The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Yak Intrigue

With a meaty thump and a delirious groan, Neon Nova's unconscious body hit the cobbled streets of the Stone District, landing right in front of the entrance to the Defense Force headquarters.

Two seconds later, Valey landed beside him, furling her wings and casually blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "Whew!" she panted, straightening her hat. "Fatty. Should have just launched you here with a catapult, or something. Off to jail, off to jail..."

Humming merrily, she dragged him by a hind leg into the building, maximizing scuffs and damage to his already-ruined performer's suit. A host of pegasi looked up from tables where they were sipping coffee and chatting around hands of cards, several opting to instantly leave, and the pony tending to the drink counter instantly rolled down the cover on their window, signaling that they were closed.

"What?" Valey gave them all a peeved look. "I'm picking on this guy today. You can all... have a vacation, or something." She hoisted Neon slightly for emphasis, then dropped him back to the ground and continued dragging, grumbling slightly.

That was the biggest problem with doing things that helped ponies in ways that let them know she was actually helping, Valey reflected as she walked. The moment someone thanked her for what she'd done, if what Redshift had said even counted as thanks, completely spoiled her. Dirty glares would come her way whether she was naughty or nice, so she had little choice but to relish them... and that was a whole lot easier when she could convince herself nothing else was possible. Silently, she resolved to pull some sort of prank on Maple and Starlight when she got back; nothing that would hurt them but just enough to make them annoyed with her, to keep them from getting too cozy and making her complacent in turn.

She was so busy brooding that she almost missed the sound of approaching hoofsteps coming toward her in the hall. Dropping Neon's carcass at the last possible moment, she faded into the wall... and watched with a silent chuckle as Selma rounded the corner, stopping with wide eyes to avoid tripping on the passed-out unicorn blocking the way. Two pegasi accompanied him, and both collided with their captain, unprepared for his abrupt halt.

Selma's mouth twitched, and he turned to his guards. "Whoever this is isn't on my payroll. Get them out of this fortress!"

"Oh, him? That's my fault!" Valey stuck her head down from the ceiling, taking care not to let her hat fall off as Selma's guards stepped back in a panic.

Selma himself took a full second to find her, then frowned. "Fault?"

"Yeah." Valey grinned. "I was going to leave him in your office, but was feeling lazy and figured here was as good a place as any. I have good tastes, right?"

"No comment," Selma droned. "Now, what has this citizen done to earn your affections?"

"Him?" Valey asked, sliding down the wall, half-in and half-out of the shadows. "He was actually a legit troublemaker. I caught him down in Blueleaf. You should be proud of me." She licked a hoof and ran it over her ears. "Confirmed responsible for the misery and suffering of probably thousands. I couldn't let him outdo me, so I had to take him down! Figured I'd lock him up before getting back to business, you know?"

Selma nodded. "I wondered what brought you back after you said you would be gone for the day. Very well. Allow me to take care of his incarceration for you so as not to delay your return. Will the flame barracks be sufficient?"

"Aww, that's swell, Selmey-Welmey!" Valey blushed, waving a hoof in front of her face.

"...What are you doing?" Selma's eyes narrowed, stepping forward so his guards could reach Neon's body.

Valey's cheer evaporated, and she climbed onto the floor. "Right there? Protesting you firing that cute barista from the front counter a week ago and replacing her with a fat stallion. But if it's not gonna make you feel awkward, I guess I'm wasting my time. Believe it or not, I actually am in a hurry."

"In that case..." Selma smirked back. "I'll have you know my day is going much too perfectly for anything you can do to ruin it. That noisy griffon with the crates was in here earlier, and all it took was a bit of acting, patience and running in circles to get him exactly where we wanted."

"Don't challenge me. I live for breaking those." Valey pointed a hoof at Selma's chest. "And you do know that whatever you and Herman are planning, he's got twice as many plans to screw you over behind your back, right?"

"Silly Valey," Selma tittered, "that's you he has plans for. Of course, you're probably right, but more than one can play at that game, and I assure you I'm up to the task. Speaking of Herman and days going swimmingly, I have something that will completely make yours: he's in the upper conference room right now, and would very much like to speak with you."

Valey froze, scanning his eyes for signs of deceit. Then again, did it really matter? If Herman had specific orders for her, he had more than enough ways of making her regret not jumping to them. She didn't have much of a choice... but dealing with both him and Selma at once would be even worse.

Suddenly grinning, she seized on the only option she had. "Race you!"

Her green-and-black trail raced off down the corridor, leaving Selma choking in a cloud of dust.

---

Valey burst through the conference room doors, skidding to a halt in front of the central table. Herman stood behind it, ignoring the flimsy metal chairs that were many sizes too small for his yakkish girth. His face was impassive, framed by the west-facing window that gave a perfect view of the late-afternoon sun. Several dusty vending machines stood in one corner, and an empty weapon rack adorned the other. In front of him, on the table, sat a large, lumpy object covered by a tarp, and aside from that, the room was empty.

"Bosssssss!" Valey grinned broadly, with all the fake cheer in the world. "What can I quickly get over with for you today so I can get back to my routine of being an admirable admiral and citizen?"

Herman nodded imperceptibly, cutting straight to the chase. "I need you to make a delivery to the project room," his deep, distant-thunder voice rumbled.

"The proje..." Valey's brow furrowed. "Why can't you do it... Oh, you mean that project."

Herman's gray, one-horned face stared back at her. "Indeed."

"Heh heh..." Valey chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "Wow, it's been so long since you asked me to go down there I was wondering if you had forgotten why you hired me." Her tone became slightly more serious. "But like seriously, I'm actually doing something kind of important and that's a really long way to go just for an errand. Do I have to? Or, I mean, can I do it later? Like tonight?"

"You cannot." Herman shook his head, then pulled off the tarp, revealing two muddy, unmarked crates on the table, one looking as if its lid had been removed and hastily reapplied. "These crates have been the object of some contention recently, and I want them placed where they belong before they can cause any further drama. Ideally, they will not factor into things at all, but it is always wise to have a backup. Deliver them now."

"Uhhh..." Valey squinted unhappily at the crates. "You know, those things are bigger than I am, and if I try to carry both at once something's probably going to break... and no promises it won't be any doorframes I pass through. Can I at least get some mooks to help me lug them to the elevator?"

Herman smiled broadly. "Make two trips!"

---

High above the Earth District where Starlight and Maple sat listening to Elise tell stories of the past, above the Stone District caves and tunnels where Valey grumpily lugged crates one at a time and pegasi with shabby spears sat and talked and wondered when they would get to fight for their city, above the barrier of wind where hot air and cold collided and flurries of snow turned to rain on their way to the jungle below, big dark clouds billowed, flowing down the mountains from the south and the east, sweeping across the Sky District and burying it in white. They poured like a river from an origin nopony knew, reinforcing the glacier that served as the headwaters of the Yule and blotting out the sun.

White specks hammered against the magically-reinforced glass domes of the skyport, rising above the snowdrifts on stalks like metal mushrooms. Eagerly, the snow tried to coat them, and slid off every time, unable to stick to the masterfully-crafted materials, iron crossbeams that acted as supports providing scant purchase against the wind.

Within the biggest dome, a pair of pegasi sat in a neon-glowing kiosk, watching and waiting as ponies paced or ran to their destinations. One huddled within a thick, patchwork quilt, nose slightly red as she sipped from a warm thermos.

"Wow, Slipstream," her friend said, staring up at the dark sky through the central atrium's glass roof high above. "Sure is a good thing you weren't caught in this while chasing that handsome griffon around, you think?"

"Give it a rest, Updraft," Slipstream mumbled past swollen sinuses. "I told you I don't regret it. All it is is a little... Snrrk! Little cold! Besides, maybe he'll be back to thank me."

"Eh. It's not like we've got anything else to talk about." Updraft shrugged, tossing her orange mane. "All the flights are getting delayed because nobody wants to land in this storm, so there are no ponies to ask questions." She pointed at their empty line, stretching and spreading her wings. "It'll be bad when they all land at once, sure, but... Nngh..." She yawned. "I just think it's cool you have a thing for griffons. Wish I could've seen him, the way you're going on."

"Well..." Slipstream blustered, trying to change the subject. "What about the ponies who want to leave and can't? Hmm?"

Updraft stretched massively, back arching and wings tingling as they reached for the sky. "Probably all on their ships waiting for takeoff. Or looking at that huge screen at the entrance telling everyone what the times are like so we don't have to." She leaned down to a monitor, eyes scanning across changing shapes and text. "Oh look, the comms tower says one is actually landing. I wonder if it's a big model, the storm's letting up, or they're actually in a hurry enough to take the risk?"

"Really?" Slipstream leaned in next to her, their ears brushing as they both tried to read the tiny text. "Huh. It has a Yakyakistani certificate, so I guess they're just familiar enough with cold weather to try it."

"Yeah..." Updraft breathed, not pulling away even though her friend had a cold. "That's weird. They don't have a chartered flight number."

"Not really," Slipstream answered, pulling back and sneezing into a corner. "Yakyakistan has part of their fleet on permanent sky duty. They just go wherever they please, or where their leaders direct them. I think there are two near Ironridge. They just land every few weeks or so to resupply and give the crew some land time. It's probably one of them."

Updraft's ears perked in interest. "Really? A job like that actually sounds kind of cool."

"Watch," Slipstream said, nodding. "One of those gates, a whole bunch of ponies will come out of who look really glad to be on the ground. I think you weren't on shift last time it happened?"

They both sat, watching. True to Slipstream's predictions, a herd of slightly-dazed-looking ponies tumbled out of an entrance on the far side of the room, wearing thick fluffy coats and happily beelining for the exit to the Stone District. Updraft pouted. "Doesn't look like any of them are coming to talk to us. That's lame."

"No... look..." Slipstream pointed a hoof, reluctantly poking it out of her blanket. A lone figure had broken off from the group and was making its way around the room toward them, rather than targeting the exit. She squinted. "I can't really see what they look like."

"They're wearing a cloak," Updraft announced as they got closer. "A full-body one. Spooky!"

The pony slowly made their way to the counter, as if taking care not to walk with audible hoofsteps, a long black hooded traveling cloak wrapped around them and tightened at the face, completely obscuring them from sight. There was a point in the hood where a horn might be, and a shadowed pair of eyes looked out over a rounded muzzle. In a mare's voice, the pony hesitantly spoke: "Is... this the information desk?"

"It... it..." Slipstream sniffed back a sneeze that wanted to come at the worst time. "It is..."

"You're certainly dressed for the weather," Updraft proclaimed, folding her forelegs across her chest in a complimentary manner.

The cloaked pony stared back at them. "So are you," she said, evidently addressing Slipstream, though her eyes were hard to see. "...My coat attracts a lot of attention," she eventually explained. "Showing it off doesn't usually get me where I'm going any quicker."

Her cold making it easier to force down the curiosity the mare's words piqued, Slipstream asked, "So then, how can we help you?"

"You're not going to press?" The mare stumbled over her words, as if legitimately surprised they hadn't asked. "Interesting. I... haven't been here before. Can you tell me how to find the yak embassy? There's something important there I need to do."

"Uhh..." Updraft blinked. "Sure thing! Let me get you some paper for a map and directions..."

Comments

[Hap]

Interesting. I wonder if we've heard of this mysterious mare before.

[RoboRed]

Hmmmmmmm

[Davidp1522]

I feel particularly bad about everything that happened in this one.

Except that Slipstream is ok. Thats rad

[MazingerZ]

Man, I don't like Valey at all.

[Alchemik]

Wait, so Valey was hired specifically to access the area "the project" is contained in? She's effectively a deliverymare on retainer? ...Interesting.

[bronyheat]

It makes me sad that Valey is just as self-loathing as Starlight is...

Then again Valey has some knowledge/involvement in "The Project" so maybe her Rainbow-Pie-Bat personality has thrown me off from noticing her evilness.

Valey does literally anything
Nope she's still an ass-kicking, cutie-patootie.