//------------------------------// // Cave // Story: The Olden World // by Czar_Yoshi //------------------------------// When Starlight Glimmer came to, it was slowly, groggily, and with a great deal of unhappiness. The discomfort in her hooves, legs, and horn swiftly made her wish she hadn't. She wasn't sleeping, though, and found she couldn't if she tried... so she simply stared dead ahead. The mouth of the cave loomed in front of her, and beyond it lay night... and more rain. Big surprise. Her coat felt slightly drier, at least, albeit with the stiffness that comes from leaving one's clothes out and forgetting to iron them. It probably needed brushing. Starlight didn't have a brush. Her saddlebags were still on. The side she was laying on was the one with the berries. That probably meant they were all smashed. She inwardly groaned, but there was nothing she could do about it then. Doing anything required moving. Still, as long as the rain continued, there was no way she was setting hoof outside that cave. Slowly, she also reminded herself that she'd need magic to get out. Her horn warned her not to even try casting a test spell, and she wisely listened. With nothing else to do, the exhausted filly lay there, defeated and bored, staring unblinking out into the night. The next time Starlight came to, the rain had stopped. The sun wasn't shining, but it was definitely day. That meant she could continue, if she got up and left the cave. She didn't get up or leave the cave. Instead she groaned, long and loud, stretching until her legs cramped and she curled back up, hissing. Her horn was still useless, but she had had enough of laying around. Slowly, stubbornly, Starlight rotated upright, dumping her saddlebags in the process. They hit the floor, her few possessions falling out behind her. There was, at least, one thing she possessed the tools to take care of then and there. Twisting around, she examined each hoof in turn, prying off the curved strips of metal that normally served to make her life easier. Clumps of sand, mud and pebbles dislodged as she did so, and with a contented sigh she massaged the tender, newly-freed surfaces at the bottoms of her legs. Her concentration was broken by a sneeze. Nose running, Starlight sniffed several times, absently looking out into the cloud-shadowed daylight. There was grass on the lake's far shore. Ears perking in interest, Starlight leaned closer. She wasn't sure how she had missed it earlier, but it was clearly there. A good, large food source that was right within her reach the moment her magic recovered. Guiltily, she turned back to her saddlebags, one of which was indeed leaking berry paste. It was a good thing she didn't need that anymore. She had shelter, and a nearby source of plentiful food and water. She was also exhausted, possibly sick, and with supplies in poor condition. Starlight's common sense didn't take long at all to overrule her stubbornness and tell her she'd be staying in that cave for a while. So, she turned back to the belongings she did have and began to ponder how to make a camp. Several minutes later, Starlight sat back at the entrance of the cave, proud of herself. Her blanket had been stretched to dry on a section of floor far back enough from the river swiftly flowing by below that it wouldn't pick up any errant spray or dampness, and her box and food supplies were similarly arrayed. Her saddlebags sat nearby; she would need to wash them of berries and stickiness, but the current was extremely swift and she couldn't reach down to the water without serious risk of falling in. That task would have to wait until her magic was recovered. Ideally, she wanted her things outside to dry. But the sun wasn't really shining, and getting there required magic too. So, with nothing better to do, Starlight sat back and began to groom herself. It wasn't pleasant work, due to the mish-mash of angles her fur had dried at and the amount of dust and dirt that had become caught in it. She made liberal use of her mostly-full canteens, both for re-wetting herself when necessary and frequently cleaning out her mouth. Slowly, she worked her way down her chest, along her sides, up her legs, and across her unmarked, off-pink flanks. But she was in no hurry. Eventually, she finished, leaning out over the flowing water and using it as a mirror. Her coat lay smooth at last, which did feel undeniably pleasant even if her mouth tasted like hair and dirt. Her mane, though... it had been weeks since that had been cared for. Her old pigtails had vanished long ago, her neatly-trimmed bang had grown far enough she could probably lick it, too. Fortunately, it was so matted, it stuck to itself when she moved it and she could just stick it behind her ears. That was something she'd have to fix properly later, once she had a brush and felt up to a bath. Maybe once she got closer to civilization. Starlight did have one other thing that could technically wait for civilization, but she wanted to do now. It would be tricky without her magic, but she would manage. Pacing stiffly towards the area where her things were stored, she picked up the black box from her saddlebag in her teeth and moved it closer to the light. Delicately, she unwrapped it, determined not to break the protective layer that she would inevitably need later. When that was done, the lid popped gently open, and she leaned inside. Within was a small, feathery brush, a folded piece of stiff paper, and a large amount of gray powder. Starlight unfolded the page, revealing a stencil pattern of two parallel lines that she proceeded to hold to her flank. Taking the brush carefully in her teeth, she dusted it over the page, trying desperately not to sneeze as she worked. Ash flew as she worked, and when she pulled away, her cutie mark was restored, good as new. She repeated the process for her other flank, then folded the stencil and put her box away. Strictly speaking, the mark she had applied was pointless. Not only was Starlight not yet at the age where she would hit a growth spurt and leave behind her filly body, but there were no ponies around to question her blankness in the first place, let alone who knew her enough to call her bluff if she said she was younger than she was. Still, something about the equals sign that graced her flank was comforting. Starlight had vowed that she wouldn't accept any special talent that could set her above others... but there was no such thing as a cutie mark in not having cutie marks. So, she had made her own. The filly finished packing, setting her box next to her other things. Next, she looked over her food supplies. The bread was wet, and as stale as it was it couldn't possibly last much longer like that. Since she had a ready food source just outside the cave, Starlight shrugged, taking every last bit of it to eat then and there. Slowly munching, grimacing at taste and texture, Starlight contemplated the world outside. Her magic was recovering, but she didn't want to use it yet. But the world would still be there tomorrow. Silently, she laid with her bread at the edge of the cave, deciding she wouldn't mind if she fell asleep.