Duet in the Dust

by David Silver

38 - Rescue Attempts

Octavia gazed in a mirror. Crown Shine was holding a brush in his mouth and was calmly working it through her pelt.

What looked back at her was a pretty pony, but was it her? Tall with thinner limbs, a princess, or as the locals would call, a queen, looked back at her. The eyes were the least changed, their shape and lashes exactly as she remembered them, gazing at her stoically.

Atop her horned head, a smaller crown of brass rested, glinting in the light. Crown Shine had been sure to... do exactly as he was called, making her new crown gleam brightly. He had been so very proud to present it to her. She could hardly deny it, complimenting his skill. He was fairly good at shining crowns.

The figure gazing back her was... striking, but was it her? Octavia turned to Tunnel Runner, who was quietly sitting, watching her. "When does Straight Path arrive?"

Tunnel looked across to a clock on the wall. "Soon, I think, She may already be on her way, Your Highness."

Octavia clucked her larger tongue softly. "I have a name I prefer. As a friend, I would hope you would honor that."

Tunnel's ears flipped back, her expression becoming confused. "But... I mean... we're not friends?" She tapped her forehooves softly, looking away.

Crown nuzzled under her chin suddenly. "You are the best," he sighed out with a dreamy smile. "If calling you Octavia makes you happier--"

"--you will do no such thing," sternly cut in a new female voice. Straight had arrived, a unicorn whose horn was bent slightly towards the tip and whose spiral did not flow quite right. She was a faithful, deformed in the way shared by their people. "Queen Melody, stop instructing your servants to perform such unseemly behavior."

Octavia turned to Straight with a frown. The way she figured it, it was too late. They would not simply kill her; she was, at worst, a false queen. "If I am a queen, I will do as I please, and that begins by having my friends see me as friends. Who are you to push into this room with such rude words on your tongue?"

"If you are a queen, then why do you hide from the name?" Straight Path cocked a brow at Octavia. "You are Queen Melody. There is no 'Octavia', that is a dead name, gone."

Octavia waved at a book and it flopped weakly to the ground, spilling open. "Do you even read what you decorate the room with, or are you under the impression that knowledge is gained by some measure of osmosis?"

Straight glanced at the book, but her eyes were on Octavia largely. "I am your tome, Queen Melody. I wish you would read me more often."

Octavia snorted at that. "Phrasing, dear..." She thrust a hoof at the discarded book. "I have little to do but to read, and what I have found is fascinating."

Straight perked at that. "How lovely. It's rare that a queen takes an active interest in history. What have you learned, Queen Melody?"

Octavia grunted softly. Why did she have to keep repeating that unwanted name? "That queen you lauded, she did not like her name either. She was no Queen."

Straight sputtered, blinking rapidly. "What?! Of course she was. Queen Illiana, all remember and pine for the days she ruled. This is fact!"

"Yes it is, but she was not a queen." Octavia took a step towards Straight. "She ruled an empire. That makes her an empress. She demurred on the title, instead taking on the mantle of queen. If she can rule so well while denying a title, I would ask the same privilege be extended towards me. I am Octavia; Octavia Melody if you wish to be formal. That is my name."

Straight wavered in place. She struggled to remain as her name implied, straight and unbending. "D-do you command this?"

"No!" Octavia drove a hoof down with a loud clop. "Nor should I have to. Those who are my friends will accept the name I desire. Those who do not, clearly have no interest in further dealings with me. This is a basic thing; even the lowest pony should have their name respected."

Straight turned stiffly for the door. "I... see... Today's lesson is cancelled. I must go." She minced out the door, trying, poorly, to hold herself properly.

When the door closed behind her, Tunnel Runner began clopping her forehooves wildly. "All hail Octavia Melody! That was... That was great! You are such an amazing queen."

Crown Shine bobbed his head in agreement. "I am so proud to be your servant, Queen Octavia." He threw himself prostrate before her. "I will follow you anywhere."

Octavia's ears perked. Queen Octavia... somehow that didn't make her skin crawl quite as much... No! No... She shook her head quickly, trying to banish such thoughts. "Just Octavia, or Octavia Melody, will make me happy. Please, rise."

---

"She is impossible!" hissed Straight at Cloudy. "She resists every lesson I try to give her. A failure! Another false queen!"

Cloudy sighed softly. "She seemed so full of promise... You saw it, didn't you?"

"A false light leading us astray." Straight huffed with indignance. "She does not even accept the title! Never have I met a queen so refusing to let her old name die. Queen Melody is such a nice name too..." She sank to the ground with an angry grunt. "Working with her is a new torture."

Cloudy perked an ear. "Even if she is false, she must be trained, and it falls on you to perform that."

Straight sat up at that with a low groan of pain. "If I must..."

"You must," he sternly reminded. "We all have our duties, and must see them through."

"Of course." She dipped her head. "I hope the true queen comes soon..."

"As do we all," he gently agreed, reaching to set a hoof on her shoulder. "Be strong, knowing she will come."

"As you say." She rose to her hooves. "Apologies for my moment of weakness. We must await that blessed day."

"For the queen."

"For the queen."

Their convictions restored, she departed his office back to her work.

---

Vinyl cheered as she slid down an ashy hill on a slab of metal, guiding it around almost-concealed rocks. No Name was making noise as well, but it was more of a shout of terror than an excited cheer. He was on a different platform, awkwardly trying to avoid crashing into things as he came down that hill.

Bullette was on his back, cheering with wildly shifting octaves as she clung tightly to his back, clearly having a good time.

The ground beneath them jolted powerfully as fire erupted into the sky behind them, spewing molten rock from the caldera they were fleeing.

They hadn't found Octavia that day, but Vinyl refused to see it as a complete loss.

---

"Octavia."

Octavia sat up. It was dark. The lights came and left over time. She had been told they were in sync with the flow of time outside, though she wasn't sure how true that was. That voice sounded familiar. "Straight Path?"

"Shh... You've convinced me."

Octavia blinked rapidly at that, rising to her hooves. "What is it I've convinced you of?"

"You're not a queen. I'm going to help you get away."

Octavia inclined an ear at the soft whispering. Could it... be true?

"No!" Suddenly a new pony threw themselves against her, clinging.

"Crown Shine?"

"Apologies, Oct... Your... Um..." He slid down off her leg in the dark. "I wanted to sleep near you... I, uh... I feel safer?"

Octavia smiled gently at the stallion. "You did nothing wrong, though I would have preferred you simply asked. This room is certainly large enough to contain the two of us without issues."

Straight frowned at the other faithful present. "Crown Shine, go away!"

Crown took a step back. "W-what?"

"Go. Away," ordered Straight, her teeth set. "If anyone asks, she ran away, snuck out, and that is that. Do you understand? If you disobey, I will see you are punished severely."

Octavia put a leg over Crown. "No. I took him, foalnapped him away in the middle of the night, very tragic."

Crown's eyes went wide, bulging in his not-quite right sockets. "Oh my!"

Straight scowled. "You are a cruel mare... You are sentencing him to misery, but I'm not here to argue. Follow me, or resign yourself to this fate." She turned and strode purposefully from the room, leaving the door open behind her.

Octavia took a step after her but paused, glancing towards Crown Shine. "You can follow me, and I will accept you, as a friend and protect you as best I am able, or stay here, where it's safer. I will not force you either way, but I will support you, as a friend."

Crown rushed to her side even as a few tears slipped from him. "I trust you," he squeaked softly. "Please keep me safe."

Octavia smiled gently. Was it Stockholm syndrome, or just that little good feeling at being treated like a queen? She had grown to like Crown Shine, as a pony. Perhaps, away from the others, he could become a better pony. "Let's hurry then." She slipped from the room and raced down the hallway as quietly as she could. At least her hooves were not adorned with metal coverings.

She could hear Crown ambling behind her, and Straight darted ahead of her, moving from cover to cover. Octavia tried to copy the movements, rushing from corner to cover to niche, making their way through the dark hallways.

"Here." Just as Octavia was passing an intersection, Straight shoved something against her. "Put it on, take it."

Octavia lifted it weakly with her horn magic. She still hadn't perfected that art. Even having one was strange... but useful. She could barely make out that it was a holster. It was her gun! She strapped it on with a nod, noting she had to use a different loop with her larger size. "Thank you."

She heard something hit the ground lightly and saw some things had been attached to the holster and fell off. Her goggles and other effects were there, strewn on the ground. She quickly gathered them up and stuffed them away with a broad smile.

"Shh." Straight pointed off into the dark. "Let me distract them, then get out and never come back." She galloped down the hallway, making no attempt at stealth. "Help! There's a queen trying to escape!"

Octavia went as stiff as a board. Was she being betrayed?!

"Where?!" asked the unseen pony in response to Straight.

"She went that way!"

Octavia could hear hoofsteps, drawing closer. Light spilled in her direction, only to turn away just as quickly. Straight and the guard went down a side hallway, leaving the way forward clear.

Crown gently bumped into her. "Time to go?"

"It is. Last chance, are you with me?"

"Forever." He bowed his head low.

Octavia smiled awkwardly, but focused on flight. She trotted forward down that cleared hall. She could smell it. Ash. They were getting close to the exit.

There it was.

She could see an open door and beyond it, emptiness, dark emptiness. She was leaving some kind of building or bunker or something. Did it matter? She fled out the door, wings fluttering behind her. They wanted to fly, but she hadn't had a chance to even try them yet, and dared not make a midnight jaunt her first time.

She heard a frightened mewl. Crown was next to her, pressed tight and shivering with utter dread. "It's so large..."

Octavia inclined an ear down at him. "Wait until the sun comes up... For now, we should get further away."

"I'm scared."

"Shhh, I know you are..." She leaned down and nuzzled him between the ears. "But we're together. We're together, so it's not that bad, right?"

"N-no..." He slowly stood up properly. "Thank you... I know... you don't like being called it, but you are a really good queen..."

Octavia smiled gently in the dark. "Let's talk about that when we're somewhere safer."

She began to lead the way away from the Faithful's little hole. She had friends to find, and a world to return to.

---

Clouded Quartz sighed softly. "Another escape... We must improve security. How many were on watch when it happened?"

"Just one," reported Straight. Of course, she had worked to ensure that. "I enlisted his help, but we couldn't find her anywhere. We've searched every inch there is to search, she's gone."

"Such a pity... I really had such high hopes in that one... How are the others doing?"

Straight smiled, feeling confident in her deception. "Sunny is coming around, surprisingly. You should inspect her for the first stage; she should be ready for it, or released if she fails it."

"Excellent news." He nodded, his expression brightening. "I'll be down later today to see how she reacts. Anything else?"

"Ah, right, I think she had an accomplice."

"What?!"

"Crown Shine." She waved vaguely. "He's gone too, no body. He must have left with her. Maybe she took him hostage and made him guide her out, or maybe he fled with her. Either way, he's gone."

"He was a most faithful of Faithful Subjects... We lost a good one there..." He grunted softly as he stood up. "We should hold a parting ceremony, he deserves that much. Be sure Tunnel Runner is invited, they were close. I was certain they would become a couple. She must be devastated... See that her duties are lessened."

"Of course." She dipped her head softly. "I will see to this. For the Queen."

"For the Queen." He waved her away, pulling over some papers to work on something.

---

Octavia was wearing the goggles, not on her forehead, but across her eyes, keeping the stinging ash from blowing into them. She was guiding Crown Shine along, who had his eyes squeezed shut. "Just stay with me," she cautioned, pressing against the wind.

There was no shelter that she could see, not that she could see much of anything. Then it struck her; she had magic, and her things. "Wait a moment."

She closed her eyes and focused. The goggles had seen many things. That echo she called on, bidding that her own eyes find shelter, a home, a house, anything to be free of the driving ash for a moment.

Octavia could feel a longing, a draw. "Yes... This way." She weakly nudged him with her still developing horn magic and changed course in the storm. "I think I know a safe place."

"I trust you," he shouted over the wind. "I trust you!"

She was becoming convinced his trust in her was the only thing he had to cling to. She could feel him still trembling with fear. The outside world had given him little so far to be happy about. She felt a pang of regret. Maybe she should have left him behind... He was safe there, even if they were all a little crazy...

"Crown?" she tried to speak softly, but it was a storm, she had to shout. A soft shout was a hard thing to do.

"Yes, My Queen?"

Octavia smirked at that, but didn't chastise him, not in that situation. "It gets better."

"I hope so..."

Following her magic, the blowing ash suddenly parted. There was a building between her and the wind. She rushed for it with a smile, setting her hooves on the old metal. "Thank Celestia! Find a door." She could lower her voice a little, the wind not quite as howling.

The door was just another sheet of metal, with something of a handle grafted into place. She tried it, but it wouldn't budge, just rattling a little.

"(Go away,)" came a common-speaking voice from inside, male.

Octavia lifted her ears. "(Thank goodness. Please, open the door. We're not here to har--)"

"(Go away. I am not that stupid.)"

Octavia frowned softly.

Her companion, Crown Shine, dared to step towards the door. "(Please, Sir. It's really bad out here. Let us--)"

The door slammed open and a gun's barrel came out in the open space, a grizzled human holding the other end of the device. "(Go away and die!)"

Octavia took half a step back. "(Please, we mean no harm... As soon as the wind settles down, we'll leave you in peace.)"

The man squinted at Octavia, then down at the misshapen pony cowering beneath her. "(Damn it all... You got something to trade?)"

Octavia considered a quick moment. "(Here.)" She plucked the crown that rested on her head free and offered it to him.

"No!" Crown scrambled to put himself between the human and the crown. "No, please, not that! That's yours, Octavia, yours... Keeping it shining is... what I do, please..."

"(I don't speak fey, but he sounds upset. Whatever, get in here and stop letting in the ash.)" He backed away, gun still trained on them.

They made their way into the dim interior of the metal hut. With a soft kick, she knocked the door closed behind herself.

"(Lock it.)"

"(Right.)" She turned and soon had the latch properly in place, keeping the wind from knocking it open again. "(Thank you. We'll be as mindful of your space as we can be.)"

"(You do that.)" He sank down onto a chair that had long lost its legs, the gun still pointed in their general direction. "(You a wanderer?)"

Crown Shine did as he was named to do, first producing his rag and cleaning agents to start polishing the crown back into a proper shine. He seemed content, for a time, simply doing as he was good at doing, in a place that was safer than the middle of the storm. It was even comfortably compact and cozy.

Octavia smiled at the sight, knowing he was far more comfortable than he had been. "(We're trying to get to Turves. How far are we?)"

"(Turves?)" He hiked a brow at Octavia. "(You're a trek, but there's a road at least.)" He laughed softly, a tired noise. "(All roads lead to there, what ain't leadin' ta Murrage or Trash Heap.)" His eyes fell to Crown, watching him a moment. "(I ain't an expert on ponies, but he... doesn't look quite right.)"

Octavia inclined an ear towards him. "(I suppose he doesn't... He is a good pony, but a little lost. I'm lost as well, in a different way.)" She extended a wing, glancing off at the strange alien limb. "(I don't feel very normal myself, all things considered.)"

"(Ain't nothin' normal these days.)" He set the gun aside lightly, still within easy reach. "(Mom told me never to eat in front of someone without offerin' some, or you got only yerself to blame when they stab ya.)"

Octavia's ears went up. "(How dreadful! I mean, you don't have to...)" Her enlarged belly grumbled with other ideas, forcing a blush into her cheeks.

"(Figured.)" He stood up and dusted himself off. "(Ash everywhere, damn...)" He made his way to some cupboards and pulled out something in a bag. "(Let's eat. I'm starved. You showed up just ahead of lunch time.)"

Crown Shine perked an ear up at him. "I'll clean up, as soon as I finish with the crown."

"(What's he sayin'?)"

Octavia perked an ear. She was sure she had heard him speaking common before... "(He says he'll clean the room after the crown.)"

"(Good.)" He sank back to his bottom and pulled open the bag. "(You like jerky? All I got.)" He started pulling out strands of dried meat, biting into the first voraciously. "(Got some water too.)"

"(That sounds heavenly...)" It wasn't her favorite food by far, but her hunger refused for her to be selective. "(Tell me, if you would, have you had to deal with... other ponies in the area?)" They couldn't have gone very far, she reasoned. A day, at most.

"(I see 'em, sometimes, let them go past.)" He held out another strip for Crown, who took it with an awkward smile. "(Don't bother them, they don't bother me. Then you come bangin' on mah door.)"

Octavia dipped her head. "(Apologies. We don't--)"

"(Stow it, I understand.)" Things grew quieter with the sounds of chewing and sipping. It was a companiable meal-time, the tension fading. It seemed he had grown certain they were not there to harm him.

---

Vinyl pointed ahead. "We're getting closer," she shouted over the roar of the wind. "Maybe we should set up camp?"

No Name perked an ear towards her. "Hey, Bullette, do you see any places to camp nearby?"

He said 'see', but he didn't mean it, and Bulette knew it. She reached out with her various sensors, trying to penetrate the driving ash. "Building detected," she declared, sitting up on No Name's back. "Technology level, minimum. Integrity... passable. Electricity not detected. Heat detected. Current weather prevents further analysis."

"You heard her." He turned in the driving ash, moving towards the theoretical shelter. "Any idea if anyone's inside the thing or not?"

Bullette said nothing, perhaps trying to sift through her sensors.

Vinyl broke into a lively trot. "Whatever, I'll be glad to get out of this storm. Never so glad to have goggles."

"Yeah, I had one set of those..." No Name sighed gently. "Wonder if she still has them... That'd be nice."

They almost bumped into the building as it emerged quite abruptly from the storm. Vinyl pumped a hoof. "Yeah! Now we're talking!"

"Vinyl?" came a voice from within. Hoofsteps sounded before the door of the hut swung open, permitting a familiar yet alien pony into view. "Vinyl Scratch!"

Vinyl took an uncertain step forward. "O-Octavia? O. M. G. Girl!" She charged forward and tackled the alicorn, dangling off her neck. "It's you! It's you! We found you!"

"Friends?" meekly asked Crown Shine, peeking out from behind Octavia.

"Ultra Violet threat detected!" Bullette's hooves began rapidly unfolding and remodeling into lethal weapons as her back belched out the long barrel of a gun. "Unlocking weapons."

"(Bloody hell!)" thundered from within the hut. "(Close that damn door, with you on either side of it. You're letting the damned ash in again and I'm too tired!)"

Bullette blinked softly, her unfolding pausing as she tilted her head, looking confused.

No Name advanced. "You have a lot to explain, later. (Sorry for the trouble.)" He wriggled into the small hut and folded into a corner as best he could to not take up any more space than needed.

Vinyl slid down Octavia's front to her own hooves, pressing into the hut with her eyes on Crown, peering at him. "So... are you the one that took Octie away?"

"He is not." She closed the door and latched it securely with a twist of her magic. "He fled with me, away from them. He is to be treated with respect and kindness."

"Friendship file created," sang Bullette, looking happy suddenly. She hopped down off of No Name and trotted right up to the confused Crown Shine. "I am Bullette Belle. You are?"

"Crown... Shine. I shine crowns." He reached for the crown he had finished and offered it towards Bullette.

Bullette tilted her head left, then right. "Cleaning efficiency, 99.21%. Commendable." She clip-clopped her hooves in applause.

Crown blushed softly with an awkward smile. "Never been... complimented like that before, uh... thanks."

Vinyl looked less sure. "I'm not opening a friendship file just yet... So, you're a Faithful?"

"Yes! No? I mean..." He glanced towards Octavia. "I'm faithful to her."

"(This is why I avoid fey,)" grumbled the poor human that owned the hut, unable to understand most of what was being said.

"(Sorry.)" Crown bowed towards the man, suddenly speaking common.

Octavia cleared her throat. "(He is my responsibility, at least for now. Please, accept that.)"

Author's Note:

Octavia frees herself... sorta?

Comments

[Dravkwn]

Freedom came quicker than I thought it would.

[Chrome Masquerade]

And so this arc ends happily.

At least Straight isn't entirely reprehensible.

[Booster Spice]

Next queen is going to hate Octavia for putting her in line and demand Octavias head in return?

I wonder if the active caldera Vinyl an co escaped from, was actually there before they got there.

[Ecuos Oinocernos]

Wow, that was fast!
Silver, I want to ask question that is related to your Everglow crossovers in general, rather than this one in particular. I read "A Dangerous Sparkle", "The Apple Falls Far from the Tree", "The Everglow of a Twilight Sunset" and "Ponyfinder: Roots of Stone". In all this stories heroes didn't encounter a single aberration. I know that in Pathfinder aberrations are not as prominent as in D&D proper, but are they a thing in Ponyfinder at all? I didn't heard even mention of aberrations or Dark Tapestry in your stories.

[David Silver]

9412316
I thought there was at least one, but I wonder, what would it add/change if there was one, or three, or ten?

[Ecuos Oinocernos]

9412377
It is not like I am complaining, I just noticed, that in your stories heroes encounter like all types of threats: infernal, elemental, natural, etc. It just looked odd for me that with such variety of adventures heroes didn't encounter a single cosmic horror. Also your characters never encounter psyonic adversary and aberration would be perfect for that role. Psyonic enemies that mess with your mind are always fun to survive encounter with.

[David Silver]

9412464
They ran into an entire asylum that played with their heads. That was fun.

[Ecuos Oinocernos]

9412467
That was fun indeed. However that was more like illusion, rather than "allies are attacking each other under mind control" which would be fiun to see as well.

[howard035]

Poor Octi. Someday Crown Shine will do well in Canterlot.

[prism heart]

Love the story so far. Octavia deserves a little vacay after dealing with the Faithful.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Mom told me never to eat in front of someone without offerin' some, or you got only yerself to blame when they stab ya.

Just because there was an apocalypse doesn't mean you can't be well-mannered. For a given definition of the term.

In any case, the Faithful certainly have a lot of faith in themselves, but not much in their queens. They don't seem terribly comfortable with the idea of their leaders actually being in charge. They definitely aren't comfortable with facts interfering with their worldview. Of course, if they were sane and reasonable, they probably wouldn't have mutated.

In any case, I'm not sure how Longshot will react to this, but at least Octavia has kept herself. Mostly. For now. Hopefully that trend continues.

[Midknight Defender]

Behold, behold, the 'Tavicorn comes?

I read the last few chapters of this on a break at work with no internet access and figured I was doomed to waiting for more, but you posted a new chapter before I got home.

Yay!