The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Whatever Works

Hot air was blowing on Starlight's face.

Restless as her sleep was, she grumbled, shifted, and cracked her eyes... and yelped, sitting up in a flash. A pair of green, slitted eyes were inches from her own, close enough that she could smell their owner's breath.

"Aah!" She struggled back, bumping up against Maple, who was clutching her tightly. "What...? What are you...?" she panted, gaze flicking wildly.

Valey stared back, unblinking, still well inside of Starlight's personal space. "Hi."

Behind her, Maple grunted, squirming in her sleep. "Aspen... nngh... no..."

"Maple..." Nervously, as patiently as she could, Starlight shook the mare. There were things she could deal with on her own, and the batpony was not one of them.

With a gasp, Maple woke. "What!? I... I..." She put a hoof to her chest, and then her face fell. "Ohh..."

"You know, you two don't look so hot," Valey remarked, standing in front of them with a large sack slung over her back.

"Valey?" Maple paralleled Starlight's gaze, staring at the mare.

"That's my name." Valey nodded. "So, why did I have to come all the way down here to find you guys? You hiding from me, or something? Because I didn't take you for hobos."

Maple tensed. "You were... looking for us?"

"Well, duh!" Valey jostled her bag, pulling the top open with a wingtip. "You promised to take these off my hooves when I was done, remember? Although, I, uhh..." She glanced around. "I figured you would have someplace more respectable to put them..."

The lift had docked during their slumber at the bottom of its incline, furnishings sparse save for walls of sheet metal and occasional crates that looked to be in storage. To one side, a large, sliding cargo door was padlocked shut. The only thing that separated it in aesthetic was a metal archway, styled after gears and looking deliberately ill-fit and half-melted, set in the far wall, fiery red light pouring from the corridor behind.

"Not to knock your house, or anything!" Valey hastily continued. "I mean, metal floor, metal walls? Looks, uh, sturdy. And a very short commute, if you work in the Flame District. A little lacking on the privacy side, though." She tapped the side of her hoof against the ground, musing. "No beds, either. Kudos to you for trying that, by the way. I couldn't live without something nice and fluffy! I hear it might be going into style, too..." She winked. "After a year or two of extreme poverty. Seriously, how much did you guys pay for this place? It's a dump."

"Is that a bag of fruit?" Starlight asked, skipping all but the most important detail. Beside her, Maple nodded, a repressed spark of hope in her eye as if she were on the losing end of a battle against the fear of being pranked.

Valey stuck her head inside. "Yeah, something like that. Here, have a pear." Reaching a wing out, she lobbed the object at Starlight. "So, what are you doing down in the Flame District at two in the morning?"

"...We're lost," Maple admitted, hanging her head. "And we've had a terrible day. Just, whatever you're going to do... please don't separate us..."

Looking up, Valey bit her lip, eyes shining with suppressed eagerness. "Terrible, huh? Ooh, spill the beans!"

Wincing, Maple started, "I-I don't..."

"Gerardo," Starlight interrupted, already stuffing her face with the pear. "He had us take those boxes we were carrying to the Water District, where we got attacked by the guards and Maple got stolen! And I followed her, and we almost got out, but got trapped by the elevators, and..." She trailed off. "And give Maple one too."

"Huh!" Valey beamed. "Look at that, you guys were honest. I know everything, remember."

"Then why are you here now?" Maple asked, voice steady.

"I just told you." Valey looked mournfully at her fruit bag. "Because I got all this delicious fruit and need something to do with it, and no way am I sharing it with the guards. I forget, what did each of you say you liked, again...?" Rummaging with her head entirely in the bag, she stretched a wing back, holding an offered peach.

Maple's eyes widened, and she stared at the tantalizing fruit. "We are hungry..."

"Well, take it!" She wiggled it under their noses for emphasis.

Relenting, Maple followed Starlight's lead with the peach, spraying juices in her eagerness. "So, about that being lost..." Valey closed the sack and slung it back on her back. "What're you gonna do? Try to find old Birdo? Hide out here and play it safe?"

"We do not want to stay here," Maple hissed around her fruit. "We're trying to get out as soon as possible!"

Valey rolled her eyes. "Should've stayed put, then, I could have found you faster. Still not as fast as I'd like, since the entire Defense Force got themselves into a pickle and needed me to bail them out..." Pouting, she puffed her cheeks and looked aside.

"You mean that siren?" Maple asked, slurping down another mouthful of peach. "We would have gotten out by now if not for it. There was a guard, and Starlight got him to help us before he kicked us out of the elevator to go deal with that."

"Yep." Valey stood up, pacing. "It was crazy. Pretty much what happened was the Spirit honcho - calls herself Braen, nasty strong unicorn in armor, small chance you've met her - just strolled right in, all alone, and the guards picked a fight with her because she's who the Defense Force was made to fight and it was home turf and a hundred versus one and all that, and she completely creamed them without lifting a hoof. She had this weird magic sword that made them go all noodly when hit, and just stood there waving it around in her magic. Complete no-sell, since those pegasi are dumb and have no decent weapons."

Grinning harder, she added, "On top of that, whatever nutjob designed the invasion response policy completely forgot that noodle-guards block the hallways and make it impossible for reinforcements to get past. I mean, everyone knows that you don't deploy full armies in close combat situations! Kind of hilarious, actually." Cupping a hoof around her muzzle, she whispered, "Spoiler alert: that was me. I thought it would be funny to see everyone standing around in a crisis with nothing to do, not that they'd be much use anyway. Anyway! So I had to go clear that out and tell her to get lost before coming to find you. Sorry." She shrugged, only half-apologetic, and straightened her beret.

Maple blinked. "O-Okay. And thank you very much for the food, but... could you please show us the way out of here, now? Please?"

"Yeah, sure." Waving them along, Valey strode confidently toward the glowing, reddened entrance to the Flame District. "Follow me!"

Comments

[ZanyZapper]

Well we know Shinespark hasn't recovered Gerardo's sword yet. Of course she seemed to expect to be able to just pick it up on the black market or something claiming the bandits would rather have the money. She was either wrong or lying. I don't really trust her anyway.

And yay Valey's back! She's a hoot.

[alamais]

noodly

[Davidp1522]

I'm now on team Valey.

[Pluie]

Out of the fortress and into the flames...

[Boopers]

I went all the way back to this chapter just to post this:
sun4-12.userapi.com/c855120/v855120853/1938d9/Xce02sY8_3E.jpg

[bronyheat]

I liked Valey before, but now? I like her more.