Duet in the Dust

by David Silver

43 - Into Danger, Prepared

"(Here you go.)" Lunarquills held two guns by their midsections. They were familiar, and yet...

"Awesome!" Vinyl grabbed her gun in her magic. "What did you do? I mean, besides make it look even more metal."

Octavia willed her own to float towards her holster, but it didn't fit anymore. "Hmm..."

"I mighta got carried away a little bit." He held up two fingers close together. "Anyway, it's worth it. Vinyl, yers can belch out a carpet of bullets." He gestured the curious attachment to the side of the tumbler. "It holds more bullets too. If ya keep the trigger down, more bullets come out. Be careful wit' that, right?"

He reached into a pocket and pulled out several packets of ammunition. "Yer gonna need more of these, especially if you don't measure how long you hold the trigger down."

"You're awesome, did I mention that?" She took the offered ammo and had them tucked away for later use. "I may not have guns in my arms, but I can spit out bullets like I do anyway. Good enough!"

Octavia was examining her gun, brow raised. "Did you do something similar with mine?"

"Nah." He waved a hand left and right. "Not your style. I went for better shots instead of more shots. Ya went and got more, uh... What the bears call it, chi or whatever, so it'll pull from there, and it's rigged to use slightly bigger bullets. Less bullets, but they'll feel each one." He drew out new boxes of ammo, but each one held fewer bullets, each one a little larger than Vinyl's collection.

Even as Octavia took her ammo, he was reaching for her, casually pulling off her holster and replacing it with a new one. He was invading her personal space, but he seemed more like a doctor, doing exactly what needed to be done, and she tolerated it. Soon a new holster was strapped around her, and she could fit her new gun in without issue. "Lovely. I don't intend to be a useless weight on this journey."

Vinyl spun her gun in place, making it go about wildly in place in her magic. "I'm feeling way more ready! Thanks again, Lunar."

"Yeah, see, don't do that." He hiked a thumb towards the shooting alley they had used once before. "You may wanna get some practice in with the adjustments before you go running off."

Vinyl raced off to do just that, leaving Octavia and Lunar behind. Octavia nodded towards him. "I presume that is why you did not also give her larger or more lethal munitions."

"In part." He smirked faintly. "Also there just ain't enough room t'do it all. The more you want to cram into a gun, the harder it gets. Making it hold a mess a' bullets and spit them all back out is already a lot. Yours I focused on each one instead. They're both good, and I hope they match who's using 'em."

Octavia rose to her hooves. "There is only one way to be certain. I'll join Vinyl. Thank you once more. You've done well." She took one step but no more. "If we do not return, know that I will not easily forget my time here. Thank you, for being a friend."

"Ain't nothin'." He lifted his shoulders in a vast shrug. "Go on and try it out. Let me know if anything doesn't feel right."

When she had trotted away, he took a slow breath. "Ain't never good at byes anyway." He turned for home.

---

With a flick of her head, she sent a small package to join the others on the small wagon. "Still light enough?" called Vinyl towards the front.

The wagon was secured to No Name's sides and he took a ponderous step, testing its weight. "It's far from nothing, but it ain't bad. Real trick is if we hit deep ash."

"Sensors online," reported Belle dutifully from top No Name. "Are all supplies loaded?"

Octavia shuffled in place. "I feel strangely exposed, leaving Turves without the instrument I only so recently acquired, but that belongs to Longshot, and I suppose it always had. We are ready."

Vinyl flipped her headphones around, starting up a pumping electronic ballad. "Time to get marchin'!"

They set off, leaving Turves and its comforts behind. The road was soon lost to mild ash, the true sign that they had left civilization, where people actually cleaned things.

"Course correction." Belle nudged at her brave mount, guiding him around holes and hazards concealed by the ash.

"What's that?" Vinyl pointed into the distance. It was hard to see through the ash they were kicking up, but it looked to be a collection of people approaching on horseback.

Octavia drew her weapon free. "Be prepared."

Vinyl whistled at that. "Shoot girl, you're getting into it." She pulled free her automated monstrosity. "Hopefully they'll just go around."

"Ain't goin' around," grunted No Name with a frown. He reached back and pulled free the massive 'children at play' sign that he favored as a weapon.

With a muffled roar that grew louder, A rocket flew towards them. "Bloody hay!" shrieked Octavia, diving to the side with unfurled wings.

Vinyl levelled her gun at the incoming thing and pulled the trigger, squeezing it as it began to rapidly empty itself of bullets. A great explosion filled the space between them and their assailants, the rocket detonated before reaching them.

"Excellent performance. Battle mode engaging. Danger level: Red." As deadly as she was, it took Belle a moment to unfurl her gun arms.

Cracks and pops of firearms filled the air. Flying, Octavia was the easiest to see and target. She wheeled and twirled, trying to avoid being perforated, but a bullet found one of her hind legs. "That's... it, no more playing," she grunted, aiming her gun down at her assailants. "That didn't hurt as bad as getting these wings."

With a deep thump that seemed far too low for such a small gun, she caught the first bandit, a small pony, in the side of his torso, drawing a scream of vulgarity. He collapsed off his larger horse and the beast ran off without him, leaving him in the ash.

No Name shook free the harness of the wagon and charged forward, sign raised and ready. "You picked the wrong victims!" The other snakes that weren't speaking hissed in unison.

The remaining bandits spread out, trying to get around their would-be victims, firing wildly as they went. Vinyl's music joined the confusion, playing loudly as she trotted forward to the beat of her own music. "Time to lay down the law, people!"

A great plume of fire engulfed a rider and their mount at once, Belle's terrible arm pointed in their direction. Even as elf and equine screamed in anguish, No Name was on another, bringing down his sign. An arm went flying off, his sign bloodied, but the rider moving past. "Shoot, missed," he grunted as he turned in a broad circle towards other victims.

"(Demons!)" hissed one of the riders, a feline with grit teeth. "(Get out of here!)" He nudged his mount into action away from the losing battle.

"We can't have that," softly spoke Octavia as she flew towards him from above, taking aim as she did so. She fired just with a beat of the song. She wasn't sure if she intended that, but her aim was true, perhaps assisted by the battle music of her friend.

The cat slumped against the back of his horse's neck. She turned in her flight, hoping to get the one other she could see getting away, but they were far out of her easy range, and moving far faster on the horse's hooves than she did with her wings. "Blast it..."

No Name brought down a hoof with a loud thump right beside the head of the original small pony that had fallen from his horse. "You can answer some questions, or I'll make it quick."

The little one raised his hooves wardingly. "Don't kill me! Uh, pony to pony, right? I'll do anythin'!"

"Danger level: Yellow." Her arms began rescinding to their less deadly versions. "I advise cooperation."

Octavia landed just beside Vinyl, wincing and tipping momentarily to one side. "That stings a little when you put weight on it."

Vinyl perked an ear towards her friend. "Put weight on-- Oh woah, hold on!" She rushed forward with healing words on her lips. With a touch and a glow of rock magic, she banished the hurt. The bullet popped free of the sound and fell to the ground. "That's never gonna stop being weird."

No Name was scowling down at his captive. "You from Trash Heap?"

"Who, me?" squeaked the little pony. "Um, no, no, why would someone innocent like me be from there?" He fixed No Name with a pouty look, lower lip trembling.

"Oh, wow..." Vinyl was staring at the little pony. "He's so cute..."

"Affirmative," agreed Belle. "Cuteness levels are aesthetically pleasing. Analyzing." She was also staring.

Everyone was staring at the little pony, except one. Octavia was approaching him directly with one raised brow. "I don't know what you did to them, but I'm neither fooled, or unarmed. As harmless as your particular tribe may be, you, in particular, are a bad pony. You shot me!"

"They forced me," he squeaked in defense, his ears down and his forehooves clopped together pleadingly. "I'm innocent! I don't want to hurt anyone!"

Octavia reached out and bopped him on the head. "You realize, you're holding the one pony that could make you stop bleeding, yes? Stop that."

He looked past Octavia to Vinyl, the one that had tended to Octavia's wounds. "Oh, um... promise me the big guy won't squish me."

"Don't give him reason to want to," she countered. "Which you are currently doing. The sooner you let him go, the better."

He rocked left and right with an adorably uncertain face. "Mmm, ahh... It... Fine..." He sagged, his cute face becoming his normal bandit'y expression as he flopped forward. "I'm tired and bleedin' anyway..."

"Cuteness levels decreasing." Belle tilted her head left and right, simulated pupils adjusting.

Vinyl blinked softly. "Huh?"

No Name's hoof came down on the prone pony's back. "Time for you to go."

"Stop!" Octavia's wings shot out as she took a firm stance. "He has yielded."

Vinyl huffed a snort as she circled around to be opposite No Name. "This little guy was ready to fill us full of lead. He did fill you with lead, I remind."

Belle clopped her reformed hooves together as she slid down from No Name. "Octavia wishes to earn friendship points. This is admirable, but the target of points has shown little desire to return the sentiment."

No Name pressed a little more firmly on his captive. "What she said. He'll gut you the moment he can."

"Would... not," he wheezed out, laboring for breath under the large and crushing hoof. "You... promised healing..."

"I did not do that," argued Octavia, but she moved a wing against No Name's chest. She had no chance of forcing his motion, but the gesture was enough to make him back away. "But I will, provided you divest yourself of all weapons. If we find a single one you don't drop, right now, that's it."

With the acrid stench of one of his former friends, cooked horrifically, he sat up and started pulling things free in a hurry. In a rain of small metal things clattering to the ground, he created a pile of little daggers, multiple guns, and a few, almost cute, grenades. "There, that's, uh... everything... Do these count?" He held up his hooves at Octavia, showing the shoes he had nailed to them.

"They do, but I will forgive you not dropping those. Vinyl, if you please, see to the worst of his injuries?"

Vinyl nodded in tune with the music only she could hear fully. "Yeah sure. Angel's decided to give you mercy, don't blow it, or the rock goddess is going to come down on you." She reached out and booped the injured pony on the snoot. With a bright glow, the bleeding stilled, the wound closing and mending under her self-declared divine might.

His little eyes went wide. "You're a literal angel?! Woah..." His eyes looked over Octavia in a whole new light. "I can see it. Woah... Oh by the gods I attacked a literal angel! They're going to drag my poor soul to the deepest pit of Hell and--"

Octavia popped her hoof over his face. "Calm yourself. There is still a chance for salvation, if you listen to what I say."

He nodded with a shaking head, tears stinging at his eyes, focused intently on Octavia.

She just smiled gently. "You will go where we came from. There is a town there, Turves. You will tell them that you saw an angel, and she ordered you to settle there. Then you will be good, and they will accept you. Do this, and all past sins will be forgiven."

"T-Turves, y-yeah, I know that place..." He sat up, still shaking. "We were gonna raid it, um... then we... saw you and thought we could... that was dumb, I guess..."

Vinyl barked out a laugh. "With that team? Turves would have torn you apart. We're not the worst thing in there."

No Name knocked the little pony over with a casual nudge of a hoof. "Who were you going to raid with?"

"Eeek! I dunno! I'm not the boss, other people, um, like 3 gangs worth!" He scrambled to his hooves a little further from No Name and closer to his seeming savior. "Should I... go?"

Octavia nodded in a smooth motion. "You should, and tell them exactly what you had in mind. Tell them so they can defend themselves better. It would not do for your new home to be put to the torch, would it? Do this, and you will be happier, in this life and the next."

"Thank you!" he blurted, bouncing in place. "You are the nicest angel I ever met!"

Octavia felt... good. She had taken charge, avoided needless violence, and possibly netted Turves an advantage to help pay off the debt she still felt she owed the community. "Go on then. Stay on the path of goodness. Oh, tell Duck, when you find him, that the angel insisted you be treated to a treat. You will like it."

"Duck, yes, right." He began trotting towards Turves, weaponless in large, seemingly satisfied that following the words of the angel would keep him safe. "Thank you!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Belle nudged against No Name. "Error, false testimony given."

"Yeah, but it was a nice lie." He reached for Belle, pulling her up onto his back and turning away from Turves. "You know, he'll probably fall off the wagon you just put him on."

Vinyl moved to Octavia's side, the two walking along together. "I'm more impressed at how gullible he was."

"Was he?" She inclined an ear at Vinyl. "He saw me as a savior, and I did save him. He saw his path led to pain and destruction, and I offered an alternative. It may not have involved exactly what he thought, but it was true."

Vinyl glanced over her shoulder at the shrinking form of the hurrying little pony. "I just want to know why so many ponies are so... small. Is that from not eating enough?"

"Nah." No Name smirked faintly. "You think they'll all just get your size the moment food's more common?"

"You can't say that's not possible." She stuck out her tongue as she skipped, clipping her hooves together mid-jump. "So what is it?"

"Tribal designation: Short leg. Variant: Physical." Belle's pupils vanished, instead showing images where her eyes once were. On one side showed the three 'major' tribes of earth, pegasus, and unicorn. On the other was the smaller short leg. "Due to variance, there are no pegasus or horned short legs. Due to variance, there are clockwork, doppelganger, and crystal short legs." Images of each type appeared, each circled. The ones that could happen had bright green circles. The ones that could not were red with a cross through them.

Vinyl burst into joyous laughter. "Oh wow, I want to see a gem short legs. That has to be... three times as adorable, and shiny." She threw an arm over Octavia. "Tell me you want to see one too."

"Mayhaps we shall." Her eyes were forward as they walked, one ear turned to hear the rattle of the wagon No Name was attached to once more. "Short legs seem capable of banditry, so they may inhabit Trash Heap in numbers."

Vinyl turned her gaze upwards to Belle. "Hey, what about big short legs?"

"Valid." An image appeared of a larger outline of a short leg, though it was still shaped like a little pony, just a bigger one. As if someone took a shire pony and simply enlarged it without changing the proportions. "They are not as large as normal anteans."

"Anteans?"

"Tribal designation: Antean. Variant: Spiritual." Belle did not have more to add.

"Huh..." She shrugged softly. "So you put big and small together and you get a funny looking medium. Sure, why not." She flashed her flat teeth as she trotted along at a lively rate. "I want to see one of those too."

Octavia raised a fine brow. "I confess surprise to hear you are not somewhat curious how they are... created."

Vinyl gasped with faked shock. "Octavia! Is that an angel speaking of such... base things? I'm scandalized!"

Octavia shoved her friend away with a roll of her eyes. "You know you were thinking it."

"Maybe."

---

Well-equipped and prepared, the group made its way across the wastes with few things to stop them. They fought off angry beasts and greedy raiders with equal grace. A road began to emerge from the endless ash, a hint that they were approaching civilization, of a kind.

Vinyl lifted the hoof with the LAP attached to her arm. "Whatever this is, it's not on this map." She shrugged softly. "Considering the map was made like a jillion years ago, I guess that makes sense."

No Name pointed at it mid-step. "Ask it if there are any radios in range. That might be useful."

"Good idea!" She willed the button presses until an image of the alicorn appeared. A knob was in front of her and with a glowing horn, she seemed to be turning the knob around and around.

"Scanning..." it said beneath that, the periods building and vanishing as the knob turned slowly.

A male voice suddenly starting speaking, "--oudy with a fair chance of ash storm, so get your sorry asses inside before it gets dark. Coming next, a message from the big man, Locunt, so keep that radio tuned in if you know what's good for you." The voice faded and placid music began, more like elevator music than anything meant to truly entertain.

"This on?" asked a new voice. "Ah, good. Greetings, fellow Heapers.--"

The voice suddenly paused, a prompt appearing asking if Vinyl wanted to save the radio station.

"Yes, get back to it!" She quickly swatted the agree button.

"--are ready," resumed the voice of Locunt. "Get your things, be there, and we'll make this a hit that the wastes won't forget. If you don't want to go, that's fine. That's fine. We'll remember."

The voice went away and the placid music came back.

Belle pointed at the LAP. "Bad person detected. Friendship file creation: Denied."

Octavia leaned over, peering at the LAP, but it had little to display but the frequency of the radio they were listening to. There was a title, 'Bandit Radio'. "Did you select that?"

"Do you have a better name?" Vinyl shrugged. "I just wanted to hear what that guy was saying. So... hey, if we wait for this guy to go do his thing, that'll be less people for us to sneak around, right?"

"Good idea." No Name nodded softly as he veered to the right. "Let's not approach from the road. That way makes sure we get 'tolled' on the way in. I don't feel like dealin' with that right now."

Octavia followed the redirection, but a frown was on her face. "They are going to do something unfavorable, possibly to people we know. Even if it wasn't... if we are in position to assist, shouldn't we?"

"Good person detected!" musically chimed Belle, pointing at Octavia. "Probability of assistance: Low. I am ill-equipped to combat an entire city of bad people. Odds with innocents present, 0% with rounding. Would you like a more specific figure?"

"Yes please." Vinyl grinned as Belle started rattling off the very small number with precision. "Belle, you are an amazing filly, let me remind you. Hey, are we--nevermind." They had just gotten to the top of a small hill, allowing them to see the city up ahead. It wasn't a vast metropolis by any measure, but it was a city, dwarfing the town of Turves . "Hay, anyone notice how we keep seeing bigger and bigger places. What's the next one on the list?"

No Name pushed past Vinyl, shoving her lightly on the way past. "We ain't visiting Murrage, sorry. Let's find that portal thingie and get this over with."

"Mission is go!" Belle squeezed at No Name from above. "Your navigation is out of alignment. You collided with Vinyl Scratch." She started applying soft nudges to guide No Name, presumably to avoid future impacts.

Vinyl smirked softly, unfooled by Belle's innocence. She veered towards Octavia. "You know you're not going to be subtle. I doubt there's a ton of alicorns up in there."

"I should think not..." She drew down her goggles with her magic and squinted at the city. "I see more... two legs than hooves. We will all stand out to one degree or another. You are the most normal in appearance of us all, Celestia have mercy on us."

"Hey!" came a new female voice. Approaching them on an electric motorcycle was a woman with a gun held in one hand, and a handlebar in the other. "Trying to avoid the tolls? Nice try, but you have to be a lot sneakier than that." She sounded far more amused than angry about it. "Who the hell are you and who are you with?"

She was human, dressed in what appeared to be a haphazard mesh of leather, plastic, and metal. Worn for protection, it did little to accent her figure, instead hiding it in a smooth shape. She had bright pink hair and her fingers, clutching bike and gun both, were painted at the end with a sparkling mixture that seemed to be her nod towards more classic femininity. "Don't even try to tell me I forgot this circus of freaks."

Vinyl suddenly stepped forward. "Hey, what's the happs? We're here because we heard it was a cool place to be, and I'm ready to throw down some sick beats on any ears ready to rock with me. Are you up for it?"

The women shoved her gun to a strap that held it at her hip. "A performer and her freak show? I've seen worse just today." She leveled a finger at Vinyl. "Performers still have to pay, sweets. Unless you got an invite from someone important, that's just the way it goes. You'll make it back if you're any good."

No Name grunted softly before tossing his head back at the wagon he was attached to. "We have traveling supplies."

Belle clopped her hooves loudly. "You can have the front row when Vinyl performs!"

"Bribery huh?" She clucked her tongue against her teeth. "I'll consider it." She circled around No Name with a smooth acceleration of her bike. "Let's see what you have here..."

Author's Note:

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

Dont matter how much you try to hide.

The Pink will Always find you.

[FanOfMostEverything]

If we do not return, know that I will not easily forget my time here.

It's good to see that she can say that in a positive sense.

Sending a known mind controller (or at least fascinator) into Turves ahead of the massive raid... Octavia may regret that decision. Let's hope his fear of Hell outweighs his love of mayhem.

Ah, scenic Trash Heap. Come because you have to. Stay because you're dead. With luck and care, only the first will apply to our heroes. We'll see if they have both.

Also, typo in the crossfire:

Time to lay down the law people!

Missing comma after "law." Remember, commas are the difference between "Let's eat, Grandma!" and "Let's eat Grandma!"

[David Silver]

9466639
But... she's so sweet...