Duet in the Dust

by David Silver

11 - New Patterns

"You changed your mind," spoke a smugly satisfied female, a gentle smile on her regal face. Long Shot stood beside the lumbering form of No Name. "I thought you might."

No Name watched over Bullette as the robotic filly chatted eagerly with Octavia, trying to lift her spirits. "I couldn't just let her," he sighed out with an older voice. "She needed someone." He looked aside without turning his head, though one of his snakes faced Long Shot. "These are hard times. Sometimes people have to adjust on their own."

"Most of the time," Long Shot readily admitted. "But when a friendly face can be there, it is a little miracle."

That produced a bitter cacophony of laughter. With all the acid of a spurned teenaged girl, one snake demanded, "You call this a friendly face?"

Long Shot waved it off as if it were nothing at all. "You are a father, despite anything else you might be. Where did the other one go?"

"Vinyl?" His voice returned to a soft male cast. "She's already earning favors and winning hearts with her performances. That mare doesn't seem too upset."

Long Shot turned away. "I'm afraid I've evaded my duties for too long. Royal demands are unending, as you know."

"Yeah. Seeya." He didn't watch her go as she set off.

Bullette rose to two legs and threw her forehooves wide. "And that is why they call them tumbleweeds."

Octavia blinked softly at her mechanical companion. "Was there a purpose to that little story?"

"It was meant to elevate your happiness. Was I successful?" She dropped back to all fours with a hopeful little smile.

Octavia reached forward and booped the filly on the nose. "Your attempt was well-intended, and I appreciate that. Bullette, can you help No Name, when things get troubling?"

Bullette tilted her head softly, her eyes going funny a moment at the boop as if that created some interference with her circuitry somehow. "In the event of hostility, I am equipped with a number of defense mechanisms." She raised a hoof to her chest. "I am not permitted to use them without permission." She glanced toward No Name before leaning in closer. "That is a rule that has been broken before."

Octavia perked an ear curiously. "So you don't have to follow your programming?"

Bullette pointed at Octavia. "Do you?"

Octavia blinked, struck wordless a moment. "I'm not certain, having never seen my own programming before." She inclined her head slightly at Bullette. "I couldn't even say with confidence that ponies like me even have that."

"Incorrect," sang Bullette in her digitized voice. "All things have programming. Some are simpler, some are more complex." She thrust a hoof forward at Octavia. "Smart things have the best programming line." She moved the hoof perfectly from left to right. "If you don't like some programming, you can change it."

Octavia shook her head slowly. "I never considered it that way before. What if I like my programming but everything around me keeps changing instead?"

Bullette fell to her haunches, a soft ticking noise revealing that she was considering that deep thought. "Two options," she suddenly sang. "Change what is around you to match your programming. Change your programming to match what is around you." She tilted her head. "Third option not found."

"Hey," came a new male voice. Lunarquill was approaching them at a good pace, a small bundle held in his left hand between his talons. "It's finished."

Octavia's ears perked as she hopped up to all fours, looking at Lunarquill excitedly, her tail even wagging a little without her realizing it. "Let me see!"

Lunar laughed softly. "I didn't expect you to be that happy to see me, or her, I suppose." He brought his other hand in and they seperated, one taking the wrapping as the other held the polished gun as it came into view. "Ain't she something?"

Octavia reared up, trying to grasp at the gun with her hooves, but he warded her away easily. "Calm yourself. This ain't for your hooves except for reloading anyway."

"Show me how to do that," she insisted. "Please," she quickly added, coloring faintly. "Oh, Bullette, this is--"

"Lunarquill, profession: Gunsmith. Reputation: Positive. Classification: Friendly Acquaintance. Friendship Status: Uncertain. Hello!" She waved excitedly at Lunarquill. "You fabricated that firearm for Octavia?"

He waved the gun in his hand, his talon holding it around the drum of ammunition. "Not from scratch, but what is these days? It's ready for action, which is what's important." He dropped to a crouch, suddenly more on Octavia and Bullette's level. "Suppose you don't have to worry about that."

Bullette looked befuddled, trying to parse that statement.

Octavia reached anew for the firearm. "Will you show me how to use it?"

"Everything alright over here?" asked No Name in his default voice, trundling towards them on heavy hooves. "Bullette didn't make a mess in your workshop again, right?"

Lunarquill gave a warning look at Bullette before snorting. "Not this time. She's just trying to look cute and innocent. Nah, I'm here for her." He hiked a free thumb at Octavia. "She's ready to be armed, and I'm gonna show her how to do it."

Octavia bobbed her head. "Yes, certainly. When can we begin?"

No Name directed an ear at Octavia, though his eyes remained trained on Lunar. "Treat her right. If she wants to defend herself, I won't stop that."

Octavia opened her mouth, looking ready to argue, but it faded before forming. "Thank you, for your concern." She inclined her head. "I am, however, not a foal."

"Course yer not," agreed the massive beast of a pony. "But from where I stand, everyone's a foal. Just the way I see things."

Lunar rolled the gun in his hand. "Well, now that this charming little interaction is done with, can we get on with it?" He rose up to his feet and shrugged his shoulders in a direction. "There's a clear area just over there people use for target practice, and you'll be one of them."

Bullette clicked and whirred as a heavy rifle unfolded from her back, its barrel extending only after it emerged from her metal frame. "Permission to engage in targeting calibration?" She smiled at Octavia. "Mutual practice can increase friendship ratings!"

Octavia looked back and forth between her would-be teacher who was already walking away and the eager death robot to her other side. "I don't see any particular harm in it, if you don't mind?" She looked to Bullette's apparent guardian, No Name.

"Nah, she knows which end's which with that thing." He started for the clearing himself. "Like the back of her hoof, considering it's part of her. Don't mean she don't appreciate some practice some when she has the chance."

They moved as a loose crowd and found the clearing was not empty. There were two ponies standing side by side, taking shots at some target dummies down the line. The dummies were as varied as the people of the town. One human outline stood beside a pony, then a draconic shape and something whose pattern Octavia couldn't discern, though it had clear tentacles reaching out in various directions.

Vinyl was one of the two, and she looked over when they started approaching. "Hey, Octie! You're looking pumped! You come to see me shoot a few?" She twirled the gun she held in her magic. "I'm getting better at it, though good music really gets me going. What can't music fix, huh?"

Lunar turned to face Octavia. "Now the first lesson on owning a gun is to assume it's armed at all times. You'll shoot yourself, your friends, and things you happen to like a lot less often that way."

Vinyl looked up at the griffon before looking back at Octavia. "You're shooting? I mean, no offense, but how?"

"Second rule, don't point a gun at anything you don't want a hole in." Lunarquill seemed to be entirely ignoring Vinyl. "Related, if you are pointing your gun at something, be ready to press the trigger. If you aren't ready, well, don't go pointing it."

Bullette bounced up to Vinyl, her gun bobbing on her back. "Greetings! We are here for targeting calibration, as are you? Are your sensors working in acceptable parameters?" She leaned forward, peering into Vinyl's shaded goggles with her electronic eyes. "Systems appear functional. Shall we begin?"

Octavia had her attention on Lunar, nodding softly with each bit of instruction given. "I understand the care needed for such a dangerous instrument. When do we begin using it?"

He smirked at her. "That was the most polite 'get on with it' I've heard in a while. Alright, here." He finally held the gun where she could get it. "There aren't any bullets in it, triple checked."

Octavia leaned up and forward, snatching it in her teeth. A deafening bang sent her to the ground, the gun clattering at her hooves.

"Not even a second, and you proved my point." He gestured at the gun. "Blanks, but more than enough to teach a lesson, right? You don't know how to hold it without setting it off yet."

Vinyl pointed at the blob of a target down the range. "I'll blow off one of its tentacles, watch." She lined up the gun, music playing in her ears. "Just like..." The gun barked in fury, sending a bullet down the range, but the tentacle remained, no new marks on it. "Aw shoot."

Bullette shook her head. "Aiming error, fifteen degrees left." She planted her four hooves on the ground firmly and began staring at the human target. "Identified, calibrating." She subtly began to pivot left and right, the gun moving with her, attached to her back as it was. "Calibration complete. Boom!" The gun kicked back at her, but her sure footing just dug her slightly into the ground instead of throwing her away.

The right hand of the target gained a hole down the field. "Success," sang Bullette, seeming quite pleased with her performance. "Try again. Repetition is key."

Vinyl chuckled softly, shown up. "Outgunned by the most awesome filly. I can live with that. Alright..."

Lunar reached for the dropped gun and lifted it back in front of Octavia. "You have to put your teeth here." He ran a finger along the groove meant for her teeth. "You have to keep your tongue back. Learning to talk while you're holding one of these is another bit of practice. This is why it's loaded up on blanks, so you can try that without becoming a menace to the town."

Octavia took the gun a bit more slowly than the first time, her tongue down against the bottom of her mouth. "Fank you," she got out, her pinned tongue not so good for talking. She dared to rise the muscle, feeling the trigger in her mouth ever so carefully. It was a simple rod of metal, but it didn't need to be complicated to work.

"Now, I built this for you," he insisted. "All you have to do is look straight at what you want a bullet in, then fire. Go ahead and try. Now, you won't put holes in things, blanks and all, but you should learn what it feels like to have something making that kind of noise and a bit of kick when you're using it."

Octavia turned towards the targets with a solemn nod. She fixed her eyes on the human target, wondering who could bring themselves to shoot a pony, even a fake one.

"Stop."

She looked to the side at Lunar, confused.

"You're looking with your eyes." His warning seemed to only confuse her more. "Look." He reached for her cheeks and pointed it at the target. "You have to look straight ahead, and turn your head and body. Keep your eyes straight or my magic won't work."

Octavia nodded, her vision bobbing with the motion as she forced them to remain straight ahead. The effect was unusual, her eyes wanting to track what she was actually looking at. She moved her head instead until her eyes felt relaxed, she was facing what she wanted to hit.

The second explosion of her gun made her clench her teeth harder instead of releasing it. Her gun didn't drop to the ground, and she hadn't exploded nor combusted. She felt unreasonably proud of her accomplishment. "There," she muffedly announced. "Can I try with a real bullet?"

The ringing of a bell, like someone beating on a bell with a hammer, rang out through the settlement. Those practicing looked around, but none of them hurried to action. Vinyl lowered her gun and lifted an ear. "Is that this town's raid bell? Shouldn't we be going somewhere?"

No Name waved a hoof slowly. "Nah, they get irate with us when we try to nose in on that."

"Affirmative," spoke Bullette sadly, but she quickly perked up. "The defense mechanisms of the town are more than sufficient."

Lunar huffed, arms crossed over his front. "Better be, I keep their guns working proper, and serve on the watch for my share of the time. That reminds, if you learn how to show that thing decently, Sheriff Long Shot may give you a watch detail or two."

Vinyl put her gun in her holster, looking at Bullette and her rifle. "You're already set up to go. Why wouldn't they want you on patrol?"

Bullette raised her hooves over her eyes. "Unpleasant memory!" she sang out in horror. "I apologized exactly fifty-two times."

No Name gently pat her back with a large hoof. "It's alright. She was having a, uh, miscalibration. She didn't mean to... Anyway, 'least we didn't get kicked out of the town."

Bullette bounced up suddenly, bouncing off No Name's hoof. "Yes, this is very good. I like Turves and would not wish for it to become an unauthorized area."

The sound of distant gunfire made every ear in the area turn towards it. Vinyl turned the rest of herself towards it. "You sure we just... sit here?"

Lunar pulled the gun out of Octavia's weak grip. "Yeah, we're sure. Let the patrollers do their job. If they need us, they'll call for it. Now, let's go over how to reload." He held the gun where Octavia could see what he was doing as he pressed the barrels clear. He turned it and the unspent bullets spilled out into a waiting hand. "No reason to waste them, even blanks. Side note, desperate? A blank'll still do some damage. Don't start there though."

Vinyl trotted over to Octavia's side. "You gonna bring some class to gunslinging? Can't wait to see it." She looked at the strangely shaped gun. "So that's how an earth pony can use a gun, huh?"

"I'm learning," grumped out Octavia. "Now, how do I do that?" Her hooves were stubbornly not sticky in the world they were in.

He turned the gun and placed it on Octavia's waiting hoof. It was still empty, the barrel that the bullets would go into empty. "Hold the gun nice and tight without blocking where the bullets go in." When she began clamping it between her hooves, he plucked up a single bullet and placed it beside her on the ground. "Pick it up, put it in."

Octavia glanced between the gun and the bullet on the ground as her ears danced. She could still hear what sounded like a fight going on. "Just pick it up," she muttered to herself. "Simple enough." She leaned over and tried to get her mouth over to it, but the gun slipped as her attention lapsed on the gun. She righted herself with a squeak, pulling the gun back upright.

Vinyl pointed a hoof at the gun. "Want me to hold that steady?"

"No! No. I can handle this." Octavia took a slow breath. "If I can't even arm this device, then what right have I to use it?" She leaned over and mouthed the bullet from the ground. Her skilled tongue turned it around to face out of her teeth and leaned in, kissing the place where it belonged. She felt the bullet slip free into its compartment. She had loaded a bullet! "See? No trouble at all."

Bullette clapped her metal hooves in a rapid little drumbeat. "Success!"

"Yeah, good work." Lunar set down five more bullets in a loose pile. "Now finish the job. You get them all loaded and I'll even let you take a few shots today before we take a break."

A soft chime sounded from the direction that the shots had been coming from. Lunar nodded softly. "That's the all clear, they did their job."

As Octavia resumed her chore with renewed vigor, Vinyl looked to Lunar. "Hey, so, did she ask for a gun?"

"Nope."

"Did someone tell you to give her a gun?" Vinyl hiked a mostly hidden brow.

"You have a problem?" asked the griffon. "You're using one. You don't want your friend learning how to defend herself?"

Vinyl waved her hooves wildly. "No No! I mean, of course not. If Octie's having a good time, I'm not gonna be the one to tell her to stop." She looked aside at her friend struggling to get each bullet in the gun. "Just figured people paid for things, you know, somehow, and..."

"And you don't think she can pay it." He nudged Octavia on the shoulder, making a bullet fall from her mouth to the ground. "Your friend doesn't seem to have much confidence in you."

Octavia grunted with annoyance. "Sod it all." She reached for the fallen bullet with her teeth. "Vinyl, my being armed makes this place safer for him as well. It's in his interest to have well-armed neighbors, provided they are pleasant sorts that will take action when the time requires."

"See? She has the right of it. If she's defenseless, that's someone I have to watch out for."

Bullette turned back for the targets. "We have not completed our calibrations. Friend Vinyl, would you wish to continue?"

Vinyl hesitated, but turned away from Octavia with one more glance back. "Yeah, alright."

Left to her peace, Octavia got all six bullets where they needed to be. Sweating from the effort, she smiled with triumph as she nudged the compartment closed with a hoof, it clicking into place in a satisfying manner.

"Well." Lunar pointed down the range. "You're holding a live gun now. She's a monster, and you should treat her like one, so be wary what direction her teeth's pointed in. Handle her right, and she'll treat ya right in kind."

Octavia rose the gun carefully before she got her teeth into the groove, hefting the gun up and looking around. Knowing the gun was properly loaded was a powerful sensation. She could dispense pain or even death with the mere flick of her tongue. There was just the matter of practice... "May I thire?" she asked, her tongue depressed to prevent any accidents.

He pointed to the blob, the biggest target. "Go for some center of mass shots. You just want to hit the target, not be fancy. We can save that for after you've got the basics down."

Vinyl was taking shots with Bullette. "Say, noticed something..."

"What is it?" asked Bullette with a curious electronic hint just before her gun fired firmly into the chest of the pony target.

"You fire real good." She squeezed off two shots in rapid succession, leaving two holes in the shoulder of the human target. "But you always take a while between each shot."

"Affirmative. I am calibrating each shot." She began to swivel slowly, zeroing in her next shot. "Miscalibrations have only caused trouble in the past."

Vinyl shook her head. "That's good and all, but if you take forever to shoot, the thing you're aiming at coulda already moved, right?"

"Affirmative," repeated Bullette, not sounding as confident.

No Name suddenly put down a hoof just in front of Bullette's shoulder. "Aim. No shortcuts, especially in town," he said in a stern lecturing voice. "Out in the wastes, you can try to be fancy." He looked to Vinyl, one of his snakes flicking its tongue before whispering, "Don't even hint she should take wild shots. That never ends well."

Octavia looked the blob over before fixing her eyes on its center and aiming the rest herself to match. "Firing," she announced though no one had asked. Her tongue pressed forward and the gun jumped in her mouth harder than it had with the blank. A hole appeared in the target. She had really fired a bullet. "Not bad," she declared to herself, noting the bullet wasn't too far off from where she had been looking.

"Not bad," agreed Lunar. "Watch your eyes. They like to stray, and you'll end up missing. Finish out the bullets you have there, then today's over. Think about what you did and why, and we'll get some practice in tomorrow. For now, I'll hold onto your gun. You'll earn the right to keep it once you've got the basics down."

Octavia glanced aside at where Vinyl appeared to be taking two and three bullet bursts, squeezing her trigger repeatedly to create patterns with the bullets in her target. If Vinyl could do it, surely she could as well? She looked the blob in the eyes, or where its eyes belonged as far as she was concerned.

Her tongue darted forward and even as the bullet came free, she pulled her tongue back and jammed it forward. The gun jumped in her mouth, the kickback seeming to double with the rapid fire. She heard a scratching noise from down range, and saw at least one hole where she had intended.

"One hit, one graze," provided Lunar. "Don't be fancy. One shot at a time until you have it down. Two misses are nothing compared to one hit. Clear your mind, be like the metal filly over there. There's no hurry during practice."

"Yes, right," murmured Octavia as she lined up her next shot. "Thank you, for your assistance." She was learning where to put her tongue, allowing a bit more elegance in her speech without approaching that sensitive trigger.

"When I get to spend a day working instead of patrolling, you'll be paying me back." He nodded towards the target. "Go ahead. Feel for how the gun moves, where the bullet goes. It's alive, and you're its master. When it misses, that's your fault. When it hits, that's your fault too."

Vinyl stopped trying to convince her metal buddy to fire faster, contenting herself to getting out two bullets for every one that Bullette managed. When she ran low on bullets, she reached with her magic to a bowl apparently set aside for the task, full of dented but functional bullets. They didn't quite fit her gun, but, again, did so 'good enough'.

Pow. Pow, she shot as she kept half a concerned eye on Octavia. Po-click. Her third shot seemed to grind to a halt. "The hay..." She lowered the pistol and turned it to look down the barrel when she was tackled by Bullette.

"Error!" bellowed Bullette in an angry tone. "Your life should not be terminated so easily. Consider the happiness levels of your friends. It will get better," she urged, her tone modulating wildly as she spoke.

No Name gently nudged Bullette off. "I don't think Vinyl was doing what you thought she was, but it was about as dumb. Don't ever look down the wrong end of a gun. Lunar?"

"Yeah?" He looked up from watching Octavia practice. "Oh, nasty." He jumped around Octavia and approached in a light jog. "Problem with scrap bullets, they don't always go down smooth. You have to clear them out. Coulda been worse. If you'd forced another bullet down there, coulda been ugly."

Vinyl surrendered her gun to the outstretched talons of the griffon. "Can you fix it? I was just getting in the groove."

"Yeah yeah, won't be... a problem." He pulled out a few tools and got right to work clearing the gun out, after he removed the remaining bullets it had loaded.

Author's Note:

In this chapter, everyone works on their aim. Octavia has the most distance to cover, but she's taking off at a gallop, eager to cease being a burden on those around her. Shame about that typo interrupting Vinyl's session.

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Comments

[badninja]

Why do I think the makeup make out session after this spat will be epic? Hopefully they can be a major help to the village.

[Chrome Masquerade]

"Course yer not," agreed the massive beast of a pony. "But from where I stand, everyone's a foal. Just the way I see things."

As Socrates reputedly said, "there are two kinds of people in the world. The first their foolish but think themselves to be wise. The second of wise because they know that they are fools."

Unless he means he's just really really old. In which case, withdrawn.

[David Silver]

9045614
More that he is a big thing and wants to protect the little things.

[Chrome Masquerade]

Pow. Pow, she shot as she kept half a concerned eye on Octavia. Po-click. Her third shot seemed to grind to a half. "The hay..." She lowered the pistol and turned it to look down the barrel when she was tackled by Bullette.

"Error!" bellowed Bullette in an angry tone. "Your life should not be terminated so easily. Consider the happiness levels of your friends. It will get better," she urged, her tone modulating wildly as she spoke.

No Name gently nudged Bullette off. "I don't think Vinyl was doing what you thought she was, but it was about as dumb. Don't ever look down the wrong end of a gun. Lunar?"

A valuable lesson for all.

[Crystal Treasure]

Bullette is just the cutest little robot ever. And yeah, looking down the barrel of a gun is never, ever, ever a good idea. Seems like Vinyl needs some safety lessons, too.

Nah, I'm here for here.

here for her

The dummies are as varied as the people of the town.

dummies were - the story's in past tense, not present.

and leans in,

Same thing - leaned, not leans

"I'll know off one of its tentacles, watch."

know -> blow

[David Silver]

9046022
They are learning, together! Friendship!

[FanOfMostEverything]

I can understand where Vinyl's coming from, but she can't protect Octavia from the whole wasteland. The mare needs to learn to defend herself with something other than dolls and her bare hooves.

Also, one more typo to clear out of the chamber:

his talong holding it around the drum of ammunition

Talon.

[David Silver]

9049241
Octavia seemed to enjoy having some bit of agency in her life.

[howard035]

Man I like robo-filly. The giving of guns away still seems kind of strange. Is the town paying for the materials and labor of the gun, since they all get the benefit? Maybe Octavia will pay the griffon back with earnings from patrolling.

[David Silver]

9054313
You seem to think there is money. There isn't. People trade for thing. If he wants a favor, he'll poke her, and expect a yes.

[howard035]

9054572
Ahh, I didn't realize she owed him a favor like that.

Maybe ponies can trade bottle caps?

[David Silver]

9054577
Well, Octavia got it. Giving her a gun without expecting payment means that he expects she will USE the gun in a fashion that will make his life easier and safer.

She'll be told to join the patrol, and she better not complain about doing her share.

[Midknight Defender]

"Error!" bellowed Bullette in an angry tone. "Your life should not be terminated so easily. Consider the happiness levels of your friends. It will get better,"

Yes, please do refrain from scratching yourself, Vinyl.