Flying With the Dusty Bolts

Tumble Weed sat on Sand Blast’s porch swing staring out over the vast Appaloosan canyon land, Sand Blast had gone in to get some cider for them. With the sun high in the sky it had to be over 100 degrees out and sweat formed in beads on Tumble Weeds forehead, Sand Blast came back out with the bottled cider which had already started to sweat.

“Hot one today.” Tumble Weed observed dryly as Sand Blast handed him his cider,

“Yep.” Sand Blast half grunted sitting down with cracking joints,

“Ahhh, that’s good.” Tumble Weed sighed taking a long swig,

“Yep.” Sand Blast replied holding the cold bottle to his face, Tumble Weed offered his bottle in cheers.

“Thanks for having me over.” The bottles clinked,

“Don’t mention it, figured it’s been to long since the last time we did this and I didn’t want you to think there were any hard feelings from what I said earlier.” That was exactly what Tumble Weed needed to hear and in that moment he was at peace with Crazy Wing’s death.

They looked back out over the desert with the perpetual squint that comes from the glaring reflection off the sand, miles and miles of beautiful desolate landscape with nothing but sagebrush and the occasional sand dunes. With no forests or cities to obscure their view of the sky they could see the horizon clearly in all directions and all the clear blue sky in between, but best of all had to be the mesas and canyons, painted in all colors of the rainbow down the different layers of the dirt that formed them. Nowhere in Equestria was there another place like this and there was no place that they both loved and hated as much as Appaloosa, especially at times like these.

“Hot one today.” Tumble Weed said still sticky with sweat,

“Yep.” The sun made it’s slow trek across the sky, leaving less and less shade on the porch.

Then they saw Filly the Kid drifting by on a higher cloud, it was her weather watch day and they could tell from the look on her face that she was bored fit to explode. She spotted something shining in the desert below her and she dived for it, it turned out to be a mirage and she crashed pell-mell into a sand dune.

“Recon that didn’t feel so good.” Tumble Weed just watched placidly,

“Yep.” They watched her roll around in the sand coating herself in it,

“Hey Sand Blast?” Tumble Weed said worriedly, “You think Kid’s spent a bit too much time in the sun?”

“Yep.” Tumble Weed sat back and watched as Kid grabbed some sagebrush and began sticking it in her mane.

“That’s too bad.”

“Yep.”

Kid looked up and spotted them on the porch, she waved and shouted, “Hey guys, look at me I’m a Minotaur!”

They gave a smile and waved back out of courtesy, “Hot one today.”

Sand Blast stared off into the horizon for a bit before he answered, “You know, my Pa used to tell me, ‘Son if you spit into the wind you could lose an eye.’”

This time it was Tumble Weed’s turn to say, “Yep.” Tumble Weed got up, “I’m gonna’ go get some more cider can I take your bottle and get you something?”

Sand Blast looked at him with a straight face and said, “Yeah you could get yourself a nice cool glass of shut the buck up.”

Tumble Weed was the first to start laughing but Sand Blast eventually cracked up, “Buck you.” Was all Tumble Weed could come up with as he headed for the fridge. Sand Blast put his hooves behind his head and rocked on the swing in complete tranquility, Tumble Weed came out and handed him another cider flopping down on the swing next to him,

“Hot one today.”

“Yep… Did I ever tell you bout’ the time that I had a plowing race with Big Mac?”

Tumble Weed had already heard it seven times since he had met Sand Blast and about three times before actually meeting him, “Sure didn’t tell me bout’ it.”

Sand Blast started the way all good stories start, “Shoot so there I was, cutie mark deep in Sweet Apple Acres clay which is about five times heavier than your average clay you understand.” Tumble Weed loved to hear the story because new details were added every time making the story better and better, it didn’t matter if it was true or not to him. An hour and a half later Sand Blast wrapped up with, “Well to make a long story short, I won on account of Big Mack hit the biggest bolder you ever did see.”

Tumble Weed looked at him with amused admiration, “Ain’t that somethin’?” They looked down to check on Kid who was stomping around the desert in her Minotaur get up chasing jack rabbits and growling at road runners.

Tumble Weed watched a tarantula crawl across the porch in fascination, “Hey Sand Blast, how do you figure that thing got up here?”

Sand Blast watched in equal fascination, “Beats the hay out of me.” The tarantula came to the end of the porch and turned around walking back the way it came, it repeated the process three times before Sand Blast said, “You recon we should put it out of its misery?”

Tumble Weed continued watching and replied, “Naw.”

Sand Blast watched it for a little longer before suggesting, “Do you think it wants some cider?”

Tumble Weed gave Sand Blast a road apple grin, “I never known any creature to turn down good cider, I guarantee that’s what he came here for.”

Sand Blast got up and walked over to the tarantula and up ended his bottle over it, at first it made a lunge at him and Sand Blast jumped back in alarm, “Oh road apples!” then the tarantula curled up and lay still.

Tumble Weed fell out of the swing laughing, “Ha ha ha ha ha look he he he was coming to get some more and ha ha ha there you have to go and drown him!”

“That would be the way to die.” Sand Blast said chuckling, once Tumble Weed calmed down he suggested,

“We should have a burial for the poor bugger.”

Sand Blast stood over the tarantula staring down at it, “Agreed.” Sand Blast reverently saluted the tarantula then grabbed a piece of his cloud cabin and patted it over the arachnid causing a miniature downpour, then gently picking it up he flew it down to the ledge of a mesa.

Digging out a three foot deep hole with his hooves was made a little easier by the ceremonial precipitation. Placing the tarantula into the grave he placed a layer of sand and then collected a hoof full of rocks and marked it with an Equestrian sun symbol which conveniently also looked like a spider.

Standing at the foot of the grave Tumble Weed gave the committal, “Heroic tarantula who braved the air for a sip of cider, we honor your memory with a drink.” So saying they poured the rest of their drinks over the grave and placed them as the headstones.

Looking up to the cabin Tumble Weed complained, “Now we have to fly all the way back up.”

Sand Blast kept staring at the grave, “Yep.”

Scanning the horizon Tumble Weed said, “I think I see a thermal we can use.” In less than five minutes they were back on Sand Blast’s porch sweating more than ever. The sun was low on the horizon and left no shade for them to hide in, coloring the skyline in a beautiful copper hue. Even though it was sweltering this was their favorite time of day, the sunsets in the deserts couldn’t be beat.

After a while Sand Blast looked over at Tumble Weed and said, “I’ve been thinking about asking Fluttershy out on a date.”

Tumble Weed looked back at him and replied, “I thought you might.”

Sand Blast looked down, unsure of what to say next, “Except I don’t know how it would work out with me being a Dusty Bolt and her taking care of all those animals.”

They both looked back at the sunset, “Well you should talk to Mirage about it, I don’t know what he has planned for him and Applejack but it’s going to be hard for them, but shoot I just wish I had somepony special to be with me.”

Sand Blast looked back and smirked at him, “It’s because your one ugly excuse for a pegasus.”

Tumble Weed punched Sand Blast in the forearm, “Stay awesome Sand Blast.” Tumble Weed got up as the last rays of sun sunk below the horizon, “I’ve got to get back but I had a good time, thanks for having me.”

Sand Blast gave Tumble Weed a hoof shake hug, and Tumble Weed flew off for his place. Sitting on his porch for a couple minuets Sand Blast said, “Hot one today.”