The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Cryptic Grandpa Time

Under an hour later, Valey set out.

Grandpapa accompanied her, leading the way. Kouskous remained behind to watch over Dazzle, and because he'd be at a disadvantage without wings or shadow sneaking of his own. Valey wasn't sure how she was feeling after her tune-up; on the one hoof, she had her full range of motion back, could fly, and wasn't constantly bordering on pain. On the other, she felt wrung out like a sponge, loose and floppy and badly in need of a nap. If she got into a fight, she wasn't sure how much power she'd be able to put behind her punches, and pressing on was a thing she did out of necessity rather than it being the smart choice for her own physical well-being.

"And we'll turn left right around here..." Grandpapa muttered, holding a magical light out before him like a ward and trotting along with an aged grace. They had long since left the flowing sewer water behind, spelunking through a dark network of tunnels that involved everything from brick-lined access passages to sneaking through cracks in crumbling concrete walls to traversing partially-flooded cellars that had been sealed off and left in the dark, built over by new construction. It was like the whole island was hollow, and sometimes Valey even saw treasure chests, their lids ajar after being used for storage by some rogue or underground dweller countless years ago.

"Just how big is this place?" Valey whispered as if there was something waiting in the darkness to hear, flicking her ears in response to the sound of water dripping from a pipe.

"Bigger than you're thinking," Grandpapa replied, voice as soft as always. "This city is over a thousand years old, and has been completely rebuilt three times over the course of history following damage in battle or the ambitions of lords, not to mention various small changes. There is another layer of tunnels below this one, and if you went up, you would find entire underground houses that were once buried for the construction of streets or greater buildings. Magic is used to strengthen the city's foundation and keep it solid as a fortress, and these catacombs are simply left behind and forgotten by all but those who need them."

Valey nodded, keeping a close watch on her cutie mark. "Like us and who else? I haven't seen anyone..."

"Oh, I'm taking care to avoid any more popular spots." Grandpapa grinned. "But this also isn't the season for it. In the next few months, however, as the tournament enters its second and third rounds..."

Swallowing, Valey lowered her head and ducked under a beam that had partially detached from a roof. "Yeah, so about that tournament... You really don't want me messing with it this year? That's not just because you think I'd stomp your odds at winning, right? There's something seriously bad I should stay away from?"

"No, no." Grandpapa shook his head. "I'm too old to make it far anyway. The days of progressing in the third round are decades behind me, and all I have is experience to make up for my frail body. An answer for an answer, though, if you wouldn't mind?" He raised an eyebrow.

"...'Kay," Valey tentatively offered, waiting to see what he asked. "What do you want to know?"

"That pendant around your neck." Grandpapa pointed a hoof. "That's a cursed stone, isn't it? Why do you wear such a fell object?"

Valey folded her ears. "Family heirloom. It... reminds me of a pony who was important to me."

Grandpapa looked concerned. "You know what it can do, don't you?"

Valey perfectly met his gaze, hard and serious. "Do you?"

"Yes." Grandpapa turned away, progressing past a dead control panel for some machine or other with the glass on the dials cracked and all the levers broken off. "And I can see in your eyes that you do too. Not all sarosians do, but you should know that those who do will recognize it instantly, and when they see you wear it, their reactions could be anything."

"Okay..." Valey followed him, hoof slipping on a bit of crumbled stone. "So about this tournament thing..."

Grandpapa didn't even look back. "Garsheeva is a goddess," he said. "The Night Mother is too, or so they say. What do you think it is that makes someone a goddess?"

"...Buh?" Valey tipped her head, the question not quite registering in her brain. "What do you mean? And what's that have to do with anything?"

"Oh, just my unique perspective on life." Grandpapa sounded perfectly cheery, as if he was discussing the weather. "Answer as best as you can. What do you think defines a goddess?"

"I dunno." Valey shrugged. "Being a cute mare? I mean, I don't particularly care about either of them. 'Cause that's just the way things are? Or... wait, because a ton of ponies are happy to say they are?" She flinched under his stare, feeling like she was being unfairly tested. "Don't look at me! I rely on myself to get along!" Hesitating, she added, "And my friends, when I have them."

Grandpapa chuckled. "Don't be upset, now. That question flusters a lot of creatures whose job it is to know things like this. Some will say the definition is, by definition, beyond our comprehension. Others say it is anyone sufficiently powerful, though that leaves open the question of how to determine whether an edge case is sufficient. Garsheeva's answer is that if anyone would like to contest her for the position, they're more than welcome to try. But hold on, I am going somewhere with this: the best answer I have heard is to suppose you take a criminal who has done bad things. But, they are also alive, and have the capacity to do both good and evil. Should they be spared, or condemned? Having the right to decide that is what makes someone a goddess."

Valey felt her eyes cross in confusion. "Buh? Gramps... I'm not a philosopher and have no idea what you just said. Don't you think you might be being all mysterious and special and stuff to the wrong pony? I just eat fruit, take naps, beat people up and fight for my friends, and that's about it."

"Well, if you're sure." Grandpapa sighed, jumped down into a dry canal for draining water, and passed through a grate where it entered a wall. "I'm getting the picture that you don't sense the gravity of this situation, but the price for entering the tournament in the challenger rounds is this: you must judge other ponies. And putting yourself on such a high pedestal is a perilous thing to do indeed for those who do not wish to become monsters."

Valey shuddered at his choice of wording and scowled. "You know what? Just forget it. It sounds like you're saying I need to do jury duty to get in, or something, and okay, that's apparently super boring, but... Meh. You're terrible at talking ponies out of things. Now I'm annoyed, and probably just gonna ask someone else. Stinking cryptic grandpas..."

"In my defense, you were the one who brought it back up." Grandpapa shrugged. "All I can say for myself is that my beliefs are strong and influenced by things the average pony, or even sarosian, does not get the chance to experience."

"Stop it!" Valey snapped. "I'm not going to ask about your mysterious past!"

"Good!" Grandpapa smiled. "I wouldn't tell you."

"Grrrrr..." Valey pouted, walking over a grate that looked like it led even deeper below. What if he was winding her up on purpose? Getting her to stop paying attention to her surroundings? Was she getting played? She hadn't told him what her cutie mark did, and didn't sense abnormal danger...

They rounded a spiral staircase that looked like part of a sunken, leaning tower, crossing a hanging metal catwalk over a room strewn with large rubble and a river rushing from several open culverts all across the floor. Grandpapa took wing, soaring to the largest of the concrete tunnels, a pipe just large enough that a pony could stand with bowed head. He landed on the top that protruded from the wall, motioning Valey over.

"Yeah?" She hovered in front of it, looking in dubiously. "Please don't tell me you want me to go in there."

"Oh, nothing so rash," Grandpapa assured her, climbing on top of a hidden ledge that wasn't visible from the catwalk and proceeding into a proper passage in the wall, disguised by the pattern of bricks. A bend to the left, then a fork to the right, dead end... No, it was a wall with the mortar missing, and she could probably shadow sneak through the cracks.

Grandpapa pointed a hoof. "This is as far as I go. Through there, you'll be in a lesser-used dungeon. You'll want to stick within the central keep and avoid flying outdoors, since all the aerial entrances are watched carefully by guards, and also brightly lit. If you're looking for Kero... my general advice would be to go up!"

Valey raised her nose and sniffed. Starlight was almost directly above her, too.

"Thanks, Gramps," she said, nodding, making sure her cutie mark wasn't warning of anything on the other side. "If this works out and I run into you again, I'll give you a watermelon, or something."

Grandpapa chuckled, turning away. "I haven't the faintest idea what that's slang for these days, but good luck to you, too. And do think about what I told you some time."

Without responding, Valey took a breath, coiled her legs, and dove into the wall.

Comments

[ZanyZapper]

Cryptic grandpa indeed.

[Quinch]

9070113
It feels like a parallel to when Starlight met Gerardo.

[BurningSkies]

11053077
That's been so long ago that I forgot how that went

[sploopy slooder]

grandpapa what the fuck man.