//------------------------------//
// Interlude 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

"...And so we left, just like that. Several hours before, I was eating dinner, thinking I would spend my whole life learning to deal with Riverfall... and then there I was, on a boat going west. It was one of the most sudden things that ever happened in my life, right up there with losing Sunburst... and losing my village."

The late-afternoon sun streamed through an ornate stained-glass window, refracting into dozens of colors which refracted again upon hitting a crystalline floor. The shadows they cast silhouetted two ponies sitting comfortably on opposing couches, a glass table set between them decked with the remains of refreshments and cups of cooled tea.

"Wow." Twilight Sparkle blinked, interrupting for the first time in hours. "So you just... left, without even having one day to think about whether it was the right decision?"

Starlight chuckled back, watching as her friend and mentor finally broke her silence. With a voice raspy from a day of nonstop narration, she said, "Pretty much, Princess. But I was... kind of used to it, at the time. And before you try to feel bad for me, keep in mind that I wouldn't be here now if I hadn't gone with them to Ironridge. It was a hasty decision, and maybe not the wisest, but..."

"But you're here now." Twilight nodded appreciatively. "Thanks for offering to tell me all this, by the way. I mean, I always wondered if there was more to your past than what you showed me while we were time traveling, but thought it would be rude to ask..."

"Didn't want to dredge up bad memories?" Starlight raised an eyebrow. "Or didn't want to risk making light of what happened to me if there was nothing more than what I showed you?"

Twilight's ears pressed against her head. "Both, actually."

"Heh..." Starlight looked away. "Believe me, Twilight. Talking this long is a lot harder than having to think about all that again. I mean, I almost considered doing something with time travel again to let the past tell the story for me, there's so much to cover. It's so foreign and exotic, it sometimes feels like a dream... and there were some truly good times I had with those ponies. And griffon. It's nice to remember, and tell someone besides myself that it actually happened."

"Are you sure?" Twilight's ears stayed down, a look of concern on her face. "I mean, I think I would have noticed if there had been a pony named Maple who acted like your mother in your village. I keep waiting for the other horseshoe to drop, and don't try to tell me it doesn't come."

"I know, I know, I grew up to be a dictator, and that doesn't usually come from perfect, happy childhoods," Starlight sighed. "Twilight, you're an alicorn. Shouldn't you be the expert here in appreciating things while they last?"

Twilight flinched. "That's not really something I like to think about..."

"Sorry." Starlight looked away as well, and for a moment both mares were locked in an awkward silence.

Eventually, Starlight was the one to break it. "She doesn't die, if it makes you feel better."

"Huh?"

"Maple. In the story, she doesn't die."

"Oh." Twilight slowly stretched. "I don't know. I think I need a break, anyway. Something to reset my brain..."

Starlight nodded. "You do that. Meanwhile, I need to rest my voice..."





Several hours later, both mares had returned to the repurposed reading room, a fresh tray of refreshments arrayed and the couch cushions neatly fluffed. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, and Starlight glanced apprehensively at it. "Are you sure you want to continue now? The next bit's kind of long. I might not have a good place to stop until well into the night."

Twilight shrugged. "I like the night. It's perfect for reading."

"Well, okay, then." Starlight glanced dubiously upward, as if searching for someone to agree with her that Twilight didn't know what she was getting into. "Actually, before we start, is there anything you need a refresher on, or anything I forgot to explain? I'm kind of figuring out how to tell this story as I go along, so, you know..."

"Actually, I was wondering about Arambai's machine," Twilight said with a nod. "I researched ways to make a non-pegasus fly once, but never looked that much into it. Then when I saw you flying when we were time traveling, I guess I just assumed it was some spell I didn't know, or some kind of trick or... I had bigger things to worry about at the time, okay!?" Slightly frazzled at the admittance of her own scientific shortcoming, she ran a hoof over her bangs, smoothing them. "But in the story, you made it sound really hard. Does that have anything to do with...?"

"With this?" Starlight asked. Her horn pulsed, and a moment later she was enveloped by a shimmering aura, rising a few feet off the ground. "Maybe. How alright are you with spoilers?"

Twilight's eyes went wide with horror. "No! No spoilers! You wouldn't dare!"

Starlight chuckled, returning to the ground. "I just told you Maple doesn't die, didn't I?"

"Okay, we're changing the subject." Twilight's face went rigid, indicating she would stand no argument on the matter. "Other questions! Umm... I assume it did, but since you never said, your horn stopped doing that burnout thing, right? I mean, I can't think of how you could do some of the stuff you've done if it hadn't. Did you ever find out what was causing that? From everything I know about unicorn biology, horns aren't supposed to react that badly to overuse..."

Starlight winked back smugly. "It did. I thought you didn't want any spoilers?"

"Aaack!" Shielding her head, Twilight ran into the next room, calling back, "No spoilers!"

Starlight considered pointing out that she would just tell her naturally as part of the story in a day or two, but bit back the comment. As fun as it was to tease the princess, she was grateful enough to Twilight for sitting and listening through all that that it didn't feel right to push it or risk going too far.

The conversation had started innocently enough. She and Twilight had been discussing magic while working on an experiment, and Starlight had made a casual remark about the differences between cutie mark magic and unicorn magic that Twilight had found interesting. The train of conversation had wound its way to Starlight's own mark, and Twilight had mentioned how ironic it seemed that a pony could have a cutie mark in not having cutie marks. She had asked how it was even possible to obtain such a mark, and if a seething hatred for the icons in general wouldn't just keep a pony blank indefinitely. The silence that had followed had been too awkward to pass without explanation.

Eventually, Twilight crept back, looking like she was preparing to assault an enemy encampment. Starlight greeted her with a friendly wave, as if nothing at all was wrong in the world.

"No spoilers," Twilight hissed warily.

"Then stop asking those kinds of questions." Starlight shrugged, picking up a cookie with her aura and tossing it into her mouth, munching. "Want me to keep going, then, or stop for the night?"

"No, hold on!" Twilight flailed slightly in protest, taking several deep breaths. "I've still got more questions! You mentioned Yakyakistan being known up there, right? I can't remember, were you here yet when the leader of the yaks came to Ponyville?"

Starlight nearly spat out her cookie. "You've met Flame Face? In Ponyville!?"

"Uhhh..." Twilight blushed sheepishly. "Who...?"

Starlight blinked momentarily, then snorted with realization. "Were they a prince?"

"Prince Rutherford..." Slowly, Twilight nodded, as if aware she was being drawn into a trap.

"Twilight, you do know that 'prince' is the title given to yak village chieftains, right? As in... the leaders of every small, outlying settlement ever?"

"Umm... no..." Twilight's embarrassed blush threatened to creep all the way to her ears. "Wait, are you serious? He threatened to declare war on us! Celestia herself said it was a big deal!"

"Beats me," Starlight said with a shrug. "The Yakyakistan I know has... well, no spoilers. But wait a minute." She leaned closer, eyes narrowing. "How much do you know about Equestrian foreign policy?"

Twilight leaned away. "How much should I know?" she asked cautiously.

"Well, you were Celestia's personal student." Starlight grabbed another cookie, taking a bite and speaking through it. "I figured she'd have taught you a lot about the olden world, to the north."

"Not really..." Twilight hung her head, unsure how to feel. "I mean, most of her lessons were about magic theory, and later guiding me to make friends. Wielding an Element of Harmony, becoming an alicorn, that stuff. And it was mostly just pushing me in the right direction. Honestly, I don't think I got an in-person lesson from her outside of mission briefings after I came to Ponyville. She mostly just... let me do my own thing, you know? All the academic rigor I had before that was just me reading."

"Huh..." Blinking, Starlight took another bite. "That's interesting. I guess you'll be going into this just as blind as I was."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Twilight asked suspiciously.

Starlight smirked. "No spoilers."

"Arrgh! Starlight..." Twilight shielded her ears with a pillow, the peeked out from behind. "Look, maybe you should just start the story?"

"About time." Grinning, Starlight settled back on her own cushions, cleared her throat, and began. "It had stopped raining by the time the boat began to slow..."