//------------------------------// // Try Again // Story: The Olden World // by Czar_Yoshi //------------------------------// Shinespark had her forehooves on the edges of the terminal screen as the recording ended, staring hollowly at nothing. "It's been nineteen years since I've listened to that recording," Matryona murmured. "I hope it meant as much to you as it does to me." Starlight looked up at the pony shuffling forward, and finally saw Matryona for the first time. Her black-and-purple hooded robe was gone, discarded in a corner, leaving her fully uncovered. She stood a head taller than even Gerardo, with a milky, cream-white coat occasionally emblazoned by blinding orange. A small orange stripe marked the tip of her ribcage on her chest, forked into a four-pointed star that was taller than it was wide. Some of her pinions were colored as well, growing from wings that could effortlessly dwarf an average pegasus's in span. Her mane and tail were pure, somehow not tangled despite having been covered, and her cutie mark depicted a soft, ornate hoof slipper, matching her ability to walk without making a sound. From Valey, Amber and Gerardo's reactions, she was just as stunning as Starlight suspected. Matryona unfurled a wing and laid it gently on Shinespark's back. Eventually, Shinespark said, "Huh. So that's how you felt about me." "If you need time to think, we can give you as much as you need," Matryona murmured. "No, I..." Shinespark cut herself off, then swallowed. "I knew all of that, already. Most of it. I knew where you were and what happened when I was conceived, knew you couldn't get back to Ironridge the conventional way, knew you tried to fly back and got picked up by an enthusiast ship, but..." She swallowed again and shook her head. "It would be disrespectful to say what I assumed." "Say it," Matryona requested. "Please." Shinespark grimaced... and went ahead. "The way you were when you met Mobius... innocent and naive... I thought you stayed that way the whole time. I guess I thought you... didn't know the danger of that journey, or didn't do anything while you were carrying me, or... I didn't realize how hard you tried, or how much you worried, or that you already thought of me as a person or that when you set out, you really might have had a chance." "Why wouldn't I think of you as a person?" Matryona's face fell, looking gently wounded. "I... I told you it would be disrespectful!" Shinespark ground out, fidgeting. "Mom, I thought... if I cost you your job, I'd just have been a consequence, or something wrong with your body, or..." She hung her head. "I know that doesn't add up. I didn't think. The only parts of that story I thought were important were the beginning and the end, because they were the ones I thought were about me. I'm sor-" "Don't be." Matryona interrupted her with a feather to the lip. "You thought they were important because I told you they were over and over when you were little." "Why wait so long to tell me the whole story?" Shinespark whimpered. "I could have respected you more, or..." Matryona silenced her again. "Are you saying you treated me poorly?" Shinespark shook her head. "You were always a wonderful filly growing up," Matryona said. "I'm sure you know that I didn't get my happily ever after with Mobius when I returned to Ironridge. Then I did get it, for ten long years with Arambai. And I never gave you this because you never questioned what was the purpose of your life, and had already given yourself enough burdens that I didn't want to place the pressure of my expectations on you as well. Even if the only thing I've ever wanted was for you to grow up with the freedom to be whatever and wherever you want." "Even the hero of Ironridge," Shinespark added bitterly. "Even if I wasn't cut out for it." "It isn't about whether you fail, or have your plans forcibly changed," Matryona insisted, still cradling her with a wing. "I chose one thing that was important to me above all else, and that was you. How would I do what was best for you? I failed to earn enough money for the boat while I was near the coast, and had to give up and move. I failed to keep my job with the troupe and had to start living on my own, and get a job as a window cleaner. I failed to make enough as a window cleaner to dream of returning by boat again, and made plans to raise you in Varsidel. Then I failed to keep my window-cleaning job, and instead of giving up on us I tried to make the flight to Ironridge. I made it partway there, then failed to finish it before you were born. Yet, here we are. You are a strong, healthy unicorn not much younger than I was then, with so many talents and so many ways you could live your life. You have an airship that can take you anywhere in the world, and friends, some of whom would go with you. I was the hero of you, and as many times as I had to change my plans, I think everything turned out fine in the end." "M-Mom..." Shinespark choked into her lustrous coat. Matryona nodded, holding Shinespark tight. "Do you want to help Ironridge? You don't have to. You have everything you need right here to live whatever kind of life you want and more. But if you want to, you can. You won't be able to do it in the same way you were always planning for. Maybe you'll get lucky and bring the city its fairy-tale ending next time. If you're like me, it might take a lot more tries, failures and new plans than that. And I was just trying to make a future for myself and one unborn foal. You want to help thousands. But if you want to, you can. It isn't easy, but there is always a way to try, so long as you take care of yourself and remember what is important." "You have..." Shinespark sniffed, then again, harder. "No idea how much I needed to hear that..." She flung both forelegs around Matryona in a wide, full-bodied hug. "I love you too, Mom! Thank you..." As Matryona returned the gesture, Valey tapped Starlight on the shoulder, breaking the filly's trance. "Yo," she whispered. "Wanna leave them to their mushy stuff? Pretty sure this isn't something we need to be here for." Starlight nodded, and followed the rest of the ponies out of the bridge. "Well, that was quite the emotional exchange," Gerardo remarked once everyone was settled back in the library. "I've been to both of those cities myself, though only several years after her. It sounds as though she underwent quite a trial." Dior nodded contemplatively. "My mother is a strong mare. I never knew the details of her time in Varsidel during her pregnancy with my sister, but it's not surprising, given the way she is now. After hearing that..." He shook his head. "I'll probably need to think about it for a while. But I hope we can get this airship running soon, so she can be reunited with Arambai in Ironridge. He hasn't had the easiest life, either, and both of them deserve their fairy-tale ending, as she put it." "Sparky said this thing will be done, what, tomorrow?" Valey gave Starlight a glance, reminding her that she wanted to talk to Maple before any return to Ironridge. "That is my impression," Gerardo agreed. "I know I can't turn down an adventure, though I do hope Ironridge is tamer this time around. What about the rest of you? Will any of you be accompanying us back to the mountainside city?" Amber gave him a grin. "I'm alternating between bad nerves and serious enthusiasm, but I'm definitely going. It sounds like Maple and Willow are in, too." Valey frowned resolutely. "And me and Starlight are coming with them." Sadly, Dior shrugged. "It looks like I'll have to be the one to bow out, then. I've had my fill of Ironridge for a lifetime, and remember that the current state of the Ironridge public's knowledge is that I was Braen and fled in a cowardly fashion once the dam was destroyed. If I were to show my face there again, it would end in trouble for me at best, and the unraveling of our story as a much worse outcome." Gerardo nodded sagely. "All valid reasons. We shall do our best to enjoy the city in your memory and avoid as much related drama as possible." "Hey, how about, uhhh..." Valey tapped a wing, thinking. "Slipstream? That really cute pegasus who has a thing for you? What about her?" "Ah, Slipstream?" Gerardo shrugged, staring fondly. "While I agree with your assessment and was initially quite elated that she joined us in our return to Riverfall, I imagine we've heard the last of her. She has, to paraphrase her own words, discovered the wonders of being exotic and desired in a city populated entirely by easily-frustrated mares. She's told me that she is presently reconsidering her attractions, and the fact that I didn't even see her at my most recent performance likely indicates that she was... erm... successful in doing so." "Heh. Well, good for her." Valey shrugged back. "...Anyway. Not sure how much else I have to do here, so I might just go lurk around until tomorrow. Or go check on the bathhouse and make sure Jamjars isn't plotting her revenge." When Gerardo and Dior raised eyebrows, she grinned. "I might have given her a shave." Starlight just shook her head. "She will get you for that, you know." "Eh." Valey brushed a hoof through her mane. "I've got a ribbon in here. Not much you can do to make that worse. She'll be fine." "Well, so long." Dior waved. "Here tomorrow at noon, unless we decide otherwise?" "Yeah." Valey nodded. "And if I forget... remind me once Sparky's calmed down that I need to bug her about being conceived on a table." Amber and Starlight stared blankly at her. Dior groaned, grinning sadly. Gerardo blinked once, twice, three times... and finally burst out chuckling. "Ah, yes. I understood that! She does seem to have an affinity for those, doesn't she?"