"Hey," Shinespark greeted, stepping into the Dream's observation room and noting Valey sullenly draped in a hammock to the side.
"Meh," Valey replied.
Shinespark raised an eyebrow. "Are you all right? Or still thinking about the things that were said over dinner? And where did you get that?"
"This sweet bed?" Valey sat up just enough to poke at the rope net beneath her. "Saw it on someone's porch in Riverfall. Thought it looked neat and decided to liberate it. Don't worry, I asked first."
Shinespark nodded. Valey hadn't answered the real question, indicating she didn't want to talk about it... and that was fine with her. "I'm just wandering," Shinespark went on. "Been piloting all day, and need to stretch my legs before I can get to sleep even though my eyes are dead. Nothing's going on in here, then?"
"Nah, just me. Your friendly old Ironridge archnemesis." Valey waved a careless hoof, eyes fixed on the shadowed landscape ahead of them as the sun made its final descent below the horizon. "I feel like moping, but didn't want to do it around everyone else 'cuz I'd ruin my image. Be careful. I hear it's contagious."
"Because you just found out we're going somewhere where batponies aren't really... appreciated." Shinespark sat down, facing alongside her. "If it helps, it's news to me, too."
Valey rested her chin on one forehoof, the other stuck far outside the hammock net. "Feels like the kind of thing someone should have mentioned. Then again, I never gave the Griffon Empire the time of day before. Didn't even recognize their ambassador. Was kinda too busy looking after myself and a bunch of warring districts and all that."
Shinespark felt her coat tingle with a familiar annoyance, fur standing on end. "I still don't know if I believe you about always being altruistic," she admitted. "I know you're on our side now, but you were the single biggest thing that raised my blood pressure in Ironridge. It always felt like you were above the rules, stringing us along, could do anything you wanted and only let the Spirit continue so it could be your toy. This is probably the wrong thing to say, but you always seemed to me like someone who thrives in adversity."
"Thanks," Valey muttered. "That's exactly what I was doing."
Shinespark's ears folded. "Oh..."
Valey continued looking away, her shiny gold pendant pressed against her neck by the hammock. "I was always the bad guy. If ponies are going to hate you anyway, why not give them a reason to? I kept Ironridge stable because I needed it, not out of the goodness of my heart, or anything. But anyway, I'm brooding. Anything you need?"
"Like I said, I'm just stretching my legs." Shinespark tapped her cast against the floor, then yawned. "I do feel sorry for you, though. I just wanted to say that."
Valey flicked an ear. "Don't we have healing thingamajigs? You don't need to wear that clunky thing all the time. I'd go insane with my leg stuck in a pipe day in and day out. How do you even sleep with that?"
"By rolling on my other side so it's on top." Shinespark shrugged. "And I do need to wear it, I think. Our supplies of medicine that powerful are limited, so there's no reason to use it when I don't need to be in top performance and am not in danger. Besides, it's a reminder." She hesitated. "I suppose you wouldn't want to relate..."
"What, being reminded about Ironridge?" Valey shrugged. "Not like I've got all that much else to be reminded of. And I made a pretty good effort to enjoy it. No way could I do it again, but... Eh, scratch that, I'll find a way. Point is... I dunno. I don't have a point. Like I said, I'm just psyching myself up to deal with all this Griffon Empire stuff."
"I..." Shinespark stopped herself before she could start. "I'm realizing I don't know you well enough to tell what I could say that would be encouraging and what would be in poor taste and offensive. Sorry..."
"First off, that puts you a step above Birdo," Valey remarked, not lifting her head so she had room to move her chin while speaking. "Second, don't worry about it. I've got a thick skin and thrive on petty insults. Used to, at least. Hope I still can. And third...?" She rolled over so her legs were in the air, then stretched. "Pretty sure I've got no choice but to either take it or embrace it, and I know how things went down in Ironridge. So if the Griffon Empire's really gonna hate my guts, I need less of encouragement and more a partner in crime."
Shinespark nervously blushed. "Well, I'm not sure about..."
"Ahh, come on, Sparky!" Valey tried to give her a playful shove, but couldn't reach from the hammock. "You're too much of a goody-goody hero! You don't have a villainous bone in your body, and you don't have a clue what you're missing out on! You left Ironridge... eh, I dunno how you see it, but it can't be better than me making off with my greatest enemies squashed and a bag of griffon gold. I'm gonna be living the life! Just need to watch out for any other bad dudes who might try to out-rapscallion me. Litter with some banana peels, start a few bar fights, you know... Screwing with ponies who go out of their way not to care about you can be refreshing, once you embrace it."
"I'm... not sure how to reply to that, either," Shinespark admitted.
"Think less, do more." Valey poked a hoof at her muzzle. "Keeps you from getting edgy and existential. Seriously, that has to be, like, my greatest fear. Not really, but y'know? If I actually considered it from multiple angles, I'd be all, 'Wait, I just saved Ironridge's rear big-time and they probably still think I'm a massive villain if not part of the problem and...' Yeah. Fun trains of thought. When life gives you moldy, rotten lemon peels someone else made lemonade with years ago and then stored in a dumpster you were rooting through on a hot day in search of anything edible whatsoever, you punch the vendor in the face, rob them blind and dance cackling all the way to market. Or something. That analogy got away from me a little."
"...Is me listening helping, or is that your way of saying you want to be left alone?" Shinespark raised an eyebrow, highly uncertain.
Valey touched her tongue to her nose. "Whatever, Sparky. I told you, I'm not thinking right now. In one ear and out the other. Might as well be singing a loud and tuneless song. Wanna find out who's worse at singing?"
"Are you sure you're all right?" Shinespark folded her ears in concern.
"No, of course I'm not all right." Valey said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I spend my entire life getting treated like a villain. Act the part, since it doesn't make a difference and I know it, but still try to keep things on track in the big picture since I don't wanna be a complete monster. Then some random mare comes along and convinces me to try harder, throw my weight on the other side of the fence, put my life on the line, be a big giant hero... and my reward's the same thing as always. No ceremony, big whoop. And I'm just sitting here trying to stay cheery and ridiculous because it makes me feel like me and I enjoy that and... yeah." She sighed, visibly deflating. "I warned you. Stick around me right now and you'd get brooded at. Sorry, though. That's all I've got."
Shinespark clenched her teeth, feeling the same tightness in her throat she got in the lower districts every time she met a pony who had been slighted by the city's changing tides. An outrage against injustice converted to a fire to do better and tempered by the knowledge that then and there, that was impossible, and she had to play the long game... but not only did she not see a long game here, it was something she was completely unused to feeling about Valey. "I might not be the best pony to go to for sympathy," she warned. "You... frustrate me. How I'd always be doing something, and you'd show up and interfere with my plans purely for fun, since you always could have stopped me instantly by threatening to expose my secrets around Braen and this airship. But you never did, as long as you were having fun... I was just a toy to you."
"I told you, I had to get my fun somewhere." Valey shrugged. "Life tends to be a dump when everyone is biased against you, and I wasn't about to roll over and let it. Look who's talking, though. Something something born on an airship and that automatically makes you the greatest thing since sliced bread. Talk about being frustrated by someone."
"There's a lot of pressure that comes with that, though." Shinespark hung her head. "I didn't ask for the legacy I have. My mother even named me after one of the Yakyakistan virtues! Arambai kept me protected as a foal, but the moment I decided to step into the public theater, everything I've done has been influenced by the expectations of others. I had my goals, and they were noble, but when you're on a pedestal that high..."
"Or low," Valey interrupted, still staring out the window. "Everyone expected me to be a villain. Still did. And I did my best to lap it up, but nobody wants to be a true monster. Well, maybe Herman, but... When everyone expects the worst from you and even those who say they're for you are at best giving you the benefit of the doubt at best... I joked about my greatest fear earlier, but honestly, I'm just terrified of..."
"Of letting everyone down," Shinespark finished with a whisper. "I sure know how that feels."
They made eye contact, and a sudden spark passed between them.
"Hey, good talk, Sparky!" Valey chirped, suddenly rejuvenated. "Random idea, but we should actually hang out some time. Tomorrow, though?"
"Tomorrow," Shinespark yawned. "It sounds like we have more in common than I thought..."