Fresh and awakened, Starlight and her friends sat around a big table in Skyfreeze Tower's food court, sharing a pre-departing breakfast and talking about the future.
"The way I see it is, Amber's plan here is a good one... and for more reasons than you think," Arambai said, having joined them along with Matryona and Shinespark. "Getting boat traffic here from Riverfall, any at all, will get ponies curious and maybe into building boats themselves, and we need to start somewhere if Ironridge is going to get back on the world map." He waved a yellow hoof, food held in his telekinesis. "I'm in talks with Dangerous Karma to try and buy back that headquarters of his. It was originally intended to be a skyport in the days of Project Aslan, and though it was never close to completed, finishing and renovating it would be a lot easier to do on our own than fixing up the Sky District one. And now that the wind barrier seems gone for good, we won't have to worry about a difficult flight route or any height restrictions going in and out."
Amber shrugged thoughtfully. "Well, I'll see. I do want to get Gerardo's boat fixed up, but maybe we should settle back in first? I mean, I wasn't thinking of starting immediately..."
The conversation had been carrying on this way for quite some time, and Starlight was almost completely tuning it out. She fidgeted with a fork in her telekinesis, already full and ignoring her half-eaten plate. Her mind, like the entirety of the day before, was on other things, and most were the fault of a conversation with a magic flame in the caves beneath the Flame District.
She could too be happy. Being with Maple made her happy, didn't it? Keeping her friends safe, finding a place to call home... but, internally, she grimaced. That was having a purpose, not enjoying herself. The more she wracked her mind, probing up memories she had long since buried of idle days spent laying on her back and pointing out shapes in the clouds, reading books aloud or staring at the northern mountaintops with Sunburst, the more she realized that she hadn't felt anything like that, neither after he left, nor after she met Maple in Riverfall. There was too much for her to think about. Too many things she had to take care of to be carefree. But if the tree wanted her to do that... to forget about what the world could do and act as if it was a bright and innocent place... she would just get hurt again, exactly like she had been before, because it wasn't bright and innocent. She had to keep her friends safe, but that was taxing her. So whether she did or didn't, she'd be unhappy, either way...
A long-passed conversation with Willow on a dock in Riverfall sprang to mind, in which she was told that if the world wasn't good enough, she could change it. Right. Make the world a safe and happy place, where she wouldn't have a care ever again...
Though, even the flame seemed to think she could do whatever she put her mind to.
Starlight sighed audibly, putting her forehooves on her cheeks. Even if she wanted to risk it, it wasn't like she could just forget about-
"Starlight?" Maple asked, shattering her concentration. "How are you feeling?"
"Meh," Starlight said, and she meant it.
"Aren't you happy this trip went well?" Maple nudged her shoulder with a hoof, using exactly the wrong word. "I'm very relieved. I needed something to go well after all that. And tonight, we'll get to sleep in our own bed back in Riverfall once again, and I'll make grilled pineapple in celebration for you and me and all our friends. Shinespark too, if she'll stay."
"It's not like I have anything better to do," Shinespark sighed, looking glum.
"Yo... ulp..." Valey spoke around two bread sticks sticking out of her mouth at once, and quickly chewed and swallowed. "I didn't wanna be a party crasher, but you've been kinda mopey today. Did something happen while you were wherever you were the last day or so?"
Willow looked apologetically at Shinespark. "Being so close to her home district, I assume. It must be hard, being around so many ponies you knew..."
Shinespark averted her gaze. "No...! It's not that. It's just..."
"You might as well tell 'em," Arambai growled in his usual, gravelly voice. "Not like it's information anyone here could or would misuse."
Shinespark glanced around quickly, but their corner of the food court was deserted, no one around to eavesdrop thanks to it being between the usual breakfast and lunch hours. "Well..." Her face clouded in a scowl that was halfway between anger and disappointment. "I tried to take the ship south while you were out yesterday. I left the previous evening, and got back last night. I never intended to cross the mountains, just see how far I could go before turning around a day in."
"Really?" Amber leaned forward, her gaze turning keen.
"Really." Shinespark nodded. "The southern mountains were what this ship was designed to cross, after all. Pegasi and conventional airships have tried before. However, the elevation gain required just to crest the initial cliff face is so severe that most ships can't make the journey. Either they stop functioning due to altitude, or run out of fuel halfway up. And the extremely few that do make it report that the mountains just keep on rising beyond that, and they gave up after several more peaks with no sign of them ending. Our ship functions through controlling the effect of gravity on its own mass, essentially, and the idea behind using ponies as a fuel source is that our own harmonic magic doesn't run out, or else is somehow innately replenished by our existence. In short, we wouldn't get stalled. And we know thanks to Starlight that the mountain range is thin enough to be crossed on hoof in around a month."
Starlight huffed. "With a lot of those days spent doing nothing thanks to a cold."
"Right." Shinespark continued, "I flew south, and successfully made the initial ascent. It took several hours to gain that much elevation, since it's more designed for a sustained forward trajectory, but it did clear the cliff face. And then I kept going. The mountains rise beyond that just like it was said they would. And they never stop. I don't know how high they go, because my altimeter stopped working early on. My compass broke too, but it didn't matter since up was the way forward and down was always the way I had came. The ship worked perfectly, though, and kept up a good speed and height gain and did exactly what it was supposed to. I flew all the way until dawn."
All the Riverfall mares' eyes were wide. "What did it look like?" Maple asked, holding her breath. "Mountains that have probably never been seen since the beginning of the world..."
"Beyond beautiful." Shinespark's eyes unfocused, staring off into a distant window. "Imagine the Ironridge crater as seen from Skyfreeze, only completely undeveloped. Add more waterfalls, more trees going up the mountains, sharper peaks, and more snow, and then stack a hundred of those all together in each mountain valley. After the first few, there must have been a heavy magical field above them, because the weather became completely impossible and even my horn started working strangely. It's a wonder as many of the ship's sensors worked as they did. But when you see a snow-capped mountain, and then immediately after, a lush valley that's higher up than it... it made no sense, but I couldn't leave. Once I had seen it in the day, I had to keep going. I almost wondered if I was imagining things from latent magic or lack of sleep."
"You weren't," Starlight confirmed, shaking her head. "It really does look like that. Though I saw it from the ground."
Shinespark's ears folded. "I thought of you. That was when I started realizing something was wrong, since I had crossed far more terrain than a filly could in a month, even if it was flat and easy instead of incredibly difficult. I wondered if I was going the wrong way, and either way I had been out longer than I said I would. So I turned around to come back, and..." She sighed in defeat. "It took only three peak lines for me to find the initial mountain wall. I was back at Ironridge in under two hours. Whatever the magic of those mountains is, it physically stops them from being passable. You fly on and on and see new terrain, but never make any progress, and the moment you turn around, you're right back where you start. I can't even begin to imagine what could be so powerful as to enchant an entire mountain range to do that, but what matters is that I've failed again. Unless we can counter an enchantment beyond my comprehension, this ship can't give us a shortcut to the Plans of Harmony."
The table was quiet. Gerardo, in particular, looked disappointed.
"So..." Valey eventually broke the silence. "How do you think she got here, then?" She pointed a hoof at Starlight.
Shinespark shook her head, answerless.
Willow put a hoof to her chin, musing. "You said there was a powerful magic field above the mountains? You think that was what turned you back?" She hummed deeply in thought. "And that it did something to your horn... Maybe it allowed Starlight through because she was going north. And Starlight, your horn has been different than a normal unicorn's ever since coming to Riverfall, right? But it wasn't like that before? I wonder if this magic affected you strongly for some reason..."
"It's possible." Shinespark perked up, interrupting Starlight before she could answer. "Starlight's magical physiology is vastly different from our conventional understanding of ponies in general, not just unicorns. I doubt a magic field of any sort could have converted her from a normal pony to be like that, but it could definitely have affected her differently than us."
Biting back an old chagrin at being called anything other than normal, Starlight sighed. "As long as you don't try to take me on your ship to see if having me along makes the magic let you through, or something."
"I hate to be the one to say this..." Arambai spoke up. "But the Plains of Harmony were forcibly closed off from the rest of the world a thousand years ago. No one knows the exact details of how that happened, or what the world was like before it, but there's a possibility whatever enchantment is on those mountains isn't natural, but was created by someone or something as a means of protecting them from intruders. In short, it's not impossible having a real citizen on board a ship would make them allow it to pass."
"We won't do that, of course!" Shinespark quickly promised, seeing Starlight's aghast look. "I don't treat people as tools. Besides, if ponies from your home coming here is just as rare as ponies from here coming to your old home, that you were able to leave means it's probably not that. There could be other explanations."
"I have one to offer," Gerardo volunteered, raising a talon. "Starlight crossed the highest reaches of the mountains traveling through a cave, did she not? And I have no recollection of her speaking of strange magical happenings in the great heights. It's quite possible she went under whatever forcefield is repelling air traffic."
Everyone looked at each other. Starlight shrugged. "Maybe? I did only have one valley when I got to the surface before the cliff, and she said there were a bunch before the magic started."
Shinespark closed her eyes and visibly shuddered. "So, what I'm hearing is that to make a trade route to the Plains of Harmony, we'd have to land in the mountains, find a cave, trust that it takes us to the other side, map a route, then widen it out and build a proper transport tunnel, and either put a skyport at this end so we could fly Sosan ships to it from Ironridge to bypass the cliff face or else build some kind of enormous cargo elevator, or maybe a road build into the cliff face... and a project like that would cost more than the remaining net worth of Ironridge, and require cooperation and help on the other end from the Plains of Harmony."
Arambai nodded. "Not to mention you'd likely pop out of the mountains in the middle of nowhere."
"There were some towns around where mine was, on the mountain edges. But not many." Starlight shrugged. "We were really far in a corner of Equestria. You'd need to build another skyport there, too."
Valey picked at a forehoof, laying upside-down on her chair with her hind legs on the table and her plate resting on her belly. "Sure would be tragic if you invested in building all that, got started, and suddenly the Equestrians were like, 'Nope, we enchanted these mountains because we wanna be left alone, go away,' right? Maybe you should figure out if anyone there would like to help you with a plan like this. And hey, maybe they're super duper rich and have crazy technology and could build it for you. Or just take down their mountain magic thing in the first place. If you ask nicely."
Shinespark slowly nodded. "Fire promised us a border pass if we're willing to wait a year. I agree with all that, though there is still a chance the magic is caused by something else and not the Plains of Harmony. Either way, if I want to save Ironridge, I think the best thing to do is get myself and my ship across the border by any means necessary, act as an ambassador, and try to get the ponies there to agree to working with us."
"And, of course, I would come too," Gerardo added, not phrasing it as a question.
"Of course. It's your border pass, after all," Shinespark assured. "But since we'd have to wait a year for that... I don't know what will help Ironridge in the meantime, but maybe I can visit other nations for support. Not that the Griffon Empire has an air fleet, or that Varsidel is remotely stable, but..." She hung her head. "Okay, so maybe that won't work. I might just end up living in Riverfall with Dior and trying to be a regular, civilian pony for a while."
Maple nodded pleasantly. "We'd certainly love to have you."
"Would make doing runs between Ironridge and Riverfall a lot easier, too," Arambai muttered. "Sorry, Amber. Sounds like you'd be put out of the job."
Amber leaned back, stretching. "Eh, it's okay. Hey, Gerardo, what would you do if Shinespark takes an off year before going to Yakyakistan?"
Gerardo shrugged. "Truthfully, I'd travel wherever the winds take me. If Miss Amber has no need of my old boat, I might sail off back to the Varsidelian coasts, in search of high adventure and great treasure. Returning, of course, when the appointed time drew near."
"Huh." Amber grinned, reaching out and pulling Willow and Maple into a hug. "Looks like we'll all get to live together as a big, happy friend group for an entire year! You too, Valey and Shinespark. And Starlight, come here!"
Starlight allowed herself to join the impromptu hug, the idea of spending an entire year living normally spinning through her head. If only she could let herself trust the world and enjoy it...
"Heh," Arambai growled. "Well, isn't that cute. A happily ever after. Can't say you kids don't deserve it. Granted, it's only a year for you, Shinespark, and who knows what the world will be like then? But I'll hold down the fort at Ironridge. You all take it easy and enjoy yourselves."
Amber saluted. "We'll do our best, sir!"
"That's the spirit." Arambai looked aside, then coughed. "By the way, we inspected the area around the old skyport and found Herman's corpse. He's dead as a doornail, so don't you worry about him sneaking after you for revenge. And Selma's living a fulfilling existence as the leader of a personality cult for all the ponies who believe him about saving the day, so he's too busy bragging to his heart's content to give you any trouble. You know... just in case vengeful enemies coming to destroy your peaceful hometown is a phobia of yours."
Maple's pupils shrank. "It really wasn't until you mentioned it, but thanks for letting us know..."
"Any time." Arambai set aside his empty plate, getting to his hooves. "We also recovered that flying axe of his. I really wish we could study that thing, since self-levitating technology was a massive breakthrough with this airship, and that thing can apparently do it like it's nothing. But the moment Fire saw it, she was all over it saying it was Yakyakistan property and she had no idea what it was doing here and all that, and I turned it over as a token of goodwill. Figure we need to do whatever it takes to keep our neighbors friendly, even though this was their fault. Especially since... you know... they're the ones with airships right now."
Shinespark nodded. "Before I settle down in Riverfall, maybe I should take the ship to the Griffon Empire and let them know what happened. We're still getting inbound ships that don't know they'll be stranded in Ironridge, and the rest of the world has surely noticed our silence by now."
"Well, that'll be up to you." Arambai hovered a small, shiny sound stone next to his head. "I'll hang onto this thing, so you can contact me whenever you want and keep me updated on anything you need me to know about, or get the latest news in Ironridge. Anyway, it looks like we're finishing up here. So long, kids, and have a good life."
"You too, Arambai," Maple replied with a warm smile. "Thanks for helping keep the city safe. I'm saying it a lot, but this trip going well means a lot to me."
"Me too," Amber added. "And Valey's not going to say it, but she's relieved she doesn't have to fight any more yak monsters to keep us safe, as well."
Willow bowed her head. "I'll never forget the first time I met you, at the docks ten years ago when you warned me going to Ironridge wasn't a good idea. I don't know if you remembered or not, but thanks to you, that dream is finally a reality."
"Yeah... take care of yourselves." Arambai turned away, Matryona draping a wing over his back, and they were gone.
"Shall we head for the ship?" Gerardo remarked, the morning sun shining on them through an east-facing window.
Shinespark nodded. "I don't see why not. To Riverfall, and the future!"
"To the future!" everyone chanted, raising their empty glasses in a toast. And they rose from the table, pushed in their chairs, and walked to the tunnel out of Ironridge.