The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Reckless Approach

Gerardo landed on the concrete of the Sosan loading plaza, paws and talons splashing slightly in water that hadn't fully drained. His neck wanted to look up, at the distant edge where the giant warehouse's roof finally stopped climbing, but he knew the route forward would be lower down and forced himself to scan the ground instead. Several abandoned carts, left docked until morning... cargo doors to the warehouse, all closed for the evening... there!

He perked up and strolled forward, aiming for a smaller, ground-level door at the far edge of the wall. Sharpie flapped alongside him, pink eyes off in a world of blankets, coffee and corners that didn't have conspiracies lurking beyond.

"Well, this seems as good a place as any to begin..." Gerardo reached for the door handle, designed with unicorn telekinesis in mind but just as easily serviceable with griffon talons. It clicked, began to swing open... and immediately halted with a rattle of chains from beyond. He frowned.

"Locked?" Unhappily, Gerardo wedged his eye into the door crack, peering through in a manner only a bird could, and spied several thick chains and shackles stretching between the wall and the door. Disappointedly, he plucked at one with a talon, and it gave a metallic rattle.

"This is a shame," he pouted, withdrawing. "It is at times like this I sincerely miss having my sword. It would be able to slice through this obstruction nigh instantaneously!"

Sharpie gave him a look, and he blinked. "What?"

"Ugh..." she huffed, flapping to keep her hooves dry. "We want Sosa to take us seriously about an incredibly important manner when you're already a nobody and I'm someone who has spent the last few years unsuccessfully accusing them of laundering money to Yakyakistan, and you think it will help our case to cut a lock and break in to their factory?"

Gerardo blinked again. "Oh, yes, I suppose that would be easy to take the wrong way... My apologies. Shall we search for a less-illegal way in? I believe I see one of those windows above to be broken..."

Thunk. Sharpie's hoof met her forehead, and she groaned.

"Look," Gerardo said impatiently, beginning to grow flustered. "It is imperative that we meet with someone, and it is preferable that that someone be Shinespark. In order to do that, logic dictates that we find someone to take us there, does it not? So our primary concern should be running into more ponies, and that involves getting inside!"

"Shinespark mostly stays in the Alpha Factory," Sharpie pointed out. "On the northern bank of the river. So why are you trying to get in here?"

"...I knew that." Gerardo turned away, muttering. "I knew that, I knew that... Very well! In that case, let us take wing once again!"

---

Once again, Gerardo and Sharpie winged their way north, across desolate Sosan courtyards and empty or abandoned construction, this time in search of the Yule. Above, the clouds were thinning, allowing the air to actually brighten for the last few hours of daylight before the sun set for real. It had still passed below the mountains, however, so even as the sky grew lighter, no shadows were cast and gloom seeped through every bush, fence, empty shed and dormant kiln they passed. Before long, the southern bank unfolded into sight, fringed by tall grasses and rusted machines leading up to a well-reinforced shore, erosion held at bay by carefully-stacked boulders.

They soared out over the water, broad enough to be considered a lake and edged on both sides by open-back warehouses, docks with roofs and heavy maintenance equipment that could be entered without leaving the river. Some were lit, revealing interiors laced with support girders and beams, and all were empty, their docks waiting for seafarers that would never come.

"Odd, isn't it?" Gerardo muttered. "You'd think that if they have no cause to set sail, the boats would still be here, as they have nowhere else to be. Was it a sensitive subject, perhaps, and they wanted them out of sight?"

"There's a shipyard to the west," Sharpie answered, flapping hard to keep up with him, the night air chilling further as they began to leave the protective mountain bowl of the Earth District. "Once the skyport opened and everyone who was going to leave left, they took all the remaining ships and moored them there, then redirected the river to drain that area so the ships wouldn't take water damage from years of disuse, in case they were ever needed again. It was Shinespark's idea, I think."

Gerardo slowed down, letting her pass him, and she continued. "I've never been there and don't know a lot about it."

That was apparently all she had to say, because the only sound that met his ears was the whistling of the passing air. He checked, and she was still ahead... and hadn't seemed to have seen anything unusual. Silently, he added the shipyard to his list of potential conversation starters, figuring it likely had a few more interesting stories tucked inside.

Focusing his attention, he homed in on a cavernous brick building with its roof slanted toward the water, covered by rows of yellow-lit window crosspanes so grimy that they were completely opaque. A single exception shone jaggedly, the far wall visible in clearer detail beyond.

"...What are you doing?" Sharpie asked as he zoomed toward it. "Didn't we just establish that-"

"That where there is light, there are ponies?" Gerardo called back. "Our primary objective is to find someone who will take us to Shinespark!"

"At least..." Sharpie huffed. "Try to..." She flapped frantically, attempting to get in front of and block the griffon. "Enter the right way, please? From the ground?"

Just as she said that, the lights switched off, one by one, until the building was black and dim.

Gerardo nodded. "I do believe we stand a great danger of missing whoever just turned off those lights by taking anything but the most direct approach. Speed is of essence, and after all, I presently have nothing to lose!"

Folding his wings and tucking into a dive, he streamlined his body and shot forward, cleanly passing through the dark, windowless hole and into the building's cavernous interior. Sharpie shook her head, groaning. "You're such an idiot..." she mumbled to herself, flicking her fuzzy gray ears against the cold. "I think I see what kind of recklessness got your friends captured..."

---

Gerardo unfolded his wings, braking sharply before he could collide with the warehouse's far wall. Silently, he hovered, gray light from outside illuminating the silhouettes of giant chunks of machinery covering the floor. Idle pistons, concrete motor blocks, hoses thicker than he was and turnwheel valves rested atop a darker technological mass, with walking isles barely visible below. He momentarily hesitated; aside from necessity, the primary reason he was being so brazen was the guarantee that he wouldn't run across any fliers who could chase him should trouble appear, and in quarters like those taking off would be a distinct risk itself.

Frowning, he looked back at the window, and saw Sharpie hadn't followed. It was almost enough to convince him to go back... until his peripheral vision was lit by a spotlight, cast by a unicorn horn. That was it.

Leaving and searching for a more polite manner of entry was certainly on the table, but ultimately there was no polite way of saying one's district was at risk from bomb-induced floodwaters. So, he dropped to the floor, placing himself squarely in the unicorn's path, and prepared to introduce himself to Sosa.