Embers Fall

by CrimsonWave

32 - Beneath Clouds

By the time Sun Beamer had finally woken up, it was about 9:35 a.m, and light showers had begun to douse the desert. He deserved the rest, though: his embrace of the atmosphere had been growing day-by-day, and tonight was going to be an all-nighter no different than an average Saturday night at the SSC. That is, however, right down to the issues with Obscurus: it had gotten to the point that he needed to make an alignment chart in his head just to evaluate which of her apparent friends he could trust.

Wave Rider? They've met before, he's pretty friendly, can geek out without looking awkward (to him, anyway), and can drop some sick electro. But is he neutral good or lawful good? Either way, Obscurus hasn't noticeably brainwashed him. Train Spot? They were a bit theatrical, but there was a clear tongue-in-cheek quality to it. Chaotic good? Eight Track didn't really do much the last time he saw him, so he either has something to hide, or nothing at all.

One thing was certain: if her antics ended up being benign, his next enemy would be DJ Breakbit. Getting an entire crowd's hopes up is one thing, but getting your hopes up about one of your favorite DJs of all-time is another.

As Sun Beamer ate some breakfast he scrounged from the RV's cooler, Blast Furnace trotted in.

"Morning, Kisol!" she greeted. "Just got back from a weather patrol flight; it's cooler out, we saw that rain coming in, and it's going to be mostly cloudy through the rest of the afternoon. Chance of some high winds tonight, though."

"Finally. Hasn't it been like, 100 degrees every day out here this week?" wondered Sun Beamer.

"You're close; average daytime temp so far is 93." Blast Furnace reported. "The pegasi squad has a weather station tucked neatly inside the head of a Windigo sculpture."

"Well, obviously that's the best location for such a device." he noted. "Hooked directly to the mind of a mythical creature that creates winter weather."

Blast Furnace chuckled a bit as she got her face paint out. "Unless Obscurus is planning to conjure one up for real because she hates the heat, it should be pleasant tonight for the bonfire if the winds aren't too bad."

"The worst she can do is just project a realistic image of one, for all we've figured out." acknowledged Sun Beamer. "Though there was another thing I noticed in my adventures around here."

"Oh?" Blast Furnace put her sponge down before she even managed to dip it into the makeup pot.

"I'm not sure if Obscurus & Co. were responsible or not, but did you see those odd, triangular-looking towers around the outskirts?" wondered Sun Beamer.

"Yeah; they're an art installation. Probably an homage to that ridiculous folklore about the monster under the sand." explained Blast Furnace. "I've only ever seen veterans joke and/or snark about that legend, and Obscurus and Friends are first-timers."

"Oh, okay." Sun Beamer seemed a bit relieved. "Anyway, do we have any concrete plans for tonight?"

"I have some pre-burn duties I need to attend to, but I'll be pretty much done later this evening." said Blast Furnace, as she got back to doing her makeup. "Staff members need to stake their claim on good viewing spots too, y'know."

"I'll keep in contact with you and Diablo over Haybale. If that Third Rail concert thing isn't where Obscurus's stunt takes place, I'm sure we'll have something bigger on our hands. Or maybe a clue." elaborated Sun Beamer.

"Good idea. I might miss it because of the aforementioned duties, but if anything happens, you know where to type them details in and smash that Send button!" Blast Furnace announced, before realizing how silly and informal it sounded. "Was that a bit too much, Sun?"

"To be honest, yeah." he answered, fumbling around with an apple from the cooler.

"Hashtag, Too Much Ponyhoof." admitted Blast Furnace, as she got in front of her mirror to re-apply her war paint. "This stuff can last a good few days if you seal it correctly. The rain was what did it in."

Sun Beamer took some time to admire Blast Furnace's craftsmareship, given that he had never actually seen her do so before.

"I wonder how I'd look like that..." he wondered.

"Usually it's considered unhygienic to share makeup." Blast Furnace advised. "However I knew you'd eventually ask about that, so I brought an extra batch of SnazzyYou!"

Blast Furnace guided Sun Beamer over to the mirror.

"Okay, so you want something like mine, or different? Would you say you're more of a circles, stripes, triangles, or foreign-looking symbols pony?"