//------------------------------// // Chapter 77 // Story: Unshaken // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// Try to track down where the Pinks are staying: 15 Votes Kestrel spent almost half an hour nursing the two drinks she’d taken back from the bar, trying to delay the inevitable and give the Pinks more time to get away from her… or grow bored of waiting for her to leave, if they were camped out nearby. But the alcohol wouldn’t last forever, and even lingering as long as she was was a risky proposition of its own. Lyra had taken down her disguise, and here she was, sitting in a major city, her face in plain view for anypony to see. At least nopony bothered her or acted like they recognized her. So, once the whiskey ran dry, Kestrel put a few bits down on the table, slid out of the booth, and trudged to the door, a little bit of a numb tingle in her wingtips after taking several shots’ worth of whiskey in the two hours or so she’d been camped out at the saloon. She pushed it open, wincing slightly at the little tinkling bell above her head as if it was the biggest bell in a bell tower, and slipped outside. Her eyes scanned the street intersection outside of the saloon, but there wasn’t any sign of the Pinks loitering about. She at least felt confident in that conclusion given their attire—bright pink suits weren’t exactly subtle, and if they’d been hanging around, she would have seen them immediately. Instead, she made her way down the sidewalk and ducked into an alley. There, she tore the dress off of her shoulders and chucked it aside, shrugging her wings and flexing the feathers as she let her pegasus limbs breathe again. Since her illusion was gone, there was no point in wearing the dress anymore if anypony could just look at her face and recognize her. She’d be better off with her wings free, ready to fight or fly, than scampering around on the ground in a busted disguise at this point. Hopefully Miss Irons wouldn’t be too upset about the dress. After a moment to check up and down the alleyway, Kestrel spread her wings and flew straight up, flapping hard to get to the hazy layer of thin clouds hanging above Hoofston. Those clouds, though touched with soot and coal dust as they were, would at least give her a perch to observe what was happening below. If she could spot where the Pinks were stationed from above, that’d put her at far less risk than scouting things out from the ground. Especially since, given that the Pinks now knew for certain that the Gang was in Hoofston, the police force would know to look out for them as well. Holding her breath as she reached the layer of smog spewed out from the factories below, Kestrel burst through the sooty clouds and alighted on a mat of wispy vapor and smoke. She spread out her legs to try and distribute her weight on the fragile platform, and succeeded in finding her balance, so long as she kept her wings out and lightly flapping to keep her full weight off of the smoke. Kestrel uses Lady Luck (6+1) to spot any Pinks from above: Success Her sharp pegasus eyes scanned the city below, gliding up and down the streets for colorful attire. A few times her eyes caught a glimpse of pink far below her, but it always ended up being a mare’s dress or a pony’s natural coat moving through a crowd. As she trained her attention more towards center city, however, she spotted a pair of pink suits, each with a glint of silver splitting across their backs. Kestrel immediately recognized that glint as the light of the setting sun reflecting off of gun barrels, and that made the rest of her deductions easy. Another pair of Pinks. Frowning, Kestrel leaned forward, her weight pulling her through the sooty cloud and sending her into a free fall. She built up speed for a few seconds before opening her wings, catching herself on the air and pointing her momentum forward. The city air rippled through the feathers of her strong wings as she glided after the two Pinks, trying to keep them in her sights as they turned a corner and walked behind a building. She did her best to keep her distance, but as the crowd began to fill in below, it became harder and harder to keep track of the Pinks from afar. As she swooped lower and lower across the streets, the Pinks suddenly came back into view, stopped halfway down the street to talk to a couple of ponies. Kestrel flared her wings and shunted herself to the left when she realized one was facing in her direction, quickly ducking herself between two dormers on the roof of a nearby building. Her hooves clattered against shingle, and a tile slipped loose from the roof, but thankfully caught itself in the gutter just beyond before it could fall to the ground and shatter. Do the Pinks notice Kestrel? No After a minute to hide and stay out of sight from the road below, Kestrel cautiously poked her head above the dormer in front of her. Her eyes quickly locked in on the two Pinks in the street—moving away from her, thankfully. Taking a breath, Kestrel fluttered out from behind the rooftop again, this time moving from building to building, roof to roof, to give herself some cover to hide behind. She kept herself light on her hooves to avoid kicking off any more shingles, and always went over dormers and windows instead of in front of them, just in case somepony happened to be looking out from inside. And when she came to a street corner and watched the Pinks duck into a building, she quickly checked her surroundings to make sure she hadn’t attracted any unwanted attention. Kestrel uses Lady Luck (6+1) to avoid drawing attention to herself as she moves along the rooftops: Success Thankfully, it didn’t seem like anypony noticed her presence, so she crouched low and crept toward the corner of the roof to get a better look of her surroundings. The building the Pinks had stepped into was an expensive hotel, the electric lights out front proudly proclaiming the eight-story building as The Royal Stables. A few bellhops and management ponies hovered near the entrance, smoking cigarettes and talking to each other, while a pair of zebras unloaded a large wagon and lugged several wooden crates inside. Kestrel frowned at that. Luggage was one thing, but cargo? What could a hotel be doing with cargo? If it was just food or supplies, they’d be taking it in through a back door, she was certain of that. But the zebras were taking it in through the front like they would with suitcases and luggage, and that was odd enough for her to quirk an eyebrow in thought. Kestrel frowned and scratched an itch under her chin with a soot-streaked hoof. She didn’t see any other Pinks outside of the hotel, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t found what she was looking for. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be getting any confirmation from the rooftops. Not for a while, at least, not until she maybe saw more Pinks come or go. Of course, sticking around to confirm her findings could come with its own can of worms as well. 1.     Wait it out and watch for Pinks. Well, here I am. Those two Pinks ducked into here, but who knows why. This could be where they’re stayin’—they certainly got the bits, ‘specially if they’re hired on by the Apple Family—or it might not be. Hangin’ ‘round here might let me see what’s up, though if somepony looks up, or if a pegasus comes flyin’ by, then there’s a chance I’ll be seen. 2.     Fly down and ask around. Somepony nearby might know more about what’s goin’ on with the hotel here, though of course that means goin’ down without a disguise an talkin’ to ponies who might recognize me. Least I’d get a straight answer ‘fore somepony shoots me. 3.     Go snooping around outside the hotel. I need to get closer to see what’s happenin’ down there. A more discreet approach might do me some good, though if somepony spots me, that’s gonna raise a whole host of questions and suspicion. That ain’t gonna be somethin’ I can talk my way out of. 4.     Go inside the hotel and take a look around. Fastest way to figure out what’s goin’ on is to go right into the hornet’s nest and take a look with my own eyes. Might be a concierge I can talk to as well who’d know if there are Pinks stayin’ here and what rooms they’re stayin’ in. 5.     Go back to the Gang. I’ve seen enough, and I shouldn’t risk my neck more. It’s time to go back to the Gang and report in on what I’ve found so far.