• Published 23rd Jun 2017
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The Olden World - Czar_Yoshi



Equestrian culture loves cutie marks. Filly Starlight Glimmer hates them and never wants one. So, she leaves Equestria.

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Last Road

"This is what you did to... umm..." Maple bit her lip. "Clear us the road?"

"Yup!" Valey hovered smugly, curtsying in midair. "I'd say it worked pretty well, wouldn't you?"

The group of four stood just beyond the western exit to Grand Acorn, a broad dirt road with ditches on either side and a wooden fence to the south providing easy passage through the forest. Dusk-shadowed trees reached out from the jungle on either side, far enough to darken to surface but not enough to obscure the clouds that still rolled by high above. The still air was free of birdsong, misty rain falling in a curtain that was preferable to being beneath dripping branches. A wooden arch stretched across the road, marking the beginning of the city limits, and a small signpost stood nearby, advising travelers of where they were going, where they were leaving, and to enjoy their trip.

It was at that sign the group was staring, Valey proudly and the others with varying degrees of uncertainty. A lopsided board had been tacked over part of the original message, with 'Copsewood' and an arrow pointing in the direction of Gnarlbough hastily scrawled in a dark brown substance.

"Yeah... uhh..." Howe lifted it aside, peering at the original directions to Gnarlbough beneath. "Somehow, I dunno if changing the sign is going to do all that much."

"Nyaa. Of course it will." Valey stuck out her tongue and folded her forelegs. "This always works. And do you see anyone going this way now? Watch."

On the opposite side of the road, a stallion wandered by, pretending not to look at Valey and definitely not looking at the sign, pace increasing as much as he thought would be unnoticeable.

Howe smirked.

"Yeah, well, your mane looks ridiculous," Valey pouted, picking up the fake sign cover and throwing it like a boomerang into the forest, where it impacted a bush with a leafy crash. "So there. Let's get on with this hike, already!"


As she walked, Maple looked over her shoulder, and was surprised to see the gates of Grand Acorn already out of sight around a bend. It was the first such time she had looked to check her progress, and measured by the dull ache in her legs, she had expected to see the starting line not three paces behind. Was she really doing that much better than she thought?

The sky above remained dull and unchanging, the sun in the course of its arc where it was beyond the mountains but not the horizon, leaving little clue to how much time had actually passed. In Riverfall, she remembered, the tall, branchless trees would cast vertical shadows through the extreme morning and evening sunlight, catching its orange rays on dust motes and allowing one to see its movement with their bare eyes by watching the changes in beams and silhouettes. She had grown up with morning and evening passing with colorful flair, when the clouds allowed it, and something about the Ironridge nightfall was empty as a result.

How much time had passed? She couldn't tell any more than she could count the number of times she had put one hoof in front of the other, making sure they wouldn't slip in the freshly rained-on mud. Carefully, she kept her tension below the point where her cramps would elevate from annoying to debilitating, balancing it with the need to keep moving forward and not simply topple or lay down then and there. But the prospect of her goals coming within reach revitalized her, and she pushed on, tapping into that last well of strength used for seeing one through to the end of a long day.

Blueleaf, Grand Acorn and the Stone District were all behind her, Starlight was beside her, and Gnarlbough was immediately ahead; the one thing she had decided she would do on her journey. Everything the Stone District did, and everything the Earth District could have done, she had dodged through pure luck, she knew, and it was time to change that. It was time to do the favor Willow's husband Faron had asked of her the night she left Riverfall, to prove that she could do something useful with the trip she was taking... something other than being scared of guards, or obsessed with a ratty old weapon-filled trench coat, or being the slowest member of the group or everything else that had defined her during her time on the road.

The trials were behind her. Maple's face set in a picture of concentration. Valey was being less obstinate about insisting she was bad; that was good too. The corners of her mouth twitched upward. Shinespark had appeared, who was directly connected with Arambai and would help them get home and make sure nothing further bad happened... that was perfect. She broke into a smile; for all the bad that had happened she had made it through, and finally could...

"Hey! Maple!" Starlight's voice squeaked from somewhere behind her. "You're going too fast!"

She turned to see the filly stumbling through the mud to keep up, head bobbing and mane bouncing as she tried to gallop for traction on the squishy floor. "Oh!" Maple's ears folded. "Sorry..."

Starlight scooted up beside her, both fliers eyeing them from the air. "I thought you were sore after carrying that crate around and doing so much walking," she huffed, trying to keep her tail above the mud and having mixed results.

"I was... feeling good," Maple sheepishly admitted. "Aren't you? We're almost there! We've made it through so many places all in one day, and are almost to Gnarlbough! I wasn't really sure we'd be able to do this without waiting for tomorrow, but look at us now..."

"Yeah. I guess." Starlight waddled along at her side, stepping carefully through the mud. "Where are we going to sleep? Do you think we'll find somewhere in Gnarlbough, or wait for Shinespark to find us and go with her? You told her where we were going, right?"

"I think so," Maple hummed, brow furrowing. "At least... I think I did. I mentioned Gnarlbough, right?" She looked up at Valey, worried.

Valey shrugged. "Yeah, you did. Never said where in it, but it's not that big of a place... at least at first glance. And let's be honest: it's really hard to find someone in Gnarlbough when they don't want to be found. Or when they do, but not enough to go stand around outside and make it easy."

"Really...?" Maple sucked her cheek, suddenly nervous. "It won't be like another Blueleaf, will it?"

"Nahhh." Valey waved a hoof. "Blueleaf does what Blueleaf wants to do, and that's their shtick and nowhere else's. Each town in the Earth District does their own thing, really. It's like... being individual, or something. Must've been trendy hundreds of years ago when they were planning these places. You know, how Blueleaf is basically a pile and then Grand Acorn looks like a castle town?"

Starlight looked up. "What's Gnarlbough like?"

Valey grinned. "Actually a pretty fun place. They take the earth in Earth District super duper seriously... and build their whole entire houses underground. The things look like these half-buried coconuts from above, or sometimes even full hills with grass growing on the roof and everything. But inside, it's a total maze of rooms and tunnels and twisty turney stuff. They're pretty much burrows, but prettier. Super round, kinda sprawling, sometimes even run into each other and have tunnels from house to house. Absolutely hate straight lines. It's cool! Lots of good places to hide."

"Huh." Maple's ears twitched, and she looked back at Starlight. "Well, that doesn't sound too bad, does it?"

"Yeah..." Valey nodded. "Normally, I'd say, 'See for yourself!' but... we're not quite there yet. So pick up the pace, slowpokes! Or else I'll start calling the filly Molassesflanks. And I still need a good nickname for her, too..."

"All right, then." Maple set her jaw, squared her shoulders, and pushed forward with a fresh burst of determination, making sure Starlight was still with her. "Then let's press on until we are."

"Uhh... Heh heh." Valey floated in front of her face, waving. "Actually, psych! It's right around that corner. We're basically there. Come on and see for yourself!"

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