Duet in the Dust

by David Silver

14 - Into Uncertainty

Several days passed. Travel was as fast as a light trot could take them across the quiet landscape. Octavia frowned as they went, looking around. "I really don't like how quiet it is out here."

"You?" Vinyl perked an ear. "I thought quiet was exactly what you liked."

"As a contrast to the rest of the day." She shook her head as she trotted. "As a constant thing, it loses its appeal. There are so few animals or birds. It's like this place is... dead."

"Nah." No Name gestured with a toss of his head. In the distance, three birds flew in a small formation, though they were sailing nowhere close to them. "Planet ain't dead, just sleepin'."

Bullette bobbed her head, still pronking along with seemingly endless energy. "I have seen proof of life. I have seen the sacred lemon."

Octavia hiked a brow at the metal filly. "Sacred... lemon?"

No Name chuckled softly at that. "I remember that. They got a lemon tree to grow and even make more lemons. They guard it somethin' fierce, but yer allowed to look at it, from a distance. I don't think they ever got another lemon to grow from the lemons, but I bet they're still trying."

Vinyl pointed up at the overcast sky. "Must be one tough lemon tree, if it can grow with all this not-sun going on."

Octavia squinted a little. "To think, a lemon... Did they allow you to taste one?"

"Negative." Bullette pouted as she bounced. "They claimed to require all lemons for their attempts to make more lemons. 60% chance authorized individuals have tasted the lemon." She paused mid-air, going still as if she froze her joints for just a moment. "Revision, 80%."

Vinyl snorted at that. "That's a safe bet. Still, a lemon tree? Sweet and sour all at once. Still, good. Nice to hear there's some fruit out here, even if it's just one tree."

Octavia looked side and up at No Name. "Would you believe that in our world, we have acres and acres of trees that grow so heavy with apples they occasionally sag under the weight?"

No Name's nose wrinkled a little. "If anyone else told me that, I would give them a shove for making things up." He glanced towards her, his large tail swaying behind him with mild interest. "Musta been nice, having an orchard."

Octavia blinked in surprise. "You know what an orchard is?"

He didn't reply, walking on silently.

Vinyl shook her head as she walked, an odd motion as she never stopped bobbing along with the music the others could only dimly hear. "Say, since you're hurting for some music, I could turn this on for everypony?"

Bullette clopped her hooves together mid-jump. "Yes! Proceed with plan music track!"

Octavia opened her mouth but closed it without speaking. Could a robot appreciate music? Asking felt rude. "Can you play something less... jangly?"

"Just for you, Octie." She floated the headphones up and turned around the earmuffs to face outwards before hanging it over her neck instead of on her head. Soon soft classical music began to pour from them, filling the air with gentle tunes. "That more your style."

Octavia let out a thunderous sigh. "Yes, that's... lovely... Thank you."

"Analyzing..." Sheets of music played across Bullette's eyes as she pronked along, seemingly recording the complex arrangement being played.

The music seemed to soften the terrain around them in some hard-to-quantify way. The barren stretches felt more artistic than desolate in some way. Octavia watched them pass slowly with a faint smile, pleased to be at home with the music that had inspired her so many moons ago. "If I had my cello..."

"You wouldn't be pulling it around," finished Vinyl with a faint chuckle. "That thing's your baby, and it's really not portable."

"Well, yes..." Octavia smiled a little deeper. "Still, if I could hold it again... I do hope it's alright while we're off gallivanting around in some strange world."

No Name perked an ear at the two. "Don't reckon an instrument's going anywhere without you. Soon as we find a way to get you back where you belong, you can go back to making pretty music and forget this whole mess."

Octavia frowned a little. "I'm sorry. I must sound so... Your world isn't that bad."

"Sure it is." He waved a hoof around. "We messed it up pretty good. Maybe we'll fix it, in time, right? But it ain't that yet. Turves is a little slice of normal life, but that normal life still has regular attacks and gunfights to hold onto it. Ain't right. I can't blame you for wanting to get away from it."

Bullette crashed into him suddenly, plowing into his side. "Error! Initiate rotation of facial muscles."

No Name laughed in a half-snort, pushing Bullette away as he recovered from the stagger of her weighty impact. "Yeah yeah, I ain't getting mopey."

Vinyl veered to be a little closer to Octavia. "They're cute."

Octavia looked them over. One was a robot designed for battle with the mind of a filly. The other was a scarred brute of a pony that towered over them. He spoke with sadness through the snakes in his mouth. She spoke like a broken machine with a smile. They were a pair... "How did you two meet?"

"Permission denied," sang Bullette, sounding chipper and happy despite her complete denial. "Insufficient friendship rating. Please continue to amass friendship points to unlock this exposition."

"You heard her." He extended a forehoof, walking on his other three legs. She seemed to notice it quickly and hopped up onto his leg, then sprang athletically up onto his back. She sank into position, sitting upright upon her mighty steed. His voice softened to a feminine cast, "I don't argue with Bullette about this."

Vinyl waved a hoof up at Bullette eagerly. "How many friendship points do we have?"

Bullette tilted her head down at her new friend. "You are one of the few to inquire. Calculating... You have precisely 129 friendship points. Octavia Melody has 86 friendship points." She raised a hoof suddenly. "Addendum, Octavia Melody is registered as 'responsible adult'. Permissions adjusted accordingly."

Vinyl burst into renewed laughter, drowning out the music that played from her headphones. "So you like me more, but you trust Octie? I can see that. She is pretty reliable."

Octavia was coloring at the statement, looking away to hide her face. "I try to be responsible... You are my friend as well, Bullette."

"Affirmative," she cried with joy, clip-clopping her forehooves together rapidly. "Danger detected," she said without her usual happiness, dropping to a robotic monotone. Her clopping stopped instantly and her head turned precisely thirty-four degrees to the right. "Aggressive life-forms approaching. Weapon systems online. Prepare for combat."

No Name wheeled in the direction Bullette had turned. "Stay back. I know you both know how to shoot, don't mean you need to rush in. We'll clear them out in no time." He coiled back and grabbed up the great sign by its pole, his snakes slithering out around it as his teeth clenched it powerfully, pulling it into ready position.

The ground began to divot upwards, visible through the bulging ash, as something made it push up from below, approaching rapidly across the ash-covered ground. No Name charged forward even as Bullette began to unfold. Her original longarm sprang free, but it had company. Her left forehoof began to rotate as a belt of ammunition fed into it, uncoiling from her side. Her right forehoof ejected a small gush of flame. Her eyes no longer showed the music she was listening to, turning a dark and angry red. "Target acquired."

Just as the bulge and No Name were about to meet, he slammed down his sign, pole first. It rang with a dull thump as he was pushed back several inches. Whatever it was, it had crashed into the sudden obstacle and shoved him and his sign back with the force of it.

Bullette's gun-hoof pointed just beyond the sign and with an almost eerily-quiet thwip-thwip-thwip the ash and dirt began to fly as she sent high-speed bullets into the spot she had determined the monster to be. "25% accuracy confirmed, calibrating." No Name said nothing, pulling free his sign and backing up just in time for the beast to emerge.

It was like a giant bipedal crab, a great pincer at the end of either of its arms. It was a mix of browns and greens on its thick carapace. Bullette's attack had scored a few hits, oozing its thick purple blood as it roared in defiance, moving for No Name without delay, but he was already dodging around it in a deceptively agile sprint despite his bulk. Its eyes twitched, one directed at No Name, the other at Bullette with equal intensity.

"We should help," suggested Octavia as she grabbed for her gun and pulled it from her holster into her mouth.

Vinyl drew hers with her magic. "Yeah yeah, let me switch to something more fitting." With a twist of her magic, she had the classical music banished and some heavy death metal thumping loudly. "Yeah! Go get em, guys!"

No Name swung his sign in a great arc, the air rushing to get out of the way of it as he grunted with effort. The creature brushed the sign away, snapping at it as if it were equally an enemy. Its other princer lashed out at No Name, grazing his left shoulder in a ragged line of red.

"Error!" barked Bullette Angrily, directing both hooves at the thing. "Negative friendship points." Flame and bullets disgorged from her extended hooves. It dove with a pained screech, retreating to the relative safety with dirt between it and the angry metal filly, but she was following it with her bullet-spraying hoof, tearing up the ground and ash with her unending fury. "Error error error!"

"I'm fine," barked out No Name as he wheeled around, trying to get a bead on where the thing was hiding. "Help me find it."

The bullet belt detached from Bullette's hoof suddenly as the flame died down in her other forehoof. Her gun withdrew into her back. "Radar contact lost. Battle status: Clear." She suddenly played a victorious jungle as she returned to her usual state. "Danger level: Yellow."

Octavia frowned a little as she slipped her gun back into its holster. "Are you.. sure?" She dared to approach the two at a light trot. "It could be waiting to come back when we've dropped our guard."

Vinyl trotted up, her gun still held in her magic, bobbing along with her. "I bet little Bullette there will tell us if it dares to come back, right?"

"Affirmative," she sang, her good cheer returning before her electronic eyes rested on No Name's injury. "Error! Vinyl Scratch, administer medical treatment."

Vinyl blinked softly. "When was I a doctor?"

"Initiate routine 'Rock Magic,'" helpfully explained Bullette, pointing at No Name's shoulder gash.

He kept trying to turn, to hide the wound. "It ain't nothin' serious, Bullette. Stop worrying."

"Negative." She pointed at Vinyl. "Begin application!"

Vinyl snapped a sharp salute as the rock music faded in volume from her headphones. She holstered her gun and reached up for No Name. "In the name of rock, I banish this injury, to trouble someone who's less awesome." Her music blared just at the last moment, coinciding with her burst of healing magic, patching over the wound and stopping the bleeding. "There you go."

No Name stopped turning in place, sighing softly. "Yeah, thanks." He looked to where the creature had dived. "It ain't dead, so it could come back, but just as likely it was hopin' for an easy lunch, which we ain't."

"Affirmative," sang the robotic filly on his back. "Combat efficiency acceptable."

Octavia shook her head. "It all happened so quickly, we didn't have time to help. My apologies."

"Ain't nothing." No Name waved it away before starting forward. "Let that be the worst thing we run inta."

The creature did not return, nor did another come to challenge them. The next day they began to see some small signs of real life. Shrubs grew, clinging to life as they reached timidly for the grey sky. Some had even bloomed, dots of bright color defying the dull shades they had seen up to then.

Octavia moved up to one with a little smile. "I am not one to 'stop and smell the roses', as it were, but this..." She leaned in towards the plant, sniffing gently. "Mmm, what a unique scent." It was off from what she knew of roses, but clearly floral, and vibrant, and so very alive. "Why are they growing here?"

No Name pointed ahead of them. "We're getting close to the lake. The water must be helping them out. We'll probably be seein' more plants the closer we get."

Vinyl shrugged softly. "If it's so good, why not put your town over there, where you can grow stuff?"

No Name shrugged, but Bullette had a reply, "There are settlements along the river." She pointed into the direction, likely in exactly the right direction. "We are barred from the closest river settlement. River settlements have additional issues. Flooding is a constant concern due to unstable river levels."

Vinyl snorted softly. "Great, flooding or starving. I'll take the flooding. It can't be that bad, right?"

"The settlement remains," replied Bullette as if that should be answer enough.

Octavia reached out for one of the flowers, but hesitated. "No... I shouldn't." She turned away from it. "It's already working so hard just to be here, just for a pining mare to come along and pull it?" She took a step away from the bush and its flowers. "When we get back to Equestria, I'm filling my side of the house with flowers, fair warning."

"Warning received," robotically replied Vinyl before bursting into giggles. "S'cool."

"Be careful around flowers," grunted out No Name. "Especially bright red ones, but don't have to be."

"Mm?" Octavia perked an ear at the large pony. "What will a flower do?"

"Suck you dry of blood and use the rest for fertilizer." He lifted his heavy shoulders. "Best to assume they're not friendly."

Octavia blanched, paling around her nose. "How terrible... I'm glad the bush I had approached..."

"No promises it wasn't one." He glanced back at the bush they left behind. "They can understand you. They have a brain, sorta, however plants do that. Maybe it appreciated you not trying to pull a flower. Maybe it just decided there were too many of us around you for it to be a good idea. Or maybe it was just a bush and I'm worryin' over nothin'."

Bullette bobbed her head quickly as she pronked alongside No Name. "If a bush does not initiate hostile activity, we see no reason to attack. What were you doing with the flowers?"

"Smelling them?" She raised a hoof to tap at her nose, even if that almost made her sneeze as the smell of ash flew up her nose. "Mmmf, yes, a very nice smell."

Bullette suddenly smiled brightly. "Olfactory scanning! You enjoy that?" She sniffed quite loudly, her metal nostrils flaring as little fans inside pulled in air for analysis. "No harmful contaminants detected above acceptable levels, please continue breathing."

Vinyl stuck out her tongue. "I was going to stop, but since you say I should keep going, I guess I'll breathe."

"Acceptable," sang Bullette, looking pleased with herself. "Olfactory scanning is very useful for avoiding harm. Did you fear contaminants from the bush?"

Octavia shook her head a little stiffly. "I enjoyed the scent." She perked an ear at the robotic filly. "When you, um, scan something, do you notice anything besides the potential harm of what it is you're smelling?"

Bullette looked confused at the idea, a loading bar slowly filling her eyes. "Contents of air:" She began rambling off a dizzying array of molecules she had detected and their concentrations, along with each's optimal and maximum safe levels.

Vinyl pushed up her goggles a little. "That is a lot of information, but it doesn't tell us what it smells like." She turned up her nose and sniffed softly. "I can smell flowers, maybe some water? It's a bit fresher than where we were, but I miss the smell of nice things cooking in Turves. Rations is boring."

Bullette frowned a little. "Processing... What portion of the report contains the 'smell'?" she asked, tilting her head as she bounced.

Octavia lifted a hoof to gesture vaguely. "Smell is the mix of everything you detect. It's... more of a pattern than any individual thing. Try to scan, but instead of looking really close, admire the whole thing at the same thing, as a greater picture." She smiled a little. "You can appreciate art, right?"

Bullette's confusion suddenly lifted in a growing smile. "Affirmative. Smells are the art of olfactory sensing. My error. I was looking at each dot of painting instead of seeing the picture. I do that sometimes." She clonked the side of her head with a metal ring. "Initiating broadband olfactory scan." The little fans in her nose whirred as she drew in the air. "Mmm..." She analyzed the air in her new way. "Storing pattern for later comparison. This is a good 'smell', yes?"

Octavia struggled to describe it. "New scents are appealing. Sweet ones, without going overboard, can please. The scents of things we like are what draw us. If you enjoy the taste of apple, the scent of apple will be appealing."

Vinyl suddenly buried her nose into Octavia's side, speaking muffedly, "the smell of a pony you like works too."

Bullette bounced in on Octavia's other side, her fans spinning up as she tried to get a closer smell of Octavia. "Storing pattern for later comparison!"

No Name turned an ear towards the mares and filly. "Not going to get mine?"

"Negative," sang out Bullette. "Your olfactory pattern is already stored."

No Name colored faintly at that. Before she even knew what a scent could be, she had known to store his. "Oh... Um, good."

"Very good," she called out, her voice wavering in happy digital wobbles. "Now I understand why I feel better when I detect your pattern during an olfactory scan. Thank you, Octavia Melody. You have earned friendship points."

Octavia couldn't help but smirk at that. "You don't need to inform ponies when they earn friendship points. The thank you is sufficient. Most ponies don't keep such meticulous track of the friendship points others have earned, and you may confuse them."

Vinyl waved it away. "You can tell me if you want. It's like a videogame with an awesome metal friend as the boss and prize all at once. I'm totally alright with that."

No Name reached for Bullette, stopping her from bouncing back up. "What is that?" He sat down to point with his other hoof.

Ahead and to the left of them rose the remains of a building. It was no small hut, or even a hollowed out larger building. It was, relatively, intact as they all peered at it. It was about three stories tall, made of dull grey materials that had withstood the forces of nature arrayed against it. Though vines had crept up over it, showing that nature would not surrender until it had won, the structure was free of holes and seemed entirely without any obvious damage save for a lack of any surviving signs on its outside.

"Scanning." A small dish popped free of Bullette's head, wobbling in the direction of the building. "Pre-Blaze architecture detected. Salvage-Use: 4%. Salvage-Present: Unknown. Electricity detected. Warning, Danger level: Red. Permission to engage advanced combat mode?"

No Name shook his head as he squinted into the distance. "Not yet. We're not there, and I doubt whatever's inside is coming out to say hello just yet. You keep a lid on that until we go inside."

"Affirmative." Bullette turned to the other two. "Please exercise caution. The remnants of pre-Blaze technology in working order can be extremely hazardous to one's continuing functioning."

Vinyl and Octavia peered at Bullette, who was a pre-Blaze technology in working order. Still, her advice was hard to argue. Vinyl gave a sharp salute. "You got it. We'll be behind you two."

Octavia waved a hoof at the building. "We're not that close. How much further will we go before we camp for the night?"

No Name scanned the horizon. "Let's get to that." He pointed to a collection of bushes. "It'll give a little cover. Keep your eyes open for signs that anything else has been in the area."

Their pace slowed faintly, perhaps cowed by the building they were approaching.

Vinyl stumbled with an oof before turning back around. "Hey, what's this?"

No Name was the first to lumber over. "Tire tracks, great." He followed the line, but it cut left to right, not going directly for the building. There was only one line, indicating the vehicle was one or two wheeled. "Someone or something else was here not too long ago, I bet..."

"Permission to--"

"--Not yet," hissed out No Name, cutting off Bullette's request. "Let's get out of direct sight and try to get a little rest."

They hastened themselves, hurrying to the closest gathering of brambly bushes and pressing inside, much of the outside world become obscured behind the scraggly branches that coiled around them.

They set up camp without a fire, sipping water and chewing their rations as it grew dark around them.

"Danger level: Red," reminded Bullette Belle. "Resting mode: Disabled. Scan: Active."

No Name gently pet the back of his little metal ward. "I'll stay up with you."

Bullette pointed to the tent. "Negative. Retire for optimal performance."

He snorted softly. "If you can stay up a night, so can I. Don't underestimate me. Besides, the mares deserve a night alone for a change without me crowding them apart."

Vinyl threw a leg over Octavia, drawing her towards the tent. "You heard the big guy. Tonight's our night."

"W-what are you implying?!" Octavia was dragged despite her objection, it growing all the darker inside the tent. "Vinyl Scratch, what do you--"

A hoof pressed to her lips. "Shhhh." She was guided to the ground, then she felt the weight of a head come down on her side. The sounds of Vinyl's snores began to fill the area. There would be nothing more tawdry than being used as a pillow.

Octavia rolled her eyes before reaching, curling with Vinyl and trying to relax.

Outside the tent, Bullette's ears rotated slowly but completely, each doing full rotations without end. She sat like a sphinx, ready to leap into action, but regally posed in the meantime.

No Name was half on his side, looking out into the darkness for the enemies they could not see but feared were present. "Hey, Bullette."

"Affirmative?"

"Thanks."

Bullete's ears perked towards No Name. "Receiving of friendship points noted. What action prompted this?"

He reached for her, gently petting her metal mane. "For being you. For not leaving. Mostly for being you."

"I will continue to be me," spoke Bullette in a soft but happy tone. "Your identity is also pleasing to me. Please continue to be yourself."

He smiled faintly in the dark, though he knew she could see him just as clear as mid-day. "I'll do my best, even if I don't get what you see in me."

"I see a pony of exceptional size and empathy. I detect my caretaker and #1 ranking friend. I detect a pony that is as bad as I am at conveying and understanding emotions."

"Hey!"

"I speak only what I detect." She tilted her head a little. "Am I incorrect? Do my sensors need calibration?"

"Nah..." He pulled her closer. "You're perfect just the way you are."

Author's Note:

They approach their target. This should be safe, right? Bullette and No Name share a moment, which I thought was sweet. You?

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Comments

[Chrome Masquerade]

Octavia frowned a little. "I'm sorry. I must sound so... Your world isn't that bad."

No. It's worse!

[Chrome Masquerade]

Bullette crashed into him suddenly, plowing into his side. "Error! Initiate rotation of facial muscles."

In other words, "turn that frown upside down!"

[Chrome Masquerade]

It was like a giant bipedal crab, a great pincer at the end of either of its arms. It was a mix of browns and greens on its thick carapace. Bullette's attack had scored a few hits, oozing its thick purple blood as it roared in defiance, moving for No Name without delay, but he was already dodging around it in a deceptively agile sprint despite his bulk. Its eyes twitched, one directed at No Name, the other at Bullette with equal intensity.

Oh look, it's the Giant Enemy Crab!

[Chrome Masquerade]

The creature did not return, nor did another come to challenge them.

Clearly, its weak point was hit, producing massive damage.

[Chrome Masquerade]

Bullette's confusion suddenly lifted in a growing smile. "Affirmative. Smells are the art of olfactory sensing. My error. I was looking at each dot of painting instead of seeing the picture. I do that sometimes." She clonked the side of her head with a metal ring. "Initiating broadband olfactory scan." The little fans in her nose whirred as she drew in the air. "Mmm..." She analyzed the air in her new way. "Storing pattern for later comparison. This is a good 'smell', yes?"

That's a really profound way of seeing that.

[Chrome Masquerade]

"Hey, Bullette."

"Affirmative?"

"Thanks."

Bullete's ears perked towards No Name. "Receiving of friendship points noted. What action prompted this?"

He reached for her, gently petting her metal mane. "For being you. For not leaving. Mostly for being you."

"I will continue to be me," spoke Bullette in a soft but happy tone. "Your identity is also pleasing to me. Please continue to be yourself."

He smiled faintly in the dark, though he knew she could see him just as clear as mid-day. "I'll do my best, even if I don't get what you see in me."

"I see a pony of exceptional size and empathy. I detect my caretaker and #1 ranking friend. I detect a pony that is as bad as I am at conveying and understanding emotions."

"Hey!"

"I speak only what I detect." She tilted her head a little. "Am I incorrect? Do my sensors need calibration?"

"Nah..." He pulled her closer. "You're perfect just the way you are."

D'aww!

[badninja]

Seriously Bullette is becoming my favorite traveling companion so far. She is just too precocious. I fear the fool who would cross her if she ever got a heavy ordnance gun.

[Adeire]

No-Name wasn't only giving them some alone time, he wanted some with Bullete too

[FanOfMostEverything]

One was a robot designed for battle with the mind of a filly. The other was a scarred brute of a pony that towered over them.

Together, they fight crime help adventurers!

In any case, some sweet moments, some tense moments, and a tantalizing hint of things to come. Lovely stuff. Though typos are prevalent in this area:

"I do hope it's alright while we're off galavanting around in some strange world."

Gallivanting.

Vinyl shook her head. "It all happened so quickly, we didn't have time to help. My apologies."

Going by the diction, I'm pretty sure Octavia was supposed to say this.

I guess I'll breath.

Breathe. Breath is the noun.

[David Silver]

9093024
They said there was radiation. I didn't think that meant typos!! We'd better get on our haz-mat suits before we push onwards.