//------------------------------// // Descent // Story: Dire Vale: Say Goodbye // by SymphonicSync //------------------------------// Ponies cantered down the streets around her. A cobblestone path stretched out before, the mark of the the central city's outskirts. Any further this direction and Flurry would officially enter the district designated for earth pony residencies. She knew it to be quite the slum. The buildings were decades behind the times and made of such ill-suited materials. To think some ponies used wood and muck to construct their homes. The army and royal guard would frequently carry out searches and conduct raids to root out dissidents and criminals in the district. Or to quell their own boredom. It was also a likely excuse to brawl with one-another away from scrutinizing eyes and meaningful collateral damage. The overseers allowed it to continue so long as it provided fresh workers for the mines. At least she was within somewhat civilized company on this main street. The ponies, a mix of pegasi, unicorn, and earth going about their business, knew to give her a wide hearth and only offer the occasional glance to show they wished she were gone. It was far better than being watched by every overgrown dusty foal that crawled out of the ground nearer to the farms. One could almost swear they'd never seen a horn before. Some of the buildings had timber supports holding up the odd corner, scars left over from that day almost a decade and a half ago, but most were crystalline. They usually rose higher than two stories, and the occasional abode had a small tower jutting up into the sky. Flurry Heart didn't have to peek behind her know that a winged shadow would be stalking her from atop one such spire. She cut into a small crowd of ponies, startling the group into a small commotion as her entourage of steel pressed into them. Subtlety was the least of her concerns as she made her way into an alleyway. She was tired of waiting and avoiding the inevitable. No doubt the pegasus would have leapt from the tower and began their flight to a new vantage point given her change of course. "This is not the way to your inquiry," the spectre whispered into her psyche, "do you wish for another scolding today?" "You were gone earlier, while I was out." She heard nothing as she rounded the corner onto a less crowded side street. "You wanted me to listen, didn't you?" Flurry continued forward into another alleyway, one hidden from the next best perch. It would bring her out near the east gate, into a small courtyard marketplace that had been boarded up years prior. She remembered inspecting the site several moons ago, and seeing quite the view from one of the upper floors of a taller building. From there, somepony could watch the east gate, a portion of the main road out of the central city, and the street she was scheduled to visit. It would be the perfect forward point... Exiting the alley and seeing nopony in the vicinity, she reared up and charged a spell into her horn. A sensation, similar to those spells in the sparring pit, coursed out from her horn. In her peripheral vision, she saw a dark blur racing across the horizon towards the roof across from her. With a snarl, Flurry Heart thrust her front hooves into the ground and let loose the bolt. She barely caught sight of it striking the pegasus' wing. It sent them barreling midair as they fell short in their glide, striking the corner of the building. They disappeared from view as they tumbled to the street in another alley. "This is perhaps the most reckless action you have ever taken underhoof." Flurry Heart galloped across the plaza towards where the Pegasus had fallen. "I'm getting answers, spirit." She rushed through a gate and leapt over a small wall that spanned the length of the alley. Her hooves crunched down on some loose, orange feathers on the other side. A few feet ahead of her laid a bundled mess of black garb with streaks of dark blue mane falling out from their hood. With a pained grunt and a flash of a wing, the Pegasus launched several missiles at her. She could see their eyes when they realized who stood before them. Flurry could still make out the terror that spread across their face through the arcane shield that caught the darts. "I, I didn't," the figure stammered, their voice masculine, "know that it was you." The spell faded as she rushed forward, sweeping a back hoof along the cobblestone and into the stallion's side just below his wing. The bit of magic she infused into the kick dispersed and reverberated down the alley way. In a spit second, their form flew into the wall with a heavy thud. As he slumped down, she caught the crook of his chin with her forehoof and pulled the pegasus up to eye level. He yelped as his wings were pinned behind his back. "Please, just let me go!" "What do you want with me?!" Flurry yelled back, summoning ice blue daggers in the air. She could see that the cloth around his shoulder was shredded and tufts of orange fur, dappled red, were shaking loose. A voice spoke through a glowing device on their belt, "Who is that, where are you Se-" It fell silent as her aura wrapped around it, tightening as it pulled it off. She was about to crush it before she noticed the symbol on the back of the case. It was the sigil of the Grand Sorceress. She leaned more of her weight into him. Normally, it may not have had much of an effect but in his current state Flurry imagined it would be quite effective. "How did you get this?" "Sh- she made them for us..." he coughed out, voice strained and coarse. "You lie!" She put more of her weight against him, inching the daggers closer. "The Sorceress would never support the pegasi!" "T- Tw-" Flurry Heart felt a chill creep up her arm. It involuntarily slacked and allowed the Pegasus to slump down against the wall. She heard the voice of the windigo in her ear. "Let him speak." The Pegasus coughed and placed a hoof on his withers. After a few seconds, he looked up to her and spoke. "Twilight wanted us to track you, make sure you were safe." "How," Flurry paused, "do you know that name?" "I used to work with her ofte-" a dagger embedded itself in the wall before evaporating into mist. "I'll not suffer blatant falsehoods in my presence." "It's the truth. She wanted us to make sure that Sombra and the Warden wouldn't try to harm you after," another dagger sunk into the wall on the opposite side of their head. "That's King Sombra, filth." Flurry warned. He continued, unfazed. "-after she discovered who your parents are."