The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Welcome Wagon

"Maplllllle!"

With an explosive kick, Amber leapt clear from the riverbank to the side of the ship, struggling and climbing up the last bit of hull when her jump fell short. She tackled Maple to the ground with a giant hug, spraying water everywhere and grinning like a lunatic.

"You're back!" she giggled, squeezing tightly with her forelegs. "After Arambai said Ironridge decided to choose the last week to explode, me and Willow have been worried to death about you! Sorry I'm kind of gross right now; I've been up around the clock fixing Gerardo's boat so I could come look for you but you're back!"

"Ah..." Maple struggled limply. "Amber, too tight...!"

"Heh..." Amber stepped back, scratching her neck with an oily hoof, covered in water and black stains. "Glad to see you didn't get caught up in whatever was going on, though. And Starlight, you're fine too! And, uhhh..."

Her mouth went slack for several seconds as she stared at Valey. "Wow. You're exotic," she finally managed. "What are you? Some kind of pegasus?"

Valey kept a straight face, raising an eyebrow back at Amber. "She's a new friend," Maple started to explain, though she stopped when she realized Amber wasn't listening.

Valey arched her eyebrow higher. "Those are some wandery eyes you've got there."

"Uhh... heh heh..." Amber blushed, grinning apologetically. "Sorry. I've never..."

Valey waggled her brow, emphasizing that it was as high as it could go.

Amber pursed her lips in realization, before forcing her face into a ridiculous mask of stoicism and raising an eyebrow of her own.

Valey grinned slyly. Amber grinned back.

Maple held her head in her hooves. "This isn't how I imagined my homecoming would go..."

"Oh. Whoops!" Valey wiped her expression back to normal, turning and leaning on the railing. "Yeah, sorry to hog your reunion, Ironflanks. But hey, we should hang out later," she added to Amber.

"Ironflanks?" Amber glanced curiously from Valey to Maple. "Is she talking about you? How'd you get that nickname?"

"She is, and it's the worst nickname ever," Maple moaned, still cringing. "I don't even remember where it came from..."

"Eh. Neither do I." Valey shrugged. "So... what do we do now?"

Starlight glanced at her. "You can do whatever you want. Maple's been waiting forever to see her friends, though, so we're probably going to do that."

"Hey, yeah," Amber added, "we could go crash Willow's place! I'm sure she wouldn't mind being woken up for this! Maybe not for a full celebration, but that can wait for the morning. Or afternoon, at this rate. What are you girls doing up so late? Just wanted to be up to see me?" She winked. "This is a beautiful boat, by the way. I thought they didn't have any anymore in Ironridge!"

Maple let out a long, wistful sigh, looking regretfully at Amber. "It's a long story. But Amber, we did get caught up in everything that happened. All three of us here almost died multiple times, I at least am not okay, and before we do any sort of celebrating, I need... a lot. Right now, I feel more strained than I have in over a year."

The euphoria visibly drained from Amber's face, leaving her jaw hanging yet again. "Maple, what happened? How can I-"

She never got a chance to finish. The stern door to the cargo hold blew open, and Gerardo skidded out, posing dramatically. "Ahh, Riverfall at last! I, Gerardo Guillaume, griffon adventurer extraordinaire, have returned!"

"Hey, Buddy." Amber winked halfheartedly at him. "I missed you too. But right now Maple is-"

Gerardo interrupted yet again. "Miss Amber!" He strode forward, extending a balled-up talon for a hoofbump. "It feels like we parted ways just yesterday. I must admit, I'm looking forward to regaling you with tales of what happened. Ironridge was every bit the adventure I expected, with dramatic combat and political showdowns and-"

He, too, was interrupted as a tiny magical crystal encased his beak. "Maple. And. Amber. Were. Talking," Starlight growled.

Valey stepped back, having reached out her wing to silence the griffon on her own. "Yeah, says the griffon who never actually fought anyone. Tell me how romantic Ironridge is when it comes this close to killing you, and until then, let the ladies talk."

Maple flashed her a grateful smile, but Amber just looked confused. "Wait, hold on, what's happening?"

"We... It was..." Maple shuddered, glancing hopefully to Starlight and Valey. Valey nodded, stepping up.

"The short version is," Valey said, "Ironridge is a dumpster fire and always has been, and apparently Birdo here was hauling around some crates that were the trigger for a war that blew up half the city's economy and everything it had to export with. These two got sucked in half because of bad luck and half because they kept hanging around important folks like Birdo here and me. Everyone's alive now, if a little injured." She scratched at the bandages around the wing she re-injured against Herman. "We've also got this snazzy broken airship that also floats, a hoofful of other dudes who tagged along, and maybe some other stuff. I don't remember."

Amber looked speechless.

"That's pretty much what happened," Maple sighed. "I'm... I don't know. I think I'll be alright. I'm already better than I was; it took us almost a day to get here after we left. What I need is to talk with you, talk with Willow, tell you everything that happened, and then wake up in my own bed and cook breakfast and let it be in the past and start feeling normal again. I hope."

"Also, all of us got up right when the sun was setting," Starlight added. "Everything happened at night in Ironridge. So we're not sleepy."

"I sure am tired, though," Maple countered. "Which isn't the same as being sleepy, but... Hmmmff. I got to find out what Gerardo's strength-sapping sword feels like. It's horrible, and I can still barely stand on my own."

Amber blinked several times. "I, uhh..." She glanced over the railing. "Well... I do need to get cleaned up. Does this boat have a place for you girls to stay, or do you want to go to Willow's tonight, or in the morning? Or you could stay here, or I could walk you back to your old house... I kept it just the way you left it, so all your old stuff should still be there."

"Anything is fine," Maple murmured. "I'm just glad to see you again. I've been up for a while, so maybe I can get some sleep. I'd love to see Willow too, but now that I'm here, I can wait."

"...Right." Amber moved back toward the railing, lifting a hoof and preparing to jump to shore. "Well, I'm actually tired right now, so if you've got a place to be here and don't mind, let's leave stuff 'til morning. I'm gonna go wash up, and then maybe I'll be back and sleep next to your bed for old times' sake, just in case. See you soon, though. Bye!"

With a leap and a thud and the pounding of hooves against concrete, she was gone.

Comments

[ZanyZapper]

Time to catch a breath or three. Wondering if they'll be pulled into another adventure almost immediately or if we'll have a time skip with our heroes chilling in Riverfall for a few months / years until something drags them in again.

[Boopers]

OMG, Valey and Amber. Riverfall will not be a safe place any more. Also Amber reminds me so much of Props.

[Streit]

Sometimes I wanna strangle that overblow cat chicken.

[Sora Flare]

Valey arched her eyebrow higher. "Those are some wandery eyes you've got there."

"Uhh... heh heh..." Amber blushed, grinning apologetically. "Sorry. I've never..."

Valey waggled her brow, emphasizing that it was as high as it could go.

Amber pursed her lips in realization, before forcing her face into a ridiculous mask of stoicism and raising an eyebrow of her own.

Valey grinned slyly. Amber grinned back.

It doesn't take a detective to figure out what's going on with those two.

[Quinch]

"Ahh, Riverfall at last! I, Gerardo Guillaume, griffon adventurer extraordinaire, have returned!"

-reads this line in Othar Trygvassen, GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER!!! font-

Also, re: Valey's comment - both Selma, though onesided, as well as the Spirit bandits off the top of my head. Though she wasn't there for either, so that's understandable.

[Venlinelle]

Even on a reread, it is absolutely surreal to think that only five days have passed, and that nopony in Riverfall knows about the five hundred thousand words of Things we just read.