//------------------------------//
// Please No 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

Another flash of Hestia's teleportation later, and Starlight was standing on a wooden platform high above the jungle roof, sticking out from the wall of the Karma Industries tower as a landing and access point for pegasi. Valey continued chewing on a banana at her side, not relinquishing her snack even during the teleport.

"Hello?" A mare in a security uniform that looked designed to be unobtrusive in the jungle heat looked up from where she had been sitting, eyeing the three with a lack of surprise that suggested she was used to the platform being a teleportation arrival zone. "Miss Hestia," she remarked, nodding and taking in the arrivals. "Welcome back. Business as usual?"

"No rest for the weary, Ginger," Hestia replied, with a smile that suggested she was familiar with the security mare. "But, working for Arambai requires significantly less foalsitting than Mobius, and I'm one of the few Sosans who gets to keep their job."

Ginger raised an eyebrow at Starlight and Valey as she rose to open the tower doors. "Enjoy not foalsitting, then. I'll just be here, enjoying the weather."

The weather was enjoyable, Starlight noticed, the transition of walking into the building actually making things hotter. Outside, cool mountain breezes swirled, taking the edge off the sun's heat, while the tower's air conditioning systems had been knocked offline by the power outage. She had a sudden vision of refugee families baking in the heat... but all the windows had been designed to open, so the shaft still stayed well-ventilated. Still, Ginger's job was probably one of the most enviable in Ironridge, right then.

"Yo." Valey nudged her, getting her attention. "Did that guard just make a dig at my age, my behavior, or both?"

Starlight shrugged, having not really paid attention to the conversation.

"I mean..." Valey paused to belch, making Hestia's ears fold. "I think I've been pretty well-mannered since everything went boom, right?"

Starlight almost snorted.

"Hey, come on, laugh a little!" Valey shoved her as Hestia led them up a staircase. "You're being mopey. Brooding is cool when you get to do it to bug other ponies, but most of the time it just makes me feel weird. We trashed Herman, didn't we? That means we're awesome!"

"I'm not brooding," Starlight replied under her breath. "I'm nervous because there are a lot of Sosans in here and trying not to draw attention to myself. Maybe you should do that too."

They stepped out of another flight of stairs, and in the time it took Starlight to blink Valey was gone. She glanced around, suddenly not finding the mare.  "Huh?"

"Down here," Valey whispered from within Starlight's shadow. "Good idea!"

Valey hid just in time to avoid detection from a wandering, unshaven Sosan. She blinked back out after he had passed. "Did you see that guy's eyes? He had a serious beef."

"I wonder why," Starlight droned, once again feeling the memory of a remote control under her hoof. For all the ponies who had lost their jobs when the factories were destroyed, she was probably public enemy number one, and they didn't even know it. Fortunately, they'd never believe it even if she confessed to blowing the dam right in front of their faces.

Another stairway passed by, with turnoffs to conference rooms and rooms filled with ponies doing paperwork at desks. Odd... With the economy ground to a halt, wouldn't Karma Industries be more interested in using its available room to house refugees? Or were all those ponies just trying to manage logistics?

As they approached the top, though, Starlight suddenly felt a prickling on her back, as if she was being watched very intently from close by. "Valey?" She glanced around, not seeing anything.

"What's up?" Valey's ears perked above the shadows, mostly hidden between Starlight's legs. "Want one of these bananas?"

"Hold on..." Starlight looked away, still scanning the corridor walls. If Valey didn't detect danger, then odds are she wasn't in imminent trouble, but something still wasn't right. "Hestia, wait."

The secretary looked back at her, yet still stopped, watching as Starlight scanned the corridor. Half of it was lined with open windows, the other half with partially-finished drywall, a few doors opening up into rooms full of workers. Some crates were stacked next to the windows, marked for holding office supplies. Spying a potential hiding place, Starlight stepped toward them, fur bristling.

Nothing behind them. Inside, maybe? She didn't want to use her horn, but still couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Thinking, she leaned against the wall, standing exactly where she'd stand if she were sneaking up on where she had been. Where...?

"I'm standing right next to you," a smug little voice she would have been perfectly fine never hearing again whispered in her ear, petrifying Starlight and sending a shiver down her spine. Her eyes slid to the side, this time knowing the precise shade of camouflage to look for. A sharp face stared back at her, and Jamjars grinned.

Then, Jamjars leaned over and kissed her.

Several things then happened in rapid succession. Jamjars opened her mouth, undoubtedly to gloat. Starlight's horn lit in slow motion, and in return Jamjars' eyes widened in worry. Then Starlight vanished in a burst of teleportation... a very bright burst of teleportation.

With Valey still in her shadow.

POW!

Valey was catapulted from the floor with the force of a rocket, appearing straight under Jamjars and carrying them both to the ceiling with a plaster-shaking thud. Starlight appeared back by Hestia, holding a hoof to her horn in a combination of shock, worry and outrage, and Valey toppled back to the floor with a thud, groaning loudly. "Ow, hey! Respect the injured war hero, here!"

"You... what...?" Starlight moved from rubbing her horn to scraping at her cheek, having determined she hadn't actually hurt herself. "Jamjars!? What was that for?" She raised her eyes, seeing what had become of the filly. "And what are you doing?"

Jamjars was stuck in the ceiling. "I wanted to see your reaction!" she complained, writing and thrashing and trying to free her horn from where it had been embedded. "And whether you... ugh! Hurry up and get me down from here before we get in trouble!"

Hestia stared blankly as Valey got to her hooves, dusting herself off and checking various sore spots and tender places before lifting a bunch of now-smashed bananas. "Oh, come on," she pouted, tossing them over her shoulder and out an open window. "Now what's going on here? Starlight?" Her eyes shot between the two fillies at a rapid pace. "Did she just snog you, do you know her, and do you have a thing going?" Her blinks of realization quickly turned to a grin. "This is what you were doing while I was stuck in the Flame District, isn't it? How am I just learning about this now? Doesn't Ironflanks think you're too young for this?" Her grin widened. "Does your mom even know...?"

"I will crystal all of you," Starlight growled, a gentle barrier preventing her from lighting her horn she was sure she could push past if she wanted to. "I mean it!"

"Help! Help!" Jamjars continued to thrash.

Valey took a step back. "Uhhh... Okay, mark's getting tingly, I won't pry. I'm sure she's-"

"Hold up!"

An incredibly stout orange stallion with a razor-thin mustache stomped out of one of the nearby workrooms, an iron frown on his face and a tri-fold hat on his head. A small Sosan energy weapon sat in a holster at his side, and Starlight was sure that despite its small size it was not something she wanted to get hit by. Quickly, she scooted against the wall, recognizing the newcomer as none other than Dangerous Karma himself.

"Hmmm..." He eyed up the crowd, first focusing on Valey. "Well, if it isn't Ironridge's finest fruit thief. Heard you actually made a hero of yourself the other night. Keep it up. And Miss Hestia." His glare instantly switched to a kindly smile. "How ya doin'?" Then he was glaring again. "You all made that racket just now, didn't you? And why's a filly stuck in my ceiling?"

He didn't wait for an answer, ignoring Jamjars' pleas. "I don't know which of you are the troublemakers, but the upper floors are for workin' ponies only. Somepony's been snoopin' around the place for the last day or so already and stealin' refreshments from my employees, and I need that lot at top performance right now. Dumb blizzard ruined a large percentage of my crops, and they need to get the math right on whether we need a ration in place as fast as possible in case things go from bad to worse. So Miss Hestia, if you could kindly get that filly down and then remove all of y'all from the premises, I'd be very much obliged."

Hestia nodded, not even waiting for input from Starlight or Valey before grabbing Jamjars in her telekinesis, then teleporting everyone out.





They appeared again on the outdoor landing platform halfway up the building, Jamjars landing on her head and Ginger staring in slightly greater curiosity at the rearrival. Hestia glanced back at Valey and the fillies. "I'm going to be catching up with a friend. Come get me when you've sorted out any business you have with each other."

Starlight watched her go, until Jamjars sat up, grinning. "What was that for?" Starlight repeated.

Jamjars closed her eyes and crossed her forelimbs. "That was your reward for being so slow to catch up to me. Seriously, I thought when we got separated by that dumb Grenada we were going to meet up, but after I shook her goon I looked through all of Copsewood and couldn't find you!" Her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I even came back here because I thought you might have thought this was our meeting place, and it still took you nearly two whole days. Even Mom is better at catching me than that, and that's when I don't want to be found. So you owed me, and I thought I'd figure out if you really liked mares."

Starlight sighed, holding her head in her hooves, not wanting to have been reminded of Grenada. Had she not made it clear, back in Copsewood when they split up, that she was going off to do her own thing? "I..." she started, then trailed off before looking to Valey for guidance.

The batpony shrugged.

"I'm not old enough for this..." Starlight grumbled, trying to remember back to the time she had wanted to help Jamjars and bracing for a potentially annoying incoming conversation.