Felicity stifled a yawn, her ears going back down. "I'm sure we'll talk later, but if you wouldn't mind at least a temporary truce, I'm in very bad need of some proper nourishment."

Valey hoofed her a bowl. "Howe and Neon Nova get some, you do too. But you bet we're gonna talk. Who else is here I don't know about yet? I... might need to make some more."

Felicity bit her lip, halfway through digging in. "Darling, if you really are back from the dead, shouldn't you be taking it easy? If we have the food, there are others who can prepare it for any who haven't partaken yet. You've been through so much and I'm sure it can't be easy, and you really shouldn't be trying to avoid thinking about it by staying busy."

"Uhh... thanks?" Valey rubbed the back of her head. "But who says I don't wanna think about it? In case you didn't notice, I nearly spent the rest of my non-existence as an empty husk, and I seriously feel like running around and doing the stuff you can only do when you're alive. If I was trying to bury anything, I'd be doing a pretty lousy job, because this stuff is all I can think about."

"Just take care of yourself," Felicity urged, going back to her breakfast. "Please."

Valey nodded and strolled away, heading for the navigation room, a single bowl left in her grasp. "Yo, Grenada?"

"I am here," Grenada called down the stairs, her voice echoing from the engine room.

"Breakfast." Valey strolled up and dropped her bowl at the entrance, glancing into the room. It was entirely lit by Grenada's aura, the unicorn on her back with her head inside a partly-opened metal equipment case. "You hungry?"

Grenada sighed and scooted out, her mane an utter mess. "Thank you," she sighed, slowly getting up. "I have been inspecting damages after that stunt."

Valey rubbed an ear. "Yeah, about that... I figure you hooked something explosive up to the extractor, since it looks a lot like last time, but Starlight is still here?"

Grenada thankfully took her bowl. "I was not present last time to see the state of the ship. From what I have heard, it was Starlight's lookalike who connected herself."

"Bananas." Valey whistled. "Must've been rough for Ironflanks. I really gotta talk to her. So how's the ship?"

"Bad." Grenada shook her head. "If Shinespark and I work together, we may be able to patch something together, but it will be a temporary measure at best. The unique core components of the ship are built to withstand incredible energy levels, but many smaller auxiliary components are completely destroyed. The kind that are easily swappable and would be cheap to replace in Ironridge, so we did not invest heavily in making robust. And our supply of spare parts is running low."

Valey set her jaw. "So if it's completely broken, broken, how stuck are we and where do we go?"

"We are less stuck than we were when the ship was stranded miles inland," Grenada replied. "If we can restore mana power and some of the ship's core functions, we could sail anywhere this sea extends. We had it working before. The hull also has an enchantment that gives it a limited ability to self-heal when powered, so it would assist greatly in repairing physical damage to the ship. Presently, I am still trying to assess how hard it would be to do that again."

Valey glanced up at the stairs to the deck. "Speaking of sailing, where actually are we? Somewhere on the Empire's coast? Or did we get further away?"

Grenada just shook her head. "We are in the Plains of Harmony. I would advise finding someone who can catch you up."

Comments

[Phoenix Kitten]

Welcome to Equestria, Valey. One hell of a welcome back.

[alamais]

All hail the Bringer of Fruit.

[Alchemik]

And of course she goes for the fruit. Perhaps in one of the biggest displays of character development so far, she gives it out to everyone, rather than seeking to collect it all. Aside, of course, from the several pieces I'm assuming she indulged in off-screen.

[BurningSkies]

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