The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Victory Party

Fighting back a shiver, Starlight stepped out onto the ship's deck, openly exposed to the night air blowing past her. It rumbled in her ears, breaking around the bridge cabin that stood with her in its lee, and she hugged the book to her chest for warmth. Maybe reading out here wasn't such a good idea. Still, it was better than Jamjars snoring.

She walked to the railing, leaning over and looking down. The river was close enough that she could see the ship's reflection when the waters grew still, and it occurred to her that Gerardo might have meant to land in it. The jagged canopy was even nearer, occasional trees at the top of rocky bluffs growing almost high enough to leap to.

As she watched and listened, breathing the night air and letting it cool her lungs, her ears started to twitch. She glanced over her shoulder... Was there light coming from inside the bridge? She took a few steps closer, and started to make out muffled voices as well. Where had Gerardo gotten power, and who was he talking with? Having nothing better to do than indulge her curiosity, she trotted over and rolled the door open.

"Of course, that was when I turned to Winsom and said, 'I told you she wouldn't kiss an ugly llama like you! Our bet is mine! Ha-ha!' Then he said-" Gerardo cut off, blinking. "Ah, Starlight!"

Starlight blinked harder. The room was brightly lit by a cluster of floating spheres of light, which resonated in time with the glowing of Dior's horn. The former chancellor sat idly in the copilot's seat, while Gerardo lounged against the control panel next to him, beak still open in the middle of a story. As close in front of him as possible sat Slipstream the pegasus, listening in rapt attention and still wearing her sweater. That she was on the boat had completely slipped Starlight's mind.

"Welcome to the after party," Gerardo announced, saluting with a wing and holding out a bottle of some darkly-colored drink. "Seeing as we've many who are resting, injured or dealing with their emotions, we thought to confine the festivities to the bridge for the time being. Would you care to join us? I'm afraid you've missed my glorious rendition of our duels and escapades in defense of the city, but I was just wrapping up some tales from my days of adventuring in Varsidel and was going to move on to some classic Griffish lore!"

"A party?" Starlight tilted her head. "What? We barely got out of Ironridge alive!"

Gerardo waggled a talon. "Ah, but we are all alive, and I feel that is ample cause for celebration. Besides, a certain member of my audience is thoroughly enamored, and His Chancellorship was direly in need of some lessons in how to take things less seriously."

Dior nodded, a slightly uncomfortable smile on his face. "My role in Ironridge, both with respect to Skyfreeze and Sosa, left little room for socializing or enjoying myself. I should be seeing to Shinespark's well-being, or perhaps agonizing over abandoning my city, but she didn't want to talk to me when I asked. I think I'm letting the excitement of being free from all our planning get to me."

Starlight stared at the black unicorn, realizing that for all the times she had heard of Dior, she knew nothing about what he was really like. He looked... younger than she had imagined. "How do you know Shinespark, anyway?" she asked, tilting her head.

"That's usually a secret," Dior said, adding a small chuckle. "We set everything up so the public would assume I was from Yakyakistan. But since we're in the business of not needing those any more..." He put on a naughty grin, like a foal getting away with stealing from the cookie jar. "Shinespark is my sister. And not on Mobius's side, like half of Ironridge! I don't know if she told you, but after her and her mother Matryona were taken in by Arambai upon returning to Ironridge, he kept them out of public sight to protect them from the controversy surrounding Mobius and his absence during Project Aslan's crash. And while Matryona was hidden, a real relationship bloomed, and I came along, and was also kept from sight because wouldn't that have been a scandal? When the time came for me to take a role in the city's path, there were no records or ponies who could identify me as Sosan."

"...Huh." Starlight blinked. She hadn't thought of that, though it made perfect sense in hindsight. "How old are you, then?"

Dior shook his head. "Just over a year Shinespark's junior. And I've been the chancellor for quite a while, now. It's remarkable what some creatures will let you get away with just because of symbolism. Have you heard the story of how I did that?"

Gerardo sadly raised a talon. "Well, I was in the middle of a tale of my own..."

"Wow, Gerardo..." Slipstream rolled her eyes. "Let the filly ask her questions! I like her! And besides, I worked at the skyport for five years, and would love to hear this."

Dior was happy to oblige. "My brand," he said, indicating the three-triangle symbol on his flank. "It has no magical function whatsoever, but bears a passing resemblance to the Emblem of the Nine Virtues worshipped in Yakyakistan. Not nearly enough to make the smarter or more unscrupulous economic representatives of the country believe I was some divinely ordained colt of destiny, but enough to tempt them with the possibility of convincing others that I was. We got them to install me as a puppet chancellor when I was just starting my growth spurt. I wouldn't be surprised if I got puppeted to their whims even more than I realize, but it did leave me in a position to help obfuscate my family's secrets, as well as funnel Sosa large amounts of money through the weapons contract."

Gerardo cleared his throat. "Even if that was really being used by a treasonous ambassador as a means of arming sides for a conflict," he appended.

"I don't know about you," Slipstream said to Starlight, "but I'm really feeling like this is the right crowd to be with. This is like listening to gossip in the skyport's lobby, only if the actual leaders were doing the talking. I never thought I'd like feeling outclassed, but I could get used to this."

"Well, a band of loyal companions is something any adventurer should strive for," Gerardo remarked with a wink. "It remains to be seen how many of my present compatriots I'll be able to convince to continue past Riverfall and join me wherever the winds take us, so if you have any adventuring skills you'd like to put to use..."

Slipstream winked back, looking utterly silly with her do-anything grin and bottle-green sweater. "I can make a mean cup of coffee out of almost nothing, answer any question about the world's air-travel system, and keep up with you in a blizzard. Think you can handle me?"

Gerardo's headcrest drooped. "Technically, I recall myself almost perishing of worry that my loyal guide would succumb to the ice and be lost forever within a snowdrift. However, good coffee is always a plus." He blinked at Starlight. "Do they have coffee in Riverfall? Many find it a staple of rising with the sun, though I can't recall seeing any last time I was there."

Starlight shrugged, noting Slipstream's face shaking. She had thoroughly lost track of the conversation, and the reset was completed when Slipstream sneezed, bowling herself over backwards.

"Case in point," Gerardo observed. "For what it is worth, I do feel terribly for any sinus issues you've had following your following of me. But now that that tangent is cleared up! Who would like to lend audience to some tales of my homeland?"

Comments

[alamais]

BBY