The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Exploration Begins

Starlight stood on the wooden porch ringing most of Maple's house, staring out into the pre-noon morning. There wasn't enough breeze to ruffle her mane, and the dirt roads were dry, having not been rained on for several days. She could go back upstairs, find Maple and pretend to go back to sleep... but despite how far she had pushed herself staying up the day before, their rest had to have lasted at least twelve hours, and she didn't think she could even close her eyes.

What she could do was stand outside until she was as cold as she could get, since that would make being part of their cuddle pile that much nicer. If only the weather would help her... Starlight sighed. It was a perfect temperature for doing things outside without overheating, but not for getting chilly... and as she gazed around all the mazelike, identical-looking towers and streets visible from Maple's house, she realized she couldn't wander more than a few steps without getting lost.

Unfortunate. If she was really going to live in Riverfall, it could be a good idea to figure out who she lived around, as well as her way back home. If only there was some surefire way she could return, no matter where she went...

And of course there was. She could teleport. As long as she kept her horn fresh, she was fairly sure she could make her way back to Maple's kitchen, so long as she didn't stray too far. She wasn't entirely sure of her maximum range, especially now that she had a limited mana reserve she could safely use, so it would be smart to rely on it as little as possible and not stray far, but it was a way. Holding her head high and keeping herself optimistic, Starlight stepped off the porch.

Quickly, she glanced over her shoulder, making note of any features Maple's tower had that the other houses didn't. It was two stories, and the door had a potted fern to the left and a propped-up mirror to the right. The mirror was unusual enough. That was good.

The tower immediately in front of her was four stories instead of two. Starlight circled it, watching all the new buildings she couldn't see from Maple's and continuing until she was back home. So far, not getting lost. Starlight picked another building adjacent to Maple's house and circled that too, and before too long she had lapped all of her neighbors twice, and had at least a decent idea of what was where and how home would look approaching from various directions. Proud of herself, she paused for a break, reflecting on how unusual it was for her to be actually learning the layout of the land. In the mountains, and in Ironridge, she had picked a destination - sometimes as nebulous as foreward - and just pressed on, putting progress above being able to retrace her steps.

Next time, she ventured further, using her ears and following the sound of running water. Maple's house was where she had woken up the very first day, so it followed that it was the closest to the river tributary, right? Taking care to pick out a few more landmarks as she went, noting the differences in the hanging bands of flags and occasional brightly-colored porch decorations, she found that Maple's house was only four buildings separated from the north-flowing stream she had drifted in on. More progress!

After a trip back and forth to ensure she could reach Maple's house from that point on the river, Starlight identified a dry, withered half-stump that stuck out from the opposite bank at an angle. The riverbank consisted primarily of tiny twigs and mulch, offering her a surprisingly cushy place to sit and memorize the view from that point precisely. A little upstream, she saw the river suddenly curve and straighten again, a house built right into the corner like the river had been moved just for it. Downstream was straight, vines and bushes hanging partway out over the water until it gradually bent out of sight.

This was perfect. Starlight knew the north-flowing tributary joined the east-bound Yule, and the entirety of Riverfall was built with those rivers acting as borders, meaning no matter how far she explored or where she got lost, she could always find her way home by getting her direction from the sun, walking east until she hit the river, finding this spot, and making her way home from there! Practically glowing, Starlight decided she had accomplished enough and turned around to go home. She might know how to find her way back, but if Maple didn't know that she knew, she would probably worry.

In the far distance, she could hear the roar of a crowd; Gerardo must have been back at his storytelling again. She almost wondered if this was a regular form of entertainment in Riverfall; ponies who could do interesting things going to the plaza and drawing a crowd. After all, someone had possessed voice amplification equipment to set up, and the huge plaza did exist with facing balconies and everything in the first place. Was Jamjars there, or had the filly found mischief to get up to elsewhere? How about Shinespark and Dior? She was tempted to head for the airship and check on them, but that would definitely be a longer walk than she wanted to take before talking to Maple.

Reluctantly, she made her way back to Maple's porch, pausing and staring up at the four-story tower immediately adjacent that she had scouted first. She could go back to bed, but... she wanted to do something. Not something like racing around an exploding city, but laying in place like she had done for two days straight was getting old, too. What if she said hello to her neighbors? A house that big had to have somepony living in it, and if she was going to live next to them long-term...

On second thought, a house that big likely meant whoever lived there needed a lot of room for children, and none of her experiences with other foals had ever been particularly positive. Sunburst was in the past, and the less said of White Chocolate's brood, the better. And what had happened to wanting to be left alone? Starlight closed her eyes and sighed tightly; the moment she took initiative on this and realized what she was getting herself into, she'd change her mind. But she had resolved on the airship that having more friends and knowing more ponies was something she should make a point of... and if she didn't find something to actually do in Riverfall, she'd probably go as crazy as Jamjars. That was a scary thought.

So, squashing her inhibitions and leaving no time to second-guess herself, Starlight whirled around, marched up and knocked on the tall house's door.

"Coming!" a croaky, sore-sounding voice called from within. Starlight almost bolted then and there, touching her horn with a hoof to make sure it wasn't lit and turning the motion into a self-conscious brushing of her bangs. Then the door opened, and a heavily-sagging mare with a red coat and striped lavender-and-gray mane looked out. "Hello?"

"Hi," Starlight said, rooted in place and sizing her up. If she was too rested to go back to bed, this mare was entirely the opposite: every part of her looked like she could collapse at a moment's notice, and probably go to sleep there in her doorway and not wake up until the following dawn.

The red mare blinked, taking three times as long to open her eyes again as she did to close them. "I know you from somewhere," she said, completely horse. "Wait. I've seen you before..."

Starlight waited.

"I know you from somewhere..." the mare repeated, staggering to the side.

"You don't look so good," Starlight remarked, suddenly wondering if she was going to pass out. That could mean carrying her to a bed, going home and getting help, dealing with some unsavory problem, or all of the above. "What happened?"

For a moment, the mare was silent, seeming to have fallen asleep on her hooves. Then she shook herself, quickly explaining, "New foal. Never wants to sleep through the night. I'll be alright in a year or two..." She trailed off with a gigantic yawn. "Name's Acacia. I remember you. You were hanging around in Maple's bakery when I went last week..."

Starlight blinked, recalling that she had spent an afternoon just watching Maple work... and suddenly realizing that whoever this Acacia was, she had somehow gone the entire past two weeks without hearing anything more unusual about Starlight at all. If only she wasn't half-dead from exhaustion, they could potentially have a real conversation.

"Maybe you should take a nap, or something?" Starlight suggested.

"If it'll last more than half an hour..."

Acacia slammed the door in her face, which was usually a rude gesture but Starlight wrote off as the mare being simply too tired to notice. Shrugging, she turned back to Maple's house. A few more trips exploring like that, and she could get... something. Was she really exploring the town just for the sake of exploring the town?

Starlight skipped off the porch, feeling a smile growing on her face. Doing something purely because she wanted to felt nice, and wasn't something Ironridge had allowed for. She licked her lips; maybe she'd dig around in Maple's pantry and see what happened if she tried making breakfast for her friends, just because she could. After all, it felt like a day for doing things.

Comments

[ZanyZapper]

It's a dangerous business, Starlight, going out your front door.

[Cold Bolt]

"I know you from somewhere," she said, completely horse.

she said, completely horse.

horse.