Chapter 10: Recuperation
“Any luck?”
Behind Twilight Velvet, the sun had begun to touch the mesa on the west, draping half of the salt flat under a faint shadow. She had stopped the jeep under a boulder and was now resting her head on one hoof. Her eyes were directed skywards.
“I…don’t…see 'em,” Daring said between several gasps. “Just the…two cars we…wrecked. Maybe…maybe…”
Daring's right wing locked. She fell from the sky.
“Whoa!” Velvet sat up. Her magic engulfed Daring's body, but it wasn't enough to break her fall. Salt and sand flew into the air and settled back onto Daring's groaning form, prompting Velvet to hop out of the jeep and gallop to her side.
“Daring!” Velvet's eyes quickly scanned Daring's writhing form. A reddish, branched pattern snaked through the pegasus's barrel, hooves, and wings, and there was a deep purple bruise encroaching through the right wing. “Shit! Tell me what to do!”
Daring coughed a few times, then attempted to stand, her hooves trembling under her weight. “I…I'm fine. I don't need help.”
“‘Don't need help,' my ass.” Velvet slung Daring's foreleg over her shoulder. “C'mon, let's get back to the jeep.”
As Velvet helped Daring to the jeep, the latter's wings dragged across the ground. When the two mares reached the vehicle, Daring couldn't lift herself up and climb onto the trunk. Velvet exhaled, ears folded back. She cast a light telekinesis spell on Daring's hooves, allowing her to clamber upwards and flop onto the trunk.
Velvet got back on the driver's seat and twisted her body to face Daring. The pegasus had rolled onto her side, her wings sprawled out behind her as she seethed and moaned. Dried blood—not hers, thankfully—discolored the right half of her olive green shirt. Yet despite her pitiful state, Daring found the strength to whisper a couple of words.
“So close… We were so close…”
Velvet only gave a solemn sigh in response. And to think she was enjoying herself just a few minutes before. Now they not only had nothing to show for their efforts, but Evy was gone. Velvet hung her head: there would be no more familiar faces in this endeavor.
Her eyes gravitated to the plastic bag sitting in the cargo compartment. Taking the bag with her magic and opening the zipper, Velvet levitated one of the small branched fulgurites in front of her face. She remembered the arcs such stones produced back in the central chamber of the cavern and how they were attracted to the artifact. What if…
“Vel…” Daring's pitiful voice directed Velvet's attention to her. “That giving you any ideas?”
Velvet glanced at Daring's rosy eyes, then at the dimming horizon. It wasn't that she wanted to call off the entire adventure, but things weren't looking too hot. Her only ally couldn't stand, and they had lost visual and radio contact of Volt. All hope for retrieving their piece of Indra's Bow lay on the fulgurites. Velvet's magic grasped the ends of the fulgurite and bent it, preparing to snap it in half. Granules fell from the stone and into the floor.
“On second thought,” Daring's voice grabbed Velvet's attention, “don't do that. Remember what happened when you threw one of those stones?”
“An arc tracked itself to Indra's Bow and allowed us to locate it?”
“No, after that, when you dealt with the two fireteams at the cave entrance.”
Velvet put a hoof to her chin. She didn't put too much thought to it at the time, but in retrospect, Daring had a point. When that stone fragmented, it didn't seek out the artifact; instead, it attacked the ponies that it had been thrown into. It seemed that the fulgurites only arced to Indra's Bow when there weren't any other nearby conductive objects.
Velvet hung her head. Evy's sacrifice was in vain.
“We'll get it next time,” Daring said. “Let's head for the smoke.”
Velvet furrowed her eyebrows as she started the engine. “There's a next time?”
From the rear view mirror, Daring sat up and stared into the horizon. “Something tells me that this won't be the last time we'll be seeing Volt and her crew.”
Several minutes later, the jeep had taken Velvet and Daring over a shallow hill. Half a mile away, a circle of conical huts surrounding a campfire caused Velvet's eyes to shimmer. She downshifted the jeep's gears, then turned to Daring. “All things considered, at least we didn't end up driving into a mercenary base.”
Daring Do sat up and peeped over Velvet's head, both ponies observing various heavy-set, two-horned figure surrounding the fire. The light blue beads hanging from one figure's neck, plus the feather headdress on top of another's head, all but confirmed his identity to Daring.
“Bison camp.” Her voice rumbled with the jeep's engine. “And judging by the necklace, his tribe's been inside our cave before.”
After driving past a creosote bush, the ear of one buffalo twitched. He turned around, took one look at Velvet's jeep, then gestured to his fellow buffalo.
All of them galloped back into their teepees.
“Well then…” Velvet applied the brakes. “You think the blood on my horn scared them off?”
After parking the jeep near a patch of prickly pears directly behind one of the teepees, Velvet leaned on the steering wheel and twiddled her hooves. Her ears picked up faint murmurings and rummaging sounds from inside one of the teepees, but other than that and the still-burning fire, the encampment had the air of a ghost town. Velvet did her best to suppress the shivers rising from her legs. Several minutes passed. It didn't take long for the sun to set and for night to fall, but still, none of the buffalo exited their tents. “Guys?” Velvet's call echoed through the desert. “You can come out! We're not evil or anything!”
Her only reply was the ambient chirping of crickets, the purring of the jeep's idling engine, and the rustling of thick bushes. Velvet snorted.
Click-clack.
Velvet spun her head to the right.
“Turn off the car,” a powerful baritone voice resonated in Velvet's hearing and traveled down to her core. Almost in reflex, she turned the ignition counter-clockwise, then raised her forelegs. The engine died down and sent one last vibration through the frame and into Velvet's body. If his voice alone hadn't been enough to make her comply, the wooden vintage shotgun in his hooves certainly did the trick.
Second time today? Really?
From the back, more buffalo emerged from the shadows, Velvet noting that their guns seemed older than she was. Two buffaloes grabbed Daring by her shirt collar and threw her to the ground. Sand clung to Daring's fur as she groaned. She attempted to stand, but one look at the weapons pointed at her forced her back down to the ground.
"Wha- what the hell, guys?!" Velvet protested. Her eyebrows furrowed at the buffalo to her right. "Why'd you–"
“State your business.” The buffalo forced the muzzle of his gun into Velvet's forehead and snorted, the headdress perched on his head shifting slightly.
Velvet opened her mouth to speak, a couple of coughs from Daring's end cut her off. “We mean no harm." Daring wiped some sand off her face as she locked her eyes on the buffalo closest to Velvet. "We are travelers who at this moment seek only recuperation. Please, allow us to rest here for the night, and in the morning, my companion and I shall leave and trouble you no longer.”
His eyes focusing on the sores, sweat, and grime on Daring's fur, the bison beside Velvet steadily lowered his firearm and glanced downward.
"How can we trust you?!" The buffalo jerked his shotgun upwards. "Do you think we are stupid? We recognize this make of vehicle: it belongs to the Blitzgruppe mercenary corps. This is a ruse, is it not?! We have made it clear the previous time that you are not welcome here any longer!"
"Great to hear—" Velvet nodded "—seeing as those guys just tried to kill us!" Her voice cracked, both from frustration and from dehydration. "They chased us throughout the desert! We had to steal one of their cars! I mean, look at this." Her left foreleg pointed at the various dents, bullet holes, and magic burns on the jeep's side. "Do you think those mercs are crazy enough to wreck one of their cars just for a ruse?"
The tension on the buffaloes' muscles loosened. One by one, they lowered their weapons. The shaking on Velvet's legs subsided, though it was still there. She had their attention.
"But hey..." Velvet eyed the buffalo with a feather headdress, making sure his eyes were on her hoof as she slowly lowered it to the ignition. "If you don't want us around, we'll be on our way."
The buffalo to Velvet's right took one last look at Daring's injured form and the damage to the jeep. He slung his shotgun to his chest and dropped to a quadrupedal stance, most of his subordinates following his lead. “…I will direct you two to the medical tent.”
The lead bison motioned at the two buffalo who had thrown Daring to the ground, and they picked Daring from the ground, slinging her arms over their backs. As the lead bison made his way towards a large teepee to the south, Velvet breathed out a long sigh. She jumped from the jeep on her four hooves and prepared to walk towards his direction when something caught her attention.
“Can I ask you something, mister…?”
“Tēnétkē Ellv'ksv,” completed the bison chief. When Velvet just raised an eyebrow, he coughed. “Sorry, Thunderhooves.”
“Right. Can you tell your guys to stand down?” Velvet pointed to the two bison pointing their guns at the clear and present danger that was an injured Daring Do. “They're giving my buddy the creeps.”
Daring raised an eyebrow at Velvet. “‘The creeps?’ Really?”
“You will have to forgive the extra security.” Thunderhooves' voice rumbled into Velvet's eardrums. “Ever since River Rapids left us, my people have become somewhat…untrusting of outsiders.”
As the bison chief walked away, Velvet tapped Daring's shoulder. “Do Dare?”
“Yes?”
“I did good, right?"
Daring snorted. "Don't flatter yourself...but yeah...you did good."
After washing herself up in the medical tent, Velvet exited the tent through the back, finding herself outside. She hadn't been injured too much, aside from the bullet that had nicked the moon near her stars. All the buffalo nurses had to do was apply a couple of healing ointments and bandages.
Daring was another story, however.
Her hisses of pain, plus the voices of buffalo attempting to reassure her, leaked through the canvas and into Velvet's twitching ears. Velvet could keep Daring company, but she did say she wanted some time to herself.
The first thing to greet Velvet outside was the navy blue evening sky. The second was a cool breeze that caused her fur to stand. Velvet shivered as she made her way to the back of the jeep and levitated her personal journal, her work notebook, a pen, and the bag of fulgurites out of the cargo compartment. She set them down on a broad stone next to the medical tent and clicked the pen.
“First things first…” Clouds of magic engulfed the books and flipped them open. “Better jot my memories down before they rot from my mind.”
What was supposed to be a simple set of scribbles ended up taking up a good portion of both her notebook and her journal, especially the latter. So much had happened that past few hours—it was less a shot of adrenaline and more like an entire keg. It just couldn't be summarized in a couple of pages.
As she detailed the most recent chase through the desert, she could almost feel the hum of her motorcycle beneath her. She dropped her pen and hung her head.
“Dammit, Evy.” She stomped her hoof into the sand that had dampened for reasons she chose to ignore. “Together forever—that was our promise.”
How was losing her mistress worth some stupid science article? Honestly, that had just been an excuse to go on this reckless journey.
A shove from behind shook Velvet from her reverie.
“¿Como estas?” One of Daring's unkempt bangs peeked from the upper-right corner of Velvet's field of view. “You seem busy,” clarified Daring. “Wondering how the cat got into the salad?”
Velvet blinked a few times, then faced away from Daring and sighed, her ears folding backwards.
“Hmm, not the time, I see. Normally I'd hear a corny one-liner from you at this point. Here…”
There was a scrape, and a pair of bowls greeted her. Dark cerise liquid sloshed around inside, making Velvet squirm. “What… is that?”
“Prickly pear juice.” Daring sat beside Velvet and took one of the bowls with her front hooves. “Not exactly Restaurant Row material, I know, but hopefully it'll lift your spirits.”
There was a long moment as both ponies stared down into their bowls. Then, Daring closed her eyes. “Sorry about Evy.”
Velvet sniffed. “Thanks.”
The fruit juice was then consumed in silence.
It actually wasn't bad: its sweet, yet subtle flavor, almost like blackberries, and cooling sensation did a decent job of washing away some of her aching thoughts. But there was a little extra zing missing…
“Don't you have anything stronger?” Velvet said after finishing her first bowl.
“No, and even then, I try to avoid alcohol if I can.”
A sliver of a smile glinted from Velvet's face. “You don't know what you're missing.”
“You sound like her.” Daring smacked her lips, now stained scarlet from the juice.
“Who?”
“Don't ask. She's an old problem. Let's just say there's a reason the one-night stand never turned into something more.”
It didn't take long for Velvet's sips to turn into slurps. She hadn't realized just how thirsty she was until the juice soothed her throat and her mind, though in retrospect, it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise. She'd spent a good portion of the day screaming and sweating in a desert after all.
Velvet's bowl had been emptied long before Daring's, giving her some time to survey Daring's body, now lacking any sort of clothing. She could almost feel Daring's hard, firm muscles just by looking at the adventurer's stocky frame. Hard to believe ponies like her exist outside of cheesy action movies and trashy magazine covers.
“Showing off your beach bod, are we?” teased Velvet.
“The buffalo insisted on cleaning my clothes. As for the beach bod, adventuring tends to burn a lot of calories.” Daring poked Velvet's gut with a hoof. “Not that curves can't be appealing.”
“Like I said, ‘No shame here.’” Velvet stuck her tongue out at Daring, then turned her attention to the pegasus's bandaged right wing. “Sorry about your wing, though. Really should've done more to help you out back in the salt flat.”
“It's nothing.” Daring winced and waved her hoof. “At least this time, it's bruised, not broken. Normally this would ground me for—what, five days? But the buffalo worked their potions into it. Should be good to go by the morning. I swear: they're taking hints from the zebras.”
“Itching to leave so soon?” Velvet shot her hoof at a small group of buffalo conversing at the other side of the camp. “C'mon! Make friends!”
“The sooner we get ourselves rested, the sooner we can hunt down Volt.”
Velvet froze, then nodded her head. “Point…”
Several seconds of silence later, Velvet turned her head to Daring. “Why isn’t Haribon with you? He is your client after all.”
Daring shrugged. “I dunno. Political horseshit, I guess. Also, I did tell him I work better alone.”
“So what makes me different?”
“Well…” Daring tapped her hooves. “Let's just say there was more to it than just me being a lone wolf. Think about it for a second: how have you been helping me so far?”
Velvet glanced upwards as she counted the ways. “Mostly blowing up crap, honestly. We blew up Birdshot; we blew up that slab in the cave; we blew up several motorcycles… What are you trying to get at here? Don't get me wrong: blowing up crap is cool and all, but–”
“Not…exactly what I had in mind,” interrupted Daring, “but close enough. Props to you, though... At least your assistance has been corporeal in nature.”
“‘Corporeal?’ As opposed to…?”
“Money. Information. The kind of stuff you can put in a notebook or an envelope. Now real hoofwork? That's another thing. That's something I can get behind.”
“So you're saying that you want someone to be your slave.” Velvet smirked. “No wonder you carry that whip around.”
“‘Slave’ is such a loaded term,” scoffed Daring. “What about that student-teacher comparison you brought up? ‘What you say goes,’ remember?”
“Semantics.”
Daring shook her head. “That's another thing that makes you ‘special.’” She leaned in closer to Velvet's face, looking Velvet squarely in the eye. “Between you and me, Haribon doesn't seem like the kind of stallion who understands why I work alone. ‘I paid you; I call the shots,’ he says. ‘Don't want you running off with the Spectrum.’” Daring huffed while facing away from Velvet. “Really, dude? Need I remind you who the archeologist is around here? Need I remind you that you paid me a couple thousand bits? And you're still worried that I'm going to double-cross you?”
Daring pounded her hooves on the broad stone, while Velvet inched away.
“As for you…”
Velvet froze.
“…you're all right…relatively speaking.”
Daring gave Velvet a soft smile.
“You may be a bit on the touchy-feely side, but at least you respect my boundaries when it comes to my decisions. You may not be built for the kind of work I do, but at least you're willing to learn.”
Velvet chuckled, then bumped Daring's shoulder. “Aw shut it, you.”
“Hey hey. Don't let it go to your head.”
“Yes…” Velvet retracted her foreleg from Daring's space, then gave Daring a sly grin. ”…master.”
Daring returned the grin. “‘Master,’ huh. Is that what turns Night Light on?”
“We take turns…”
Velvet's attention directed itself to the night sky. The waxing crescent, just above a mesa, reminded her of a certain pony back home. She made a mental note to find a way to contact Night Light—a mirror, a messenger dragon, a tin can with an extra long string, any way she could find.
“You've been through a lot.” Daring joined Velvet in stargazing. “And you're taking all this crazy shit surprisingly well. Most folks I know would crack under the first leg of that desert chase.”
A sigh came out of Daring's pursed lips.
“But you don't have to do this.”
Velvet's ears folded backward.
“You don't have to keep throwing bits and pieces of your life away for a thrill. Celestia knows how close Evy was to you.”
“Daring, I–”
“Besides you've got somepony waiting for you back in Canterlot. Surely you want to die a good death with him a century from now,” echoed Daring, “and not blow it on a gunshot wound alone in the middle of a third-world shithole?”
Velvet put her hoof down and hung her head.
“If memory serves me right—” Daring put a hoof to her chin “—Derringer set up his shooting range somewhere northeast, near Dodge Junction. I'm sure he'll let you crash at his place for a few days. Don't you worry, Twilight; he's a good stallion. And once I find the Spectrum, I'll get back to you and tell you all about it for your article.”
Grimacing, Velvet stared at the horizon. If Daring had asked her this hours before, she would have shook her head. Now, though? It scared Velvet just how much of a point Daring was making…how much she'd been echoing her previous contemplation—like she'd been reading her mind. It wasn't too late to make things right and turn back…
Velvet waved her hoof.
“Thanks, but no thanks.” She let off a couple of nervous chuckles. “I wouldn't be a very good journalist if I lost my nerve and backed out at the first sign of trouble! And like you said, this is for a good cause. It's not fair that I get to have enough food to grow this”—she put a hoof at her paunch—“while other ponies in some distant land can't even get a single slice of bread. I'll be there to break the story when you solve a nation-wide hunger crisis, and maybe, just maybe help out now and again.”
As she swallowed a lump in her throat, her mind did its best to stuff her fears back into the recesses of her subconscious.
“It doesn't have to be you, Velvet…” Daring began to protest. “What about your fiancé? What about Evy?”
“C'mon, have a little more faith in yourself!” Velvet slapped Daring's back. The gesture was a little over-the-top, even for Velvet; hopefully Daring didn't see the crack in the facade. “You managed to get the both of us out of that chase in one piece. When I get back to Night Light's side, I'll have you to thank…anonymously, of course.”
Velvet dialed down her smile a bit. “As for Evy, well…it wouldn't exactly be honoring to her memory if I left now and made it so her sacrifice was in vain. Plus, you've got to crack a few eggs to make a soufflé.”
“Don't you mean an omelet?” Daring scratched her mane with her right foreleg.
“I may be a rough-and-tumble wrench wench,” Velvet said while curling the back of her mane with her magic, “but I'm still a Canterlotian at heart.” She put her nose up in the air and affected the nobles' distinctive Ponish. “You think I'm going to settle for a simple omelet like a plebeian?!”
The bellow of a horn resonated throughout the camp, causing Velvet and Daring to jerk their heads to the east. The campfire illuminated Thunderhooves' bulky physique as he lowered the horn. He was soon joined by four, maybe five buffalo carrying bowls and plates on trays slung on their chests.
“Looks like dinner.” Daring stood up, then faced Velvet. “Which, considering our circumstances, means plebeian food.”
Dinner was flatbread with assorted vegetables, all lathered with a red-orange sauce. Velvet grumbled, pushing it back and forth with a levitated fork. At least it's not monkey brains or something like that. Then her ears perked up, picking back up in the middle of Thunderhooves' beautiful, bass questioning.
“...So just to clarify: you have to assemble Indra's Bow first to help you locate the Spectrum?” Thunderhooves rumbled.
“Yup,” Daring said after swallowing an entire fucking sweet potato. “Two magical MacGuffins in a single adventure. That's like…two books' worth of material.”
“Curious…” The chief glanced aside while tapping his chin. “I wish we could help you, but our traditions do not speak of such trinkets.”
At the left corner of Velvet's vision, Daring put down her bowl. “Do they mention anything about a cave with lightning that turns creatures into stone?”
All the buffalo froze; they might as well have been made of stone themselves
“Guys?” Velvet creased her eyebrows.
Thunderhooves broke the silence with a stern tone. “That…uh…that is information outsiders are forbidden to learn. Only one has entered the Lightning Mare's cave and exited alive, and he has forbidden us to speak of it.”
“But we were just there!” Velvet gesticulated with her hoof. “Why do you think mercenaries were chasing us? Daring and I aren't the only ones looking for Indra's Bow, you know.”
“We have lost too many of our number to curiosity. They ignored our warnings and succumbed to the Lightning Mare's power.” Thunderhooves motioned for Velvet to calm down. “It is best if we respect her wishes to be left alone.”
“Dammit,” Daring muttered to herself and folded her ears, “this was what I was afraid of. They're playing hard-to-get just like with Uncle Ad.”
Velvet glanced at the ground near her hooves, the bag of fulgurites mostly shrouded in shadow. The bag blended well into the dirt and hadn't been noticed when they'd been found.
With her magic, Velvet levitated the bag in front of everyone and opened it. The buffalo wore various expressions on their faces: some seemed genuinely curious, while others looked more confused than anything else. Velvet resisted the urge to smirk as she plucked a fulgurite from the bag and tossed it near the prickly pear patch.
A flash, then a clap, shook every creature except Velvet from their seats.
After everyone had finished shielding their eyes and folding back their ears, their mouths had drifted open to collect the settling dust. The prickly pears, still bearing the occasional multicolored arc of electricity, had hardened into grayish brown stone.
“Watch your step over there.” Velvet's smirk leaked from her subconscious and into her face as she pointed at the fossilized prickly pears. “Worse than stepping on a real cactus—speaking from personal experience.”
Thunderhooves turned his head to the ponies and stammered wordlessly for a couple of seconds. “You…you explored the Lightning Mare's cave and lived?”
“Honestly, it wasn't too difficult.” Velvet brushed off a part of her mane, then brought what was left of her tail into view. “Aside from a few…complications. We did manage to find the first piece of Indra's Bow in there, though, so hey: time well spent!”
“Interesting…” Thunderhooves' voice trailed off. “Where in the cave did you find this artifact?”
“Some kind of large antechamber at the end of the cave.” It was Daring's turn to speak. “And–”
“You reached the end of the cave?” Thunderhooves furrowed his eyebrows.
“Stop interrupting me and I'll tell you,” injected Daring, rustling her good wing. “We heard a voice that sounded like it was filtered through radio static and saw a bright, glowing pony covered in electrical sparks.” Daring set her bowl on the ground and shrugged. “Guess we were lucky we didn't end up joining the creatures in there that came before us.”
Thunderhooves' mouth fell agape. “‘Lucky?’ Your ancestors either blessed you with unparalleled bravery or cursed you with unmatched stupidity. Perhaps both.”
Velvet reflexively shook her head. Welcome to my world.
“You mean to tell me,” continued Thunderhooves, “that you not only visited the Lightning Mare's cave and lived, but that you also gazed upon her face?”
“Mmmm.” Velvet gestured with her two front hooves. “More like a glance. Peeped at us from a hole outside the cave, then got the hay out of dodge.” A small chuckle escaped her mouth. “Must have left the iron on.”
“Hmm, ‘a glance,’ you say? That explains—at least in part—why you two are still alive.” Thunderhooves stroked his chin, then looked up to see both Daring and Velvet cocking their heads. “Oh yes, you two stupid lucky ponies: let me tell the story.”
The buffalo chief cleared his throat, catching the attention of all the members of his clan. “Many, many, many moons ago, six of our own entered the cave we now know as the Lightning Mare's lair. Only one of them, Gentle Mist, came out alive, and even then, he was not unscathed.”
Velvet's tail reflexively twitched at the last word. Hopefully, Mist didn't have it worse.
“All we know about the Lightning Mare's earthly dealings comes from him,” Thunderhooves continued. “Mist had commanded his fellow buffalo and his descendants to never speak of the Lightning Mare or her lair to anyone else. The less others know of the Lightning Mare, the less chance they have of being exposed to her power.”
“Sounds like this Lightning Mare of yours has anger management issues,” quipped Velvet.
“Only a half-truth, little pony,” said Thunderhooves. “Mist said that the Lightning Mare locked herself away; she is a gentle, but cursed soul. Death comes to those unfortunate to fall beneath her gaze for more than a moment…”
Geez, he didn't have to be so dramatic about it.
Daring cleared her throat. “So if this supposed to be one of your tribe's secrets, why are you telling us all this?”
Thunderhooves looked at Daring squarely in the eyes. “You've earned the right. And, to our shame, Mist's knowledge is lacking in many areas. He, for instance, never reached the end of the cave. He did not know of any ‘Indra's Bow’ located inside. Speaking of which, you mentioned that the artifact came from the Orient?”
“That's what the craftsmareship would suggest, yes, and it's consistent with the information I have on the Spectrum so far.”
“And that is suspect, don't you think?” Thunderhooves punctuated his point with his hoof. “We've never had contact with anypony from the Orient until the Second Global Conflict decades ago. Perhaps our preconceptions of the Lightning Mare require some…rethinking.”
Alone again, but for good reason.
A cloud of electrical sparks and pulsating magic hovered on the air in front of Twilight Velvet's face, fed by a stream of purple from her horn. Remnants of her more natural cerise magic occasionally flickered from within the cloud, but as she ran the numbers through her mind, one by one, the flickers dissipated.
Right, I've probably pumped in enough magic to get the right amperage. Now for the cherry on top.
After dinner, Velvet had returned to the broad stone, cleared the space around its surface, and set the bag of fulgurites on top. Back in the salt flat, there hadn't been enough time to figure out for sure, but now, without the distraction of ponies shooting at her from speeding cars, maybe there was a way to get the fulgurites to trace Indra's Bow at this distance.
Her horn strobed cerise as she applied a small telekinesis spell at the bottom of the electrical cloud—not exactly a cherry on top, but it was the thought that counted. She terminated the electrical magic flowing from her horn, eyes widening for half a second before she realized that no, the cloud was holding together and staying in place.
“Well… That worked.” Velvet's voice quivered slightly. “I was half-expecting something to blow up. At least if it does, no one's here to get caught in the crossfire.”
Nonetheless, she was still dealing with a sparking, pulsating ball of aetheric electricity; this wasn't exactly Magic Kindergarten material…
Velvet snatched two wires, cut beforehoof at both ends, and stuck them at the bottom of the cloud, allowing the telekinesis spell to take hold of the wires. Leaning in closer, she took the other ends of the wires and brought them together near one fulgurite on the table. Hopefully, the insulator spells were enough. They couldn't be too strong, or the stones wouldn't be able to conduct any kind of electricity.
The stone sparked, glowing slightly when the wires brushed against its surface. “Oh, thank Celestia.” Velvet breathed out a sigh of relief. “So far so good.”
Next step: connect the antenna she'd cannibalized from the jeep to the fulgurite with two alligator clips. As soon as the second one made its mark, a light from above directed Velvet's attention upwards. Her eyes shimmered at the sight: two bluish-white arcs sprouting from the antenna and reaching out into the sky.
An impressive sight, and the buzzing noises from the antenna were music to her ears. More importantly, she'd found a way to get the fulgurite to sustain an arc instead of expending all its energy into a single lightning flash.
But her primary objective still hadn't been met.
“Crap, the arc still isn't connecting with Indra's Bow.”
Snap.
Whatever awe was in Velvet's mind immediately banished itself from her amygdala. She jerked her head downwards. The fulgurite strobed, sparked, and jumped. Velvet's heart skipped.
“Oh shit!”
Her horn sparked. She slammed her eyes shut and dove to the ground
An ear-piercing crack echoed through the desert.
Velvet remained on the ground for several seconds, huddled into a fetal position while trying to steady her shaky breathing. When she managed to compose herself, she sat up, the first thing coming into view was the smoke dancing in front of her face. A strong aroma, something like a cross between charcoal and ozone, caused her nose to wrinkle. She grimaced at the broad stone's newly acquired charred stain, then put her hoof to her forehead. To her left, the jeep's antenna, amputated and cannibalized from its owner beforehoof, tipped over onto the stain and kicked up small puffs of ash.
Seven fulgurites had become six. Only a split-second strengthening of the insulating magical barrier surrounding the doomed stone prevented a more explosive outcome.
Velvet flopped her head onto the makeshift table. “Damn it all!” Her front hoof rubbed the locks of her mane near her forehead as her face puckered into a frown. “Okay, think, think. What happened? Maybe I should have pumped in less charge? No, no, if I do that, the current of the cloud won't match the fulgurite's current.”
“You must construct a chamber to magnify the lightning's voice.”
A second voice rumbled through Velvet's chest, causing her to spin around. “Thunderhooves?” Velvet jerked backward.
“That is my name, yes. Your ancestors truly have blessed you with exceptional perception.”
The buffalo had been standing beside the jeep, the arch on his back higher than the vehicle's vertical clearance. He then walked to Velvet's side, scoping the results of her tinkering with focused eyes. “Your friend told me you would be here. I see you have been keeping yourself busy,” he said as he took the bag of fulgurites with his hooves and pointed to a trio of buffalo staring at Velvet from the other side of the camp. “Although it is not just me who can see it.”
“Yeah well, as long as your friends aren't bloodthirsty gunponies, I'm happy.” Velvet's magic snatched the bag and set it on the broad stone. “And what do you mean ‘magnify the lightning's voice?’ What, like a megaphone?”
“If you confine the lightning inside a box lined with earth and magic elements—” Thunderhooves gestured with his forelegs, “—the lightning becomes enraged and begins kicking the interior of the box, seeking a way out. As its anger builds, so does the strength and speed of its kicking.”
The gears in Velvet's brain turned.
“You're talking about an RF cavity. But wait, isn't amplifying the electric frequency the purpose of this thing?” Velvet pointed a hoof at the floating cloud of electricity. It sputtered and began to dim, causing Velvet to jump before she attempted to reignite and stabilize the cloud with her magic.
“If you ask me—” Thunderhooves put a hoof to his chin as he considered the cloud “—this seems like it would work better as a cistern for the thunder-stones, to use an analogy, than as an amplifier.”
After Velvet had stabilized the cloud, she glanced downward, blinked a few times, then turned her eyes to Thunderhooves. “Huh… That's…not a bad proposition actually. Where did you learn to do this?”
“I did not receive the name ‘Thunderhooves’ for frivolous reasons.” His eyes drifted downwards, and his ears folded backwards. “Though since I was promoted to chief several weeks ago, I have not had an opportunity to…craft the way you do.”
Velvet scooted to the left and tapped the ground beside her. “Here. Want to relive the old days?”
But Thunderhooves didn't sit down. Instead, he turned his eyes to the campfire, then back to Velvet. “Actually, come with me. There is still something we must accomplish first before constructing the chamber.”
Velvet's irises shimmered as Thunderhooves placed a bowl containing a mixture of metals, sand, quartz, and arcanite over a grille on the tribe's campfire. She was no stranger to creating dielectric aetheric quartzite through heating, but to see the process performed without any unicorn magic or hell, machines, was another matter.
“And now we wait. Once the mixture transmutes into a gel, we can begin molding the chamber.” Thunderhooves sat by the campfire and gestured a hoof at Velvet, inviting her to sit. Upon taking up his offer, Velvet basked in the campfire's heat for a couple of minutes before turning to the chief.
“Where's Daring? Last time I saw her, she was being escorted by a couple of your cows. She partaking in a different kind of experiment?”
“Oh, the nurses insisted that she get some sleep as soon as possible.” A small chuckle traveled from his mouth and resonated through Velvet's facial bones. “She was not initially receptive to the idea at first, but you should have seen her after five minutes. It was as if she had imbibed several ‘cold ones’ in our dinner.”
“Funny you should say that.” Velvet rolled her eyes and smirked. “She's dry as far as that goes.”
“Huh, so similar to River Rapids, then.”
“Oh right, you mentioned that guy.” Velvet paused for a moment. “Let me guess: ex-lover?”
“More of an ex-friend.” Thunderhooves snorted, then glanced at Velvet with a raised eyebrow. “You really want to know?”
She looked away from Thunderhooves without saying a word, the only sound being the crackling and spitting of embers from the campfire.
“If you don't mind me asking…”
“She ran off to join Blitzgruppe months ago.”
Velvet's eyes widened. She quickly scanned her memories for any buffalo, only to give off a mental sigh of relief when none came to mind.
“She is a spirited lady,” continued Thunderhooves. “Wanted to see the world beyond our village—beyond this desert…which she was free to do, might I add.” He paused for a moment to stare at the horizon, then breathed out a heavy sigh. “I just wish she had done so by associating herself with less disreputable ponies.”
Velvet hung her head. The resemblance hadn't been lost on her.
“You and your friend encountered Blitzgruppe in your excursion, correct?” Thunderhooves faced Velvet again.
“We didn't kill any buffalo, if that's what you're thinking!” Velvet protested.
“And I have no reason to believe you did.” Thunderhooves straightened his turquoise necklace, causing Velvet's eyes to gravitate towards it. “I just want you to promise me one thing. Think of it as payment for helping you with the thunder-stones.”
Here comes a bombshell…
“If you ever encounter Rapids, please…spare her life. Implore her to come home. We all miss her.”
Something popped from the bowl on the campfire before Thunderhooves could say another word. Velvet watched the buffalo get up and look into the bowl.
“It is finished. Now we need to take this gel back to the broad stone.” They moved together, and, after a moment, Thunderhooves grinned. “It is your turn to share, little pony. Tell me of the Velvet mare that looked death in the face and lived.”
Velvet couldn't help the smile forming on her face. “Prepare yourself for the thrilling adventures of Vexing Velvet! Complete with train crashes and a considerable amount of explosions!”
The fire crackled as they laughed, the stars coming out above them one, by one, by one…
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Welcome indeed
.
Can't wait to see more of that
!
I have to say, I like how you had Velvet and Daring meet up with the Buffalo tribe and Thunderhooves, that and the little bonding scene between Daring and Velvet. I really like how the former's getting use to and warming up the latter
! Even if she doesn't really show it the way Velvet does
. Plus that little Spanish language that Daring did, that was cool
. I'm assuming you take Spanish
?
As for Rapids...I'm curious to know more about her, and this group of ponies she's associated with
.
I eagerly await the next chapter
!
This is good. This is VERY good. I absolutely love Thunderhooves in this chapter. Keep up the good work!
Loved the update! I look forward to checking in with Spike again
I bet hes thinking "Wow my grandmare is more awesome then rainbow dash!"
A nice bit of wind down and down time after the roller coaster of the last few chapters.
The best use of Thunderhooves I've ever seen, and a fantastic cooldown chapter. That said, I'm trying to imagine a buffalo rearing up with a shotgun in his hooves, and it just isn't working.
Also, another one for Sparkle's list of "Why didn't you tell me!?" exclamations.
"We barely averted a war with him, and you're telling me you're electrical engineering buddies with him!?"
"You never asked. Or mentioned it until now, for that matter."
9134537
Hey, glad you like Velvet's characterization! And yes, when I saw "Once Upon a Zeppelin," I was one happy brony. I only needed to make very minor changes to Velvet's character, and I love how the show writers decided to eschew the classic "proper Canterlot lady" Velvet that was prevalent in the fandom for a more wild portrayal.
9216667
No, I did not take Spanish.
My native language borrows lots of words from Spanish, but it's still very much its own distinct language.
And you will find out in the next chapter!
9231202
Well, you certainly did on fine job here
.
Oh I see, nice to know
.
Can't wait
!
9217147
Oh, you'll encounter Spike again in Chapter 13. Don't worry, I've not forgotten him!
9217071
9217173
Thanks, you two! Glad you like what I've written!
9218039
Thanks! Glad you like this chapter, and its portrayal of Thunderhooves! I must admit, I was a little bit nervous with my portrayal of Thunderhooves here—felt like this characterization was a little far fetched. But hey, you enjoyed it, and other people enjoyed it, so I must be doing something right!
I hope.
That's a good point there, though, the one about the shotgun. There's hundreds of pictures of ponies holding guns, but this is the only one I found where an MLP buffalo is locked and loaded. Maybe it's because buffalo have these brawny bodies and arched backs, which don't mesh as well with the image of a pony standing bipedally aiming a long gun.
Hmm... Maybe when the person doing the chapter art gets to this chapter, I'll get her to do an art piece with Thunderhooves aiming his shotgun at Velvet—just to see if the mental image of a buffalo aiming a shotgun is doable.
9231311
Still not used to the idea that I'm squee worthy.
In any case, the big trip-up with adding firearms and automobiles is that both have a massive impact on culture. Reliable, high rate-of-fire guns utterly revolutionize warfare, and cars come with all kinds of infrastructural requirements to actually be useful (gas stations, paved roads, etc.)
The best way to prep a reader for these is to work those implications into the background of the Spike-centric scenes. Have Shining mention the difficulties of getting the Crystal Guard up to speed on modern military tactics. Have Sparkle or Spike comment about Ponyville's greater motor traffic since it isn't built on the side of a mountain. Heck, you could even have Velvet complain about the glorified lawnmowers calling themselves motorcycles these days. Little touches like that will let the reader know that this isn't quite Equestria as they know it, at least not when it comes to tech levels, and prepare them for what's to come. (Of course, an AU tag wouldn't hurt either.)
That being said, I still can't countenance a specific kind of rifle specifically named after a specific real-life person in a setting full of pastel cartoon horses.
9232618
Okay, I took your suggestions and sprinkled them in some of the earlier chapters. How do they look?
Chapter 13 is a Spike chapter, so that might present more opportunities.
As for Kalashnikovs well....
The out-of-universe reason Kalashnikovs exist and are named as such is a) I wanted to make them Daring's gun of choice since they are reliable and "rough," befitting for her character, and b) to make a stealth pun (AK-47 – AK Yearling).
The in-universe reason is...really stupid. It's so stupid that I'm considering nixing it in favor of something else, but what that something else is, I haven't figured out.
Ready? Here we go. Kalashnikovs exist in Equestria because during the Second Global Conflict, a bunch of AK rifles from the real world were accidentally transported, through a magic mirror, into griffon territory allied with Equestria. The griffons took this design and modified it a bit, while the Equestrians modified it further to accomodate pony hooves.
Yes, profoundly stupid.
If you have any ideas on what to do with the Kalashnikovs, I'm all ears.
9234233
Afraid I can't help you with the Kalashnikovs, though.
Excellent touches, especially the bit in Chapter 3.
9237467
Gah, I opened it to start, then accidentally posted it! Hang on...
Well, I'm now fully up to date on this fic and I'm loving it. Always enjoy seeing what Twilight's parents were like before the show.
One thing that I always look for is how her parents treat Spike in these stories, whether like another son, grandson or just a close family friend. I think this is one of the first where he's just kind of someone they know, not thats bad and I'm looking forward to seeing how Velvet is going to react to him knowing about her past life.
Can't wait for the next chapter and to see where this story as a whole is going.
Hold on! That's... That's my mom!
And Daring Do! So awesome!
👆👆👆 This. I love creative uses of magic. Gives a more well-thought out and immersive/realistic experience when the reader goes "Hey! I could totally see that application if this were a thing!"
Maybe reword this. "Bent down?" You mean used her telekinesis and exerted a force as if to attempt to break it in half?
I mean... if it were me, I would have driven the rest of the way up to camp, honking my horn and waving the flag. Daring is injured, let her stay in the jeep. And if things go sideways, you are still in the jeep and can hightail it out of there. Seems they gave up any defense and escapability they could have had, walking up to the camp alone and injured. I question Velvet's judgement here.
I really don't like Velvet's portrayal here. I mean, Daring is ON THE GROUND. Badly injured, in need of medical that Velvet has not provided, and Velvet is making jokes with a gun in her grill? Makes no sense at all. It should be Velvet that is pleading for some medical care for her friend, not getting in the way of it!
...and as we all know, buffalo are near sighted.
Darn! I was hoping for this... "Tatonka"
Did I miss a part? Or did somethign get edited out? Who said 'Do Dare?'
huh. If that is a reference it soared clear over my head. Never heard that one.
Uhh. But not thoughts of desires to be faithful to her fiancee? Just a throw away thought? hm.
Uh, again. What's the matter with Velvet's filter. If Daring's uncle is supposed to be deceased from the adventure Daring is re-telling, that seems a little callous and irreverent. I mean, the guy died from the experience, right? Or am I reading too much into it?
Same uncle? If so, then never mind. He's still alive.
Doesn't sound like much... what is the value of a single bit?
I liked this segment of the dialogue. Very much.
Nice Temple of Doom reference. But, uh... why would Velvet even think that?!
I have a question! (raises hand). So is Daring actively writing at this point her adventures? Is she a writer, when all this time Velvet thinks that SHE is the writer, when Daring is so well-read in her Daring Do series...? Probably not, huh? Hasn't started writing out her adventures yet? What's the ages of Daring and Velvet here? (sorry that was many questions)
Did the antenna turn to stone? Or perhaps a better question - are these hunks of fulgurite little more than turn-to-stone grenades?
Chapter summary... a nice reprieve from the break-neck action, to be sure. The character dialogue at times gets a little lurpy, though. I usually know who is speaking, but... the flow could use some work. Everyone's jokes and turns of phrase sometimes come out a little flat... And as for your exposition. I have to say, your writing needs more of it. There just needs to be a little more patience and context given. It will allow the reader to become more immersed, not less. (and yes, I know you have mentioned that I exposit a little too much in my own writings... still trying to cut back, honest.) So that when her uncle is brought into it, and the buffalo character River Rapids... well, at first I thought she was a dude, because Velvet referred to her as a guy. And I had a hard time following the little anecdote regarding Daring's uncle. I mean, there is some foundational stuff there, but I had a hard time following it. All in all, thanks for being patient with me. I'm ready to jump into pre-reader status now!
-Sparkle Cola
I wonder if Rapids was the buffalo they found petrified in the cave. That's one of two ways this could end.
Also, taking a guess now as to where the plot is going: The lightning mare is Meadowbrook - the artifact turned her into some sort of avatar of nature magic, which is what the riddle had warned about. She scattered the pieces of the bow to make sure nopony else messes with it and gets cursed like she did.