//------------------------------//
// Return Voyage 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

Starlight stood on the deck of Shinespark's yet-unnamed airship, the shimmering pink comet of energy propelling it ringing in her ears as the wind whipped through her mane. Maple, Valey and Matryona had retreated belowdecks, and Shinespark was on the bridge, controlling her masterpiece, but Amber, Willow and Gerardo remained on the surface with her, watching the world go by.

"This is something else," Amber remarked breathlessly, wind slapping across her muzzle as she leaned out to survey the passing landscapes, still using the railing for support. "I've flown in Riverfall before, but from so high up, it's...!"

Willow nodded, murmuring in agreement. "The highest I've ever been is Arambai's lookout that views the river. From here, it's like a whole other world."

Gerardo grinned happily. "I see you're discovering the wonders of having a bird's-eye view?" He nodded appreciatively, strolling over beside them. "Such are the vistas that drove me to adventure in the first place. See how the trees grow so tiny, they turn from canopy to carpet, and the river becomes but a winding crack of gleaming blue? I can't quite think of a surface metaphor for it! The horizon extends far further than could be seen from the ground, crags and crevasses forming their outlines into the distant mist... Ah, and over there is a rainstorm, far to the distance behind us. Quite interesting how different they appear from above, isn't it?" He exhaled long and hard, closing his eyes. "I wish every creature had the fortune to experience the world like this. Some days, I think I should have gone into photography instead."

As Gerardo praised the landscape, Starlight's eyes were drawn southward, to the Equestrian mountain wall. Despite the ship's immense altitude, they weren't even halfway up the initial cliff face, and beyond that the peaks continued to stack in endless spires, as if an already grand chain of mountains were placed atop a wall higher than anything else in the world. Shinespark had built this ship to cross that, had she? She was almost curious herself to see if it could be done.

"Hey, Gerardo?" Amber blinked, looking over. "I've been meaning to ask, but how long have you been adventuring?"

"Ah, that is a story I think I actually told precisely on the trip back here!" Gerardo brushed off the front of his uniform with a talon. "More than ten years, though the exact number of it isn't important. I left my homeland in the Griffon Empire as a young griffon because my household was dying and had been for quite some time... or was already dead, as everyone else would put it. But that backwater place was uneventful to the degree that I consider myself to have been adventuring my entire life."

"The important part of it, at least," Willow added.

"Quite." Gerardo nodded in turn. "In truth, I imagine quite a few of you can relate, given how many dramatic twists and turns your own fortunes have taken as of late." He fixed Amber with a welcoming look. "Considering a career yourself, now that you're getting a taste of what the world has to offer?"

Amber chuckled. "This is nice, but I'll need a little more than just a view of the sky to drop my life in Riverfall forever and leave Maple, Willow and Starlight. Although, I could see myself regularly coming and going, especially once things settle down and Maple and Starlight are happier." She hastily looked over her shoulder, remembering Starlight was there, and added with a frown, "Ironridge really wasn't good for Maple. I think she's... regressed a lot. She's still up and about, and I love her for trying, but before, it seemed like she could go for days at a time without thinking about or being bothered by our past, and now it's like she fights it again, every day. This was how she was while she was recovering the first time, for a while. It makes me sad to say it, but..."

Starlight gave a sigh of frustration. "I wish I knew what I could do for her."

"I think we all do," Willow gently said. "And the best answer we've found is to look forward to the future, enjoy the present, and let go of the past."

"Easier said than done," Starlight grumbled.

"I know." Willow touched her shoulder, and left it at that.

But Starlight wasn't finished. "I try my best to enjoy Riverfall for her! She wants to live here, and I'm trying my hardest! But there's nothing to do and a lot of the mares don't like me and I'm worried about Hemlock and... ugh. It feels like when I was in Equestria, after Sunburst left. Only instead of trying not to enjoy everything, I'm trying to enjoy it and they both make me miserable! But I love Maple and this is so much better than being alone and I don't..." She gritted her teeth. "I try to stay with her as much as possible, but I still feel lonely. What if... What if my parents in Equestria really did love me, and I didn't see it? I'm scared if I keep trying this way, I'll snap and run away again..."

Gerardo raised a talon. "I may not be the world's foremost expert on social interaction, but that sounds unhealthy."

"Oh, Starlight..." Willow turned straight toward her, wearing a worried frown. "Is that really how you feel?"

Starlight puffed out her cheeks. "I told you, I care about Maple. So if you're going to tell me-"

Willow cut her off with a sigh. "Starlight... do you remember when you first arrived in Riverfall, and I asked you if you could please take care of Maple for me? To treat her nicely, because she had been through a lot?"

"Mhmm." Starlight nodded warily. "And I hate being alone, so don't tell me she no longer matters."

"Starlight, we would never say that," Amber said with a sad smile.

"What I am going to tell you," Willow said as firmly as possible, putting a hoof over Starlight's tense shoulderblades, "is that you need to take care of yourself too. Maple is trying and doing her best to believe in herself, trust her own judgements, and do things for herself as much as she can, and understand that she deserves it. And making yourself unhappy in the name of making her happy is not a thing that will make any of us happy, including us, her, and you."

Wordlessly, Starlight rubbed her nose. "Mmph."

"If Maple didn't exist," Willow began. "If everything was like it is now, but there was no Maple. What would you do?"

Starlight instantly opened her mouth, and Willow just as quickly silenced her with a gentle hoof to the chin. "I'm not asking you to do this. Only to think about it."

"I would..." Starlight swallowed. "I don't know. Maybe I'd stay with you for a while. Or I'd go with Shinespark somewhere else, as long as it's not back to Equestria, or Yakyakistan, or Varsidel or..." She hung her head. "I don't know."

"Truthfully?" Willow gave her a sad look.

"I said I don't know!"

Willow sighed. "What were you hoping to find when you ran away to Riverfall in the first place?"

"Something better than Equestria," Starlight mumbled. "I don't know. I wanted anything, and if it wasn't good enough, I'd keep looking."

"Shhhh." Willow reached up and touched her head. "I believe you."

For a moment, Amber stood by with a worried smile, and eventually Gerardo chimed in. "If I may," he began. "I, myself, am well acquainted with the feeling of looking for something without having a clue knowing what I am looking for. I'm also familiar with leaving a home I didn't feel was worth staying in. It wouldn't surprise me remotely if the rest of my life is lived out this way, never settling down and remaining on the road until I die in a noble skirmish or succumb to old age, but it has, ultimately, grown quite enjoyable in and of itself."

Amber tapped a hoof. "That's right, Gerardo, you are... Have you got any advice on how to live like that?"

Gerardo shrugged. "First off, I limit my attachments to the things I can take with me. I have no family so to speak of, and my friends are whomever I meet upon the road. Granted, I am innately drawn to the types who might be persuaded to join me for a time in my travels, or that I might cross roads with in the future. I vaguely recall telling someone the story of an old Varsidelian friend of mine named Winsom... Ultimately, however, I acknowledge that staying mobile both means I will make new acquaintances for every one left behind, and farewells must only last until I am next in the area. As a traveler of my own agency, I can return to visit whomever I want, whenever I want, with naught but some days of travel and the possible acquisition of a boat, or, if I am feeling civilized, airfare. Second: I keep moving. If I find a place to be not worth staying in, I clear out at my earliest convenience, or faster, in the case of some daring escapes. When no one place can ever satisfy me, this prevents me from becoming perpetually unsatisfied, and also gives me the chance to see past friends again if I so desire. Ultimately, I find it quite a fulfilling existence, if impractical for a lone filly who cannot fly."

Starlight looked away, half-processing Gerardo's thoughts. She still didn't like him, after everything he had gotten them into in Ironridge, but Amber had a point that he could be an expert on this. She closed her eyes. "So if you were me, you'd leave Maple behind and run away again, and promise to come back every year or so," she said, hoping the intention wasn't something as unpalatable as that sounded.

"Oh, I dearly hope not." Gerardo held a talon to his chest in mortification. "First off, as mentioned, there's quite a difference in ability to adventure safely between you and I. I mean that not as an insult, for you are certainly hardy, but consider that you are a landlocked child prone to overtaxing and injuring yourself, while I am a reasonably powerful griffon who began his journey with enough of a family nest egg to act as a crutch as I learned the rules of the road. It would be irresponsible of me to even suggest you depart Riverfall on your own. Additionally, from what I've seen of Miss Maple, she is not entirely happy with Riverfall either and may be more likely to accompany you than you think."

Starlight screwed up her expression, and even Amber looked surprised. "What?"

"Indeed." Gerardo nodded. "It doesn't take a genius to tell there is a lot of weight associated with her memories of the place. Everyone, I am aware I wasn't the best steward of the earlier journey you underwent to Ironridge, and may have prioritized my own goals slightly higher than I should have... but I dearly hope this adventure turns out better than the one before, enough to restore Miss Maple's faith in the idea of travel. She is a pony who, I think, might be more inclined to the possibility of looking for more elsewhere in the world."

Willow looked closely at him. "Gerardo, I think you should talk to her yourself. There's still a lot of bad feelings between you, but I do want the best for her. I don't know enough about Ironridge or travel myself to say if you are right or wrong, but..." She closed her eyes and nodded. "Thank you for being thoughtful."

Gerardo bowed. "A pleasure. And yes, the past few days have given me some much-needed time to think, I feel. Ironridge was... quite the adrenaline rush."

"Hey, everyone?" Amber interrupted, looking to the west over the railing. "Look! I think the mountains are changing up ahead! Does that mean we're there already?"

"Well, it seems this ship runs quite a bit faster than the previous voyage!" Gerardo beamed, shading his eyes and looking out alongside her. "I'd say that took a little under two hours, give or take. It looks as if we'll be there in no time."