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// Chapter 68: Vesper 
// Story: Forbidden Places 
// by Starscribe 
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There was only so much Vesper could learn from making a few holes in the mountainside. Ultimately what they really needed to know was how their explosives would work underground. How close was too close? Would they bring down the ceiling?

That was why they'd chosen this specific location to test, of all places. It had a perfect test cave, made of roughly the same materials as the place they'd soon be carrying out their rescue.

Vesper did have one great advantage: her ignorance. Without any real-world knowledge of how explosives should behave, she had only the movies to go on. Movies where shaped-charges could blow perfect holes in the wall, while people covered their heads from a few feet away. 

Over several hours of testing, Vesper discovered that her dream-explosives did basically what she expected. Unfortunately, the rock didn't.

Their very first underground test caused a cave-in that made the whole cavern shake for a full terrifying minute. Even worse, the resulting pile of rock collapsed the entrance to that tunnel by the time it was done, preventing them from actually gathering the evidence they were looking for. After some deliberation, they decided to try with smaller explosives and build their way up.

Vesper probably wouldn't have enjoyed it, under other circumstances. But once she was underground, working in narrow, sweaty confines beside Blake, it was easy to forget about the dark reason they had to be working, and focus instead on the far less-dark company. 

They were underground long enough that Vesper lost track of time. Three hours, maybe more? Each test meant another long hike to find somewhere they hadn't already weakened, and avoiding tunnels with damage visible from what they'd done.

In the end, she wasn't the only one weighed down with obvious exhaustion from all the hiking. Actually, it was Blake who waved her towards a sheltered cavern they'd passed on their way in, one with a deep pool of water so clear it might as well be distilled. 

"We should take a breather," Blake said, gesturing into the entrance. He wore their only light on his head, the magically-transformed headlamp now working again since recharging. "I thought it might happen. Brought supplies."

"Won't hear me complain," Vesper said. She'd long since run out of the energy to scamper ahead of him everywhere, or hover through the caverns instead of just hiking. But she kept the tiredness from her voice. They were blowing things up, how cool was that? "Anything good?" She eyed his heavy saddlebags, inspecting them closely for the first time. The bags were packed to overflowing, the sides bulging with their contents. A large bedroll was strapped to the back—pony supplies, not anything they'd brought.

"I'm not a chef or anything," he said. "But I figured it could be a minute. Plus, you like caves." He lifted the saddlebags off his shoulders and onto a large rock, before spreading things out. Blake had prepared a pair of sandwiches, along with a bottle of something and some glasses. He hadn't done anything fancy, but he had cared enough to make them both vegetarian, even though he generally chose to eat fish in his Equestrian meals when he could.

Vesper let him set it up, instead focusing her attention on the pool. It was far cooler than she would've expected, but she didn't let that bother her. She was already soaking with sweat and grime from the dusty air and crawling through a cave. The pool could only make things better. She didn't mind bathing in near-total darkness, with only the distant glow of Blake's headlamp to remind her that she wasn't alone.

The light appeared nearby. At least he'd switched the lamp to red, so it wouldn't blind her. "Hungry yet, Vesper?"

She grinned up from the edge of the water. Her wings were both plastered down to her sides. They'd still gone numb, though she stayed in. A little shivering never killed anyone. "Starving. Hey Blake, do you think you could use some of that heat on the pool here?" She reached up with one leg, but couldn't quite reach his mouth. "You're like... half dragon, aren't you? Give us a hot tub."

He didn't dismiss her out of hand. Instead he leaned down, touching one cloven-hoof to the water, then pulling it quickly back. "You crazy? That's gotta be snow runoff. You'll freeze your balls off in there."

"Too late." She twisted around, lifting her tail as far back as she could. It wasn't exactly something she'd practiced. Even for ponies, some things still had meaning. "Damn, I am fresh out. Won't you come in and help me, Blake? You know how desperate I'm getting down here."

She met his eyes, and this time didn't look away. Maybe embarrassment could work just as well for warming up the water as a little dragon-fire. She watched him, waiting for one of Blake's usual dismissals. Instead, he settled down on his haunches beside the water, looking distant. "Vesper, stop that. Look at me."

She did, swimming across the little pond to rest beside the shore. She reached out far enough to take one of his hooves, and this time he didn't back away. "You're not some celebate priest, Blake, neither am I. You can’t tell me this is wrong."

He met her eyes, silent. His scent had changed, though. Not the smell of heated metal, like he was about to start yelling about something. This was more interesting. 

Finally, he spoke quietly. "You know it's gonna be weird when we go back," he said. "I'm gonna be straight with you—I'm straight. Jordan is a friend, but that's all he can be."

She stepped up out of the water, closing the distance between them. Where it touched his scales, it hissed into steam. After being surrounded by the cold, his presence was the first brush of warmth in her world. But if she got too close, would she burn? "I'm okay with that. Every relationship doesn't have to last forever." She spread her wings wide, then started to shiver all over again. 

Probably a mistake. "I know how much you want to get us home. I'm gonna help, but I'm not gonna stay on that side." She gestured all around them with one wing. "I can do magic here. I can fly. There's a whole world of dreams I've barely even touched yet. There's enough to explore for a whole lifetime."

She touched his chest with one hoof. The heat was intense, but nothing like the flames that had burned a hole in buffalo territory. It didn't hurt. "We can explore some of it together. And if you want to go back to Earth after... I won't hate you for it."

He looked down at her hoof, then back up again. "Are you saying that Jordan is... gone? The kid I went to high school with died here in Equestria?"

She wrapped one leg around his, yanking him closer to the water. "Don't be dumb! Vesper is a name, Blake. I'm not a different person, my memories aren't dead. I just like being this bat." She reached up, running one hoof through her unruly wet mane. "And she likes you. She thinks you're brave and clever and also extremely hot. Like damn, you're a dragon."

Blake let her speak without a word. His expression was impossible to read, and Vesper couldn't exactly pull changeling powers like Ryan and read his thoughts. She had to do all this the old-fashioned way and figure out with her senses.

"Promise?" he asked. His voice was barely launder than a whisper. He touched her face with one hoof, pulling her close. "I actually think I'll be going home when this is over. That might be soon—we have that door in Bydska."

She rolled her eyes. She reached up towards his forehead, and pulled the headlamp off his face. She tossed it to the stone, smothering most of the light. "No more talking."

Discussion ended there.

Vesper couldn't say how long it was, without a light or a watch. But she did learn a few interesting things in the next few hours. Kirin, as it turned out, could heat water if they were determined enough.

They could also heat some other things.

Some time later, they actually got around to eating the meal he'd prepared, atop a mostly-intact sleeping bag they would have to share. Well, share again.

Vesper hardly noticed the bread had gone a little stale from sitting out, and she certainly didn't care. She rested more comfortably than she'd ever been in Equestria, nestled up against someone warm and... well, not safe exactly. Blake still burned with heat, and that wasn't going away. But sitting a little too close to the campfire was its own thrill.

"You brought wine," she said, when she finally drank from her glass. She rubbed up against his head with hers. "You were gonna do the same thing I was!"

He poured his own glass with his magic, and it didn't even seem to shake the way some of his levitation had done earlier. Was he getting better? "I was going to call it a date," he admitted. "Most of the girls I've been with over the years want more time before getting so physical. I had enough experience with quick sex in the service."

Her ears flattened involuntarily as he said it. "If that's how you want to think about it, then we've probably been dating for a few months. I kept my door unlocked every night, waiting for you to visit." 

To his credit, Blake didn't blush when she said it. Despite the way they'd been acting together the last few months, he wasn't some nervous teenager who'd never been with anyone before. 

"Wasn't sure if I would," he answered. "Longer we're stuck, the more likely it felt. Like I said, I'm not really interested in casual sex with strangers anymore. It was either someone who would stick around, or staying focused on our mission."

Vesper sipped at her glass, letting the rich flavor flow over her tongue. It tasted entirely unlike anything she'd had to drink on Earth... but because she was a bat, or because Equestria just made their wines differently, she couldn't tell. The rich flavor was exactly what she wanted after such an exhausting few hours.

His headlamp rested on a large rock, illuminating the wall mostly behind them. More light than she needed, but Blake wasn't comfortable in total darkness. It worked as a decent compromise. Besides, the white of the headlight changed to deep blue when it hit the crystal wall there, making the whole room glow faintly. The shade made her want to close her eyes and dream.

Soon she would, probably.

"We might not get another chance like this," Blake finally said. "When we wake up, we probably have to fly to Ponyville and find somewhere to park the Bright Hawk. Then we'll have to get underground, and find our target before Ryan is inside it. We really cut this down to the wire here."

"You did." Vesper settled her empty glass safely on the floor, then moved up against Blake again. His heat had long since driven out all the moisture of the pool, though patches of ground further away were still damp. She would take all that chaos as a mark of personal pride. "I was ready a month ago."

She closed her eyes, and already started to drift when she felt something—Blake shifting his weight—and a blanket settled down over both of them. For the first time in months, Vesper no longer felt alone.

Now all they had to do was get Kaelynn back, and she could enjoy this without guilt. She heard the click of the light going out again, and made a satisfied sound. "Thanks for... that."

Blake grunted in response, but didn't move. It was true he hadn't been blasting his magic around nearly as much as she had. But it wasn't like he hadn't had a chance to make up for it. "I told... Ryan to come looking for us if we're away for too long. Don't sleep in this time, okay? Wake me up in... four. Or something."

Ryan won't be mad, will he? We got our practice in. We'll have plenty of time to get to the meeting.