The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Chance

Starlight could tell there were still clouds overhead, as evidenced by the gray coloration to the light filtering down from above. The distant, deciduous canopy was too thick for her to make out the sky itself, but she knew. She wondered if any pony's mood had ever been improved by not having a dismal, gray backdrop provided by the weather. Hers might have been... or perhaps it hadn't.

Truth be told, Starlight wasn't exactly sure what she was feeling. It felt like loneliness, but that didn't seem right: she had just met a bunch of ponies. Perhaps she was still feeling some repressed shock from her run-in with Alder before lunch. Whatever the case, thinking about it was drawing her into her own head and shutting out the world around... which probably wasn't the best idea. She should be taking in and enjoying Riverfall, even if for no other reason than to make Maple happy.

Unfortunately, there just wasn't much to take in at the time. Tall, round houses and buildings? Check, she had seen those before. Glass streets with magical stones swimming below? Once the initial wonder wore off, they were just there. Rain-soaked everything? Always present. The town really did fall into a consistent pattern, once she stopped being boggled by the circular, alien architecture and differences from Equestria. But at least it wasn't raining then. She might have been bored, but she was also dry.

"Starlight?" Maple huffed over her shoulder, attention grabbed by the filly's silence. "How are you holding up? We can stop for a break, if you need to..."

"I'm fine," Starlight mumbled. If the distance to Maple's house was anything like she remembered it being, she wouldn't be fine later, but Maple didn't need to know that. Yet.

Her hooves splashed along, and she began to make a game of seeing how small of ripples she could make. She had just managed to take several steps walking with her legs angled so she made less contact with the ground when Maple's voice again jolted her back into the world. "Well, hello!"

"Buh?" She dropped back to standing normally, then scurried to catch up.

In the clearing ahead, the glass surface morphed back to sand, before trailing into mud and dirt in the distance. At the dividing line stood Maple, and beside her was a large yellow stallion who appeared to have just stopped working. "Starlight!" She waved, smiling cheerily. "You wanted to meet Arambai, didn't you?"

Starlight did a double-take, eyeing the stallion more closely. "You're him?"

"I am," he answered in a voice that wouldn't have been out of place on a lumberjack with a sore throat. "Working on the roads, right now. It's easier when the sand is wet, because it stays in place for melting."

With that, he turned and pointed his horn at a flat, compacted stretch of sand bordering the forged roadway. A purple aura so dark it was nearly black enveloped the area, almost causing the sand to appear as if it was bubbling... and then a bright white jet of light flew from a point at the tip of his horn, and like water spreading across a floor, the sand melted into an expanding pool of white, before it was flash-frozen into road, the traction-giving gemstones already underneath.

"So you're the filly that washed in from the south," he said, standing upright and stepping toward her, careful to avoid the steaming patch of glass behind him. With a nod, he extended a hoof. "I'd wager you know who I am already."

Starlight shuffled uneasily, staring back at him without answering. In addition to his powerful, oversized frame, he sported a horn nearly twice the length of a normal pony's. His shaggy black mane, long for a stallion and short for a mare, bore a look of wild, ungroomed would-be-handsomeness that could only actually be achieved through careful cultivation... or incredibly lucky genes. He had a neatly trimmed beard to match, and not a scrap of muscle that was only there for show.

"Uhhh..." Starlight mumbled, taking a step back. Eventually, she steeled herself and said, "Every pony here thinks you're pretty great."

Arambai looked down at her with a hint of a smile. "There are a lot of ponies who think a lot of things about me. I don't tell them how to go about that. Some day, my actions can speak for me instead."

"Uh huh." Starlight nodded dully. "This place pretty much worships you already."

Maple smiled awkwardly from the side, half apologetic and half in agreement. "No offense, but they really do..."

He shook his massive head. "None taken..." Then, turning to Starlight, he asked, "So, I hope you're enjoying your new home?"

"It's much better than what I left behind," Starlight said with a shrug.

"Well... I hope it stays that way." Arambai looked off to the side, past the patch of cooling glass from which wisps of steam were still rising. "This town is in the middle of nowhere, making it difficult to get to... and even more difficult to leave. In Sosa, ponies sometimes refer to it as Last Chance. It's as close to a paradise as exists in the world, where you can bring your secrets and failures and die with them, all while living out a happy life. And no one will think any less of you for it."

Starlight watched him apprehensively, feeling as it a but was coming. It came.

"Of course... as good of a chance as it might be, it's still the last one around for hundreds of miles, not counting Ironridge." Arambai sighed into the cool air, and continued. "So take my advice and don't do anything you'll regret here. Unlike wherever you came from, you can't fix a problem in Riverfall by running away."

Starlight bit her lip. "Okay."

"Good," he finished, straightening up. "I've dedicated a lot of time to making this place as good as it can be, precisely because there's nothing better. That's always a talk I like to have with every new arrival. Glad to see you and I are on the same page."

He stepped back, giving Starlight more space. Maple moved closer in turn. "Well? Now that you've met him, what do you think?"

Starlight fidgeted. Somehow, she got the uncomfortable impression that Arambai knew everything about her, including where she was from... but didn't want to say it when he was standing right there. "He's nice," she managed instead.

"Really?" the stallion cut in from where he was standing, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. If he detected the lie, he didn't show it. "Interesting. Most ponies either find me intimidating, or far too attractive for their own good."

"I knew you did that on purpose," Maple quipped, grinning triumphantly.

Starlight frowned. "Did what?"

"Nahhh..." Arambai waved a hoof. "Everyone knows I've got more to hide than the rest of this town put together. It isn't my fault they choose to enjoy it. Besides, I'm too old for that stuff. Although..." He raised a thick black eyebrow at Starlight. "I am the best secret-keeper in town. If you've ever got anything you need to get off your chest that wouldn't do getting out, miss Maple here can show you where to find me."

"There are lots of cool things in his house," Maple hummed aside at Starlight. "You might want to take him up on that."

"Well..." Arambai sniffed upwards. "You kids better get on home. Smells like it's going to rain again soon..."

"I think we should," Maple nodded, already trotting through the sand. "Thank you! It was nice talking to you, Arambai!"

"Aaaah, don't sweat it," the stallion grumbled, turning back to his work. "Until later, ponies."

---

"It's good advice, you know," Maple whispered once they were out of earshot. "Aside from Ironridge, Riverfall is the only civilization within hundreds of miles. You're very lucky to have made it here, and won't just be able to run away again if anything bad happens."

"What do you want me to do?" Starlight asked as her hooves padded through the wet sand, a flash of magic illuminating behind her. "I'm already following you around all day! I went swimming, and I had lunch and talked with Willow's kids!"

"Nothing," Maple murmured, slowing down and nuzzling her as she caught up. "I think you're doing a fine job, especially for your first day. Still, if he thinks it's something you might need to be careful with... I don't think it would hurt to keep that in mind."

"Yeah, but he said he says that to everyone," Starlight grumbled. Then, changing the subject, she added, "So what does he do on purpose?"

"Ohh..." Maple sighed heavily. "He doesn't usually act the way you saw today. Most of the time, he's darker and more depressing, like he wants you to ask about his past. Lots of moping and brooding."

"Why?" Starlight asked, looking up from her hooves, careful not to slip on the still-muddy ground.

Maple winked slyly. "One of the things that lots of mares find attractive in stallions is the implication that they could cheer them up. He gives so many something to pine for, it's practically an act of public service."

"Oh." Starlight blinked. "So why was he different today?"

"Because I let him know long ago that I wasn't in the market," Maple stated plainly. "I imagine this was what he looks like when he's not putting on airs."

Starlight was about to ask why again... when she remembered what Alder and Fir had said earlier about trying to find Maple a special somepony. If these were about the same thing, it was probably better that she didn't ask. Regardless, the hairs on her back were rising, and something in her nose told her more rain was imminent... a sense she wasn't inclined to mistrust.

Apparently, Maple felt it too, because she motioned Starlight closer. "We should get going," she observed, staring upwards and checking to make sure she had her poncho.

"Yeah." Starlight nodded. "We should." Together, they kicked into a canter, speeding across already-waterlogged dirt roads in an effort to return home before the rains arrived.

Comments

[Hap]

Hrmmm.

He's not as... creepy as I'd imagined.

[Sam the Anti-Ninja]

Well, he seems... interesting. In an ominous sort of way.

[Chara Undertale]

You can't run away? I'd take that as a challenge.

[Texus]

I don't like him yet. I think it is to soon to judge him.

[Quinch]

Starlight watched him apprehensively, feeling as it a but was coming. It came.

Hmm, should that be "as if a but was coming"?

[Merula]

... he knows, doesn't he?

[bronyheat]

Oh no, he's hot!
But yeah, for some reason, despite the multiple mentions of every mare in Riverfall facing a flash flood warning when near him, I was picturing a more wizened inventor type.

[Walrusesarecute]

I have no idea what to say right now