Starlight's rear hoof hit the ground, skidding slightly in the dust as she twisted and spun. Moments later, a wooden sword pierced the space she had been standing, turning its thrust into a slice and swinging after her. She planted herself and raised a crystal-covered forehoof, blocking the blade and preparing to shove it back... but her angle was slightly off, and the sword slid up and off the conjured shield, bonking her straight in the forehead.
"Ow!" Starlight sat back and rubbed herself, crystal vanishing as she momentarily saw stars. "Nnngh..."
"Hey! Better than last time, right?" Valey shouldered the sword and relaxed, proudly patting her on the head with a wing. "You're getting better at guessing where I'm gonna swing. Still need to get your angle right for blocking, or the shape of the crystal. Your hoofwork's great, though. Wanna switch and practice backflips for a bit?"
"I can just dodge backwards normally," Starlight muttered, shaking her head and blinking away the hit. "And my hoofwork is good because I've been practicing it for a whole month instead of waiting for my horn to heal!"
Valey frowned in concern. "That bothering you? Like, I know you cleared yourself to use it a week ago, but you better not be overexerting yourself. And hey, most unicorns probably use their magic as a crutch and have never heard of fundamentals. Just think how cool you'll be!"
"Hitting the crystals always hurts." Starlight shrugged, getting back to her hooves. "Even if I was perfect, I can't use them to block more than I can recover in a day. I'm hungry."
"...Yeah, sure." Valey squared her shoulders, beckoning with a wing for Starlight to come. "Let's go get food."
Maple spectated, beaming, from the sidelines as Valey and Starlight finished their sparring and approached. Cloudless blue sky shone down into the open-roofed training room, a long, circular corridor with benches and shaded areas at the sides that was free for anyone to use. The air rang with sounds of clacking spears and armor as other griffons and ponies dueled and ran drills, the outermost ring of the area painted as a running track. Valey got looks, still, but the best-armed place in Stormhoof had also become one of the most friendly toward her: anyone regular enough to remember her had been firmly out-dueled, and anyone who wasn't got looks in turn from those who were. The training grounds were a place where strength was respected and differences were settled through strength, and she had proven her right to be there in the eyes of everyone who mattered.
"You did great out there," Maple called from a bench, pocketing her book and marking her place as they stepped off the dirt and onto the stone tile floor. "Starlight, how are you feeling?"
"Same as always," Starlight mumbled, still a little dizzy from the last hit. Her stomach growled in approval of the break, and Maple leaned down to brush a strand of mane hair out of her eyes where her ponytail had come undone. "We should go get something."
"Mmm. Lunch. Yeah." Valey backed her up, dropping the training sword in a nearby weapons rack and contenting herself to wear nothing but her hat. "You got some snacks, or we thinking of going somewhere for fun? There's still, like, three places I found while scouting that would probably be cool with me and we haven't tried."
Maple nodded, passing out a few carrot sticks from her cutie mark. "I think I'm feeling like paying. We still have plenty of money left from Kero's vault in Ironridge, after all. And besides, this could be a good day for a celebration. Right?" She looked up hopefully.
"Yup." Valey raised a casual hoof, and Maple took it with a bump. "Thirty days. Bananas, I'm actually super proud of us. Thirty days of not sticking our noses anywhere they don't belong, not freaking out about big bad higher stuff, not crossing the law... except for that one guy who thought I was robbing a cheese store, but that was his fault and never went anywhere."
Maple wrinkled her face in wry amusement. "Yay. Makes you almost feel like a normal pony."
"Yeah," Valey breathed, looking around again and noting the occasional stairs. "Almost..."
Half an hour later, the trio of friends stood in a medium-activity side street that curved and had a sharp grade. No wagons chanced it, and every pedestrian who could flew instead of walked. Those who couldn't had to watch their steps, and at one point a foal ran past chasing a miniature runaway barrel. The road's slope made storefronts awkward, and Valey finally stopped in front of a single-door restaurant with tinted windows that was set into the ground, making the entrance look smaller than it really was. She shrugged, took the lead, and stepped inside.
The interior of the room was dark, in a welcoming way. Dim yellow lights had been placed in containers so that they only shone on the walls or ceiling, leaving the actual booths, tables and stools in comforting shadow. Starlight's eyes spotted lots of tufted ears sitting at the bar in the back, about half of the patronage. Valey was getting good at finding these places.
"Booth?" Valey asked, and the waitress who stood by the door pointed them silently to a vacancy, looking like she was content to put up with working in an establishment full of batponies even though she still considered it something to be put up with.
Maple settled in first, and Starlight joined her, Valey taking the side of the table opposite them. The faux-leather benches felt slightly sticky against Starlight's coat... She frowned and scooted a little, and it got better. This probably wasn't a five-star establishment, even if it was nice and non-hostile.
"So. Celebrations." Valey nodded at Maple, picking up a menu with her wings and burying her face in it. "Anything in particular you want us to get?"
Maple shrugged, chancing a little smile. "Whatever looks good. We should be able to afford plenty."
Valey nodded, humming as she browsed. Maple opened a menu too, holding it sideways so that Starlight could see. "How about this?" she asked, pointing to something on a list of items Starlight couldn't quite read from that distance in the dim light. "Oh, this looks good... Starlight, how hungry are you? Do you want a whole thing for yourself, or should we split a big one?"
"Mmph." Starlight glanced at Valey, then at the menu again. She really was hungry...
"Starlight?" Maple tilted the menu a little closer. "I think you might like any of these... Vegetable stir fry on rice with baby corn? Strip noodles and broccoli in... Starlight?"
"The first one sounds good." Starlight nodded, rubbing her forehead again. "Maple?"
"Yes?" Maple turned fully to her, writing out their orders for the servers to pick up. "Is anything wrong?"
Starlight shrugged. "It's like three days until the tournament starts again. The one Valey wants to be in. And not having anything happen for this whole month has been really nice..."
Maple smiled ruefully. "Sounds like we need to have another talk again before going in there. All of us. Is celebrating staying out of trouble reminding you of that?"
"A little. It's just been nice." Starlight's eyes turned down toward the table. "And besides, my horn is still only almost better instead of fully better, and I hurt it on the ship a whole month ago. I'm not even back to normal after the last big thing we did."
Maple hugged her shoulder. "Well, it's still worth celebrating now. But we are going to have a talk later, if this is something that's troubling you."
"Bananas... oh bananas..." Valey drooled over her menu, practically glued to it... until Starlight and Maple's conversation finally got her attention. "Buh? Oh yeah, put me down for number thirty-three, extra spicy. What's that you were saying?"
"Just something to talk about once we're back to the boat," Maple replied. "Here, let me... Waitress?" She raised a hoof, standing up and looking around. "We're ready to order!"
She quickly caught the attention of a dark-coated mare with an innocent smile who was carting a platter full of dirty dishes. "One moment!" the mare called back, showing tufted ears. "I'll be right with you!"
In a moment, she was, wearing a server's outfit and a chin-length bright yellow mane. "Hi, I'm Senescey, and I'll be your host tonight. What can I..." She trailed off, looking sideways at Valey. "Excuse me, have I met you? You look almost familiar."
Valey returned the look, squinting. "Yeah, I think I... Huh. That rings a bell. No, your mane rings a bell. You reminded me of... Bananas, where was it..."
"Oh!" Senescey jumped a little. "I went to a dusk statue with you on the mainland when you first arrived here! I remember telling you about that! That was you, right?"
"...Yep." Valey nodded, recollecting, and grinned. "That was me. Hey, it's sweet to run into you again."
"I know." Senescey giggled, closing her eyes and showing her teeth. "Hey, my shift ends in an hour, if you'd like to catch up?"
Maple gave her a friendly smile. "You two know each other? We could take that long."
"Sure thing." Senescey winked, then put a hoof on the menus with a flourish. "Let me take your orders and I'll be on my way!"
When she had gone, Maple looked to Valey, and Valey shrugged. "I met her back when I was separated from you guys when we first got here. She was, like, literally the one friendly face I ever saw. Certainly wouldn't mind returning the favor, even if we just wanted to hang out and say hi."
Maple nodded. "It sounds like a great idea. Even if we've been being quiet and not getting ourselves into anything, we haven't been doing a lot to make friends here, either..."
"Sweet." Valey rubbed her hooves together in anticipation. "In the meantime, oh boy spicy noodles I can't wait..."