Maple wandered aimlessly, keeping up her pace about the colosseum's back corridors and walkways for the sake of something to do, leading the way but always moderating herself and making sure not to lose Shinespark.
"You're restless," she murmured, stopping at a window that looked out over the city's lower side. "Waiting and trusting Valey and Starlight is being harder for you than the rest of us, I can tell."
"It's that obvious?" Shinespark walked up beside her and sighed, putting a hoof on the edge of the open-air window, her red mane ruffling slightly in the night breeze. "Err... Of course I am. It's my job to lead by example, not sit on the sidelines while ponies I care about put themselves up front."
Maple smiled. "That's how it was in Sosa, was it?" She took a half step closer. "You should be able to count on your friends as much as you want them to count on you, you know. All of us are strong, and Valey and Starlight are some of the strongest. And with what life throws at us, sometimes the best ponies for the job have to be the ones who do the job."
Shinespark folded her ears. "I know you didn't mean it, but you just said it like I have nothing to contribute."
"You're right. I didn't mean that." Maple slumped, then perked back up. "But... you went off on your own after Valey was taken by Puddles, right? This is exactly the same scenario, only with different ponies in different places. If you're feeling left out or left behind, Valey is following in your hoofsteps. And I doubt you'd want to be a damsel in distress."
"I'm not a helpless damsel," Shinespark grunted. "I'm..." She winced. "That's the entire point! Valey is so far ahead of me, just like she's always been. When we finally met up on that ship, I had managed to split my party, pick up some useless former mercenaries, and leave behind Melia, who was someone obviously in need of saving. Meanwhile Valey was not only already free, she had a small army and had apparently gone back to spend a night on our ship while I was out looking for her!"
Maple put a hoof on her shoulder. "You care a lot about how she sees you? Or do you owe her something you're trying to repay?"
"I don't know," Shinespark sighed. "The former. I... She... It's complicated. And I don't know if we should talk about it in public."
Maple glanced around the deserted colosseum corridor, curving along the outer edge of the building several stories above street level. With the middle of the night, the battles still raged, but nobody seemed inclined to be wandering around, in sharp contrast to the crowded day. "Well, okay," she decided. "It doesn't look like there's anyone around, though."
Shinespark hesitated for a long minute... then finally changed the subject. "What do you think of Amber? What's she like to you?"
"Sister," Maple instantly said. "It's how we've always been. You've probably seen and been told how relationships in Riverfall work, but who you grow up and choose to spend time with is always, always more important than blood. Amber and I have practically known each other since we were infants... as much as possible when I'm two years older, at least. Willow is the same, but also a little bit of a mother to us sometimes, since she's the oldest. But it doesn't really need a name, since it's how things have always been and all of us know it and love it. How come?"
Shinespark slowly shrugged. "She was quite the social butterfly back in Riverfall, then, before you came here? Amber?"
"Oh, you have no idea." Maple good-naturedly rolled her eyes, leaning on the windowsill a few inches from Shinespark. "Amber knew or was on good terms with everyone. She sometimes got a little tired because ponies would occasionally come to her with problems... You know, they needed a mediator that both sides trusted, or something. But she loved it, too. She just thrives on others."
"Since she's arrived," Shinespark said. "It's been no time at all, but I am feeling that. You have good taste in friends."
"Thanks." Maple's cheeks lightened a shade from the praise, then went back to normal. "She has been spending time with you. I think she can just detect when someone has something not quite right on their mind, or are lonely or troubled."
"Her, Valey and I had a long talk on the ship today. Yesterday? However long I've stayed up." Shinespark shook her head. "This might be changing the subject again, but what do you think of me?"
Maple tilted her head. "How so?"
"Anything. Whatever comes to mind." Shinespark sighed at the window. "What would you call my defining traits? Good things? Flaws? The most obvious things about me, or little things no one would notice. Am I a leader and a hero who tried her best when nobody else would? Or just another teenage mare who overestimates herself and doesn't know what she's doing?"
"Is there something in particular you're worried about?" Maple frowned, then moved until their shoulders were touching. "You're barely younger than Amber and me, you know. Is this about whether you were old enough to take responsibility for something in Ironridge?"
"I don't know what it's about. I'm just trying to sort through whatever comes to mind and see where it leads," Shinespark muttered. "And you're twenty-five. That's a big difference."
Maple shrugged. "I could probably be fifty and don't think I'd be ready to lead a city full of conflicted ponies. Is anyone ever ready for a load like that?"
Shinespark folded her ears. "There's still such a thing as being more or less ready, though. Maybe something could have gone differently, or..."
"Shinespark?" Maple caught her gaze and looked her in the eye. "If just by luck, without you doing anything different, we had stopped the dam from exploding and the skyport hadn't been destroyed, and Grenada had never gotten mad with you and Dior never had to flee Ironridge, would you still be feeling however you're feeling? That you aren't able to handle your load, or are too young or unprepared?"
"I..." Shinespark swallowed. "Why wouldn't it?"
"Because that means if you're feeling bad about what happened, it's because of the end result, and not anything you did or were unable to do." Maple's smile grew. "You would have performed the same, either way, right?"
Shinespark slumped. "I... wonder if we're even talking about the same thing."
"Good thing I'm not in a hurry," Maple murmured. "Let's keep talking, then."