//------------------------------// // Get Back Here // Story: The Olden World // by Czar_Yoshi //------------------------------// "I want to know how you're feeling," Shinespark declared, back to the controls of the Immortal Dream as she tightened a bandage around Valey's barrel and the ship slid smoothly through the storm. "Physically?" Valey raised an eyebrow. "Ow. But I'm used to taking a few hits now and then. I've taken worse." "I know. I was more talking about your state of mind." Shinespark made a point of checking the bandages, avoiding Valey's eyes. "Seeing as it wasn't even twenty-four hours ago we..." "Oh yeah. That." Valey grinned slightly. "Honestly? Pretty good, actually. I feel pretty bad for the princess, but there's something to be said for the therapeutic power of completely wrecking someone who's worse than you ever were. Bananas, there's nothing quite like it for getting it through your head that maybe you actually are the good guy. Must have been why I was so upbeat back in Riverfall..." Shinespark grew a wry smile. "So just like that, all the rest of this night is over? Stormhoof, Lord Gyre, everything else?" "I mean..." Valey shrugged hard, testing her mobility. "That's what being in the past is for, right? Not like I want to relive this stuff. We're rid of Crystal, rid of Gazelle, I didn't realize Lord Gyre was a problem but we're rid of him too, apparently. I'm just, like... Yeah, maybe it'll come back to bite us, but what can I do about that now? Fighting's over for tonight." Shinespark squinted at the storm, a gray landscape faintly visible through the rain. "This morning, you mean." She turned back to Valey. "And we both know emotional wounds tend to last a lot longer than events themselves. You were in the thickest of it. We can make sure the rest of our friends are fine later, but right now, I'm talking about you. You're really okay? After all that, so soon after we had our talk and you were..." "Emotional?" Valey grinned. "Girl, I clubbed Gazelle in the face with the broad end of a spike, ruined his ear forever, and threw a whole lot of mud at him. You get how this works, right?" "Enlighten me." Shinespark tilted her head with a cautious frown. Valey waved a hoof. "It goes like this. Someone messes with you, and you can't mess back. That hurts, 'cause it's dumb and unfair and you feel like a powerless ragdoll getting stepped on and abused and booted around. Kinda like Herman, since I mentioned him. But if someone messes with you and you give as good as you get? Then it's even. And if someone messes with you, they started it, so they've got something coming and giving it is extra-satisfying. Gazelle? That guy was a prick. He had been on my nerves for a while. Yeah, getting ran around stank, but getting ran around Stormhoof was worth it for the chance to throw that back in his stupid face." She folded her hooves behind her neck, wincing at the wounds on her shoulders. "Fair's fair. I didn't get cheated. I'm cool." "So you're really okay," Shinespark sighed. "And feeling good. And not dealing with anything unreasonably heavy at the moment." Valey sat up and blinked, her grin disappearing in confusion. "What are you getting at, and why is my cutie mark poking me? Am I in trouble?" Shinespark slapped her. "Ow..." Valey rubbed at her cheek. "I'm guessing I deserved that, but you're gonna have to enlighten me..." Shinespark groaned. "Ugh! That's less satisfying when you can see it coming." She turned her back on Valey, staring out at the storm. "That's for messing up my first kiss." Valey's brow furrowed. "Wait, what?" Shinespark's ears dropped. "You mean you don't even..." She set her forehead against the control panel. "Of course you don't. I guess you weren't kidding about the old you being back to stay." "Uhh... Heh heh?" Valey grinned sheepishly. "Look, you forfeited all right to be mad about my behavior when you were egging me on in the cave. I told you that you didn't want it. That's your fault, not mine. But seriously, what did I do about a kiss?" "You don't even remember," Shinespark sighed, turning back to face her. "You kissed me last thing before running off to Stormhoof? Last night?" Valey blinked, rubbing the side of her head. "I mean... maybe I did? Sorry. Had kind of an eventful night..." "Yes," Shinespark said. "You did." Valey tilted her head. "Look, you know how I am with stuff like this. Might have to explain things step by step here..." Shinespark marched right up until she was inches from Valey's face. "Why did you have to do that then!? When I couldn't even return... You ran off! You didn't even let me say anything! Why couldn't you have done that while we were waiting for Wallace in the cave, or waited for sometime like now after you were triumphantly back!? Valey..." Valey blinked. "Oh. Wait, you, uhh... Really?" "Really what?" Shinespark asked, tense. Valey folded her ears sheepishly. "I kinda figured you were going to swat me or something and wanted to bail on the aftermath..." "Valey..." Shinespark narrowed her eyes, taking a step back. "Maybe you forgot the part where I told you months ago I had a crush on you, and why I was doing the hard thing and not acting on any of it at all for your sake? And now you're just going to tease me..." "Okay, that's it." Valey stepped forward, closing the gap Shinespark had opened. "You wanted this. In the cave. Me to be a little ruder, a little flirtier, a little more Old Valey. You remember that? This is what you wanted. This is what you asked for. I warned you a million and a half times, and now that it's over, you're complaining? Really? Sparky..." Shinespark winced. "No, I'm...! No, I'm not. I'm sorry." She closed her eyes. "You know that teasing me like this makes me like you, right? It's... frustrating. I knew you were going to do that sometime, and tell me that I asked for this. And I was hoping we could actually talk about what it means, if anything, because..." She sighed. "I know what I told you in the cave, and I know how I'm acting now. I'm not angry angry at you. Very flustered though. I'm sorry." Valey relaxed, sitting back. "So what, did you want me to kiss you or not? You did, but just wanted me to stick around?" Shinespark folded her ears. "Yes, but I can't blame you for being a tease. Look, I just... You're frustrating and..." Valey tapped a hoof. "This is what you wanted." "It's what I want." Valey tilted her head. "You're so dense!" Shinespark growled, grabbing Valey's neck in a hug, avoiding her injuries while hauling her close. "How many times to I have to spell it out for you? I like you, okay!?" Valey's wings quivered slightly over the binding around her sides. "Yeah, but you said you weren't gonna do anything about it." Shinespark groaned. "That was months ago. Before this ship was placed outside the Empire's jurisdiction, before we had that talk with each other in the cave, before a lot of things happened. We're closer now, it's safer, my own issues with Grenada have been put to rest, a lot of things have been solved in your life..." Valey tilted her head. "So... you're waiting for me to do something, here?" "That depends," Shinespark huffed. "Do you want to do something with me? I like you, and you apparently like me enough to go kissing me on your way out to attack a fortress." Valey folded her ears. "If you're asking me if I wanna be your marefriend, look, I'm not exactly super knowledgeable on the subject..." "Stop overthinking things," Shinespark commanded, eyes nearly touching Valey's. "Don't make me spell it out for you. Look at where my face is. Look at where yours is. What's a thing you could do that would be that much easier than fumbling over words?" "Look, uhh..." Valey's cheeks reddened slightly. "Kissing is slightly less interesting when you're expecting it..." "And you've probably never tried that before to know what it's like, have you?" Shinespark grinned knowingly. Valey stuck out her tongue. "Yeah, says you. You're an expert on that." "I've imagined it!" Shinespark's own cheeks flushed. "About me?" Valey grinned harder, the tables completely turned. "Yes! That's the problem!" Valey winked. "So maybe it's gonna be you who gives up and smooches me first?" "Valeyyyy..." Shinespark whimpered. "Shut up..." "And please keep teasing you?" Valey leaned forward, then pulled back at the last minute. "In the cave, that's what you told me you wanted." Shinespark made a faint strangled noise. "I can't..." Valey giggled, watching her... and then her face softened. "Yeah, yeah. My mercilessness has a limit. You think it's that great of an idea, here you go."