//------------------------------// // We Burn Quickly // Story: The Olden World // by Czar_Yoshi //------------------------------// Valey wasn't sure if she slept. Night had fallen outside, and the world stopped changing around her, Harshwater breathing softly at her side. The only indication time had passed was that someone had come by and shut their door the rest of the way since Jamjars left it ajar. Was the pegasus asleep? She couldn't tell without looking. After their conversation, she didn't feel like doing much of anything, mostly because she had no idea which direction to go. Eventually, she shifted slightly, testing the water. "It tastes like I threw up in my heart," Harshwater mumbled. "Sounds nasty," Valey replied. "I don't know what to dooo..." Harshwater rolled over, groaning. "This feels so undignified, but I already threw out every ounce of shame and dignity I had surviving Mistvale. And then getting bedridden for weeks..." She stretched, reaching with her hind legs. "Why is this so hard?" Valey got her shoulder beneath her, lifting her head upright and wincing at the tightness in her back. "What's up? Remember, truce on beating ourselves up." "I know, I know..." Harshwater sighed. "How do you handle being completely shameless? I thought I could do it once, and now the things I did back then are just embarrassing. You saw me when we were clearing out Kero's old house..." Valey shrugged. "Stealing his paintings? Yeah, I remember. And beats me too. I used to be an expert on it. And now, it's like... I can't at all. You feel like that's a bad thing, though?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'm not all that proud of a lot of the stuff I did back then either." "Good question." Harshwater leaned back with her forelegs folded behind her head. "Why?" Valey asked. "You got something you want to do, but something won't let you?" Harshwater sucked in a long breath. "You know what your problem is?" she eventually asked, changing the subject. "You burn too quickly. I might have had a long time with you on my mind waiting around in Ironridge thinking about almost dying, but tell me I crossed your mind even once until we ran into each other in Mistvale. Not my company, me as an individual. And since then we've maybe been grumpy at each other once or twice, but that's it. Yet here we are having deep, special conversations about feelings and whatever else that you only have with lifelong friends or loved ones. You somehow see no problem with this, for whatever reason I'm going along with it. Probably has something to do with saving my life. Do you see any problem with this?" "Uhh..." Valey's ears twitched. "I mean, when you put it like that, it sounds not the greatest. But what are we going to do, just not talk about it? We clearly need to. And it's not like you're going to find any real lifelong friends all the way out here." "You're right about that," Harshwater sighed. "Back in the mercenaries, I had two friends I trusted with everything. Two that were still alive, that is, and not counting Kero. I'm not going to tell you why I trusted them, because I knew them for a very long number of years and the reasons would take all night. A lot of ponies had more, but, well, I'm me. Have you ever had anything remotely like that? Because I'm starting to wonder who here has." Valey bit her lip. "Well, I mean... Maple and Amber grew up together as kids, right? And Shinespark had family." "And Amber's one of the only well-adjusted ponies on this ship, along with Slipstream." Harshwater's cheeks puffed in a pout. "Shinespark doesn't count. I've heard from Arambai, and she went years without seeing him, never saw Dior, and never was close to Mobius either. But look at Starlight the runaway, or Jamjars the runaway. And you didn't answer my question about you." Valey winced. "Hey, I haven't had all that much time for this. You know how old I am, right?" Harshwater's ears drooped. "You took three days. Three days to quit your job and run away with Maple and Starlight, and I doubt you had anything worth staying for. I can feel it in this ship's air. There's just something here that makes friendships form in the blink of an eye and then try to be for each other what ponies elsewhere spend decades building. Maybe you can't feel it because you've never seen anything else, and maybe that's a big part of why it's there, but it is." "Bananas, decades?" Valey laid back into the bed. "I mean, you're probably right. I'm only seven. That's a lot more time than I know the meaning of." She stared at the ceiling. "So what do you want me to do about it?" Harshwater frowned. "I don't know what you can do. This whole boat is full of ponies who travel and have no roots, and it's too new of a community to have long-lasting roots with each other like my company used to. But for my sake, slap me if I start getting a crush on you." "You don't have one already?" Valey blinked in confusion. "You've literally just spent the past however long inviting me into your room and cuddling in bed." "No, I don't," Harshwater grumbled. "And I say that having seen ponies in love for real. And isn't this standard behavior around here?" "What, sleeping in a pile?" Valey shrugged. "I mean, it's sort of a cultural thing in Riverfall, I think?" Harshwater rolled again until she was laying on her belly, chin stuffed between her forelegs. "Right. Well, I don't, but I can't promise I won't later if you keep treating me the way you have been. Neither of us are fit to be in a relationship, the Empire has laws, and you have too many suitors already. I don't want to get hurt because we don't know each other well. I had enough of that with Kero..." Valey raised an eyebrow. "That why you were asking about being shameless earlier?" "Something like that." Harshwater stared at the wall. "Trying to rationalize things. Enjoying the moment. You asked me to feel good, didn't you?" Valey sat up a little further. "Yeah, well guess what?" She reached forward and grabbed Harshwater in another hug. "There ya go. Platonic hugs are a thing around here if Maple and Amber have anything to say about it, and it's not often I'm feeling shameless and not-awkward enough to indulge. No pretense, no consequences. Knock yourself out." "I feel ridiculous enough already," Harshwater grumbled. "I can't believe I'm having a conversation about this. And this is what I mean by quick burn." But she returned the hug. "Neato." Valey grinned. "And look, at least it's a way more pleasant conversation than talking with Crystal. Now that's not the way you want to talk about feelings." Harshwater sucked in a breath. "Does she brag about her lover while flirting with you, too?" Valey blinked. "Wait, that's not just me?" The two mares looked at each other. "One of these days," Harshwater sighed, "you're going to help me when I try to give her a medical check, and we will share each other's pain."