//------------------------------// // Hazardous Hot Air // Story: Daring Do and the Tiny Tornado // by Metool Bard //------------------------------// The hot sun blazed down on Tailspin and Tree Hugger as they wandered aimlessly through the desert. Despite the harsh conditions, Tree Hugger managed to keep up a steady pace. Her shades protected her eyes from the sun's unforgiving glare, and she had a canteen handy for whenever she felt dehydrated. Tailspin, however, wasn't so lucky. She tried to ignore the oppressive atmosphere sapping away her strength as she struggled to keep airborne, but it was all in vain. Soon enough, she collapsed to the ground face first. "I-I'm okay," she grunted, spitting out a mouthful of sand. Tree Hugger trotted up to Tailspin and took out her canteen. "Maybe we should chill out for a spell, Spinmeister. You look like you need it, badly." Tailspin shook her head. "Me? Need a break? Nah, I'm good," she said in a strained tone. "C'mon, I'm sure Professor Daring's around here somewhere." She tried to force herself to her feet, but her muscles simply weren't cooperating. Tree Hugger sighed and held the canteen in front of Tailspin's face. "You aren't gonna be doing Daring Do much good like this, Spinmeister," she said frankly. "Now here. Drink up. It'll replenish your spirit." Tailspin paused to think for a moment before letting out a sigh of her own. "Alright, fine. But we can't stay here too long." Tree Hugger nodded and tilted the canteen over Tailspin's mouth. A small drizzle of water trickled out of it, which Tailspin lapped up eagerly. "There. Feeling better?" Tree Hugger asked, taking a swig from the canteen herself. "A-a bit. Thanks," said Tailspin, picking herself up. "Heh, I guess this'll teach me not to run off into the desert without water." "Or any supplies whatsoever," said Tree Hugger. "Yeah, that too," said Tailspin, casting her eyes downward. "Man, no wonder Professor Daring never lets me be her partner. I'd just screw everything up." Tree Hugger frowned. "Whoa, hey. Ease up on the negative vibes, girl. You really shouldn't talk like that." "Easy for you to say," Tailspin grumbled. "You don't have to worry about nearly getting your role model killed." "I said ease up with the negativity," said Tree Hugger firmly, clamping her hoof down on Tailspin's shoulder. "I don't like it when ponies bring themselves down like that. Defeatists never get anywhere in life. For real." "I-I'm not a defeatist," Tailspin snapped defensively. "I-it's just that no matter what I do, I always manage to screw something up. Heck, my Cutie Mark is a screw-up. I got it by pulling out of a tailspin after botching a stunt." "I don't see how that's a screw-up," said Tree Hugger with a shrug. "It just means that you're good at fixing mistakes. That's a chill thing to be good at." "Yeah, but it'd be even better if I didn't make the mistakes in the first place," Tailspin groused. Tree Hugger shook her head. "Spinmeister, everypony makes mistakes. That's just the way life rolls, and all we can do is embrace it." Tailspin smacked her forehead. "Congratulations, Tree Hugger. You're only the two hundredth pony to tell me that." "If you're so sick of hearing it, why haven't you embraced it yet?" asked Tree Hugger. "That's the only way it's gonna stop, girl." Tailspin massaged the bridge of her nose with her hoof. "No, you don't understand. Making mistakes isn't the problem. I'm fine with making mistakes. The problem is I make too many of them. And sometimes, they're pretty bad. Like now, for instance." "Which is why you're trying to fix it, right?" said Tree Hugger. "Well, yeah," said Tailspin, tilting her head. "I thought that was pretty obvious." "So don't sweat all the small stuff about messing up," said Tree Hugger with a smile. "Like, if you did something wrong, and you wanna make the wrong thing right, that's all anypony can ask of you, y'dig?" Tailspin massaged her temples. "No, I don't 'dig.' In case you didn't pick up on it, this is a bit more severe than just breaking somepony's favorite toy on the playground. Lives are at stake here." "That shouldn't matter, Spinmeister," said Tree Hugger sagely. "Look, you aren't gonna get anywhere in life if you keep letting stuff like this drag you into the doldrums. And you certainly aren't going to help Daring Do with that attitude. Just relax and stop being such a downer, a'ight?" Tailspin grunted and shook herself. "Alright, break's over. We should keep looking for—" "Mwah-ha-ha-ha~! My plan is coming along swimmingly!" Tailspin jumped as a familiar cackling voice echoed across the plain. She turned towards the source of the voice and shielded her eyes from the sun. Squinting a bit, she could make out two familiar silhouettes in the distance. "Alright, good news, Tree Hugger," she said. "I know what direction to go in now." Tree Hugger raised an eyebrow. "You're not planning on following that evil laughter, are you?" "Well, unless you have a better idea." "Actually, I do. We should go find Prof Windsday and Flutterslice. They need to be in the loop on this, don't they?" "But if we do that, we'll lose track of the bad guys! We need to keep tabs on 'em! It's what Professor Daring would do!" "Um, girl? You're not Daring Do, and neither am I." "Maybe not, but I still think the best way to handle this situation is to think like her. Which is why we're going this way." Before Tree Hugger could protest, Tailspin took off. Tree Hugger sighed. "I know Daring Do is a pony who likes danger, but I think this girl likes it a bit too much," she muttered to herself, trotting after Tailspin. "This is seriously harshing my mellow. Like, big time." *** "At this rate, everything will be ready by the time the sun sets. I can hardly wait." It didn't take long for Tailspin and Tree Hugger to stumble upon the source of the evil voice. Sure enough, there was Atotoztli II, gloating as she gripped a breezie within her paws. Girimehkala stood over her, looking rather nonplussed. "Whoa boy. Bad karma at twelve o'clock," Tree Hugger hissed. "We really should make like a banana and split, Spinmeister." "No worries, Tree Hugger. I got this," Tailspin whispered back. "C'mon, get down." She quickly shoved Tree Hugger behind a stone outcropping before diving behind it herself. Slowly, she poked her head over the side, keeping her ears open as Atotoztli II continued to gloat. "Alright, my little beauty. Let's have some of that pixie dust," Atotoztli II said with a sneer. She opened her paws, suspending the breezie between them with some sort of magic. The breezie writhed and squeaked as a small maelstrom of wind brewed between Atotoztli II's paws. Soon enough, the breezie began expelling glittering pink dust. "Yes. Yes," Atotoztli II chortled, holding a crystal vial in the paw on her tail. She held the vial over the breezie and funneled the pink dust into it. "Watch carefully, Girimehkala. Watch as I single-handedly bring our clan to the highest heights! And my son thinks I can't do anything in my old age, pah!" "Is that the only reason you summoned me out here? To watch you bask in your ego?" inquired Girimehkala, folding his arms. "This was not in our contract." "Hey, you're still getting your fee. You have no right to complain," Atotoztli II said sternly. "After all, you earned it. That accursed Daring Do is no threat to us now. In hindsight, I don't know why I didn't hire you sooner. You're much more useful than that money-grubbing fool Caballeron. Honestly, why Ahuizotl ever thought that hiring him was a good idea, I'll never know. That stupid stallion has no scruples whatsoever. I knew he'd go back on the deal if he found a better offer, but does my son ever listen to me? Noooooo, of course he doesn't. But the thing that really gets to me is that Ahuizotl knows he can't trust Caballeron, yet he still hires him! Why?! For what reason?! I know that he'll spring at any chance to make a profit, but that's exactly the problem! Sure, your services cost considerably more, but at least you get the job done. I doubt Caballeron could handle Daring Do as well as—" "If I may interrupt you for a moment, Lady Atotoztli," said Girimehkala, raising his hand. "When exactly will I be compensated?" "In due time, my friend," Atotoztli II purred. "We just need a few more vials of the breezies' magic. By the by, I find this quite ingenious, if I do say so myself. No one would ever think of using the breezies' magic as a weapon, and oh, what a weapon it is! Imagine, entire armies rendered helpless and unable to move thanks to the contents of these vials! And all we had to do was capture the breezies to make it work! With this in his possession, my dear Ahuizotl will dominate the land!" Girimehkala deadpanned. "I already knew the plan when you hired me, Lady Atotoztli. You didn't need to repeat it to me." "Oh, but it bears repeating," said Atotoztli II, holding up the vial with her prehensile tail. "Remember this well, Girimehkala. This moment will go down in history as the beginning of a new regime! A regime where my son rules supreme, as destiny dictates! Then maybe he'll start treating his dear old mother with respect. After all, I gave birth to him; I raised him; I placed him on this glorious path. A small 'thank you' every now and then would be nice. You know, instead of what he usually does, which is complain about Daring Do. But thanks to you, he won't have to worry about her anymore, will he? I really am too good to him, honestly. Not only am I getting him back on his feet, but I'm ensuring his victory by getting rid of his greatest rival. He'd better appreciate all this hard work I'm doing, because if he doesn't, um... I-I'm going to yell about it. Yes, I realize that's not much of a threat. However, he's still my son, and—" "Can I ask you something, Lady Atotoztli?" interrupted Girimehkala. Atotoztli II blinked. "Well, by all means." "Have you ever considered that perhaps this weapon could be put to, greater use?" asked Girimehkala. Atotoztli II tilted her head. "I don't follow. What greater use is there than elevating my son to the supreme conquerer he's supposed to be?" "Oh, I don't know," said Girimehkala, stroking his chin. "Perhaps we could leave a few vials in some sort of settlement; one where only one type of pony lives. We set off the vials, and the ponies cast the blame on their neighbor. Then we do the same to the neighbor, making it look like a counterattack. That will cause the embers to spread, and soon enough, the land will be engulfed in war." Atotoztli II arched an eyebrow. "And that helps my son, how?" "I'm sure your son can take advantage of the situation, given the proper resources," said Girimehkala. "I've seen it done. War breaks out; a clever tactician swears to aid both sides; all of a sudden, he's in charge of the entire region." Atotoztli II knitted her brow. "I'm not sure, Girimehkala. Diplomacy is not my son's strong suit. Like that time he tried to get the Pharaoh's Toothbrush from the sphinxes. My word, what a mess that was. I could've warned him, you know. Anyone who knows about sphinxes knows that you never ever want to try and weasel your way out of solving their riddles. It doesn't matter how clever you think you are; they will hunt you down until you solve it. And he tried to do that with the Sphinx Pharaoh of all people! The Sphinx Pharaoh! What is he, insane?! I swear, my son just doesn't think sometimes. Don't get me wrong; he's still not as bad as Tizoc. That boy simply didn't think at all, which is why he's dead, may he rest in peace. With any luck, Ahuizotl will have enough sense to steer clear of that—" "I take it you're not fond of my idea," interrupted Girimehkala. Atotoztli II cleared her throat. "Well, it's not that it's a bad idea; it's just not what I think my son needs right now." Girimehkala furrowed his brow. "I see. Well, pay it no mind, then." Atotoztli II nodded slowly. "Right. I'll just go find some more breezies. You can, go do whatever it is you do in that shadow portal of yours. I'll be sure to call you back when I need you." With that, she scampered off. Girimehkala snorted. "Short-sighted fool. If her son cannot profit from inevitability, that's his problem and his alone," he mused. "I do hope I won't have to bide my time much longer. It's amazing how that old crone can talk my ear off without saying anything of substance." He suddenly sank into the shadows. Tailspin swallowed. "This ain't good," she mumbled. "We have to go after them, now." "Or we could go find Prof Windsday and Flutterslice and let them know the sitch," suggested Tree Hugger. "Didn't you hear them?! They're using the breezies' magic to take over the world! We can't let that happen!" Tailspin cried. "Chill out, Spinmeister. I never say we should," said Tree Hugger indignantly. "I'm just saying we can't take on all that bad karma by ourselves." "Mmm, you're right," said Tailspin with a thoughtful nod. "Which is why we need to find Professor Daring as soon as possible! Good thinking, Tree Hugger! I'm glad you're here to keep me from messing up." "Wait, what? No, that's not what I—" But Tailspin had already took off in a random direction. Tree Hugger smacked her forehead and let out an exasperated sigh. "Have you ever considered that the reason you make so many mistakes is because you don't ever take the time to think?" she muttered to herself as she followed. Unbeknownst to either of them, a single eye peered from the shadows, watching intently as they ran off...