City Spirits

by Sourberry

Vertigo

“Um, Gilda?” Fluttershy prodded the griffon lightly with the tip of her wing, startling her.

“Woah, oh, hey. I heard you talking in the background there. Find out anything good?” She asked. Coming to her senses after looking out over the city for so long.

“I know where to go next. Come on.” She lifted her head up and beckoned Gilda.

“You work fast. I wasn't expecting you to be done so soon.” Gilda remarked as she got up. “You been building on those wings of yours as well?” Gilda snickered. Fluttershy firmly snapped her wings back close to her body.

“It was a compliment, geez.” Gilda reassured her. Fluttershy brightened up and smiled. “In case you're thinking it; I wasn't being completely useless over here. You know that Cherry Springs boat-thing we rode in on?” Gilda pointed down to the platform where the airship was still moored up. “There's been some big row down there. I don't know what about, I couldn't hear. Some ponies got taken off the ship though.”

Fluttershy regarded the airship and the crowd of ponies gathered down there. She prodded Gilda a second time with her wing.

“Thank you for telling me. Let's go. We've got to inspect a broken water pump.” Fluttershy wearily looked over the airship a second time and began to walk away from the gap in the wall.

The trip up to floor forty nine of the tower was riddled with short elevator trips through the layers of compact mechanical rooms and cramped corridors. Both of them were happy to see the end of the journey and welcomed the large, open plan, pump chamber that they'd ended up in.

The main body of the machine had five pistons at irregular intervals down it's domed body that worked tirelessly. The shell of the machine was cast in iron and on it's western facing side had an array of valves and levers and leading up to the body of the machine was a thin glass parting in the floor. Looking through this foot wide parting the pair could see a flooded chamber below that was feeding a gigantic iron screw into the machine. The screw twisted and pumped upwards, driving water through the machine, whilst also dredging up more water up from the reservoir beneath the floor.

“I thought you said it was broken? It looks fine to me.” Gilda raised her voice over the din of the machine.

“I thought you said earlier that this place was full of weird stuff? How do you know what this does?” Fluttershy's voice was heavily drown out by the firing of the pistons and the rushing of water.

“Well, it's obviously...” Gilda trailed off, her mumbling drown out by the machine. She looked it up and down. “It … looks like it's working?” Gilda compromised and shrugged at Fluttershy.

The pair headed over to the control centre for the machine, passing under a walkway above. The rest of the room was empty, save for a few discarded and open metal containers. The walkway above had a pair of doors that lead back into the room above from where they'd come in.

Fluttershy looked over the controls. Internal pressure gauges, pressure release, water pressure gauges, piston cycles per minute, the list went on. She turned to face Gilda.

“I don't think any of this machine is broken!” She managed to squeak higher than the machine.

“What made you think it was broken, anyway?”

“Whatever this thing sent through those pipes back there,” Fluttershy pointed to the doors where they'd come in from. “Managed to totally corrode and ruin the pipes within a week! I figured there might have been some kind of problem up here, but it looks fine.” Fluttershy looked up the machine in frustration.

“What about the water?” Gilda made her way over to the glass slit in the ground and jabbed at it with a talon. Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak only to pout after a few moments thought.

“Even if there was a problem with it, I wouldn't know what to look for! I'm not a chemist.” Her throat was already running hoarse from all the shouting they were doing over the machine. Fluttershy looked down through the glass into the water anyway.

“Well maybe it's-” Gilda stopped talking as she saw Fluttershy's expression contort into bewilderment. Gilda followed Fluttershy's gaze up to the screw that was pumping water into the machine. “What the ...”

Now that they were close they could both make out a dark, fleshy growth that had coiled itself around the screw. It's black, leathery skin glistened with the water being driven up by the screw. Fluttershy stepped up as close as she could to it, standing over the glass and looking down.

“Are we gonna' switch the machine off?” Gilda asked, looking over to the control panel attached to the machine.

“No,” Fluttershy shook her head slowly. “Not yet. I think we need to alert the City Council.”

Fluttershy turned about and made her way towards the exit. A soothing relief passed through her head as she was getting away from the machine. Her hooves momentarily tread air as her view twisted and begun to surge off to the right. Her startled yelp was drown out by the heavy smashing sound of metal landing on metal. She had found herself being clutched by Gilda as they too landed on the ground, Gilda's body bracing her and taking the brunt of the landing. They both looked up and saw four iron beams on their tips, now free falling to the ground. Above them, up on the walkway, was a lone, dust coloured, pony. He turned about-face and cantered off down the right door upstairs. Gilda covered Fluttershy up a second time as the poles landed into the ground, cracking open the glass line above the water. By the time Fluttershy had come to her senses Gilda had already taken flight and was on the walkway above, racing after the pony.

Fluttershy's cries fell on deaf ears as Gilda stampeded after the pony. The narrow corridor she was racing down was riddled with doors and small brass containers, both of which where being thrown back in her face by the back legs of the pony in front. Door after door she bashed aside, before they shut and locked themselves on her. The dust coloured pony made a hard right, skidding on the metal floor and bashing into the wall, sending a metal shelving unit of paint buckets smashing onto the ground. Bounding along on all fours was hard for the griffon, and she quickly became tangled up in the metal shelves and the cracked open paint cans. The dust coloured pony finally breached the outside, and onto a walkway that ran around the outside of the tower. Up ahead was an extension off the platform and a twin winged flying craft was set up there. It's rickety angular body and upwards pointing air-sails did not look sturdy enough for two ponies to ride on, but that did not stop the dust coloured pony leaping onto the back of the craft. The driver looked back in shock and he drove his front hoof into the side of the driver's head.

“Get going!” He shouted at the driver, who, panic stricken, dumbly sent the machine into motion.
Three gems inset on the rear of the long craft hummed and glowed brightly. This brought the upwards pointing wings down, and then up again, and then back down. This draft forced the light craft up into the air and then forward, as the driver tipped the front nose down.

Laughing, the dust coloured pony looked back only to find that taking flight behind him was an irate looking red, yellow and green painted griffon. He struck his driver in the back of the head again.

“Can't this thing go any faster!?” He shouted. Looking back again he could see the griffon gaining on him. He used his rear legs to kick down on the back of the flying craft. Loosening a panel of metal he hooked his hoof under it and pulled it out, sending it flying back at Gilda.

Gilda tensed her talons taut and swung her right one out, tearing the thin sheet of metal into shreds that harmlessly bounced off her. Beating her wings fiercely she sped up to the rear of the craft. The dust coloured pony grabbed onto the driver and tried to drag the screaming stallion out from his driver's seat.

“Don't come any closer or-” He never finished his sentence as Gilda soared right over the flying craft, grabbing onto the dust coloured pony's mane and, with a great heave, hoisted him off the back of the craft. She watched the craft twist and drop out of the air but the pilot swiftly regained control of his craft. Happy that she'd just avoided Fluttershy being upset at her for crashing a nice fellow's craft; she turned her attention to the stallion dangling in the air beneath her.

“Bit of a situation you've gotten yourself into, isn't it?” She asked, looking down at the squirming stallion.

“Put me down you stinkin' halfbreed!” He shouted back up at her. Gilda laughed.

“That's a very poor choice of words!” She let go of him and he began to plummet towards the ground, screaming all the way. Gilda batted her wings once and sped after him, snatching him up by his tail and flying back up.

“That was fun, shall we try it again?” She laughed as she rose up into the air.

“No! Don't kill me! I'll do whatever you want!”

“Maybe I don't want you to do anything? Maybe I'm having too much fun here.” She let go again and he fell. This time she waited a little longer before chasing after the screaming stallion in free fall.

“What do you want from me?!” He shouted in between bursts of hyperventilation.

“Let me think,” She hummed in thought and lazily swung the stallion to and fro by his tail. “Oh yeah! You tried to hurt me and my friend. Now why would you go and do something like that?”

“I'm just a guard, okay?! Nobody was supposed to be allowed in there, and if they did, I had to get rid of them.”

“That's not everything!” Gilda shouted, violently shaking him by the tail. “Tell me who you were working for, and what was up with that machine.”

“I was working for a pair of guards over over on 31st Avenue, New Pike Building.” He spoke quickly. “They pay me on the door there.”

“And the machine?”

“I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even know how it works!”

“You sure that long drop down there can't convince you otherwise? Maybe jog your memory a little?” Gilda snickered maliciously.

“I'm telling you the truth! They wouldn't let me near it!” He shouted, panicking.

“They?” Gilda stopped shaking him.

“The door guards! They said if I ever poked around inside, they'd break me in two!”

“Right.” Gilda beat her wings and began to fly back to tower seven. “Let's see if those Civil Guard ponies I've heard about are around yet.” The pony she held by the tail whimpered.

* * *

The ball and chain was secured around the dust coloured pony and the two guards in brown long-coats shoved him up into the back of the wheeled cage. The guard shutting the door gave a thankful nod to Gilda and joined his companion in the front compartment of motorised cage. The cage drove off at a snails pace down the street, with ponies parting way and watching on in awe.

Gilda looked down at herself. The red, yellow and green splashes and marks of paint were still adorning her fur and feathers. She frowned. This stuff better wash out.

“Y'know, I don't know why they insisted on that cage. Surely it's faster to walk him, even with that ball on his hind leg.” Gilda commented, turning to Fluttershy who was sitting down on a bench a few meters away from the entry into tower seven.

“I-I nearly died.” She shuddered, curling her tail around herself. Gilda approached her as tenderly as she could, especially since she'd been a complete mess for the past half an hour.

“But you didn't.” Gilda reassured her. “So why are you worrying about it? It's not like it happens often.” Fluttershy pouted after some thought.

“That's true.” She shook her head as she spoke. “But it shouldn't have to be that way. I shouldn't have to fear for my life.”

“Well, cool. Don't.” Gilda gave her an incredulous look and shrugged for emphasis.

“It's n-not as easy as that!” She stammered, her tail now flicking about in agitation.

“Listen, I get that we're not the same and we've lived different lives but geez, these things happen. What more, they're gonna' keep happening! You just have to rise to the challenge.”

“I don't mind challenges,” Fluttershy whispered, but managed to bring herself back onto her hooves. “But not like this.”

“Let's have a change of topic, okay? I found out where that guy had come from.” Fluttershy looked over in surprise at Gilda.

“How?” She asked.

“We had a chat.” Gilda dismissed the question. “I'm not smart enough to remember it all, so I wrote it down as soon as I got back.”

Gilda handed over a scrap of paper to Fluttershy, who took it gently in her wing, bringing it to eye-level. She began to frown.

“You've been lied to. This is the wrong address.” She sighed softly.

“I really don't think that idiot would have lied to me. What makes you so sure he did?”

“What makes you so sure he told the truth?” Fluttershy furrowed her brow and stepped closer to Gilda.

“When you're being held hundreds of feet up in the air it takes a lot of guts to lie. Believe me, I've met a lot liars in my life; this fella' ain't one of them.” Gilda puffed up her chest and nodded firmly.

“You did what to him!?” Fluttershy looked appalled. “I specifically told you to not scare ponies here! You've not changed a bit!” Gilda gave her a hollow stare.

“Are you for real?”

“I don't want you running around torturing ponies for any reason!” She pleaded, putting her hoof down.

“He tried to kill you, and I never tortured him.” Gilda narrowed her eyes. “Did me saving your life mean nothing to you?” Fluttershy's eyes widened and she shrunk back.

“No, I'm sorry. I just,” Fluttershy fumbled with her words. “Thank you ... for saving me. I didn't mean it like that. I'm really grateful. I just don't want vengeance. It's not in my nature.” She scuffed her hoof on the ground and averted her eyes.

“I wasn't doing it just because I was angry. I'm not like that any more. I promise.” Gilda very gently reached out and patted Fluttershy on her wing shoulder. Fluttershy smiled softly and broke away from Gilda, trotting down the street.

“What made you say he was lying?” Gilda spoke up as Fluttershy trotted away.

“That building is an official City Council building. It's a commerce office, ran by Apple Fritter. She's one of the family heads that run the whole city.” Gilda looked to the motorised cage, still slowly making its way away. Gilda furrowed her brow in worry and ran her talons through her plumage.

“Right. Of course not. Guess he was lying after all.” She said, coolly, collectively, in complete contrast of how she felt.

“Come on then. We've still got work to do before the day is up.” Fluttershy beckoned Gilda on after her. “The engineers will deal with the machine upstairs, the Civil Guard have the situation up there under control. It's time for me to write a report. Including all details.” Fluttershy shuddered.

Comments

[ForSpite]

Fluttershy seems a lot more like canon Fluttershy in this chapter, which is nice.