The cart slid smoothly to a stop inside the darkness of the fruit-loading depot, rolling into a stall with raised platforms on the edges to facilitate easy loading. Several dormant conveyor belts protruded from holes in the wall, evidently to bring produce to the docks. High above, a harsh white lamp hung from a lengthy cord, bathing the room in stark contrast and making it look somehow darker than if it had been left to shadow.
"There are hostile guards," Maple muttered to herself, trying not to hyperventilate. "Hostile guards. In here. And you just waited until we were right at the gates to tell us that."
"Meh, it'll be fine," Valey reassured, patting Maple's back with a wing as she walked past. "You remember how cool I am in a fight, right? Because let me tell you, you don't remember half as well as these guys!"
Her loud, raspy voice echoed in the chamber, making Maple cringe. "Do you need to tell everyone where we are!?"
Valey hopped down to the concrete floor, inviting them to follow. "Of course! It's not a game when you don't make sure everyone's playing."
Maple carefully followed, mistrustful of her purchase on the water-slicked floor. Whoever had designed the building had been thoughtful enough to put in several drains, but the carts dripped with so much excess rain she wasn't willing to put her faith in the drains alone.
"You're not even armed," Maple whispered as she went. "What if we run into a spear, or a knife, or a unicorn, or-"
"Hey, hey." Valey tapped her shoulder with her tail. "You're willing to take your chances with me, aren't you? If you're gonna be stupidly reckless and optimistic there, why not here, too? Seriously, I come mess around here for fun. It's like cat-and-mouse, but the mouse is ten stories tall."
"I don't know," Maple murmured, checking to ensure Starlight was still close by. "I do trust you, but the last time we ran into-"
"Shh!" Valey interrupted her for the second time in a row, hissing sharply and pulling them toward a wall. Maple's ears stiffened, and picked up distant hoofsteps.
A light shone through a nearby entrance, bright and moving, and soon a barrel-chested stallion wearing a helmet lamp and bright orange chest patch stepped into view. "Someone here?" he called, shining his light around. "Cart watch? Thought I heard voices...!"
His light fell on Valey, who was smiling her least-friendly smile, and his eyes constricted in wisdom that could easily have been mistaken for fear. Turning abruptly and not looking back, he trotted as fast as he could out of sight, being careful not to break into a run. "Nope nope nope nope nooope nope nope nope..."
"See?" Valey turned to Maple and grinned. "He knows how to play!"
"I still don't like this..." Maple muttered. "Can we please just get out of here?"
"We could..." Valey nodded, as if seriously considering it as an option. "You know, that actually sounds really fun. I've never tried doing that before!"
Starlight squinted. "Huh?"
"What do you mean, you've never tried it?" Maple asked, nervous. "Are we talking about the same thing?"
Valey shrugged. "Depending on your definition of 'get out of here,' yeah. It's like this. There's no way we're going to Gnarlbough before this rain lets up, so for now, we're stuck here. So, we could either sit around here in this nice, dry warehouse complex and mess with the guards, make a crazy dash to Grand Acorn proper where there are nice places we could bribe or bully into keeping us dry without guards, or do what you said."
"...Isn't that second option what I said?" Warily, Maple made sure her back was covered by a wall. "I don't want to get wet, but it's better than being captured again."
"Well, there's also a tunnel straight to Dangerous Karma's HQ!" Valey smirked. "He's the boss of Grand Acorn, in case I forgot to mention it. He and I have... kinda... Let's call it a tentatively working relationship. But if we went straight through his fort, it would be a nice dry route to the city proper!"
Maple grimaced. "Through another fort? I really don't think so."
"Well..." Valey wobbled her shoulders, as if balancing two options. "It's more an office tower that's built with the outward aesthetic of a fort, but whatever. But anyway, if you get to strike an option, then I do too, and I say no going through the rain!" She grinned, white light reflecting off her sharp teeth. "I guess that means we'll be staying here for a spell..."
Maple wanted to protest, but eventually backed down. "Fine," she huffed. "But if you're not going to use a weapon, I at least want something I can pull out at a moment's notice, since I don't know how to fight with my hooves."
Valey blinked. "Fair enough. I think I see a pipe wrench over there..."
With a whump, Neon Nova's stolen trenchcoat hit the ground. Maple stood over it, pulled it open, and began looking inside.
"What are you doing?" Valey scowled, looking over her shoulder in morbid curiosity. "I told you that thing's nasty. It'll probably give you a disease, or something."
"It's also full of weapons," Maple muttered, pulling a dagger out of an inside pocket with a careful hoof and tossing it aside. "Last time, I got a chance to drop a big iron ingot on Selma's head. Ponies don't know I can pull things out of nowhere. I'll feel a lot better with these ready to go whenever I need them."
"And they're not going to slice up the inside of your brand, or something?" Valey tilted her head. "Seriously, you have no idea what's in that coat other than that it was worn by a pony who was trying to ruin an entire city. How are you so fearless with things that could actually hurt you, yet such a coward about those wimpy guards? I mean, I'd like them to be stronger, so they'd be more of a challenge!"
"Wow." Maple looked up, smirking back. "You almost sound like you're worried about me."
Valey lifted an eyebrow.
Maple sighed and looked away, turning back to the coat. "Anyway. Because this coat..." She heaved, tugging on a stuck pocket. "Is not a living, breathing pony..." She tumbled backwards, her quarry free. "And can neither choose to hurt me nor care about things! It's just an object." She squinted at what she had pulled loose. "What's this?"
"Looks like some sort of enchanted gem?" Valey leaned in, suspicious. "It's kind of small, but with magic that tells you basically nothing..."
Starlight peered closer too, horn lighting softly and lifting it in her aura. "Does it do anything?"
"Hey, woah, put that down!" Valey clasped a wing around her horn, snuffing it out. "For all you know, it could be a bomb, and that guy was a unicorn! It's probably activated by contact with magic, or something!"
They all hurriedly stepped back, Starlight pushed by Valey and Maple of her own accord. The gemstone sat on top of the coat pile, gleaming with a spark of stored energy... but that quickly faded, and it went back to being as normal and inert as ever.
Valey frowned at it. "You're not going to throw that thing away, are you."
"It hasn't gone off in my cutie mark," Maple countered. "Really, I've been constantly regretting not packing any more when I was at home! Just because I don't know where something's been or what it does doesn't mean it couldn't be more useful than nothing, and I'm tired of being unprepared."
"Fine," Valey huffed, darting forward and scooping the gem up in a wing. She shoved it under her hat, licked her lips, and was satisfied. "I'm taking this, then, at least. Might as well keep some of this stuff under closer watch, until we can find a good place to get rid of it..."
"Maple? Valey?" Starlight interrupted from several steps away, pointing toward another door. "I can hear more ponies coming, and it sounds like there are a lot of them..."