Spectrum of Lightning

by Seriff Pilcrow

Chapter 17: Airshipwrecked

After rubbing the sand out of her eyes, Twilight Velvet shivered as she scanned her surroundings, wringing her waterlogged mane. The burning wreckage that served as her makeshift campfire had since gone out; only the jacket gave her a feeble semblance of warmth. Not even breakfast was warm—hell, it wasn’t even worth feeding to her cat. Not that she owned a cat right now or anything like that.

“Phthweh!” Green shreds catapulting from Velvet's mouth and onto a bare patch of soil to her left. “‘You won’t starve in the jungle,’ they said. ‘Just reconnect with your feral side,’ they said.”

Velvet turned over a particularly lush fern. The view from her negative-five-star suite presented a totally, legitimately, honest-to-goodness awe-inspiring vista: a gray, overcast, early morning sky setting the stage for a drizzle. Throw in an attacking tiger to give it the negative sixth.

At least the city was still visible through the haze. Unfortunately, so were a few smoke plumes that hadn’t been there before. Maybe Fillyppine ponies were like buffalo, also communicating through smoke signals?

An orange flash, then a fireball, blinked at the city. Velvet’s ears drooped. After what happened last night, did she really have to head towards more violence?

“Fuck it.” Velvet shook her head as the sky opened up in earnest, matting her jacket down against her fur in seconds. “Civilization’s civilization. It has to be better than this hell-hole. If anything, at least they’ll have a messenger dragon there or something. But first…”

Focusing for a moment as she sat on the dampening grass, Velvet used a cantrip to pass some heat into the adhesive of the duct tape she had used to mount her very own pegasus wings. Time for Bat-Mare to retire. After all, this was a dense jungle, not a bare mountain range. Velvet frowned. Shedding her wings wasn’t as bad as losing her motorized colleague, Evy, but it still hurt. This adventure had already claimed too much from her.

One at a time, the tattered wings crumpled to the grass. A patch of adhesive clung to the right sleeve of her new jacket, so Velvet brought the edge of her hoof up to scrape off the sticky mass. She blew a strand of soaked mane out of her eyes with a huff. “Times like these call for alcohol—” she rubbed a little harder, heedless of the rest of the muck and mud garnishing the rest of her jacket "—both for rubbing and drinking. Ugh, maybe I can get some Pinot Noir in the—ow!”

Velvet swatted a hoof against the back of her right foreleg before turning it over. Imprinted beside a small red splotch were the flattened remains of a dark mosquito, the white stripes on its legs almost blending in with Velvet’s gray fur. Velvet groaned, glancing behind as she wiped the mosquito’s corpse on the chest pocket. On her parachute mattress sat several puddles, each providing a new home for a gathering number of specks buzzing above them.

“Seems like I’ve been evicted.” Velvet stood up, rolling her shoulders before puffing her chest out. “I know when I’m not wanted.”

Another sting on her flank made her flinch. “Ehrm. I’ve been wrong before. That’s for Night Light, you little home-wreckers.” Velvet trotted off, her nose in the air.

---

Shielded by the jacket’s hood, Velvet’s eyes narrowed at the sky through a gap in the forest canopy. What time was it now—ten, eleven a.m? Even if she could see the sun, it wasn’t like she could get any useful information from its position—not at this latitude or any latitude, for that matter. “Sh-should’ve paid more attention in my Filly Scout days!” Velvet’s voice cracked as she resisted the urge to facehoof.

The ground began to descend for a minute before the slope increased down towards a wide ravine. At least she hadn’t crossed that before.

Velvet sucked in a breath. She took a few shaky steps down before sliding a bit, reacting and landing her forehooves onto a mossy rock. Her front legs twisted as she scrambled for a better purchase. When her hind legs stabilized themselves against a dead tree, she blew out a breath. If she’d jumped onto this rock on all fours, she’d be tumbling down the slope into a muddy battered heap. “Bad move…bad move…”

Backing away from the mossy rock, Velvet turned to the side and peered down the slope. The babbling creek to her left was the only landmark for miles; the whole forest was just a homogenous mass of trees, shrubs, and rocks. “Maybe I really am just going around in circles.” Velvet kicked a pebble down the slope, tracing its trajectory as it bounced on a flat patch of soil. As Velvet jumped down to the patch of soil and continued in her hunt for more stable ground, her hooves and her tongue took her down the dual spirals of the jungle valley slope and her own insane self-ramblings. “Bad move” pretty much described this whole damn thing.

“Can’t even see the city anymore… they probably don’t even have electricity!”

Grunt. Slide. Clutch this root here. Nope. That’s a snake.

“'Great article idea,’ my ass.”

Sure, just hold onto what’s practically classified intel while quizzing a mercenary about Mage Meadowbrook the Fourth—all while she was this close shooting her in the face. Brilliant plan.

“Ack. Stupid mosquitos.”

Heaving a sigh, Velvet finally reached the large log jutting out of the slope she was aiming for. “Why did I ever leave Night Light…”

Somepony replied.

“Halika! Ni-ingon nila na didto nidam-ag ang ersip.”

The foreign voice, still a little ways off, soon gave way to a rumble in the distance. Velvet’s ear twitched. There was a sort of clanging undertone to the rumble. “That’s…that’s some kind of a vehicle! And ponies…a rescue!”

Velvet tottered on the edge of the log. It shifted between two large rocks pinning it in place. A few bits of dirt slid down the slope as the log settled. Velvet cupped a hoof to her mouth, but her shout stopped in her throat.

“Wait a sec.” Velvet gulped and rubbed her neck. “‘A rescue?’ Don’t be more of an idiot; how do you even know that?”

Velvet put a hoof to her chin and glanced down, one ear perked upwards. Maybe their conversation could confirm their intentions?

“Naa mo’y nakit-an diha?”

“Ay, wala. Pastilan, ngano man kita diri.” The annoyed snort of a stallion’s voice interrupted the conversation. “Mokuyog unta kita sa grupo ni Magsaysay.”

The two voices bantered back and forth for another minute.

Velvet growled: if only life came with subtitles. She sat down, the bark threatening her backside with splinters. Did she dare risk it?

“Well… it is civilization,” Velvet murmured under her breath. “Vehicles and possible guns still sound better than jungles and possibly poisonous greens.” She stood up and shook some water off, the rain tapering off into a drizzle. “Hostile or not hostile, sounds like I don’t have much of a choice.”

After rubbing off some dirt with the cuff of her jacket, Velvet’s right hoof tapped her chin. “Besides, they might have supplies…and definitely have some shiny tech!” She felt her face break into a smirk. “Let’s say they want to kill me. I can always liberate one of their cars and retrace their steps back to civilization. And once I’ve freed one of their captive cars, I can give the beast a cute little name… ooh, like Izzy!”

Velvet sprang up, pressing one hoof forward. “A lucky break: just what I–”

Wood cracked behind her. Velvet spun around. The rocks buckled, and the log swayed under her hooves. She was about to go surfing.

“Oh for Cele-e-e-e-estia’s sake!”

Fortunately, Velvet didn’t have far to fall. Less fortunately, she didn't know how to surf. With one simple shift, she found herself on the slippery mud, tumbling alongside the log. Even more unfortunately, two or three boulders also cared to join in the fun. Dirt flew in the air, giving her soaked jacket new layers of filth. She couldn’t even see what was ahead. She got no warnings, only the stings of thin branches scratching her delicate Canterlot fur.

“Oof! Why?!

“Gah! Shit!

“Agh! I…!

“Ow! …hate…!

“Ow! …trees!”

A non-consensual cartwheel planted Velvet prone at the base of the slope. Soil bunched up in front of her face while friction kept it pinned to the ground. Using a burst of telekinesis to yank her mane upward, she gained a view of her new destination.

The craggy mouth of a sinkhole.

Velvet gasped. Her eyes widened, then slammed shut. Gritting her teeth, she cast a spell on herself, disappearing in a cerise flash of light.

Velvet reappeared in a nearby area of the forest. Her own internal speedometer ticked upwards. Before she could open her eyes, her face drove itself into a bumpy, leathery mass that let out a stomach-churning squelch under her weight. It didn't take long for the sound of buzzing flies to reach her ears…and the smell of rotten flesh to reach her nose.

Flailing her legs, Velvet sprang from the leathery mass and backed away, coughing and rubbing her face. The stench of that leathery…thing sent Velvet kneeling and emptying the contents of her stomach on the grass. She squinted one eye to the side, towards what caught her fall.

A Rafflesia flower, now crumpled and extra fragrant

Velvet was no botanist like Daring’s uncle, but even she knew of the Rafflesia’s infamous odor. It was one thing to read about the smell in a book. Unfortunately, reality could be a cruel mistress.

While Velvet spat the residues of the bile that still burned her mouth, a hiss directed her to the foot of a nearby tree. After exchanging glances with a striped snake, she gasped and stepped back. Now wasn’t the time to make new friends.

Somepony pounced on her.

Velvet’s back hit the ground. Her attacker’s silhouette flashed in her eyes. The world went dark and blurry from the sharp pain at her temple, but she clung to consciousness despite the sucker punch. Even with her head being forced sideways onto the soil, she was able to get a partial view of her attacker, who gestured at the underbrush.

Not friendly. Definitely not friendly.

“Dalag, anhi ka diri! Gidakpan nako ang usa ka taga-Equestria!”

An armed pony with yellow fur emerged, a few twigs clinging to her plain dark fatigues. Velvet found herself in the increasingly frequent position of squirming while having a rifle trained on her head. Her face reddened as she tried to send a charge through her horn, but that teleport had drained her. All she got was a few useless sparks. “Crap! Not this again.” Velvet muttered.

“Pangutana siya kung asa ang barkada niya.” The gunpony faced her mate.

“Ha?” Velvet’s captor raised an eyebrow at the yellow gunpony. “Ngnano man? Tapuson natin to na at patyon ta siya!”

“Y-yeah!” Velvet muttered “Ngnano man… Right?”

Her captor gave her a look like she was stupid. The yellow gunpony took a few steps closer before finally planting her hooves on her hips. “Eh, di unsa-on ta mohilba-an kung asa ang iyahang kauban? Wag natin tong sayangin.”

Hopefully, they weren’t talking about how many holes she needed in her head. Finally, her captor snorted. “Lagot kaayo, uy. Pero sige nalang.”

The cold edge of a rusty machete pressed against Velvet’s neck. She froze. Her captor’s maroon eyes pierced into her core. She shrank back, her mane sinking into the mud.

“Where’s your partner?!” Maroon Eyes’ heavy Fillyppine accent shook Velvet’s facial bones.

A thick, tense pause filled the forest, pierced only by the drizzle and the occasional call of a bird. Velvet’s raggedy breaths slowed as she frowned at her attacker. This was all kinds of wrong, and frankly, she was done with it.

Another punch. Velvet’s head spun the other way. Though she couldn’t see it, now she could feel the rusty blade’s dripping edge pressing ever so slightly on the bioluminescent velvet of her horn. At the corner of her blurry vision, Maroon Eyes leaned closer, his eyes blazing.

“Patayng yawa!” Even his fellow Fillyppine attacker stepped back, even as she kept her sights lined on Velvet’s head. Velvet shivered, her ears folding backward. “I guess you won’t be needing your horn then. And after we’re done skinning you, we can—”

A gunshot echoed from behind. Velvet yelped. Maroon Eyes crumpled on top of Velvet. His now-blank eyes rolled upwards, and something damp and warm soaked into Velvet’s jacket. Velvet pushed herself out from under him and backed away, her breath puffing out in a series of rapid gasps.

“Gi-atay!” The yellow gunpony swept her rifle towards the origin of the gunshot before diving to cover behind some thicket. Staying low, she brought her rifle up again and shouted. “K-k-kinsa na? Gawas mo!”

Velvet waited, then glanced around. Whatever stand-off this seemed to be continued in a stalemate. Velvet’s trembling, sweating legs screamed at her to jump up and run, but that would likely only give her a bullet in the back. There had to be a way to tell the unseen rescuer where the insurgent was.

The hiss returned. Velvet once again exchanged a look at the snake from long ago. It slithered on a tree branch, spectating the stalemate. He wouldn’t mind being borrowed for a while, right?

Velvet’s forehead creased as she squeezed her eyes shut, scrounging up whatever magic she could to the front. Her horn burned, and she swallowed to suppress a lump forming in her throat. The branch rustled, and Velvet cracked one eye open. The snake was gone.

Several gasps emerged from the thicket directed Velvet’s attention toward the right. On the snake’s scales, remnants of her telekinesis spell fizzled into the aether. The yellow riflepony stood up from the thicket, uttering a string of incoherent shouts followed by “Bitin! Bitin!” as the snake found itself a new cuddle buddy. It took only a few seconds for the insurgent to free herself from the snake’s wrap. But a few seconds was enough.

A second gunshot smacked the second attacker straight on the skull. As her body crumpled to the forest floor, Velvet blinked several times—both to clear away some sweat from her eyes and to process what had just transpired. It was only now she noticed her heart thudding in her chest.

The bushes to her left rustled, but nothing emerged. Then, a small wisp of smoke streamed from an unseen source. Velvet crept towards the bushes, her eyes trained on the dissipating wisps. “D-Do Dare…?”

Her only reply was a groan. Not much to go on, admittedly, but its timbre didn’t match Daring’s low-pitched grumble.

Two horns emerged from the bushes. Velvet stepped forward.

“River Rapids! Oh, thank Celestia it’s you! I thought you died in—”

It took Velvet only a few seconds to gallop to Rapids. But in the same time frame, Rapids had only crawled forward a few inches. Only half her body was out of the thicket when Velvet reached her, and she grunted with every crawl. Velvet put a hoof to her chin as her mouth hung open. She wasn’t expecting Rapids to come out unscathed after that fall, but still…

“Out of the way, Vel.” Rapids breathed out, grimacing at Velvet. Even after Velvet obliged and gave Rapids space, the buffalo kept to the ground. As she pushed herself up with her forelegs into sitting back against a tree, Velvet took a moment to process Rapids’ state. At no point did Rapids use her back legs in the movement.

“Rapids?” Velvet’s voice quivered. “C-can you feel your back legs?”

The buffalo grunted, not bothering to look up as she fiddled with her gun. She swatted at a mosquito as she chewed on the question. Finally, she pulled off a torn headband and chucked it onto the ground as she hung her head. “Nothing below my waist.”

“Dammit.” Velvet smacked her lips and pranced in place. “Okay…uh…we gotta get you to a medic.” Velvet spied the edge of Rapid’s radio jutting partway out of her satchel. She reached for it. “Maybe you can contact your–”

Rapids swatted Velvet’s extended hoof away. “Don’t you get it? Right before Fuze died, he broadcast word of my betrayal on the standard frequency. Those two who were about to take your horn? They’d be just as happy to see me dead. They’re part of the group that hired us.” Rapids pulled herself forward to rummage through her bag, pausing to brush off bits of multicolored bark from her fatigues.

“Who are they?” Velvet asked, glancing at Maroon Eyes’ corpse. “What is this ‘group’ that hired you?”

“Insurgents, revolutionaries, freedom fighters…” Rapids shrugged her massive shoulders. ”You ponies have too many names for them. I don’t know how they got the money to even think of affording us, but Volt’s not complaining. And the Spectrum? This will be the most lucrative coup her team has ever backed up. Volt wouldn’t pass up on an opportunity to satisfy a client and bolster her own troops at the same time.”

Velvet opened her mouth to reply, but a harsh voice in the distance cut across her.

“Galing ang putok didto—kung asa nawala si Dalag!”

Maroon Eyes’ friends were coming, and by the sound of it, they were bringing a whole party.

Velvet’s hooves had stopped prancing in place, opting instead to pace around the clearing. “We’ve got to go, right now!”

Rapids gave her a look. “What, you going to carry me?”

“Well, I can’t just leave you here!” Velvet’s eyes darted around the clearing. There was a tree a little ways off. There was the material of River Rapids’ satchel. Maybe if she could…

Velvet circled behind the buffalo’s hulking form. “C’mon. Either we get you up in a tree, or we hijack one of the vehicles these insurgent idiots have. Either way, you can’t stay here!” She hooked her forelegs under Rapids’ arms and pulled up, doing little more than to rumple her jacket.

Rapids huffed. “Come on, pony. You don’t have any way to do it and you know it.”

“But… I made a promise! What would Thunderhooves say?! I told you; he’s willing to take you back!” She tugged again. A tugboat she was not, however—more like a hatchback towing a semi.

Rapids squirmed out of Velvet’s grasp. “By Celestia, you’re dense. Listen!” A shimmer glinted on Rapids’ eyes despite her frown. She gagged, swallowing a lump in her throat, then continued. “Only one of us can walk away from this and go home. It’s too late for me. I threw my life away for a thrill. I let my birth family down; I let my mercenary family down…”

Rapids’ voice trailed off, her eyes drifting to her limp hind legs, then at the rustling bushes at the other side of the clearing. Pulling out the rest of her ammo and stacking it neatly beside her, she turned back at Velvet.

“Death is preferable to the shameful hell that is life.”

Velvet’s jaw dropped, and she sat on the ground beside Rapids. “Don’t say that! Come on, there’s got to be–”

“You…you don’t have to follow my path.” Rapids paused, looking back up to her again. “Don’t waste the chance I’m giving you.”

Velvet bit her lip and sniffled, backing away to the edge of the clearing. It was her turn for her eyes to shimmer. “N-nothing to say to Thunderhooves, then?”

“There is one thing.” Craning her neck downwards, Rapids rested her rifle on her lap. Her cloven hooves moved upward, snagging something on her neck. As if she’d rehearsed this moment, Velvet crept closer and brought one of her forelegs forward, allowing Rapids to cup her turquoise necklace into Velvet’s hoof.

“Tell them I’m sorry.”

The insurgents’ clamor grew louder. Velvet and Rapids turned their heads and ears to the direction of the sound. After stuffing Rapids’ necklace into her pocket, Velvet gritted her teeth and looked up, inert sparks of aether dripping from her horn and sweat streaking down her temple. “I… I won’t forget you. I’ll tell your clan you were honorable at the end.”

Velvet took two steps back, then turned tail, half-disappearing into the bushes. Her eyes chanced one last look at Rapids. It was hard to see through the weeds, but Velvet could make out a soft, wan smile.

The bushes at the other side of the clearing rustled behind Velvet. Tail between her legs and neck craned down, Velvet disappeared fully into the jungle. A gunshot rang out, followed by another. Soon, a volley of gunfire could be heard dwindling in the distance as she ran. A cry of pain rattled the air and shook her bones all the way from her face to her sternum.

It was only about two minutes tops before Velvet stopped running and slumped down the foot of another dark multicolored tree. The dense jungle brush gave her ample cover from the mercs and insurgents…and ample time to digest the morning’s events. This time, there was no adrenaline high to blunt the pain.

“She didn’t have to die,” Velvet trailed off in a whisper. “I could’ve done something. It…it’s my fault.”

Velvet huddled into a ball, her tears mixing with the jungle’s unrelenting drizzle. Her head throbbed and her legs tingled. The Rafflesia stench had stopped registering on her mind, now that her nasal passages were clogged. If she hadn’t sat her fat ass on that log like an idiot, maybe she wouldn’t have tumbled down the hill. Maybe Rapids would still be alive. Losing Evy was one thing: she could always get another mistress for herself. But Rapids? She was somepony else’s friend and family—entrusted by her tribe to Velvet’s care.

And she failed.

The minutes melted together. The morning drizzle gave way to midday heat as the cloud cover burned off. Velvet figured a lot of time had passed but she didn’t care enough to move out of her curled posture.

Something touched her shoulder. Velvet gasped. She spun around, but her still-trembling form fell on a patch of dried leaves.

“Easy, it’s just me,” spoke a raspy contralto.

The golden angel’s presence calmed Velvet’s nerves a bit—at least, enough to stop the shaking and tingling. A red gash peeked out from the inside of Daring Do’s left wing, and there was a tattered hole at the right side of her shirt. Apart from that, and more than anything else, Daring didn’t seem shaken by the storm—or even their current predicament, for that matter. All Velvet could do was stare.

“Well, it looks like you didn’t receive any new holes…so at least there’s that.” Daring sighed in relief. Velvet didn't return the favor. “Maybe this story might end up with a happy ending after all.”

Velvet still gave no reply, but she felt her bottom lip begin to quiver.

“Listen…” Daring hiked an arm over Velvet’s withers. “I managed to get in contact with Haribon. His own archeological team found the second Indra’s Bow piece a couple of days ago. Now he wants to meet up with us in Durio City.” Daring gestured somewhere; north, west, whatever—Velvet couldn’t tell. “We’re almost there, Vel. Just one more piece to go, and—”

It was only then that Velvet’s deafening silence finally dawned on Daring.

“Vel?” Daring’s eyes softened. “You okay?” It was like Daring’s eyes were begging Velvet to say something snarky—anything to reassure her that this was still the same Velvet who’d joked about the hot, explosive climax from last night.

Daring’s eyes trailed from Velvet’s face to the pocket on her jacket—more precisely, a turquoise bead poking out. Daring bit her lip before stepping back and holding her arms out.

Velvet hiccuped before racing ahead and taking the hug that was proffered. The force jostled Daring back, but she didn’t try to wiggle out of the embrace. Velvet let out a torrent that could’ve challenged the earlier rains.

“I know you haven’t really known her that long–”

Daring cut herself off, her protegee continuing to cry onto her shoulder.

“Actually, never mind. That wasn’t nice of me to say. You took your oath to that tribe very seriously. I respect you for that. Truth is—” Daring huffed, patting Velvet’s back some more “—I’m sorry this is all I can do.”

Several wavered breaths escaped from Velvet’s mouth. Her whole face ached, but she kept holding tightly to her mentor. “Ih…it’s all right. You’re doing a good job so far.”

“You too, Velvet. You too.”

Comments

[Sparkle Cola]

Oof. Velvet really had a bad day here. Or half-day, I guess. There's more to come. At least she is back with Daring!

On a lighter note, I was tickled by the armed merc jumping around screaming 'Bitin! Bitin!'
i.imgur.com/V7tCO2Q.png

"Bitin! Bitin!" Bite the bullet-end. That's about it.

When you aiming for publishing the next, now that Daring has joined the party again?
-Sparkle Cola

[The Bricklayer]

....oh well, reunited again I guess?

All the same, poor River Rapids. The jungle swallows another life. I was about to say it could be worse, you could be Asami and Korra stranded in the desert and forced to make your own sail raft while under attack via giant shark, but... no, no this is worse.

[Eroraf86]

That is sad. I am sad.

[spoonlol]

From a high flying parachute jump to a moment of tragedy. Great chapter

[FanOfMostEverything]

Adventures aren't all daring stunts, one-liners, and friendship rainbows. Velvet's going to be carrying the scars from this for a long time. No wonder her kids never knew about it.

[Twilight_Shimmer]

Loved the update!

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Aw. Well... crap. That kinda sucked...

Getting some Private Ryan "Earn This" vibes now.

[BirdsBooksBrownies]

Fly free with your ancestors River Rapids.

Ah jeez, poor Velvet all the bumps and bruises and Rafflesia ichor were bad enough, but losing a friend like that is just...

[Alchemik]

That felt like reading an action movie, except better, because it slowed down occasionally for emotional impact! I'm looking forward to whenever the next chapter comes out. Thanks for writing this! It's great!

[mariojuggernaut22]

Seriously, why chop off a unicorn's horn?!

[Pluie]

Love the art in every chapter, it makes moments like this hit that much harder.