Valey got looks as she walked her way through the cliffs and balconies of Grandbell, but nobody bothered her, either because she was too famous for anyone to think it was smart or because she was just that lucky. Starlight walked nearby, minding her own business, and Maple and Shinespark had stayed behind in the core, Maple hoping to pocket some of the harmonic flame for herself and Shinespark too curious about the technology to leave it sitting alone.
"I didn't realize how grainy things looked through a camera," Nyala remarked, draped across Valey's back with no strength of her own.
"Heh... yeah... Couldn't tell you what that's like." Valey strolled slowly, knowing they had to get back soon so Nyala could eat but doing her best not to make it a bumpy ride. Nyala wasn't complaining. "It's a shame there's no way to get your memories of our times in Ironridge, when I used that pendant to get you out. You could have remembered us dunking on Herman."
"Right..." Nyala's voice was weak. "I want to lie down and sleep for a month. I hope you won't mind if I skip watching the tournament tomorrow."
Valey's tail swished. "Not really feeling up to it? Eh, that's fair." She continued walking. "So, you... remember Icereach now like it was yesterday, huh?"
"Clearer than I remember being a machine," Nyala answered. "I know it wasn't yesterday, but it... doesn't feel like seven years."
"Eh, maybe your head just needs time to settle down. Whatever just brought you back didn't look that great." Valey rounded a switchback, searching for an elevator. "Bananas, I still can't believe this. I don't even know how to celebrate. Back in Ironridge, I'd swipe some fruit and throw it at someone who wasn't looking. You feel like you need to let loose too?"
Nyala chuckled weakly. "I feel like I need to sleep. Letting loose is good, though. I suppose I'm happy for me, too."
"You suppose?" Valey tilted her head.
"I'm only now realizing how much I missed," Nyala groaned. "Sorry. I have a lot of memories to reconcile..."
"You'll get there," Valey encouraged. "Oh, hey, there's an elevator! Let's-"
A dainty voice cleared its throat from the side. "Darling, is this a bad time?"
Valey's ears fell.
Felicity stepped into view, looking as well taken care of as ever. Valey felt Nyala shift atop her, and stopped, rubbing one hoof against another uncertainly. "Uhh... maybe? We kind of need to get back to the ship..."
"Ah." Felicity looked down. "I wouldn't want to delay you, of course. But whenever it would be possible, my sisters and I have spent some time talking and I have some things I need to get off my chest toward you."
Nyala smiled apologetically. "If you need to catch up, I'm sure I can hang on a while longer."
"Have we met?" Felicity blinked, glancing to the mare on Valey's back. "Your voice sounds familiar, but I think I'd have remembered any other sarosians..."
"Yeah, sorta," Valey answered for her, wishing this could have waited for any other day. "Listen, I'm not slowing down." She pointed at the elevator. "We're going up. You want my ear, you got it until we get to the surface, and then I'm booking it."
Felicity nodded gratefully. "Only a few moments of your time, darling. Promise." As Starlight scurried on past, she glanced at Nyala again. "So we have met? Usually I'm good with faces..."
"It might be a coincidence," Nyala apologized, subtly kicking her ride. "I'm just a friend in need. What did you want to ask Valey about?"
"Ah... yes. Must be." Felicity backed down, following Valey and Starlight into the elevator and watching both other batponies with a keen eye. "I can tell when it's a bad time, you know, darlings. Are you sure you wouldn't I rather come back later?"
Valey sighed. "How important is it?"
"To you or to me?"
"Wrong answer." Valey winced as the elevator closed, locking them into a cylinder of lit glass, and began to rise. "So what's up?"
Felicity furtively coughed. "Well, I owe you a proper apology after having my head a little bit in the sand for a while, so to speak. For Stormhoof. Now, whether you'd like the full version now or at a time when I'm not just going to have to apologize again for imposing is up to you, but I'm... sorry for what we did, and wish I had done things differently. And not just because we failed."
Valey raised an eyebrow, Starlight and Nyala holding their silence. "...Really?"
"Yes, really," Felicity insisted. "Now that a little more time has passed and I've had a longer while to see what life afterward is like, and especially after a few frank talks with my sisters, it's a lot more apparent that finishing your life's work doesn't equate to giving yourself a future, it wasn't worth it and you... you should have been our first choice. So there."
"...Really," Valey repeated, giving her an inquisitive look. "Like, actually really? You suddenly are going to turn around and actually get the point of apologizing? Who managed to get it through your skull?"
Felicity winced. "I did, and Larceny helped, and yes, that is my hope."
"Well... that's neat." Valey kept Felicity under her gaze, aware the other mare was making herself uncomfortable. "Look, whatever you're after, I'm honestly in a pretty good mood right now, but I've also got my own things to take care of. If you wanna talk, you think we could do that later? Say, after the tournament tomorrow? In the meantime, just do trustworthy stuff and things?"
"Do trustworthy things. Of course." Felicity bit her tongue and bowed, and was quiet for the rest of the ride.
Eventually, the elevator opened and Felicity hurried away, ending the tension in the silence. "Whew," Valey said, wiping her brow. "Didn't expect to run into her right there."
"She knew who I was," Nyala remarked. "Are you sure you're fine having her wandering around knowing? There have been a lot of ponies who were interested in getting ponies out of moon glass..."
Valey shrugged. "Eh, Chauncey and Navarre are dead. And honestly? I trust her. Felicity's good at manipulating and horrible at being... you know, a decent pony? So she should know how to keep a secret. I figure her heart's been in the right place more or less ever after Stormhoof. Sort of. She's just the worst at showing it. I dunno. We'll see. We're leaving the Empire soon anyway, so if anything does go wrong, easy enough to bail."
"If you're sure," Nyala answered uneasily. "I'm not the one who's been on the front lines because of her."
"Nah, I'm not sure." Valey frowned. "And she got me for that once before. But what am I even going to do, drag her back to the ship and lock her up there until she can somehow prove she's trustworthy? No."
"You did do that to Navarre," Nyala pointed out. "Granted, I'd have done a lot worse to him."
Valey nodded. "Yeah, and Navarre running away would have cost us big time. And there's a chance Felicity actually will be trustworthy this time."
Nyala sighed. "I gave Navarre a chance, you know. I kept him company down in that pantry for weeks. I was the only one who would. And now that I remember what he was like... it makes me mad."
"To be fair?" Valey shrugged again. "He didn't remember you, either. Same ponies, maybe, but for both of you that stuff happened in a different life."
Nyala chuckled. "Well, thanks for not treating him any worse, since you did remember. My body feels bad enough as it is... How long has it been sitting around without moving, again?"
"Uhhh..." Valey scratched her head with a wingtip. "I dunno, months? Two, two and a half? Bananas, we're going to have to get you doing some physical therapy or an exercise regimen. Your muscles are probably like string beans."
"Heh... yeah." Nyala relaxed again, leaning into Valey as they finally crested the edge of the city pit and made it onto the sunny surface. "After I get something to eat..."