• Published 23rd Jun 2017
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The Olden World - Czar_Yoshi



Equestrian culture loves cutie marks. Filly Starlight Glimmer hates them and never wants one. So, she leaves Equestria.

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Hiding The Body

Valey rose out of a shadow in the Immortal Dream's pantry, a little-traveled room between the kitchen and cargo hold. It wasn't a mealtime and she was hungry, so she kicked a light on with a hind leg and set about scrounging her surroundings.

Bags of oats, barley and flour didn't appeal to her any more than the fresh water barrels, and they seemed low on produce that needed to be kept cold. Probably due to the recent flight to Mistvale... She made a mental note to remind someone of that, a stray apple instead being impaled on her fangs and a small hunk of cheese finding its way under her wing. Satisfied with the beginnings of her haul, she plopped down on a barrel beside the best company the room had and began to eat.

"So how goes it?" Valey asked around a mouthful of half-chewed apple.

Her conversationalist didn't reply. Black, chitinous and filled with holes in unnatural places, Nyala's old body sat on its haunches next to the wall, chained with a collar to a ring meant for hanging things. Its eyes were pupilless and faintly luminescent, and the insectoid pony watched Valey's food closely but without emotion.

"No," Valey declared, shoving the apple back in her mouth and taking another bite. "You get fed on a schedule. You want to eat whenever you want, you can help us get you back to your old self. Bananas, I know Nyala'd appreciate being able to eat again."

The body didn't even seem to notice she was speaking. It had instincts and motor control, able to eat when fed and walk and even fly, yet was much less reactive than even an ordinary animal. There was no curiosity, no drive, no attunement to language or anything else she imagined when she thought of wild birds or squirrels or anything else. For a time, it had been kept in a cabin, and Valey did notice it liked to have the window uncurtained and watch the moon. But since the ship had become fuller, Nyala's body lowered in priority, and now it was kept here, safe and secure and out of everyone's way.

Valey finished her apple, gobbled her cheese, and over several more runs of the storeroom found more to feast on until she was patting her stomach contentedly. "Mmm. Good stuff..." She glanced down at herself, then back up at the body. "...So hey."

She took a breath. "I know you can't listen, but kinda just want to talk about this to someone who can't talk back. I'm thinking... about dropping out of the tournament. Actually, I pretty much promised Harshwater I would. Don't wanna run away, so I'm thinking I'll just show up to my next fight and surrender with dignity. But no matter how I do it, that leaves me out of a job. And I dunno what to do with myself when I have nothing to do, so... I'd really like to work on getting you back. But we're kind of at a brick wall for that. I have no idea how the clowns in Icereach put me together from a body and some moon glass, and everyone who knew is dead. And Chauncey's really long and complex method? Bananas, I'm not going to find some blank mare and ask them to turn you into their kid. I don't even remember the rest. Something to do with windigo hearts, and I dunno how to use those either. Bananas... What would you want me to do?"

The body stared impassively at her, less interested than when she had been eating.

"Yeah, same to you, buddy." Valey stuck out her tongue. "Come on, there has to be a way. They didn't need any time at all to put me together. How did they do it so quickly?"

Still no answer. Valey sighed. "Bleh... I wish I could remember before seven years ago, sometimes. I can still see all the faces around me the day I woke up! Why couldn't I know what they were doing just a few minutes earlier? They would have had access to moon glass, windigo hearts, batponies, normal ponies, rocks, snow and pretty much nothing else... How hard could it have been? Is there just something I'm missing, or is it a ton of arcane science we'd never be able to replicate no matter how hard we tried?"

Valey thought harder, the empty shell's silence sufficiently not distracting. "Chauncey had you with Navarre for six years. I know he said something about not having that procedure that made me, and think he was trying to find it. It's the same head mind working on it, with the resources of a city-state instead of a small outpost. Not the biggest increase, but definitely better. Icereach had windigo hearts, Izvaldi had a real windigo. Navarre couldn't have had that long after the glass fell before he made me the first time, though. Months at best. Bananas, what's different?"

"Do you really want to know?"

Valey jumped so hard she fell off her barrel, landing awkwardly on the floor and yelping in surprise.

"Sorry," a Starlight said, revealing herself from behind a sack of grains. "Trying to get around the library. Didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it sounded like an important conversation..."

"Uhh..." Valey blinked, taking in the filly's sightless eyes. "You're the other one. The one who appeared out of nowhere and saved me and Crystal in Izvaldi."

Glimmer nodded. "That's me. You're welcome, by the way. I may look fine, but taking this much damage has put me in a very bad position." One of her ears flicked. "Anyway, you were thinking about Icereach?"

"You know about it?" Valey raised an eyebrow. "Look, I really don't know who you are. You saved me, so I'm cool with you, and Starlight says she's cool with you too, but isn't being a doppelganger kind of... weird?"

"I've been following you for a while," Glimmer apologized. "Hiding. Listening in on things. Sorry again if that bothers you. I have a mission, and didn't want to become too involved." Her sightless eyes shifted. "Anyway, I can't offer you anything more than a new perspective, but if you really want to devote yourself to figuring your sister out, don't do it by yourself. You should ask your friends to help you. You have more than you did before, and the friends you already had might have had new experiences. See what you can do by putting all your brains together."

Valey blinked. "You think Harshwater's a scientist?"

Glimmer shrugged. "She's smarter than she gives herself credit for, certainly. How about Felicity and Crystal? The former is skilled with monk arts, and those might be useful. The latter is related to Chauncey's experiments, so even if he and Puddles and Navarre are gone, you might be able to recover some knowledge or expertise from her. And Shinespark was the one who built a body for a cutie mark in the first place."

"Those are... actually pretty good points." Valey's eyes narrowed in thought. "Huh. Thanks."

Glimmer winced. "Don't mention it. Normally, I'd discourage digging into these kinds of things when you don't have to. Look at your past and ask yourself how much happiness messing around with souls and cutie marks and how they work has ever brought you. But I don't have a very good rock to stand on, right now, so what can I say except good luck?"

"Yeah, thanks." Valey nodded again, still thinking... and suddenly tilted her head. "What were you trying to avoid the library for, again?"


One floor above, Maple, Amber, Gerardo, Grenada and Shinespark all stood at attention as High Prince Gazelle lazily inspected a reading chair. "Far more relaxed than the last time I was here," he mused, slitted eyes wandering carelessly. "So what say you ladies we talk a little business?"

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