The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

So Little Faith

Starlight sat back from the batponies, surveying her work from the edge of the Immortal Dream. She had talked to all of them, and they had been in agreement: whatever she was doing was the role of the Night Mother. None had argued when she told them she wasn't. For several of the worst off, her experience with the first had repeated, their brightness growing faintly and stabilizing when she came to them. None were still unconscious, and none had died.

"Starlight?" Maple stepped over, looking slightly concerned. "Are you sure you don't want me to use the harmony in a windigo heart yet?" She glowed with absorbed energy on top of her usual brightness, and Starlight swallowed. "Everything seems to be going as well as it can... I don't think you have to keep doing whatever you're doing with this song."

Starlight bit her lip. In truth, she was starting to feel a little light-headed and dizzy, but wasn't yet confident things would be fine if she stopped. And it was probably due to tiredness and not the music; leaning into Melia and Sirena's song made her feel somehow better, too. Maybe that was why Chauncey had carried it in an earpiece. If he lived his whole life glassed, he probably had to do everything he could to get by. Normal batponies didn't have nearly as easy a time with this as her.

"Hello," a voice wheezed, and they both turned to see the round mare whom Valey had specified as the leader limping up. Her wing had been skillfully tied in a sling by Gerardo, and all things told, she looked better than a good third of her companions. "We can talk?"

"Oh! Hello." Maple nodded, extending a hoof in case she needed it. She cupped her ears forward, indicating she was listening.

The round mare pointed to everyone on deck, taking a moment to gather her words. "Flying." She pointed off into the clouds, toward a mountain slope along the bay's rim. "Not flying." She swept her hoof in a circle. "All sarosians. Not lots."

"There aren't any of you left," Starlight said, knowing the mare would magically understand. "Everyone who could fly was here, and got injured. You don't have any way to survive."

"No." The mare's ears fell, and she looked dejectedly at the ground. "Time is ended. Ending?" She tilted her head. "Ended. We die." She added a glance with eyes that seemed to say, This is your fault. To Starlight, she added, Fix this.

Starlight heard the intentions perfectly clear in her mind, swallowing. "But you're still alive. We want to help."

The mare kept watching her. We are outcasts, Night Mother. We separate ourselves from you as voluntary atonement for our heresies. If you have come to judge us, please call our punishment what it is. If we are undeserving of that, though, we understand. We will submit to our fates.

Starlight felt a mix of deception and self-hatred, and frowned. Maple glanced at her, aware she was somehow communicating, and Starlight swallowed and looked back at the batpony. "I'm not lying or trying to punish you! We really want to help! We just made a mistake or got into a fight that was already going to happen..."

...You, telling me you make mistakes. The round mare's resolve weakened slightly, and she briefly stumbled. "Why?"

"Because..." Starlight folded her ears. "I told you, I'm not the Night Mother. I'm just a filly!" There wasn't true distrust in the mare's heart, she could see now that she focused entirely on her. But she didn't believe or understand her, and for some reason that disbelief stung far more than it should have. Why wouldn't this pony accept her?

Then you don't know this place's secret, the round mare said. You wouldn't be bothered at all if we were gone and the Varsidelians lived here. They would expand and build a city and discover everything there is to discover. They even already know.

"What?" Starlight tilted her head. "I just told you I don't want you to die off. And I thought you lived here voluntarily. Why would the Night Mother care?"

The round mare grew a lot more fearful. You're lying. You're testing our devotion. That's not fair! Don't you know we're already here because we weren't devoted? Or is this our punishment? To submit us to a test both of us know we can't pass, even though we want to? Night Mother, we've failed you twice. You are just, and know we don't deserve mercy.

Starlight frowned harder. This mare's rejection and disbelief was starting to physically hurt, like a spike in her chest that dug deeper with every word. Wasn't she more hardened than this? The mare was a stranger! Why did she care? Just because this pony was bright, and she wanted that light to be her own? She narrowed her eyes. What did she need someone like this for, anyway? She'd show her. She'd...

With breakneck emotional whiplash, Starlight caught herself, throwing herself back before she could lift a hoof and demand that her powers do something. What she was going to do was not give up, no matter how stubborn this stupid pony could be or how much it hurt, because that brightness was good and she had to get it the good way. Fixing Maple and her friends and all the care they had ever showed in Riverfall at the forefront of her mind, Starlight set her jaw, raised her hoof again, and stepped forward.

"Sounds like your Night Mother isn't as merciful as I am," Starlight tearfully growled, taking the mare's chest in a filly-sized hug and wishing as hard as she could that her feelings would propagate across their connection. This mare could spurn her all she liked, but Starlight wasn't giving up on her, because as messed-up as she was, she was also very bright. "Maybe you should forget about her and go with me instead!"

"Starlight, are you alright...?" Maple asked, watching her face in concern.

Starlight wasn't focused on her. Her lightheadedness wasn't helping, but this finally got the response she was looking for. ...You do care, the round mare said. I don't understand. So you truly don't know about this place, yet want to help us?

"Heresies are dumb," Starlight grumbled, stepping back. "If there's anything I need to know about what's going on, please tell me?"

For a moment, the round mare looked conflicted again, but Starlight could tell the conflict wasn't directed at her. I'm sorry, Night Mother. But I need help, and you aren't here... One last wave of guilt and self-loathing accompanied the admission, and Starlight shuddered slightly at their touch. The round mare looked her squarely in the eyes. In this bay, there is a hidden cave on a cliff shore, reachable only by flight or by boat. The Varsidelians must be-

Whud! Valey landed heavily on the deck, breathing hard around a piece of bark in her mouth. She spat it into a wing, took two breaths, and licked her lips. "Guys, we've got trouble. It's really bad."

---

To Admiral Valey,

Hey. Harshwater here. Thanks again so much for coming to help us. I literally owe you my life, like, twice now. I'm going to stay out of the way from whatever you do, because the batponies definitely hate me and it'll just make things worse if I'm there, but I know whatever you plan will work out great.

Valey, listen. I... have something to confess about why I'm here and why I left Ironridge. I really, really had a big crush on Kero. You remember, right? Me hoarding all those paintings? Well, Arambai finally got a ship together for Varsidel, and I maybe kind of ran away to see him again...?

I know we weren't supposed to! I know we had it good in Ironridge, but I wasn't okay with what happened in the Flame District and hated having to think of Kero as someone who sacrificed us and ran away. I don't want to be a sacrifice. I wanted to hear it from him.

Eventually, I made it to Izvaldi, told him how I felt and asked for an explanation. And Kero said he was blackmailed into the Flame District job on you, apologized... He said he liked me too, and if I could do one more job for him to get him out of hot water, he'd break the Empire's taboo and run away with me to Varsidel and we could live happily ever after. He promised.

Kero has a lot of debt. Way more than I realized, and it's why he's in trouble. But he gave me the location of a huge ancient pirate treasure trove in Mistvale and asked me to go get it. It could more than pay off his debts. He told me it would be perfectly safe, and he lied. Again. I was going to die here in the middle of nowhere, again. It's in a cave near here by the water, and like the entire batpony village attacks me when I try to fly anywhere near.

I'm so tired of this. I hate Kero. I'm done with him and am going with you and your friends instead, if you'll have me.

Since all the batponies will be busy dealing with you and the camp and I have nothing better to do, I'm going to grab the treasure while you do your thing. You can call it a thank-you gift. Wait up if I'm not back when you're done.

-Harshwater

"...Look at this," Valey said, holding out the note. "Bananas. Bananas bananas bananas Kero wasn't lying when he said his mercenaries came back and he gave them another job from Chauncey!" Her eyes flicked in a panic from Maple to Starlight to the round mare. "Pirate treasure, my fluffy butt." She flung a hoof and a glare at the round mare. "You guys were guarding something all the time, weren't you? That's why you go after fliers and any attempt to build a boat that could reach this place by water? This was a place for ponies exiled from the Night Mother..." She huffed, gritting her teeth. "Bananas, I can't believe I didn't take Kero seriously. This is where you guys keep Monk Lord Yanavan, isn't it? And she's walking right into him..."

At that name, the round mare paled, cringed, and slowly, slowly nodded.

Comments

[Zapdroid]

This was unexpected. I guess that means we won’t get to see the grand temple and all the monk lords :(. Oh well, hopefully things go horribly wrong and Yanavan escapes to the temple for vengeance.

[Czar_Yoshi]

9549863

hopefully things go horribly wrong

[Hap]

Well yeah this seems bad.

[Mira Starlight]

ohhhh shit’s going down. Awakening long-trapped evils rarely bodes well for one’s continued security.

[Venlinelle]

Starlight is just the best <3
For now. And in the future. Not quite as much in the slightly less distant future, but right now she’s the best pony you could ask for.