//------------------------------//
// Next Destination In Sight 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
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"Meltdown did make one point I agreed with," Shinespark told Princess Celestia, standing in the southern field near the airship the princess had arrived upon as squads of guards went about preparing the vessel to leave. "All the structures that kept her in power are gone. You're worried about damaging relations with the Empire if you overrule her and force Gazelle to stay in Equestria for sentencing, but you'd really be damaging relations with her. You have to consider how much authority she has on her own."

"I have considered it, my little pony," Celestia replied. "But in the end, if my acquiescence to the will of Garsheeva's representative results in a problem for her empire, perhaps it will merely teach her to be more careful with how she distributes power. While I am open to discussion, I am growing inclined toward letting this become entirely an Empire problem. Gazelle is their product, after all."

Shinespark blinked. "That's... Permission to speak freely?"

"I have never held the pretense of revoking it."

Shinespark took a breath. "That's a surprisingly ruthless answer, given what I've seen of you so far. The Empire must be in no condition for a tyrant, and he could actually seize power unless Garsheeva stepped in to stop him. And what if he started invading other nations? He's miserable, and you could do the whole world a favor by stopping him and Meltdown right here. I feel more sorry for her than Gazelle, but she isn't the best pony, either."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Who said anything about acting without Garsheeva's approval? I only have one ship, after all."

Shinespark's muzzle scrunched. "Wait..."

"It has been some time since I met with my northern counterpart last," Celestia went on. "It is a detour, flying to Grandbell before I return to Canterlot, but not an insurmountable one, and my ship is swift. I think it will be the best of both worlds if I deliver them home myself, and personally see to it that they are subjected to the will of their own subjects. Would Gazelle be a tyrant? It is not unlikely. And if his ponies reject him and turn him back over to my hooves, and Garsheeva does not appear and intervene, Meltdown has little authority to take him back, indeed. A leader can only lead their ponies to the extent that those ponies allow it."

"Clever. So you're counting on the Empire to ignore Meltdown and send him back to you to deal with." Shinespark narrowed her eyes. "But what if they don't? What if they take him?"

"It is not my job to protect the ponies and griffons of another nation from things they desire, but will hurt them." Celestia shook her head, two stallions carrying a crate past in the background. "I am the princess of Equestria, not the world. That is part of why I created the Aldenfold a thousand years ago. If they wish to give Meltdown and Gazelle another chance, that is their fate to wish for."

"And what if he starts invading other nations?" Shinespark whispered. "Like Ironridge? Ironridge is helpless..."

Celestia pursed her lips. "I do not think that is very likely. Last I checked, the Empire has no air fleet with which to approach Ironridge by. Furthermore, their armies are already occupied defending the Empire mainland after its recent catastrophe. Finally, Ironridge as a target has little strategic importance to them. It is fully isolated and its economy is in tatters, and when it wasn't, it was a primary exporter of food and metal, something the Empire has little need for with their vast swaths of farmland and low level of industry. It would be a suspect tactical decision at best, and even if they were to invade, I have a feeling you could repel whatever small force they did prove able to muster."

Shinespark furrowed her brow in thought.

"Finally, if you are truly worried, it may not be difficult to build Ironridge a standing army," Celestia added. "You have adequate food and an overabundance of population. If you were concerned about threats to your city, you could easily fortify it."

"Good points," Shinespark sighed. "I just... so... You're taking Gazelle and Meltdown north yourself?"

"I had meant to return to Canterlot with all due haste," Celestia said. "But given the circumstances, this is the best course of action. I will still be able to preside over Gazelle's fate myself, without denying Meltdown's request. Besides, even if I did turn him over to her, they would have few other means to return to the Empire themselves."

Shinespark took a breath and exhaled. "Alright, then."

"You still have reservations," Celestia said.

"No, I..." Shinespark swallowed. "It's just that we haven't ever seen an enemy come back to follow us from beyond the grave. Herman, Chauncey... They all stayed dead."

"If Gazelle somehow does return to harass you, I don't think there will be any capable of taking his judgement out of your hooves."

Shinespark massaged her forehead. "Not a consoling thought."

"It is a large world, Shinespark," Celestia said quietly. "What makes you so certain your paths will cross again?"

"Because that's just how our luck works sometimes."

Celestia looked away and exhaled. "If it is any consolation, this will delay my arrival in Canterlot by perhaps a week or so, depending on the duration of my visit to the Empire. You will have more time to prepare your ship and bid farewell to the friend you are leaving."

"I need to think for a while." Shinespark shook her head and turned away as well. "I just wish this could be simpler. I wish this could be done and over with."

Celestia took a moment to answer. "Life goes on, except when it doesn't. And that state of being over and done with does not leave room for any more living."

"I know."

"You will always have things in your life you wish you didn't have to deal with," Celestia continued. "But from what I have seen of you so far, you are a remarkably resilient mare who was far worse off when we first met than you are now. But leave handling Gazelle to me. I will ensure he does not meet a fate I am unsatisfied with."

"...It's your decision." Shinespark stood up and turned to leave. "Just be careful with them."

Behind her, Celestia nodded. "My departure draws near. I may not see you again soon, but I will come to Ironridge and find you the moment these events have left Equestria's general awareness. I still believe you and your friends have significant things waiting in your future, and do not wish to lose sight of you. Take care of your crew, Shinespark."

"I will. I swear it."





Two ponies worked together, one holding a side panel in the Immortal Dream while the other tightened screws. Valey strolled past them, clad in the fluffiest cheerleader outfit she could find, grinning and waving at everyone she passed.

"We're already motivated, you know," a stallion said in the engine room, poking out his tongue in concentration as he compared small text scrawled on the slide-out hardware trays in the equipment racks to writing on a sheet of paper. "No need to distract us."

"Not what the last five folks said." Valey shrugged, moving on. "Keep up the good work, though!"

On the deck, most of the damaged insulation had been removed, and new sheets of it were stacked, ready to be inserted after the students were done replacing the wiring in the cabin ceilings. The wall section between the staircase and the door to the bridge had been replaced, she realized, with a carved mural of a verdant mountain range. Had that even been there before? The old wall had been too nicked and scratched for her to remember.

A day passed, and the crew of students rotated slightly, the ceiling wiring finished and the insulation going in. Another came around, and the new deck was going in, sounds of hammers rampant within the dry dock as students nailed the boards down with their best thwacks.

The floor in the dining hall was out, now, along with the tops of the benches along the walls. Ponies carried out dented floorboards smelling faintly of sweat and filth and carried in new ones, the inner hull beneath the floor still in perfect condition. Valey cheered the students on as they fixed the winch system used to control the central table, toggling the switch herself to test it using a power conduit threaded in from outside.

Another day passed, and the lights were working, the ship's central power distribution back online. Valey watched two nerdy students arguing over whether it was time to test with a mana core or continue running the ship on power directly from Kinmari, but didn't really care now that the heated floors were working again. How long had those been broken? Either some point during the crossing between Ironridge and the Empire, or they were entirely new. But her hooves had never felt this cozy.

Professor Sea Star showed up the day after that, lugging along a wire mesh cage made out of a faintly silvery metal. Valey followed along at a distance, gathering they had been testing it with the windigo hearts, and it seemed effective in reducing their passive effects on ponies nearby. Of course, they already had Amber's suitcase, which had apparently been made with the same kind of metal, but this would work on the heart that was being actively drawn from, too. Shinespark interrupted with a rousing discussion that this was actually a metal type that occurred in Ironridge, and a lot of postulating occurred that it might be found naturally near crystal palaces. Maybe that was where it got its properties.

It didn't take long after that for them to start testing the harmony extractor. The students were still repairing the wire guidelines for the comet, so it wasn't there yet, but a starry orange mist floated inside the shining rail cage in the engine room more than once when Valey looked inside.

That was her cue to put back the ship's terminal. Its data storage blank and everything else in proper order, Valey scooted around on her back and attached fine wires with her wings, still in her cheerleader outfit, giving at least one of the students working on replacing burnt-out instruments in the dashboard a bloody nose. The windshield had been replaced long ago, and was cleaner than Valey had ever seen.

The students started early on the process of restocking the ship, the moment the pantry floor had been replaced and all the hallways were walkable again. It was a longer process than Valey expected, some of the furniture needing to be re-bolted down after it had broken free of its previous restraints during the ship's many gravitational fiascos. It took two full days for them to properly re-shelve the library, new and improved with cases around the bookshelves to stop the books from falling off.

Even Shinespark helped to reload the ship, her time much freer now that Meltdown was gone and she didn't have that project to tend to. Valey counted the days by how many times Felicity complained about her girth, her friend somehow not losing spirit despite the inevitable, impending prospect of their goodbye, and as the two-week marker neared, it finally felt like they were really almost done.

Shinespark turned on the harmony comet. First test. Everything seemed to go smoothly.

Second test. One of the ship's stabilizers wasn't properly connected.

Third test. That problem was resolved.

Fourth test. They had the ship flying on its own, Valey and Starlight and everyone else turning out to watch it hover in place. Shinespark didn't stop, opting instead to test the propulsion at the same time, and it felt like the whole island saw as the ship drifted out through the western bay, riding several feet above the water.

"Well?" Valey stretched, standing next to Maple and stretching in her well-worn outfit. "Looks like we're back in the air."

"It looks like we are..."

"Yep." Valey nodded seriously. "I'm gonna owe a lot of students last-minute dates as thank-yous."