The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi


Table Taunting

Starlight stumbled through the rainy glass streets of northern Riverfall, focusing on staying upright on her crystal-covered hooves. The tiny impacts of her hooves hitting the ground didn't drain her as much as she thought they would, so long as she stepped lightly and didn't stomp or punch anything. But the balance was disconcerting, especially with her big, adult-sized poncho, and she noted that whatever traction spell normally adhered her hooves to the glass, it didn't seem to work through her magical shoes.

"Having fun, there?" Amber asked, still sharing a coat with Valey and following a few paces behind. They were constantly whispering to each other, though Starlight couldn't make it out against the rain, and when she turned to look both mares were grinning at her, Amber cheekily and Valey with something resembling pride.

"With these?" Starlight lifted a hoof. "Sort of. They're weird." She put it back down. "The glass drains water well anyway. Maybe they'll be useful if we get to the mud."

But a muddy area wasn't where they were going. The bathhouse was in the extreme northeast corner of the town, within earshot of the short waterfall Hemlock had once tried to lift Gerardo's boat past with a crane. The north was completely covered by Arambai's special traction-giving road, and they paced west along the river, surrounded by four-story towers and some that were bigger. The town plaza was nearby, though Starlight couldn't hear the booming of amplification or the roar of a crowd, and figured Gerardo had taken the day off to the rain.

Eventually, the section of river where Shinespark's ship was moored scrolled into view. The gangplank was out, the deck and surrounding area were empty, and the portholes glowed with welcoming light, a sign Starlight took to mean the power was back on and running. Shinespark had probably worked on it for the entire previous day.

"Welp," Valey said, commenting on what she had just noticed. "Looks like some unicorn had a productive day. Wanna go congratulate her, or pester her, or what?"

Amber shrugged against her. "It was your idea. Let's just get inside and see what's happening?"

Starlight raised no objection and followed them aboard. The sloping ramp was particularly tricky, thanks to her hooves, but eventually she reached the door to the staircase belowdecks and stepped inside.

The stairs tripped her. She had forgotten the entry lacked a foyer to take off her poncho and darted inside, and the combined weight on her back and awkward shape of her hooves was more than her balance could take. She hit the first step, slipped, and rolled all the way to the bottom... or would have, if Valey hadn't been right in front of her to break her fall.

"Ow. Careful," Valey admonished, steadying Starlight as she writhed free from her dripping coat and dispelled the crystals around her hooves. It was funny; even the shock of tripping hadn't broken her focus enough to accidentally drop them. Maybe things like this were exercises that could improve her control? Either way, she sat up, shaking her head and straightening her recently-fixed mane, and made it to the landing below.

The door to the engine room was open, and a pink shimmering hummed out from it, heralding the harmony extractor being powered on. "Hello!?" she called, taking a step closer.

"Over here," Dior's voice called back from her right. The stallion was relaxing in one of the library's luxurious chairs, Matryona in another nearby. Both held books, the restored overhead lights being put to good use. "Good morning!" he added. "How can we help you?"

"Have we visitors?" a familiar griffon's voice called, and Gerardo Guillaume strode out of the cabin hallway, looking freshly groomed himself and also at ease. "Ah, Starlight and Amber!" He beamed. "And Valey as well. I, erm... don't suppose Miss Maple is with you, is she?"

Valey shook her head, shrugging herself and Amber free of their poncho. "Nah. She's chillaxing with the others at that bath place. Probably a good thing, too, 'cuz I think she's really ticked at you. Her door is still broken, you know. Can barely even close it enough to keep her place from getting drafty."

Gerardo hung his head. "Well, I hope she knows I truly regret that, and have been trying to find means of making it up to her. I suppose all this crowd-given attention I've experienced as of late has been going to my head and making me careless, but I have thought about it and... let us say there's a reason I am here now and not addressing my loyal audience in the town plaza."

Amber smirked. "Have anything to do with that Slipstream pegasus stealing your show?"

"For your information," Gerardo huffed, puffing out his chest, "I haven't seen her in two days, aside from a very enthusiastic run-in in which I discovered things not fit for discussion in the presence of children." He raised an eyebrow at Starlight. "Rest assured she is happy and extremely fulfilled."

Valey gave Amber a naughty look. "Fulfilled, or just plain filled?"

Amber smacked her, leaving Starlight blinking in confusion.

"Riverfall is definitely a fulfilling place, if you can survive off estrogen and hormones," Dior remarked knowingly, fondness and hauntedness battling in his orange eyes. "Personally, it's something that will take a while to acclimate to, though I think I could grow to enjoy it once I'm not in danger of drowning." He nodded at Gerardo. "It's been refreshing here to have another actual male to talk to. Or anyone who isn't staring at my tail."

Self-consciously, Valey blinked. "Tail... Oh bananas, do I still have the ribbon in my mane?"

Matryona nodded from her chair, half-listening to the conversation over her book. "It suits you," she said, earning an annoyed look.

"Yeah, uhh..." Valey self-consciously rubbed it with a wing. "Seriously, I got it as a joke, but this is starting to actually make me feel awkward. And that's saying a lot, because in Ironridge I loved the fact that I gave stallions conflicting feelings about me. Being a wuss feels ridiculous."

"I don't mind either way," Amber said, shrugging. "You're an adorable wuss. You're also adorable when you're teasing. And when you're being teased," she added, shoving Valey, who was starting to redden. "As long as you leave ponies alone if they ask, of course."

"Hey!" Shinespark's voice echoed down the stairwell, back from the way they had came. "Mom? Dior? Do you remember where I put the...?"

She trailed off the moment she came into view, eyes fixed on Valey, and everyone else's eyes fixed on her. Impossibly slowly, she raised a hoof and pointed, tail shivering violently. "You... did something to your mane," she managed.

"You too?" Valey's face fell... and then Amber grinned and nudged her, a light clicked in her eyes, and her expression completely reversed. "You too, huh?" she purred, adjusting the ribbon and swishing a dangling strand of her mane with a wing, causing Shinespark to start fighting with redness.

Amber clamped her mouth shut to keep from laughing as Shinespark forced a frown. "Valey, what did you do to..." she tried to begin.

Saucily, Valey strutted to a short table probably intended for refreshments, flopped down on top of it, and started grooming her coat with her tongue, all four hooves and one foreleg hanging off the edge.

Shinespark twitched one more time before teleporting, vanishing without a trace.

Amber burst out laughing, and Valey and Dior quickly joined her, Matryona smiling fondly. "Poor Shinespark," Dior said, shaking his head. "The price you pay for being high-strung is being easy to snap, I suppose."

"She seemed flustered," Gerardo remarked.

"Heh heh... Yeah..." Valey thumped the floor with a forehoof a few times. "Yeah, poor Sparky. Pretty sure I frustrate her to the point where she's got no clue how to think of me. Remember, I was both her archnemesis and her biggest ally in the Stone District for years, since I had all her secrets and could ruin her or keep them at the drop of a hat. What a teenager. Some day, she's gotta learn about her emotions. Until then... eh... Maybe keeping this big, dumb ribbon is something I can do for a while longer."