//------------------------------//
// Gerardo's Hooligan Hunt 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
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Starlight and her friends stood back outside at the edge of the plaza, on the shaded road between the theater and the school and looking out over the lower-lying outer town of Izvaldi. The central government buildings were on a tall hill, leaving them with an excellent view of the spread-out houses and lackadaisically-planned streets it was a wonder the ruler's mansion wasn't built in this spot. From her experiences with the land so far, it was probably because the view in that direction was even better.

"It isn't as dense as I'd imagined," Maple commented, pointing at the freestanding houses with room for yards and gardens and sometimes even fields between them. "You'd think everyone would want to live near all these resources like the school and hospital, so I was envisioning something like Blueleaf or at least Stormhoof, with all the buildings pressed into a single structure."

"There could just not be that many people in Izvaldi," Slipstream commented, rubbing her nose. "In Ironridge, remember that ever since they opened the skyport and it became easy for anyone to come and go, the city's population had been increasing dramatically. I don't know the exact census data, but there were a lot of ponies packed into a relatively small city. Here, it looks like there's plenty of space to go around."

Gerardo nodded. "I wonder if Wallace and his crew are partly to blame as well. As inspirational as they are, surely quite a few local youngsters have left to follow in their steps. I certainly did as much myself from my own province."

"Eh... Does why it's spread out even matter?" Valey raised an eyebrow. "It's cool for us, since that means there's less chaos to hide in. I dunno where that boot store in the job is, but it should be easy as cake to find from the air."

Everyone glanced around. Of the group, half were flying and half weren't, and the distance the town extended for was great enough Starlight really didn't feel like walking to the far side, let alone combing through it or making a return trip.

Valey pointed a wing at Starlight. "Right, you with me, Jamjars with Slipstream, and Ironflanks with Birdo 'cause he's the only one strong enough to lift her. Sound good?"

Maple glanced hesitantly at Gerardo. "Actually, I haven't been carrying around very much since I hurt my cutie mark in Ironridge. Just our drinking water, lunch, the book I was reading, all our money from Kero-"

"Heh heh heh..." Valey patted her on the head with a wing. "Yeah, water, books, gold and silver are real light. Sorry, Ironflanks, but I don't want to get smushed now that I can finally move again. Gotta actually take care of myself."

"I'm somewhat nervous to hear what you consider a full load," Gerardo chuckled. "Nevertheless, are these arrangements equitable? If so, then let us be off!"





They were hardly the only travelers in the sky. Other griffons and the occasional pegasus winged their ways from place to place, some carrying passengers just like Valey, Gerardo and Slipstream. With a carefully-controlled magical discharge, Starlight was able to make crystals form on her horn and grow just enough to cover her eyes, forming a sort of pseudo-goggles against the wind, but they refracted light and made her vision weird and she quickly settled for watching without them, squinting at the ground.

"Cobbleheel boot store..." Valey muttered to herself, loud enough for Starlight to hear over the wind. "Nnngh... Not there..."

Most of the roads going through the town were straight, a few wider thoroughfares and smaller streets branching off from those, forming blocks or trailing away into the countryside. Starlight kept her attention on the intersections of medium roads, figuring a shady pawn shop would be somewhere ponies could reach but not in the brightest part of the city. Before long, though, her attention was caught by something completely different.

"Valey?" She nudged her ride's shoulder.

Below, a road was torn up, a wide ditch exposed at the side. A stack of metal pipes sat tied together nearby, along with a machine that resembled a giant shovel, a squad of ponies and griffons hanging out nearby. Valey nodded. "Yeah, looks like a construction project. Someone had to build all this at some time or other, I guess. That's too much stuff for fixing a break, or something, so maybe they're putting a line in? Water or power or stuff. Huh." She scratched her head. "You know, most of outer Stormhoof had like no mana power whatsoever. I wonder if these dudes just lack plumbing."

With a hospital nearby, Starlight figured that was unlikely. Clean water was important, so any competent planner would have focused on that before spending large amounts of money on a hospital. "They're probably official, then," she commented. "Should we ask them for directions?"

Valey waved a hoof. "Nahhh. We can get directions from any old blowhard. No need to bother those guys about it."

"Maple and Gerardo are doing it."

"Buh?" Valey glanced again, and Gerardo was indeed descending toward the construction site, Slipstream hovering nearby and looking to her for a lead. Rolling her eyes and shrugging, Valey dove.

She touched down cleanly just in time for Starlight to hear Gerardo give his signature greeting, much to the amusement of the workers. The leader, an earth pony with flat eyes and a stalk of grain between his teeth, nodded and whistled. "Ten-minute break, boys! Company's here."

Valey stood far enough away that she wouldn't get involved if Gerardo started a mess, but Maple was already climbing to the ground. "We're in search of a certain boot factory," Gerardo primly announced, holding up the wanted poster Morena had given them from the job board. "This rapscallion potentially has a hideout in a pawn shop near it, and made the very foolish decision of giving us a stake in his arrest. Might you be able to point us toward its location?"

The leader looked closely at the poster, wiggled his grain stalk, and sighed noisily. "Awww, not him again. I told that dumb kid he'd get in real trouble some day if he didn't straighten himself out."

Now Valey was interested. "Yo, hold on, you actually know the guy we're looking for?"

She was met with a harsh eyebrow. "Depends what you'd do if you found him."

"Wait, really? You do?" Maple took a moment to process the information. "Wow. I guess that was quicker than I expected."

"It's a small world!" the stallion chuckled, then went back to serious. "What's your business, though?"

"Well, he pilfered a relatively inconsequential autograph of mine," Gerardo explained raising a talon. "Under ordinary circumstances, I would say someone who wants such a thing so badly is entitled to it, but he also robbed a good friend of ours of a valued personal heirloom. Melia, one of the school principals?"

"That idiot went that far?" The stallion's eyes widened, and he sighed again. "Well, I guess I'm not surprised, what with the way things have been going. You know those Firefly Sisters, then? Tell you what. Promise to take a message from me to them, knock some sense into that dumb kid's head, and I'll let you know right where to find him."