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// Friends Have Your Back 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
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Maple stayed until Starlight's breathing had steadied, but even then she didn't leave. They stayed long enough that the light against the window blinds started to dim, the western mountains' shadow overtaking the house as the township's early evening began. Starlight didn't talk, and Maple didn't ask her to. There was no way she could put voice to everything she was feeling.

Eventually, though, she had to try.

"Maple?" Starlight sniffed. "What should I do?"

"Well," Maple mused. "You don't need to do anything. So what do you want to do?"

Starlight didn't know. She wanted to go back in time and punch out Glimmer before she could ever meet her, and take her place herself and give her past self better advice. But there was no target and no place for her anger, and it fizzled like a spilled, fizzy drink melting away into the ground, leaving behind only the helpless sensation of being wronged.

Wasn't that the point, though? Wasn't this what she had wished for? Somehow, if she wanted to, she could pull herself to her hooves and go find her lookalike and demand answers and an apology, or at the very least try to get revenge. But that wouldn't undo what had been done to her.

The truth was, just like when Sunburst left so very long ago, she was hurt. And just like last time, she had the power to react to the problem, but not go back and undo it. And she had always wished things could have been different then, that her parents would have been better and could have helped make it all okay without needing to be time travelers or ultimate magicians. This time, Starlight could even see how it could be okay.

Her trials could all be in the past. She might be able to move forward. She had hope that Glimmer was bluffing, that there was no bad future, or the bad future she had been warned about could be prevented by something other than sitting down and being afraid of herself. There was a chance she could escape from some of the responsibility she had been saddled with all along... but she couldn't do it on her own.

She was where she had been before, crying from a loss that was in her past now, but her future was wide open. And what she wanted more than anything was to not need to do anything. She wanted someone to pick her up, not to need to do it herself, to be told that it was all going to be okay and that this newest feeling that her world had ended would all be wiped away.

She wanted to be free.

"I want to not need to do anything," she answered, Maple's question still floating silently in the air. "I don't want to need to run away or do something again."

"Then that's what you have," Maple promised. "There won't be any more running away. We're going to live here come wind or rain, and I'll have your back always. This will be perfectly fine."

Starlight hoped it would be. She didn't know for sure. But she didn't want it to be her job to ensure that.

For another long while, there was silence.

"Starlight?" This time it was Maple who broke it. "You said you were scared of yourself."

"Mhm," Starlight snuffled. "But now I think the other me was lying when she tried to make me afraid."

There was always a possibility she was misremembering, or misinterpreting her memory, of course. But she didn't want to be where that line of thinking would take her, even if it was the truth.

"And now you don't know how to feel, because you still feel the way you did even though your reason for it is gone, and you don't know why." Maple's ears didn't fold. "Is that it?"

It didn't feel perfect, but it was a better summarization than Starlight was going to come up with herself. She nodded.

"Well, the good news is, you're not the only pony to ever feel that way," Maple continued. "Which maybe isn't good good, because it isn't a good way to feel, but it's good because you're not alone. Sometimes ponies like us are just silly, and our feelings don't quite match up to what we know. And I know that you care a whole lot, and even if you make mistakes, you'd never do something deliberately terrible. And if your emotions got the best of you and you did, I know you would come back and try to make amends. And remember that no matter how strong we are or what we're capable of, everyone is capable of doing the wrong things, whether they want to or mess up."

"I know..." Starlight covered her face, keenly aware that there were no blankets on the unmade bed for her to hide in. It didn't help her feel any less floating and untethered.





Time didn't freeze around Maple and Starlight as they sat in the bedroom, and the evening wore on elsewhere. Gerardo hadn't yet returned from stepping away to guide Fluffy home, leaving Valey, Amber and Shinespark to finish things with Fishy and the mover ponies.

"Well," Fishy said, wiping her brow, "I'm no designer, but I'd say good enough is good enough. It'll take some proper decorating later, but I think they have all the essentials for getting started."

"You can say that again," a bearded stallion proclaimed. "I think I deserve a nice rest on that heavy couch! Haha! Though I have a better one at home."

"It sure is getting dark out," Amber added, glancing out the kitchen window. "Doesn't feel like we've been at this for that long, does it?"

Shinespark nodded. "Sunset comes early when you have mountains to the west. The horizon is higher."

"Hope that doesn't mean we have to can the festivities and take an early bedtime," Valey complained, twirling her hat on a wingtip. "Hey, speaking of festivities... You think anyone should check on Ironflanks and Starlight? I get that this goodbye is rough, but Starlight would probably feel better if she had eaten since lunch. And we can hang out with her and keep her company too."

"I don't think that's our forte..." Shinespark pointed out with a shake of her head. "Not mine, at least. I can't believe we're going to be back home so soon."

"Looks like everyone else is packing it up," Amber said, nodding to the workers who were heading out the door and meeting with Fishy in the yard. "So... I guess that makes just us three." She glanced around the newly-furnished kitchen, most of its space still empty and waiting for use. "How do we want to spend this last evening?"

Valey shrugged. "I was hoping to party it up and get some last good memories in before we hit the sky. But honestly, I dunno if that's what Starlight needs. And, well, speaking for myself, at least... I think she's gonna take this harder than I am, so I'm a little more worried about making this cool for her than cool for me."

Shinespark pulled up a thin chair, made from lightweight wooden spokes that had been carved artistically, and not very long ago at that. "What about you, Amber?" She inspected the chair and its make for a moment before sitting down. "You've known Maple for longer than I've been alive..." She blinked, holding a hoof to her forehead. "Huh. I never processed that you were that much older than me. But this is your parting too. What do you want out of this night? Even if the sun is setting and Maple is busy with Starlight, we still have a chance to set up something memorable."

"We've never been much for fanfare, to tell the truth." Amber sat back, the floor just as workable for her as a chair. "Willow, Maple and I? We've learned too many lessons about taking our time and doing things right. One good dinner and a 'See you next time!' is about par for the course for us. After all, that's how you left Riverfall, when I stayed behind myself."

Valey waved a hoof. "Yeah, but you were plotting to come catch up to us and stuff."

"Not plotting," Amber corrected with a shake of her head. "I just wanted to if the opportunity came, and it did, so I took it. But even still, aren't we planning to get the writs and come back here so everyone can see each other again? It'll take time, but this isn't goodbye forever."

"I mean... there's a difference between us coming back and them catching up," Valey countered. "Namely, that the happy reunion is all on us. We gotta find those writs, we gotta do what it takes to get them, we gotta find some way to get a happily ever after all of us can share in. This isn't all of us out there adventuring, with some catching up to the others. It's them, getting off the ride. And that means this going right is all on us. Whatever we leave them with is what we leave them with until we return, so we gotta make sure it's what they need."

Shinespark was quiet. "But do you even have any idea what Starlight needs?"

"Uhh... well..." Valey's brow creased. "I've got a whole lot of ideas what her problems are. All million of them. And not nearly enough clues how to solve them, though I think hanging up the adventuring mantle and planting some roots will do her some good. You saw that Fluffy kid, right? I have a good feeling about her. I think kids that act like kids are sorta what a kid like Starlight needs in her life."

"Almost makes you wonder if we should be doing anything for Jamjars," Amber softly pointed out. "She was... pretty upset on the ship while we were leaving."

"Jamjars did join us of her own volition," Shinespark sighed. "I don't recall if she was a stowaway, but I wouldn't be surprised. It's hard for us to take responsibility for her when she won't bond with anyone, and we'll be leaving her in Riverfall when we get back to the north."

Amber nodded firmly. "Her mother is there, and someone will watch over her. Riverfall is good about everyone picking up the slack with everyone else's foals. Nobody falls through the cracks."

"Even though Jamjars is more likely to hide in the cracks," Valey quipped. "But, nyaah, whatever. Starlight is my friend, and I wanna do for her what I can." She gave Amber a look. "But Ironflanks is just as much my friend too, and you know what will work for her best. I know she believes us totally when we promise to come back, even though it's that kind of promise where we're saying we'll find a way to do the impossible, but she's still bailing on her two oldest friends. Willow, she doesn't even get to say goodbye to. Last time they parted, they were gonna see each other again at the end of a long airship trip. Bananas. Poor girl."

"Like I said." Amber shrugged. "The way Maple and Willow and I do things? We don't hesitate. I'm a gambler at heart who hates being able to say she missed an opportunity due to slow hooves. And Maple gets her hope in life by jumping into something that could go either way, and counting the good times when they come. I'm all for a big hangout celebration, but if it were just the two of us? We might regret it later, but we'd hug, say see ya, and take the chance then and there."

Shinespark grimaced. "We don't want this to be a night we regret not having done differently later. That's the entire reason we're staying, and not already in the air now that we've seen they're welcome here. Starlight has a new friend, and the mayor is in her corner. Maple is getting along with her neighbors... We're not waiting for any success signals. We're here to give our friends the sendoff they deserve."

"You know what that makes it sound like the answer is?" Valey raised an eyebrow. "This calls for something cheesy and straight from the heart. You girls like cheese?"

Shinespark blinked. Amber licked her lips.

"I'm thinking a hoof-written banner, from all of us, right here in the kitchen. Like a streamer." Valey surveyed the room, tongue poking out in concentration. "And, uhh... Well, I dunno if we can compete with Ironflanks in cooking, but Birdo survived in the wilderness a lot on his adventures. He must have picked up a skill or two. And we need to get some pictures of all of us together, or a drawing if we can't find a camera. Something useless and with a whole lot of sentimental value."

Amber nodded. "That sounds like a plan. Gifts to remember us by?"

"Yeah." Valey tossed her beret, catching it in both forehooves and tucking it against her chest, then holding it out and staring. "Might even give them this. Bananas, it's a real good hat."

For all the trials Valey's hat had underwent throughout its life, it was still holding up. The fabric was well-stitched, a solid band rimming the bottom that held in the edges and prevented fraying. The interior was threadbare and slightly stained, a reminder no amount of washing could purge of all the fruit and other assorted items she had hidden there, and her mane looked flat and bare without its presence. The front rose and one side puffed out in a lopsided flop, unsure if it wanted to be a sharp military beret or a lazy hat reminiscent of a pony who wore their mane over one eye, and a chip of glittering crystal formed a shapeless insignia at the helm. It looked like Valey had found the chip and stuck it on herself as an ornament.

"You'd give that away?" Amber stared. "It's, like... practically a part of you."

"Eh. I said I might." Valey shrugged, twirled the hat once more, and caught it with one ear, settling it exactly back where it belonged. "You girls think about this too, though. I'm gonna head back to the Dream and drum up some ideas and support, because we're gonna be hosting this ourselves if Ironflanks is busy. See you soon. Let's make this epic."