//------------------------------//
// Back Road 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

Starlight stepped through the perpetual dusk of Blueleaf's back streets, blue sky shimmering tauntingly through blocky cracks in their wooden surroundings high above. Maple pressed close to her, and she to the mare, and they both followed Valey's confident hooffalls in an aimless search for trouble.

"Mmmm..." Maple murmured uneasily. "Weren't we going to stop somewhere and rest? You said this was a break, but if we're on our hooves the whole time it won't do much..."

Valey nimbly sidestepped a pile of garbage. "Oh, yep. We just gotta find the right place first."

"And what kind of a good place do you think you'll find here?" Starlight complained, shortly waving a hoof at the dimly-lit entrances that lined the road, some open and some boarded up and precious few with actual, functioning doors. "This street is so not-straight you can't even see where you're going! If anypony wanted to make a place where we were welcome, they'd put it somewhere easier to find." Snorting, she craned her neck to see around the back road's gradual bend, finding nothing but more dusk.

"Who said anything about the place being good?" Valey asked with a dangerous grin. "The only ponies who live in a place like this are ones that don't want to be found or can't afford to be found. I've told you like three dozen times, I need my exercise before I go and loaf around."

With a grumbly whine, Starlight lowered her head and continued her pace, eyes constantly scanning the doorways for threats. The street itself seemed to be a place nobody wanted to be, the few ponies they saw hurrying past with nothing more than wary glances.

One door was dark, a frame of blackness surrounded by the shadows of the street, ambient light extending just far enough to reveal a worn plank floor. The next was lit orange, a mare within laying on a cushionless chartreuse couch, a foal pressed against her while her hooves busied themselves with a book. Her mouth was moving, reading aloud words that didn't carry past the door, and then she slid past Starlight's line of sight and was gone.

The filly blinked, and looked onward. A door that was boarded up, and then another dark one through which she swore she saw something moving. Then there were none for an extended stretch, and the snaking pathway split in an intersection.

"Meh, meh, meh..." Valey mumbled under her breath, hoof flicking between the two directions as if trying to pick one randomly. Eventually, her emerald green eyes lit up, and she focused. "Right!"

They turned and turned again, Starlight nearly tripping over a discarded board that was invisible in the dim light. The streets were such narrow canyons that she doubted if sunlight met the ground for more than ten minutes every day. The ground attested that it didn't, squishing slightly between her hooves despite the presence of a drainage ditch dug directly into the middle of the street. The usual jungle heat had dissipated as well, giving way to a clammy dankness she associated with caves with occasional wisps of hot air adding to the unnatural feel of the place.

Maple, evidently, was having similar thoughts. "How does this stay sanitary?" she asked. "There's so little ventilation or drainage, it seems like it would be really easy for disease to spread. Or mold, at least. This entire town is made of wood!"

"Huh." Valey rubbed her chin. "You know, that's actually a kinda good question. I feel like they had some sort of special manalights that dried stuff out and could keep a constant temperature, but I don't see any. On second thought? Let me go check."

Hovering, she flitted to a low overhang where one building jutted out above another. A moment of poking and prodding followed, and then she flew back with a shrug. "Yup. The lights are still there," she explained. "I guess they decided they like it darker for some reason. Suits me just fine!"

"They just decided?" Maple repeated dubiously. "That sounds strange. Why would they get rid of something that's obviously so important? How long ago did it even happen?"

Valey shrugged. "Beats me. I usually fly past this place. Besides, I like the dark, so I didn't think too hard about it. When life cuts you a break, you take it, you know?"

"Either way..." Maple's brow furrowed, and she glanced at Starlight. "I'm tired and sore enough already without getting some sickness here, and that goes double for Starlight. Valey, can't we do this somewhere... I don't know, cleaner?"

"Thought you'd love the cold," Valey answered, flicking her ears. "I mean, this is one of the only places in the Earth District that isn't roasty-toasty. If you insist, though. Come on, let's start looking for the way up."

"...You mean you don't know?" Maple and Starlight whined in sync.

"Hey. There are two things I'm good at finding." Valey twirled her beret and set it back on her head, gently flapping backwards ahead of them. "Trouble, and food. Trouble's everywhere here; this place reeks of despair and nastiness and stuff. But if we want to find food, it means getting out of these back alleys, and I can totally do that. Trust me on this." She blinked. "Oh, I can smell the kid too."

Starlight pouted, scuffing at the mud. "What is it with you and saying I stink?"

"I didn't say that!" Valey protested as Maple gave her a quick glare. "It's a nice smell! Seriously."

Neither responded. Instead, they rounded one more corner... and Starlight gave a soft gasp, pointing forward with a hoof. "Look at that," she whispered.

The boxy, winding road opened into a small square clearing, wooden support pillars holding up the edges of the surrounding buildings to allow for a plaza slightly greater in size than otherwise. Boardwalk floors covered the edges, leaving a patch of dirt in the center where the road continued... and like a merciful hoof held down from the sky, a pillar of light descended, bathing the middle of the patch in warmth. Short, scraggly grass huddled all the way to the edges of the lit area, forming a small hummock of color, and a few flowers stood in the center, delicate and reaching.

"I kind of want to eat it," Valey belched.

Instinctively, Starlight stepped in front of her, blocking her path. It wouldn't do much good when the mare could fly, but the intention was clear enough. The clearing was built like a shrine around the grass and flowers, and taking that away felt wrong, somehow.

Above the grass, the tunnel down from the sky was lined with reflective mirrors, she realized, bouncing sunlight on its way down to allow it to reach the ground for more than minutes a day, allowing the flowers to bloom. Someone had done that very deliberately. It was like the plants were a gift, the ponies who lived higher up showing the ones below that good things could grow on the bottom... or maybe she was reading too far into it. It was a flower garden, sitting where it didn't belong. It didn't take much to form a high contrast when the rest of the world was so dull.

"We should leave them alone," Maple added, voice soft and respectful as if she could tell that this was a place where ponies came to hope. "The ponies here need them more than we do."

Starlight mutely nodded her agreement.

"That was kind of the point," Valey grumbled, but nevertheless obeyed. "Come on, then. Let's find some stairs and get up top where it's nicer. If you want out that badly, hoof it!"

"Oh, I do." Maple nodded emphatically, then stopped to rub a cramp in her leg. "Ow..."

No sooner had they taken three steps, however, then they were interrupted. "I really thought you'd eat it," a voice called from the shadows, under an overhang. "I guess you are decent ponies!"

They all whirled. A small shape paced haughtily out from where it had blended with a support pillar, and drew nearer to the light until Starlight recognized them as the sharp-eyed filly from the main street. Strong, lithe and looking properly nourished, her coat was a vibrant, shocking red, and her mane and tail darker accents thereof. She stood still, as if waiting for them to speak.