//------------------------------// // Pieces Fall Together // Story: The Olden World // by Czar_Yoshi //------------------------------// Starlight stared at her counterpart for a long while, the ruby flame at the core of the tree cracking and sparking nearby. "What was I not supposed to see in the generator?" she finally asked. "That hurt my ears and gave me a headache, and it's not going to make me stop wondering or feel at peace about anything." Glimmer hesitated. "It would have told you things that were very misleading, about why we can use it and the others can't. It would have led you to believe you cannot live the life you desire because you are different from the ponies around you. And it would have been wrong, because the choices you make and the friendships and experiences you have are much more important than the metaphysical properties of your body. Old technology might care about those, but your friends look at you and see a young unicorn both just like any other and precious in your own, special way." "So there is something different about me," Starlight said. "Obviously. Why does that have to be so special?" "That entirely depends on who treats it as special," Glimmer replied. "And so far, the only ones who seem to care are yourself and this generator. Which do you value more? Your friends? Or the opinion of a machine? You are different from them, yes, but on a level that only matters to this insignificant technology. That will not stop you from finding peace." Starlight frowned. "If it won't stop me, why is it so important for me not to know?" "You..." Glimmer winced, then sighed. "Well?" Starlight stared at her, determined not to leave until she finally had a satisfactory answer. "How are we related? And what do you want? You look exactly like me, you're constantly following me, and you say you just want to help me but no one cares that much about me for no reason! What do you really want!?" Glimmer sightlessly met her eyes. "Do your friends need a reason to care this much about you?" "Don't change the subject," Starlight growled. Glimmer shook her head. "No, just answer this." Starlight narrowed her eyes. "My friends do have reasons. I help all of them. I keep them all safe. I saved them from windigoes! And I was someone Maple needed in Riverfall. We need each other. And even then, all of them do other things besides being obsessed with my happiness. The only thing you've ever done is talk about me!" Glimmer tapped her horn. "Doing this to myself to save Valey?" "...Oh. Right." Starlight looked away. "Sorry..." "It's okay," Glimmer assured her. "And if you got around more, you'd see that I am spending time with your other friends as well. Jamjars in particular needed a friend, and I've spent a lot of days on the bridge with the crew that hangs out there. Gerardo, Amber and Slipstream?" Starlight rubbed her forehead. "Sorry. I'm annoyed because I'm confused and you're being confusing and that thing Aegis did was annoying..." "I wish I could clarify things for you," Glimmer said. "But there's a fine line between knowing enough to be happy and knowing too much. You can't let this place go, and that means you're already on the wrong side of that line. Can you imagine yourself walking away, thinking of this as an interesting adventure and never losing sleep over it?" Starlight blinked at her. "I still don't get why you care. I just saw the end of the world in a gray vision and instead of helping me figure out how to stop it or what that means you're telling me to forget about everything and go home! I don't know what will make me happy, but I do know I have to do something!" Glimmer's ears fell. "That calamity involves us, as you're keenly aware." "What do you know about it?" Starlight drilled, staring at her keenly. "And why won't you help me to stop it?" "Everything," Glimmer replied. "And I cannot tell you. I can't lie to you, Starlight, even if it requires me to be infuriatingly omissive. For the same reason as I have done my best to be kind and reduce your burden, have loyally never strayed far from your cause or your side, have tried my best to make you happy, have generously taken on loads that would otherwise be yours..." She touched her horn again. "You would have saved them if you were on the deck. You know it." Starlight squinted, then bit her lip. "Those are yak things." Glimmer nodded. "And the Spark. The Elements of Harmony, yes." Starlight's tail flicked. "So? Tell me what you know so I can help stop it!" "My concern is already with the future of this world," Glimmer promised, putting a forehoof on Starlight's shoulder. "As for you... a powerful, respected enemy of mine once wished for you to have a happily ever after, freed from worry, ambition and anything that could lead them astray. They were a good pony, who believed in a better world with everything they had. And fortunately, not only are those goals compatible, they go hoof in hoof. Do you understand what I am saying?" Starlight's jaw cracked open slightly as she thought. If Glimmer's enemy had been a good pony, then... She squinted at the other filly. But that enemy cared about her, and from everything Glimmer had said, if Starlight stopped at nothing to ensure she and her friends were happy, she could easily get into dangerous territory. There were already the Nightmare Modules, which she had vowed never to use again, yet were power waiting at her hooftips. And she had heard the stories about Chauncey from Grandpapa. And if averting a bad future and letting her live a happy life went hoof in hoof... "You're me," Starlight whispered, the pieces all falling together in her mind. "From the future. You were a bad guy. Someone saved you, and you went back to change it all. And that starts with me, which means... it's my fault. And that's why you want me to go home and be happy and content. So none of that happens..." A wave of pain washed across Glimmer's face. "I cannot tell you if that's true. But I am helping you, Starlight, both for the world's sake and your own." "What will I do?" Starlight murmured, images of falling ash flitting through her mind. "How long do I have? You look exactly like me..." "I am much older." Glimmer shook her head. "An age spell, to put it simply. If my horn worked, I could appear before you as an adult. Do you trust me, Starlight? Will you do anything to help me help you?" "What are you going to ask?" A bad feeling rose in Starlight's throat. "Right now...?" "No. Not right now." Glimmer sat down on the control platform, turning to face the ruby flame. "You still have time. I can't promise when, Starlight. But, someday... there will come a day when I have to ask you to give up. To trust that there's nothing more you can do, even when there is, and to take what you have and make the best of it for the sake of the rest of your life. But that day is not today." Starlight swallowed. "What will I lose?" "I cannot say." Glimmer shook her head. "But I will ask it of you. You have seen how you interface with the Nightmare Modules, with the generator, with the harmony extractor on your ship. If you truly reached, the things you could grasp defy even your wildest imagination. None of it matters a bit to the friendships with which you want to surround your life. But you must learn to live with that, with the roads to the higher reaches of the world forever in your sights. You can see the beginnings of your potential, and making a conscious decision not to use it is the only way you will be able to live as a normal pony." "My potential..." Starlight whispered. "It will be difficult," Glimmer apologized. "Our most defining trait, for both of us, is that our determination is endless. We can be forced back, but never cowed or broken. We hate accepting defeat, and without something to bring us back, we will always keep trying, no matter the cost to the world. I have faith that friendship is that force, Starlight. Friendship is magic, and magic is power. I could try to destroy you with everything I have, all in the name of the world. But trying to help you is better." Starlight squeezed her ears back. "If I can become so powerful, enough to cause something like what I saw, why can't I just use that power for good? Why can't you help me?" "Someday, perhaps you will." Glimmer nodded. "But as long as your own needs are unmet, you cannot be selfless without every act of selflessness causing you pain. It happened for Princess Luna. It has happened for those who came before her, and it could happen again. Right now, if you cannot weigh fairly when it is time to let something go and accept the pain doing so will cause you, that is not even worth thinking about." Starlight looked down. "What do I need? I have Maple and Valey and my family, and you're telling me I can't make the world leave us alone." "That is a question you must answer for yourself," Glimmer replied. "But if there is nothing you need, why are you not at peace?" "I..." Starlight had a feeling she knew the answer: what she needed was to accept that more things could go wrong in the world, so she didn't have to fight against every single one. "I keep trying and trying, and..." "And it's never enough." Glimmer stared sightlessly into the flame. "No matter how fervently you desire it to be so. I know how you feel. I've devoted years to goals, only to see them fall fruitlessly and be left holding nothing but broken plans and a burning wish to make things right." "You said never giving up is what defines us." Starlight bit her lip. "Does that mean you have a cutie mark in never giving up? And does that mean I will too? Actually, does this mean my cutie mark is... always going to be the same, no matter what I do? That I don't get to decide?" Glimmer smiled softly. "That's an old worry of yours, buried beneath every new one life sent your way ever since you took up a traveler's bag and left for the mountains to fight it. Does it still bother you?" "No." Starlight shook her head. "I've made up my mind that if a cutie mark can give me power I can use to help my friends, it's worth it." Glimmer folded her ears. "Being worth it implies there's a downside, Starlight. Just because you have bigger problems to solve doesn't mean it's insignificant. Would you still worry about this if you could afford to?" Starlight closed her eyes in thought. "I... don't even know." "You should spend some time thinking about it," Glimmer advised. "Your old wounds may be less visible when they're covered by new ones, but they sometimes are still the closest ones to you. And healing them can often lift wounds on top of them that they were keeping open, ones you never knew how to recover from. Talk to your friends, Starlight. Remember that Maple has a long history of trying to live with the bad things in life. Remember that Valey knows about being that bad thing. Harshwater is strong, yet knows a lot about feeling helpless despite her strength. Amber knows about keeping others happy, even when darkness is falling all around. Grenada knows about having her world pulled out from under her, and Shinespark does, too. And Jamjars knows even less about some of these things than you do. Sometimes, teaching others can be the best way to understand yourself." Starlight swallowed. "I should talk to my friends." "Yes." Glimmer leaned in and hugged her. "But while you're here, you may also want to take the opportunity to talk to the tree. It loves you, and would be happy if it was able to help." "...Right." Starlight nodded. "I'll do that."