//------------------------------//
// Farewell, Ironridge 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

Starlight stood on the leaning deck of Shinespark's ship, watching and waiting as a magical crackle filled the air. The ship's luminous comet didn't reform, but she felt the deck shift beneath her hooves, and it slowly righted itself, drifting upwards at a snail's pace as power was restored.

Arambai tromped out of the bridge moments later, wiping a hoof across his brow. "That oughtta do it," he growled, surveying the ship and letting his eyes fall across Starlight. "Well! Don't you have good timing in getting back. I'm just testing the stabilizers to make sure the ship doesn't do a barrel roll in midair, but they seem to have been spared any damage. I installed a small, manual propeller on the back for propulsion and steering until you get the real systems back online, which will be slow, but should work. In other words, I'd say she's just about ready."

"Hmm." Starlight stepped forward, taking a deep breath and setting a wide stance. "There's a family I want to take back to Riverfall. They're friends with Maple, and don't have a future here."

Arambai's lip twitched. "Why are you telling me? Hestia's the one who can help you get them here."

"I..." Starlight blinked. "It's your city!"

"So's Ironridge, now," Arambai sighed. "Riverfall was always a place meant for folks who had no choice but to go. If you think these ponies of yours need it... there's not many secrets left to protect. Take them with you. You're the ones who are going to be living there, unless you decide otherwise."

Starlight huffed, puffing her cheeks. "Yeah, like we'd ever do that! We're tired of Ironridge."

"Suit yourselves." Arambai straightened up and turned away. "Hestia can get her teleporting taken care of. There should be a clean room or two still downstairs. That bat with you still hanging around?"

"Valey?" Starlight glanced at Hestia. "Make sure to bring her back too, okay?" She didn't mention Jamjars, but was sure the filly would come regardless.

Hestia nodded. "Of course. Please don't move the ship while I teleport Miss Chocolate and her family. It will make things much easier." She touched her glasses with a hoof. "I'll come inform you when I'm done."

She vanished in a blink, and Arambai sighed. "Well... The others are in the bridge. I'm going to have one last little meeting before you cast off. You're welcome to attend, or go to Maple if you feel like it. She's slumbering right now. Poor girl..."

Starlight hesitated. Weren't there other things to do, like make sure White Chocolate knew which room to go to? She desperately wanted to curl up with Maple and go back to sleep, but that should wait until they were on their way. Slowly, she followed Arambai into the bridge.





Gerardo sat in the airship's cockpit, spinning idly on the rotating chair. Elise occupied the copilot's chair next to him, resting regally with her sky-blue mane flowing in its endless wind. Shinespark hovered listlessly in a cloud of her own magic, her hind leg bound in a thick white cast. Dior and Fire sat patiently on either side of her, and Braen's armor waited in a corner, patient and empty.

"Well, gentleponies," Arambai growled, choosing to stand. "It looks like this is goodbye."

"Hmm..." Dior made a sad sound that could have been a sigh or a chuckle, glancing to Shinespark. "It always ends like this, doesn't it? The first I've seen you in seven years, and now we're to switch places, still apart. It was nice seeing you again, old stallion."

"You too, Dior." Arambai gave a respectful nod. "And Shinespark. It warms my heart to see how much you've grown, even with the unfairness of the load we left you. I'll always be sad you two couldn't have proper foalhoods, on account of this city and politics."

Starlight blinked. Was there some link between Shinespark and Dior that was closer than she thought? She almost opened her mouth to ask, but this was their goodbye, so it wasn't her place to speak.

Despite Arambai's words, Shinespark remained downcast, her eyes barely flickering with life. "But I wasn't enough. I couldn't stop Sosa from being destroyed, or save Gunga and Gigavolt or anyone else on the dam, and I couldn't even stick to the plan after that to prevent the fighting from getting worse. Now the skyport... and Grenada, all because I told the Spirit the wrong stupid things to give them hope...! I wish... I wish..."

Gerardo waved a talon. "To be fair, it is a well-established maxim that those who play with fire tend to get burned."

Shinespark hadn't been crying, but that made her start.

Starlight started to move, ready to do something, but Elise beat her across the room, touching Shinespark's shoulders in a gentle hug. "You wish you hadn't tried?" she murmured, brushing aside a lock of her half-sister's mane. "I've spent your entire lifetime wishing the opposite. Failure comes with action, but it doesn't make trying any less necessary."

"But I didn't fail," Shinespark whispered. "What I got was... exactly what I told the Spirit to want. To turn back the clock on progress... A pre-industrial Ironridge. No power. No connections to the outside world. It's all gone. It's farther back than even the Spirit intended..."

"If what you did didn't work," Elise consoled, "then try something new. But please don't hurt yourself for doing the opposite of nothing, Shinespark. I know about doing nothing. Trust me..."

"Try something new." Shinespark drifted closer to the floor. "Try what new? I gave everything to this... to Sosa, and the Spirit, and my friends... and they're all gone. Everything I fought for is..." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't know what to do without it! What does Ironridge want from me!? To become the champion of the Earth or Stone Districts? To devote the next ten years of my life to a new plan to save everyone when I've just ruined them? I don't know what to do..."

"Then don't," Arambai said. "Take this ship and get out of here. Find your way to the Plains of Harmony, like this was always intended to do. A ship that can cross the mountains, remember?"

Shinespark's eyes widened, and she stared incredulously at him.

"What?" He shrugged. "Don't tell me you weren't considering it. A ship that runs on a fuel source naturally produced by ponies... The entire point was for it to fly forever without needing to refuel. Or have we been working on this for so long you don't even remember why we started?"

Ignoring her shocked expression, he continued. "There's a lot of stuff I'm bad at, Shinespark. A lot of things I've messed up on. But the one thing I'm best at... what I've never failed at doing... is giving ponies a way out. Elise knows that better than anyone, as do a hoofful of stallions who've found new lives in Riverfall... and Maple, Starlight and Gerardo, who left a place with a reputation for no one ever leaving. So get out of here. Dior's covering for Braen already, and hopefully all that'll have blown over by the time ponies start figuring out that the river's still a river and rediscover Riverfall. I've got a good few decades left in me to get this city back into shape, and Elise here is ready to step up her game and help with everything that needs it. We'll cover for you, Shinespark. Here's our ship. It's your ticket out."

"Leaving..." Shinespark swallowed, staring at the floor.

"Which implies being able to return." Arambai stood across from Elise, also touching Shinespark's shoulder in the ghost of a hug. "Some day, ten or twenty years from now, when you've got what it takes to fix up Ironridge for good. But in the meantime, go out and live your life. I'll make sure the city's still standing when you come home. You've got a lot of laughter and being carefree coming first, after all this pact of ours has put you through."

Dior nodded. "Don't worry, old stallion. I'll look out for her so long as she's in Riverfall."

Shinespark raised a heavy eyebrow. "You're a year younger than me..." she protested weakly.

"Heh." Chuckling, Arambai sat back down against the wall. "I'm more hoping she makes like Elise and sees the entire world. There's a lot of stuff out there, and while I'm not poorly traveled, I certainly wish I could go with you. I imagine Gerardo can, unless he's got better things to do."

Gerardo took that as his cue to resume speaking. "Well, I've just devoted a lengthy period of my life to the ultimately bogus delivery of those crates. I had hoped Yakyakistan was serious in offering compensation of letting me journey to the Plains of Harmony, but if that is Shinespark's ultimate goal, perhaps a long-term alliance would be of service!"

"Actually," Fire said, speaking for the first time during the meeting, "we were serious."

Gerardo's beak dropped, and even Arambai looked surprised. "Pardon?" the griffon squawked.

"You did deliver the crates to Ironridge," Fire said. "Even if our embassy here was corrupt... which I can't express my remorse enough for... you brought them to the city. And one of the hearts within was instrumental in saving the city from the windigoes, which was also our fault. I've said many times how much we'll have to do in reparations... but keeping our promises is a good place to start. You may have your payment."

"T-This is..." Gerardo stammered, flabbergasted. "Highly unexpected..."

"There's a catch, isn't there?" Starlight asked, almost hoping there was one.

Fire hung her head. "Yes. There's a catch, though there isn't anything we can do about it. Again, I apologize..."

Gerardo tilted his head, and Starlight watched, listening. A way back to Equestria... She didn't want to go there. That wasn't her home. Yet somehow, she knew that if she and Maple stayed in Riverfall while Gerardo and Shinespark flew off to Equestria, she would remember it for the rest of her days.

"The catch," Fire continued, "is that the border is secured from the southern side. Obtaining sanction to pass isn't an issue of our governments, but of the Plains themselves... or Equestria, as they are known there. The travel passes they issue are given to our government to use as we please, but are forged in very short supply."

"Ah." Gerardo drooped, disappointed. "I take this to mean there's some sort of quota that is currently filled by those more important than I?"

Slowly, Fire nodded. "One pass. Per year. That's what we have to work with."

Gerardo's beak dropped even further.

"You can have the next one," Fire offered. "As I said, we will keep our word. But... the issuing cycle just happened. We won't receive another for almost an entire year."

"Once per year?" Gerardo's voice cracked, clearly in a state of shock.

"It's an extreme system," Fire explained, apologetic. "One that we didn't decide upon. But yes. The passes are magically ingrained into a pony or other creature's body, making them non-transferable, but they are effective for a lifetime of travel once you have them."

"I see..." Gerardo murmured. "Conditions in Yakyakistan must be truly extreme to be willing to expend such a valuable resource on a mere backup plan, if my understanding of your schemes is correct."

Arambai nodded. "Mmmm. I'm curious to hear an explanation for all this, myself. Not that getting things stable around here isn't more important, but once we've got no more risk of famine and all that, it wouldn't hurt to indulge a bit of curiosity."

"...You would be surprised." Fire looked away. "I know Yakyakistan must do a lot to rebuild trust, but our reasons for this operation were dangerous. We won't continue here, not in the way we've been doing. But if it is at all permissible for me to ask... please don't press."

"I might need to anyway," Arambai rumbled. "If only because I believe you that they're dangerous. But don't worry, I'm a professional at keeping secrets."

Starlight held still, recalling how Fire had openly asked to tell her, Maple and Valey what Yakyakistan had been up to with the windigoes and the underworld flame, and she had refused. Why was it okay to tell a filly, an ordinary mare and an avowed troublemaker, but not ponies of real importance? She shook her head. She still had more pressing things to do than judge the motives of a bunch of yaks.

At that moment, the door opened, and Hestia and Valey walked in.

"Everyone you requested is here," Hestia announced to the room. "I left Miss Chocolate and her family in one of the cabins, and she assured me all of her children were there."

"Hey, dudes." Valey waved a hoof, looking weary. "Just thought I'd let you know, the hardest opponent I have ever cracked and made beg for mercy is now a little filly. Where's a good spot for a nap?"

"We're leaving," Starlight quickly told her. "Leaving Ironridge. Everyone's saying goodbye."

Arambai straightened up, heading for Hestia in the door. "Yeah... I think we've just about finished that. By the way." He levitated out a pair of identical, glowing stones, twin vortexes of magic shimmering within. "I scrounged these up and ran a bit of a communication test. No clue what they're made of. We've tried experimenting with ways to send wireless information, but a single unicorn walking through the signal's path can muck everything up. These are crystal clear from all the way across the city, though. Where'd you get them?"

Starlight shrugged. "We stole them from Howe and Neon Nova. I don't know where they got them."

"Eww, those guys were flakes," Valey agreed, nodding.

"Huh." Arambai set them down. "Well, I suppose that makes them yours. Keep them, if you like... though if you want, you can leave one here with me. Keep a permanent line open between Ironridge and Riverfall. Who knows? It could come in useful some day."

Dior smiled, lifting and cradling one of the stones in his forehooves. "If you wouldn't mind... I would truly appreciate that."

Starlight, Valey and Gerardo glanced at each other, and none of them objected. "Hey," Valey muttered, "if anyone's got a claim to them, it's Ironflanks. She was the one that swiped that goon's coat that had one in in the first place."

"Right..." Arambai kept one, almost to the door. "Well, if she wants it back, we'll figure something out. Can always turn this ship around and make a few more runs between Ironridge and Riverfall, if needbe. Anyhow, me, Elise, and Hestia have places to be that aren't on a wild adventure. Fire? Who are you going with?"

Fire nodded. "I need to return to Yakyakistan and tell them the situation. We keep two ships in orbit of Ironridge at all times, designed for maximum flight times and with their fueling cycles alternated. If we can signal or intercept the one that wasn't docked when the storm hit, it should be able to return me to Infinite Glacier."

"That's with us, then." Arambai sighed, stepping out onto the deck. "Goodbye, kids. I'll see you again some day. In the meantime... try not to get up to more trouble than you can handle."

Elise followed him out, giving a sad glance to the taciturn Shinespark. Gerardo eagerly spun his chair, kicking it to a stop facing the windshield, and Dior settled into the empty copilot seat beside him. Fire almost left, then hesitated.

"Starlight? Valey?" She raised an eyebrow. "Could I talk to you...?"

"In private?" Valey guessed. "Sure."

They retreated to the landing where the stairs split between all three levels and the engine room. Fire glanced around, swiveling her ears and checking for sounds of other ponies. Eventually, she said, "Here."

Starlight looked. In her bright yellow aura was a small crystal chip, looking like it belonged in some sort of expensive technology. "What's this?"

"An audio recording," Fire whispered, offering it to them. "You told me that you didn't want anything more to think about right now, with all that had happened. Knowing what Yakyakistan had done..." She hung her head. "But some day, I hope that you will find yourselves more secure, and able to act again to help the world. This is a recorded explanation of everything Yakyakistan has tried to accomplish in the last forty years, culminating in the release of windigoes at Ironridge. An explanation of everything. It won't be as good as being told in person, since you won't be able to ask questions, but it's better than nothing. You've seen the consequences of Yakyakistan keeping this information to ourselves. It's better that someone else knows... and you are the best ones I can think of to handle it and keep it safe."

Valey frowned. "When you say 'us'..."

"The two of you and Maple," Fire responded. "Her and Starlight have both channeled the harmonic magics the Bishops have dedicated themselves to for a millennium, and accomplished feats with them that only existed in legend. And you more than any other risked your life to stop our ambassador, from what I have heard... and if my guess about your past is correct, you have more than enough knowledge already to do irreparable damage to Yakyakistan were you to wish it. I'm trusting you with this. You can decide whether to share it with more ponies... but please listen to it first so you can understand what is at stake. Please. And thank you."

"Heh..." Valey gave a lopsided smirk. "A valuable recording with nation-toppling information inside? Listen, as far as I know, we're heading off to some legendary mare paradise to chill and take it easy for as long as we please. This won't send any ultra goons hunting us to try and get it, will it?" She shook the chip. "I mean, I'm clearly invincible and can beat up anyone, but it would seriously stink to wake up from a nap with half the town on fire."

Fire shook her head, smiling gently. "It's just like any other audio recording. You can smash it once you've heard it, it isn't trackable, and the four of us will be the only ponies in the world who know you have it. Three, until you tell Maple."

Valey slipped the chip under her wing. "Well... I think we can deal with this once we've blown off some steam. I dunno about you, Starlight, but I feel ridiculously frayed right now. Uhh... later?"

"We probably will meet again..." Fire gave a wistful smile, looked at the chip's hiding place one more time, and slipped out and up the staircase.

Starlight and Valey stood there until they felt the faint shifting of the floor beneath their hooves. "We're moving," Starlight remarked.

"Yeah," Valey whispered, nudging her golden pendant. "Bye bye, Ironridge..."

The ship didn't make any funny noises, or give any indication it was about to explode. Instead, it started to turn, and Starlight guessed by the time before it stopped that they were pointed east. Then it began to accelerate. "Bye bye, Ironridge," she whispered after Valey, almost feeling surreal.

"I thought I'd die in this place," Valey muttered at last. "No joke. And I never thought I'd die, either."

Starlight felt like a completely different pony, and, depending on what the flame had done in reconstituting her body, might physically have been one. But more than anything, a weariness washed over her that her time unconscious in the flame hadn't been able to purge, preventing her from evaluating herself beyond a big ball of tired. She didn't want to theorize or philosophize. "I want a nap."

"Yeah, me too." Valey stepped ahead onto the cabin level, still smelling faintly of injuries and dried blood from when it had been used to shelter injured soldiers. It would need a good cleaning once they reached Riverfall, but eventually could be good as new.

Starlight tried the door to her and Maple's room, but then remembered it had been used for fighters after she unlocked it. Maple was supposed to be in Shinespark's room... so she pushed that door open instead.

The quarters were twice as big as her own, with a huge, plush bed in one corner. She could vaguely hear bumps and giggles through the wall - White Chocolate and her foals must have been housed in the next room down. Part of her brain told her to check on them, but Starlight was too tired. She fixated instead on the lump in the middle of the bed... a lump in the shape of the pony she now called mother.

"Mmm... Starlight..." Maple murmured in her sleep, shifting slightly as Starlight climbed up on the bed, tucking herself alongside her and feeling warm breathing against her coat. It was time to sleep for a long, long time.

"Uhhh..." Valey whispered, standing in the doorway, quietly ruining the moment. "Okay, that looks really cozy. Can I be jealous?"

Starlight glared at her, looking back at the slumbering Maple. "Shhhh!"

Valey winked. "Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. Just so you know, I'm totally joining that pile once you're asleep."





















One day ago...

Inside a hollow, black expanse, all was still. Stale air carried the sounds of trickling meltwater, the storm having broken a matter of hours before. Smashed and twisted metal scaffolding flickered with sparks from damaged mana equipment, a backup power supply somewhere refusing to give up. The inside of the metal tube barely resembled a cylinder any more, and was slanted at a devious angle, but a pony who knew it could recognize it as the severed tip of a skyport control tower.

The middle observation deck lay on its side, melting snow seeping in through cracks in the glass and forming a frigid lake at the bottom of the room. The only places on which a pony could find any purchase were the central stairwell, slightly bent and crooked, or a few terminals and component casings which were still bolted to the walls. Against the stairwell, draped at the perfect angle not to fall off and plunge into the arctic pool below, was a body.

Grenada shuddered, and opened her eyes.

To call herself a bruise would be an understatement. She probably had multiple fractures, and was too cold to properly tell if she was in pain. Icy metal designed to give traction bit into her at all the wrong angles, and every shallow breath moved her slightly in the wrong direction. She was desperately hungry, and painfully aware that she wouldn't survive for long. Yet, she was alive.

Sosa... was... gone. Memories of a chaotic tumble surfaced in her mind, of the tower being shorn from its base and flipping over and over through the air, slamming her back and forth against walls and windows. Braen... Shinespark... the pony she had idolized since fillyhood had been there. She had told her to leave, to survive, that protecting herself was more important than any sort of revenge. But then Braen had gone up to the tower's head to talk down the rest of the Spirit, and...

Please, no. She had lost her home and everything she had fought for. She couldn't lose her friend and mentor as well. Braen had to have been wrong... to have panicked, or known something she didn't, or... There was always a chance things could be made right. If Braen was alive, then maybe they could understand again... but if she was dead, that was one more thing lost this cursed night.

Grenada wanted to yell, but her lungs didn't have enough strength.

She grappled the staircase's central support column, pulling herself along into the tower shaft where there wasn't water waiting below. Her hooves burned, her legs burned, her sides and chest and neck burned and her head ached from being slammed around in the fall, but she wasn't dead yet.

The staircase filled the entire column, its spiral architecture useful for climbing but making horizontal traversal a nightmare. Every rotation, Grenada had to heave herself over a wall higher than she was, made of awkward metal panes that rubbed at her coat and threatened to leave her raw. Braen had to have survived too. She had to be at the top of the tower. There had to be something left...

She reached the top, the staircase spilling out into a broad, empty room. Another frigid lake covered the bottom half, and there was nowhere but below it for a pony to rest.

Grenada cried. It hurt her sides to shake like that, but she had to. Above, the cracked window glass had shattered in a hole big enough for a pony to climb out, letting in a column of misty gray pre-dawn light that fell upon her in a pillar of illumination from on high. Sosa was gone. Everything she had fought for was gone... and she was alone.

What hurt more? The loneliness? The failure? That Braen had asked her to save herself, and now here she was? She had seen what severed the tower: it was their own plan, debris from the roof of the ship hangar. It had to be the last one. Grenada stretched a hoof toward the hole, unable to do anything to reach it. "Braen..." she whispered. "Please..."

But nobody came.

Scrunching her eyes, Grenada focused on her stinging horn, pointed straight at the hole, and poured all her magic into a spell. It was a colored flare, devised for communication among the Spirit and mastered by a few magically-inclined members. This one was blue. Blue for S.O.S. But she didn't even know where she was.

Then, with a distant rumble against her chilled, battered ears, something happened. She heard a roaring, felt a flickering, knew something was happening overhead... It sounded like airship engines. But that was impossible, since she herself had seen to it that every last one was destroyed...

A rope dropped down through the hole.

Grenada gasped, watching with barely-concealed hope... and a pony slid down, stylishly checking his speed with one hoof and one wing. He let the rope spin him in a circle, staring about until his eyes fell on her. "Whoa-ho!" he crowed, giving a generous grin that contrasted with his garish mane and goatee. "By the whims of fate, a pony has survived! How's it hangin'?"

"Uhhh..." Grenada couldn't have managed more words if she wanted to.

"Howdy!" the pegasus greeted, looking almost unreasonably cheerful. "I'm Howe. As I like to say... Howe do you do?"

Grenada stared blankly as he chuckled at his own joke. Then, Howe's face snapped to sober in an instant. "So, I'm guessing you'd really appreciate an evac right now?"

"Yes..." Feebly, Grenada nodded.

"Then the Howenator is on the job!" Pumping his wings, he began to swing, quickly landing on the ledge next to her. "So, uhh... think you'll hang on if I just grab you and haul you up to our ship? We've got more medical supplies than you can shake a you-know-what at!"

"Okay..." Grenada breathed, trying not to think as Howe's limbs closed in a strong grip around her. The pegasus yanked the rope, and they began ascending, passing carefully through the hole in the wall.

The land above was completely alien. Melting snowdrifts and banks of slush were interlaced by gray rocky outcroppings and reflective rivers, the eastern sky just beginning to be tinged by dawn. The stars twinkled brightly without a cloud in sight, and as they slowly rotated, she saw a tremendous wall of mountains the height of the world itself in the distance. That would be south.

They rotated further, and eventually she saw the blown-out shell of the skyport. It looked like a wreck... which meant some of the Spirit had survived. But it was also still standing, even with the damage to numerous glass domes. Her heart clenched, and she sighed. It hadn't been enough. Sosa was gone, and she didn't even know what to do any more.

The airship they were pulled toward was ornate and massive, looking ready to carry a crew of a hundred or greater. Eventually, the winch came into sight, along with a tall, lanky unicorn with a pair of shades manning it. Telekinesis grabbed her, and she was floated carefully on deck.

"Hooo-whee," the unicorn whistled. "What did you find here, Brother-of-mine? Isn't this one of them Spirit mares?"

Grenada groaned, looking him carefully over. She recognized him from somewhere... Maybe a Spirit meeting? It didn't matter. The increasing brightness in the sky only served to highlight the blackness at the edge of her vision.

"Not right now, Biological Bro," Howe chided. "Put your lecherous whims forever aside! This mare is injured, and needs the full force of our medical know-how!"

The unicorn slapped a hoof to his forehead. "On it faster than you know how!"

Panting under her breath, Grenada leaned against the ship's carved railing... but the unicorn really was faster than she knew how. "Neon Nova, at your service," he proclaimed, holding a bottle up to her lips. "Healing potion. Drinkey drinkey, now! Nothing like some good rest and recovery afterwards, but these are genuine Varsidelean war supplies. They'll get you patched up."

Grenada gulped it down. The mixture was more syrupy than she had expected, clinging to the back of her throat and making her desperately wish she had some water to wash it down... or any food in general. Still, she felt slightly more alert, the pains in her limbs and torso not quite so severe.

"Do you have anything to eat?" she rasped, her voice recovering with the increased ease in breathing.

"Only the best!" Neon Nova gave her a grand wink that was visible from behind his black flip-up shades. "Brother-of-mine, think you can be on it?"

Now it was Howe's turn to salute and dart away. "Cheese and crackers, I'm on it!"

Grenada touched her forehead with a hoof, shocked enough out of her stupor that staring out at Ironridge below didn't make her want to cry. Over the peaks of the Sky District rim, she could see the Earth District... and, in the distance, the flood. "What have I gotten myself into...?"

"I don't know what you've gotten into, but I can tell you what you're about to get out of!" Neon Nova assured her with a friendly nudge. "Ironridge! What you you say we stroll on back to the bridge so I can get us back out of sight of the city?"

"Out of sight?" Grenada frowned. "Why?"

Neon Nova rolled his shoulders, whistling innocently and shuffling from side to side. "Oh, it's a very long story. Once, we worked for a band of mercenaries, you see! But then, we got kicked around, made some friends... got kicked around some more... and made plans to flee. So we stole the mercenaries' own ship to do so! We had meant to come back by and pick up our friends once we secured an avenue out of the city, but a ferocious storm sprung up that has only now broken! A few recon flybys here and there haven't gotten us spotted yet, but we're getting nervous that those mercenaries will see us and come out for our blood sooner rather than later. So unless we find our friends... perhaps... now, and they still want to leave, it's time to see to our own hides and bail without them!"

"...Really?" Grenada looked carefully at him.

He winked thrice. "Well, it wouldn't be terribly cool of us to not give them a chance, period. I don't suppose you're looking for a ticket out of the city yourself?"

Suddenly, Howe came racing back with a three-course meal balanced on his back and both wings. "Biological Bro, this place is stacked!" he gloated, bouncing the dishes as he ran. "Truly, the knowledge had fled my mind on just how fortunate we were to steal a ship loaded with this many marvels!" He blinked at Grenada. "Hey, uhh... we're getting ready to ditcherino this place unless the friends we've been waiting for show. Does the destiny of this fell city have you firmly in its clutches? If not, you're welcome to come along in this grand act of our escape!"

"He... just told me that..." Grenada muttered, head beginning to hurt from the stallion brothers' antics. She just wanted to eat, and be left a minute to think.





The airship's bridge was high above the deck, directly attached to the dirigible instead of hanging on reinforced cables like the main gondola, with windows that stretched all the way to the floor and afforded a perfect view of the surrounding lands. As she ate, the healing potion finally slipping into its full effect, she could see the flood more completely... as well as the eastern valley, and everything that was no longer standing.

"Unless you object, I think it's time we headed off," Neon proclaimed, standing at the ship's great rudder wheel. Grenada had been slightly surprised to learn that the massive zeppelin could be operated by a crew of one, but it certainly appeared the stallions hadn't been exaggerating.

"...Where are you going?" Grenada asked. It didn't really matter where, since her home and leader were both dead and drowned. Whatever she was going to fight for... it wasn't going to be the Stone District. She'd need to find it elsewhere, and anywhere was a good place to start.

"Anywhere!" Neon happily announced. "I was thinking we'd nip by the Griffon Empire, spin through Varsidel, check out what the yaks are up to... and if we find anything interesting, we stay!" He teased a gold-flaked glass ball on the dashboard with his magic, the crystal within pulsing with a cool shade of blue. "It'll be an adventure of making things up as we go."

That was a good enough answer for her. Sighing, Grenada put down her plate, extinguished her horn, and got up. "All right. I'm coming. Anywhere will have to do."