Chapters “That was quite an explosion.”
Twilight Sparkle stepped out of the elevator capsule, bracing against the wind, in order to greet the two couriers as they alighted upon the fringe of the cold metal disk that was the landing platform, shaking the last of the rain from their wings.
“And you only have one parcel between you.” observed Twilight, stopping before them and placing her hand on her hip.
Ditzy stepped forward and was about to speak, but Dash held out her arm in front of the novice courier.
“Don’t worry you two.” said Twilight, looking at them each in turn. She held out her hand to Ditzy, who sheepishly handed over her parcel. “The second parcel was technically redundant.”
Twilight slipped the strap over her own shoulder, then took a peek at the contents, all of which were still present and intact. “I mean, it would have been nice to have both, but I trust Rainbow Dash had good reason for sacrificing hers.”
Before either of then had a chance to get a word in, Twilight turned away, her tidy mane and tail fanning out in brief crescents that settled into a rhythm with her swaying hips while she strode back toward the elevator tube set in the center of the disk.
She paused about halfway there, looking back over her shoulder. “Are you guys coming, or would you rather stay out here in the cold?” she asked. The two pegasi exchanged glances, then fell in line behind the studious unicorn.
Though Ditzy did not know Miss Sparkle as well as Rainbow did, from the confident manner in which she conducted herself it seemed natural that Twilight and Dash would be friends.
The elevator was a little crowded with all three of them inside, but the extra warmth was not unwelcome.
Twilight pressed a button and the glass tube sealed shut. There was hardly any feeling of movement when the elevator began its smooth descent through the cylindrical tower a moment later.
To the West a great sea of low-hanging clouds lay draped over the valley, and through the glass it seemed nearly endless. The skies were fairly clear above, as though the clouds that were meant to be up there had simply become too heavy and fell to earth.
Everything was suddenly obscured as they entered those clouds and the feeling of being submerged in water came over Ditzy then, making her feel sleepy.
"These clouds are toxic." said Twilight, her voice clear and calm. "The only safe way through them is via this elevator."
Vague shapes started to become visible now and then, only to fade away as though scattered by the wind. Dash pressed up against the glass in an attempt to make out what she could, but her breasts got in the way and she discovered quickly that the glass was remarkably frigid. She pulled away with stiff nipples that she tried to hide by crossing her arms, and had to endure the mousy, know-it-all giggle from Twilight with which she was too familiar.
The last leg of their descent saw them enter suddenly into darkness, guided down by warm running lights as they slowed to a halt in a repurposed cavern embedded in the base of the cliff.
"The tunnels in the cliff are safe from the poison, we think. There haven't been any issues thus far, but as a precaution we—well, I —have installed an airlock or sorts using magic seals on the main entrance." said Twilight as the door slid open. She led them out into a spacious room of cold stone, the hum of generators and the glare of running lights providing an atmosphere of austerity and a sense of something in-progress, like a mine or construction site.
In truth the place was a bit of both, with the space being widened on the fringes by sweaty earth-ponies wielding picks and wearing head-lamps. The air rang out with the sound of them chipping away.
The elevator let them off on a concrete platform that was elevated somewhat from the natural floor of the cavern, and large enough to support a couple of pre-fabricated structures and a few large tents.
It was noticeably warmer down there, the heat from the lights, generators and hard-working ponies trapped by the cave ceiling. There were also a few space heaters beneath the tents.
Twilight showed them to the larger of the two prefabs, stopping to address them by the metal step in front of the door.
"I imagine you two are going to want to rest and recover after what you've been through." she said. "You'll find hot showers and hot coffee inside, as well as food and bunks. There shouldn't be any-pony in there right now. Take as much time as you need, and come find me in the building next door when you're done. I should have another assignment for you by then."
“Great.” said Dash, less than enthusiastic.
Twilight stood there awkwardly for a moment before speaking again, her tone somewhat different from before. “I wanted to thank you Dash, and you too Ditzy. This project is important, and thanks to you two we can finally move forward.”
Ditzy beamed, and even Dash felt a little proud. She was always gonna help, but she felt a lot better about it knowing her help wasn’t taken for granted.
“Okay, okay! Enough with the mushy stuff.” said Dash, evidently touched. “The coffee better be good.” She stepped up to the door, which opened automatically, and entered the structure.
“Thank you for saying that.” said Ditzy to Twilight, who smiled and nodded. Then Ditzy followed after Dash, and the door shut behind them.
Twilight wasted no time after that, eager to get the package to the atelier. The next part would be dangerous, but not as dangerous as what she would be asking of Ditzy and Dash. Of course, she would do everything she could to ensure their safety, and that would have to be enough.
Author's Note
Been toying with this idea for awhile now, and it is finally taking shape. It has been ages since I first wrote ‘Couriers in a Storm,’ and hopefully this will be a worthy follow-up.
The interior of the prefab was more than a little cramped, with rooms branching from a center aisle barely wide enough for two ponies to squeeze past one another. The walls were metal and the floor covered in a sort of grooved rubber, possibly to deter slipping. Warm lights were set into the ceiling, and ran along the length of the aisle.
Dash had gone in first, with Ditzy close behind. When they were both inside the door closed behind them automatically, making Ditzy jump.
"Chill out, there's nothing to be scared of. Unless you happen to be claustrophobic." teased Dash.
"Claustro... What does that mean?" asked Ditzy.
"Never mind. It's not important." Dash wanted to get the layout of the place first off, and carried on toward the end of the hall. She passed a door to the showers and another to a private restroom on the left, and three doors to separate bunk rooms on the right. When she reached the end of the aisle she found a cupboard, sink and coffee dispenser set neatly into the back wall.
Satisfied that she had seen all there was to see, Dash abruptly turned about, unaware just how close behind her Ditzy actually was. Before she could do anything to stop it her breasts swung into Dizty's, knocking them aside and into one another. Dash's (sightly) smaller rack settled first, and Ditzy's slid back into place a moment after, their nipples brushing on the backswing and making them grit their teeth.
For a moment, the two of them just stood there awkwardly, breasts pressed against each other, their faces hot.
"Um... Did you have to follow me all the way back?" asked Dash when her mind settled down, sounding quite annoyed and feeling rather embarrassed.
Ditzy shrugged. If there had been room, Dash would have placed the palm of her hand against her forehead in distress.
"Well, could you maybe step aside? I wanna take a shower." said Dash.
Sheepishly, Ditzy backed up against the wall on Dash's right. She looked at Dash expectantly, but noticed her staring.
"What?" she asked.
"Ugh." grunted Dash. This time she really did place her hand on her forehead. Her left one, mind, in order to avoid smacking Ditzy's tit from below. "You take up as much space this way as you did facing forward." said Dash.
It was true enough. Ditzy's wings made it difficult to be flush against the wall, and her jutting breasts made Dash think of a subway turnstile. Even if she pressed herself against the other wall and shuffled by, she still didn't think she could make it without playing bumper-boobs.
"Rude." said Ditzy, who was only doing as she was told. It wasn't her fault the aisle was so cramped. She puffed up her cheeks, which might have looked especially goofy on account of her eyes, if she didn't hide one under her hair for just that reason.
Dash sighed. "Look. How about you go first? Facing away from me, the second door on your right should open on the showers."
With Ditzy leading the way this time, the two of them entered the shower room single-file and were each in their turn relieved to find it more spacious than the aisle.
There were also, thankfully, two separate shower heads. Set side-by-side into the outer wall, each had its own knob to control the temperature and water pressure.
Dash wasn't entirely certain where the water actually came from, but at that point didn't much care. The sight of the showers had brought her fatigue to the fore like the foam crest of a crashing wave.
The two of them settled in and, one after the other, the twin showers came on. After an initial shock from the initially ice-cold water, which Ditzy failed to avoid despite having seen it happen to Dash mere moments before, the ponies finally relaxed for the first time in nearly twenty-four hours.
It had been a long time since the two couriers had been afforded such luxury. The last outpost they visited had been mostly automated, maintained by a skeleton crew. The only lodgings were sleeping capsules set into the base of the platform.
Dash remembered the way the rain looked coming down onto the glass. It was soothing and suffocating at the same time.
This was much better.
For a while she just let the water hit the top of her head, flattening her hair and falling around her like a veil. Though more spacious than the aisle, there still wasn't room enough to extend her wings, but she did relax them a little.
As for Ditzy, she was enjoying the unusually high water-pressure. She liked the way the stream felt on her neck and shoulders, the water flowing between her wings and clinging to the curve of her back before being split by the croup of her tail.
"Hey Ditzy, check this out." said Dash, pressing a button she found near the dial that briefly infused the water with a gentle shampoo.
Dash scrubbed her light-blue coat, lathering up suds by rubbing her arms and legs. She tossed her head back and ran her fingers through her rainbow hair, opening one eye and smiling.
"Don't just watch me. Try it yourself!" said Dash, laughter in her voice. She was feeling too good to be annoyed.
Ditzy pressed her own button, then scrubbed up under her arms and beneath her breasts, lifting them up one at a time in order to reach the fold beneath.
They took their time, remaining in the showers until the water eventually began to run cold.
When both valves had been shut off a series of powerful fans hidden in the wall behind a nigh invisible grating came on and buffeted them with warm air until they had both been blow dry.
Though their feathers were ruffled and their hair was frizzy they were glad they weren’t dripping wet when they found their bunks and fell asleep.
Author's Note
This was originally going to be part of the first chapter but ended up running a little long. I decided to break up the introduction into parts, and this is probably the second of three, after which the adventure should begin in earnest.
The cots were set into the wall and stacked one atop the other. They weren't designed with pegasi in mind, and it might have been a little difficult to find a comfortable position for their wings if they weren't quite so exhausted. Ultimately they ended up crashing on their bellies, Dash on the top bunk and Ditzy on the bottom.
Dash awoke first and rolling out of bed without opening her eyes, having forgotten where she was. Her fall woke Ditzy.
"Dash?" said Ditzy, peering through her hair. She tried to blow it out of her face, but it was being stubborn. "What time is it?"
"I don't know." said Dash, pushing herself to her knees and taking a moment to find her balance before standing up. "I haven't seen a clock since we got here."
It was then that Dash remembered where they were, and more importantly why they were there.
"We should go. I don't want to keep Twilight waiting and risk a lecture on timeliness." said Dash, running her fingers through her hair in lieu of a proper brushing.
Ditzy slipped out of bed and adjusted her mane, moving it out of the way of one of her eyes but making sure to keep the other covered.
In the bathroom across the aisle the two of them found a mirror and sink, both of which they used to wet their hair and manage some of the frizziness. There was also some watered-down mouthwash and a stack of disposable cups, which they also made use of before emerging from the prefab and into the cavern once more.
Oddly, nothing seemed to have changed outside. The lights were still on and the diggers were still at work. They didn't notice any-pony new in the prefab on their way out, but they could have just been in one of the other rooms.
They popped over to the other structure and stood before the door, which was wider than the one to the habitation unit. It opened after a moment and the both of them stepped inside, shoulder to shoulder.
The interior of this one was mostly just open space with a few tables and a decent amount of clutter.
"Oh! Hey guys!" Twilight suddenly sat up from under a pile of papers, her mane a mess. "What time is it?" she said, yawning as she spoke.
Neither Dash nor Ditzy had an answer, but followed Twilight's gaze to a wall-mounted clock.
"Oh gosh, you two must have been waiting forever!" she said, standing up suddenly
"Actually, we only just woke up too." said Ditzy.
"Oh, well that's a relief." said Twilight, looking around for her mug. She found it on top of a thick journal with coffee rings all over the cover. She brought it over to a wall-mounted machine exactly like the one in the habitation unit and filled it with piping hot coffee.
There didn't appear to be any-pony else in the building, though there were a couple of doors in the far wall that might have been a bathroom and dormitory.
"Ah!" sighed Twilight, clasping the mug with both hands and holding it close to her chest. "Alright. Before I give you two your new assignment I have some explaining to do.
"The reason we needed those chemicals was to catalyze an explosive reaction. When properly combined they form a compound that, when mixed with the gas from the toxic clouds, results in a catastrophic detonation." said Twilight.
Ditzy was mortified. "Why would you possibly want something like that?" she asked.
"It has to do with the source of the clouds." Twilight said. "According to our last survey they are actually rising up from a series of fissures at the bottom of the valley, and that's not all. We–well, I believe that the expulsion of toxic gas isn't geothermal in nature, but rather a biochemical compound being expelled from something very, very large."
Ditzy followed along as best she could, and by the end she had an image in her mind of a dragon, like the beast that had nearly eaten her and Dash during their delivery, only bigger and underground.
"Woah, hold on. You mean this whole valley is being poisoned by some kind of monster?" asked Dash, more disturbed than skeptical.
Twilight nodded. "I need you to carry the explosives to..." she paused, moving things around on another desk until she had revealed a map of the valley.
"Here!" she said, tapping the spot with her finger.
"There should be a hole in the ground from which the highest amount of vapor is emitted, according to our scouts. You just have to arm the device and toss it in."
"But why do you need us to do it? What about the scouts?" asked Dash.
"We don't have any other pegasi here. Once the device is armed there won't be much time before it detonates, igniting the vapor in a chain reaction that will torch the entire valley." said Twilight grimly.
Dash was aghast. "What? Are you crazy?" she yelled. "What about you?"
"The bunker is free of the poison and has been reinforced to withstand an earthquake." said Twilight. "As for the valley, nothing has been able to survive the miasma brought on by the creature, so there is no need to be concerned about plant and animal life."
Somehow that wasn't much of a relief.
"If everything is already dead, what's the point?" asked Dash.
"I don't believe the creature is native to this valley, which is why it was incompatible with the ecosystem. If it moved once it could move again, this time somewhere further East." said Twilight.
Ditzy and Dash thought about their homes, and their friends.
"This is our best chance to stop it. The valley keeps the vapor trapped and concentrated enough for my plan to work." Twilight said.
“Can I count on you?”
Author's Note
With this the first part gives way to the second. Hopefully it wasn’t too tedious.
"I was able to modify the rebreathers used by my scouts to be lighter and less cumbersome." said Twilight, gesturing to the clear masks and opaque oxygen tanks on the table between her and the pegasi.
"The tanks don't hold as much O2 as the normal ones, but they shouldn't hinder your escape either. Just to be sure though, I’d discard them once you’ve risen above the clouds, since by then you won't still need them anyway. If all goes according to my projections, there shouldn’t be enough fuel in the valley to sustain the blaze after the gas is gone so you should be clear to return to the bunker sooner rather than later.”
She stepped aside and gestured toward the heavy, suitcase-like device on the floor next to the table. "This will be impossible to fly with, which is why you will have to hoof it to the breach." she said. “I realize it’s inconvenient, especially considering the smaller oxygen tanks, which is why I’ve attached a couple of spare ones to the device. Just remember to hold your breath when switching tanks. Even a single lungful of the toxic vapor can make you sick.”
The pegasi were paying close attention, neither of them feeling particularly confident about the task ahead. They wanted to make sure they were as prepared as possible. As they seemed to have no questions, Twilight decided to continue.
"You can take turns carrying the device individually, or you can share the load." said Twilight, directing their attention to the handles on the top and sides.
"Now this is of particular importance.” she prefaced. “Once you have reached your destination you will need to arm the device by entering a code into the keypad on the front." She knelt down beside the device and placed her hand underneath the keypad, effectively underlining it. Then she lowered her hand to reveal something else.
"The code is written on a sticker below the keypad, in case you forget. This isn't a lockbox, after all, and I'm not worried about any-pony trying to steal the device or otherwise interfere with the mission. The device won’t work as an explosive outside of the fog anyway.” she said, then stood up again. She had been fighting the urge to yawn, but when she tried to stretch her lower back one escaped anyway. Dash and Ditzy were too on edge to yawn in return, which was probably good in a way. It wouldn’t do for them to get drowsy while out in the fog with severely limited oxygen.
"Once it's armed, you will have about a minute before it releases the compound. Toss it in as quickly as possible, then fly straight up. Don’t wait for confirmation, just get out of there fast.”
Twilight looked each of them in the eyes in turn, her expression serious. "Do not waste any time. I mean it. If you aren't out of the clouds by the time the compound is released and mixes with them..."
She didn't have to finish. Every-pony understood the risk. They also knew what was a stake, even if it seemed somewhat far off. If there was a chance this stuff could spread to their homes back East, then they were not going to roll the dice.
"We won't let you down, Twilight." said Dash, raising her hand and clenching it into a fist, as though seizing the very air. Her cocksure grin belied the nervousness she felt, but fear was no excuse to act afraid. She had no intention of being vaporized, and she hoped that her display would ease the worry of her friends, if only a little.
Twilight smiled a little, then pulled a chair from one of the desks and slumped into it, exhaling wearily. “I’m sorry to put so much pressure on you two. I didn’t expect to come across something like this. I should have known there would be peril, but the kinds of things I’ve seen since the princesses ordered these expeditions have been both wonderful and horrifying.”
Ditzy stepped up to Twilight and out her hand in her shoulder. She looked down at her with her uncovered eye and smiled. “Don’t worry Twilight. We’re good at this sort of thing. You’ve done your part, now let us do ours.”
Dash and Twilight were surprised by Ditzy. She had been silent up until that point, yet the confidence and sincerity of her words rallied their spirits.
“Thank you, Ditzy.” said Twilight.
With oxygen tanks lashed to their hips, hoses trailing from the masks hung around their necks, Ditzy and Dash stood before the airlock with the heavy device on the floor between them.
“Ready?” Dash asked of Ditzy.
“I guess so.” Ditzy replied, not sounding as confident as she did earlier.
Dash put her arm around Ditzy’s shoulder and drew her close.
“Hey, we survived that drake, didn’t we? We’ll be alright. You’ll see.” said Dash.
Ditzy smiled. Dash was right about the drake, and they had over come other obstacles before that.. Maybe things really wouldn’t turn out to be a disaster after all.
The two bent their knees in unison to grab the handles of the device and lifted it up. From behind the glass view-port Twilight gave them the go-ahead to step forward, removing the first magic barrier and replacing it behind them as they did. Once the two of them were inside the airlock they raised their masks over their muzzles and gave Twilight a thumbs-up, letting her know they were ready for her to remove the external barrier.
The gas flooded in quickly and was surprisingly cool, like morning mist. They shook off the chill and stepped forward, matching their stride and carrying on out of the cave into the valley proper. Behind them, Twilight ushered forward the rear magical barrier in order to force out the vapor and effectively flush out the airlock, restoring it to the way it was.
They were on their own, now.
Author's Note
Took me awhile to figure out how I wanted to do this, end ended up breaking what I wrote into parts again.