Curse of Coltinado

Chapter Five: Stages of Grief

By Feather Scratch

Proofread by Comet Burst, q97randomguy, and mr jerrio

High noon came and went over the old west town of Dodge Junction. Ponies, coarse and hardy as the desert they called home, ambled along the shaded walkways of the main thoroughfare, careful to avoid the worst of the harsh sun. Only two mares stood exposed on the main street, one somewhat more animated than the other.

“Hello? Hellooo, anypony hooome?” Daring Do waved a hoof in front of Angel’s face. She was starting to get worried. Angel hadn’t moved or even blinked since she broke the news of Hooves’ death. She had just froze mid-stride, halfway through raising a foreleg, and that had been nearly five minutes ago.

Daring fidgeted uneasily. Ponies in Dodge Junction were the type to mind their business if at all possible, but that didn’t stop them staring and whispering under their breath, and Daring could feel several sets of eyes drift their way. Leaning in, she gave Angel a tentative prod to the side of the head. The Bat Pony wobbled in place like a statue on the verge of falling, but did not break from her trance. Daring scanned her surroundings, trying to think of something to snap the comatose mare back to reality.

She shot her hoof out toward the horizon behind Angel and gasped. “Is that Princess Luna?!”

... Nothing. Daring harrumphed and scratched her chin. It was probably better that didn’t work. It felt like unfair profiling, just assuming a Bat Pony would be excited by the presence of the night princess.

Perhaps whatever this was worked like hiccups, and a good scare would shock her back. “Look out, dragon!” Daring dived behind a nearby barrel so dramatically, her cover artist would have given her two front teeth to capture the moment. When there was no sound of movement behind her, she poked her head out and snorted. So much for the hiccup theory.

Dragging her hooves, she trudged over until she was looking Angel square in the eye. She deadpanned, “Angel, your mane is on fire.”

The Bat Pony didn’t so much as twitch an ear.

Daring gave an aggravated groan and dragged a hoof down her face. Well, she had tried to be nice, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Leaving Angel to bake where she stood, Daring trotted back to the Final Chance Saloon and threw open the batwing doors. “Hey, Shine!”

The bartender looked up from the conversation he was having and jerked his head in acknowledgement to the mare who almost single-hoofidly justified him keeping the bar’s coffee machine.

“Quick, I need a bucket of water. Make sure it’s as cold as possible,” she added as an afterthought, trotting up to the bar and tapping a hoof on the counter for emphasis.

Shine cocked an eyebrow at the odd request, already halfway through reaching for a coffee mug.

“Don’t ask.” Daring sighed.

The stallion gave a noncommittal shrug before disappearing into the back room, emerging a minute later with a large bucket filled with iced water clutched in his teeth. He set it on the counter for Daring to collect. “You know, if you were thirsty, I’d recommend a nice, cool cider.”

“Hardy-har.” Daring rolled her eyes and snatched up the bucket, cantering back to the statuesque mare in the road as fast as she could without spilling her precious last resort.

She set the bucket down and removed Angel’s sun hat, securing it on her own head for safe keeping. “Last chance, Angel. You gonna snap out of it?” The Bat Pony didn’t as much as blink. For a moment the only sounds for miles were the wind and faint crack of ice cubes buckling under the heat. The small crowd the mares had gathered held their breath, anticipating what was about to happen. “Well, in that case, this is for your own good!”

Picking up the bucket, she flapped her wings to gain some height before unceremoniously dumping the contents of the bucket, ice cubes and all, directly onto Angel’s exposed head.

The spell broke instantly, and the poor mare shrieked in surprise as the freezing water crashed over her hot skin, almost instantly starting to evaporate in the early afternoon sun. Jumping straight into the air, she only narrowly avoided a full-on collision with her aquatic assailant. Half screaming, half gasping, she rounded on Daring, looking distinctly less cute and fluffy than she had a moment ago. Her unfurled bat wings, slitted pupils, sharp and narrow in the harsh desert sun, and her unnervingly sharp canines, barred in an indignant snarl, all came together to give her a distinctly nightmarish appearance.

Daring grinned sheepishly, surreptitiously hiding the bucket behind her back. “Hey, welcome back! Heh. Funny weather we’re having, huh?”

“What the hay, Daring?! What was that for?” The sodden mare landed with a flump on her haunches and began ringing out what little moisture still clung to her travelling cloak. Daring tossed the bucket off to the side and landed beside her, her face a mask of apology.

“Sorry, but when I told you about Fetlock Hooves dying, you kind of...” she spun a fetlock in a slow loop, trying to think of the nicest way to word it. “... switched off. I had to snap you out of it somehow, or you would have turned into a mummy in this heat.”

“You could have just... wait--” Angel dropped her cloak and sat bolt upright “--Hooves is dead?”

Daring groaned and made note of where she threw the bucket, just in case. Angel glared at the ground, her face contorted as though she were trying to solve a difficult equation in her head. “No.” She stated matter-of-factly, giving her head a fervent shake. “No, that can’t be right. Hooves can’t be dead. Yeah, he was a little bit screw-loose, but he was perfectly fine when I left.” She started ringing her forehooves, her eyes darting left and right. “I asked Rough Diamond to keep an eye on him. He can’t be gone when he still owes me money! Not after everything I’ve done for the jerk!”

Daring placed a hoof on the other mare’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I saw the telegram from the Day Watch myself. Artemis is probably there right now, identifying the body.”

“What?!” Angel shot to her hooves, her face twisting in anger. “You mean I’ve been blindly stumbling across half the country for days, when this Trotson guy could have just been sent for by telegram?!” Her voice cracking with the last word, Angel roared in frustration and delivered a vicious buck to a nearby hitching post, creating a long crack across the dense wood. “Argh! I knew that featherbrained ass was messing with me! Now I can’t even make him pay for it!” Another vicious kick snapped the post clean in half and sent the top half skipping like a skimmed stone down the dusty street. “Argh, I hate him!”

Daring fell to her haunches in the sand, stunned by the sudden flare of emotion. The tears welling up in the corners of the Bat Pony’s eyes and the repeated crack in her voice were proof, she wasn’t really angry, but if this was her idea of venting frustration, Daring hoped the town’s insurance was up to date. She glanced at the ruined hitching post and sighed inwardly. That was probably hundreds of years old.

Snorting like a bull at a red flag, Angel’s expression morphed from anger to worry. She hopped from hoof to hoof and looked on the verge of hyperventilation. “Oh, this is bad. I really needed that money.” She jumped over to Daring and shook her by the shoulders. “This was going to be my chance to dig my auntie’s business out of its rut. Hooves promised me this trip would be worth my while. I can still get the money, right?” A desperate pleading wheedled its way into her voice. “Even if he’s dead? We didn’t have anything written down but, an oral contract counts for something, doesn’t it?”

The Bat Pony looked on the verge of tears, and Daring wanted to reassure her, but it was taking all her willpower to keep from losing her breakfast due to the constant shaking. “I... don’t... know... sorry.”

Angel threw her forehooves into the air and wailed before curling into a ball and descending into great, racking sobs. “My... life... is... ruined!” she managed to bleat out between laboured breaths. “How can I... tell Auntie Autumn... I don’t have the money we need? How can I... tell my Dad... I wasted most of my savings... on a wild goose chahyhyse?!”

Daring wrapped a wing around Angel’s shoulder, speaking like a mother to a distraught foal. “Angel, I don’t think it’s all that ba-”

“Oh Celestia!” Angel jumped to her hind legs and threw her forelegs to the sky. “Just send me to the moon now! I can never show my face back home agahehein!”

Daring gave an exasperated growl and stamped her hoof. “Enough already!” Angel fell back down on all fours and stared silently at the exasperated Pegasus, sniffling slightly and wiping her eyes. “Angel, look. I realise this is a huge disappointment -- I do -- but nopony could have seen this coming. These things happen.” Her tone shifted from one of frustration to one of gentle consolation. “I think the best thing you could do is go home and be with your family. Considering the circumstances, they’re probably really worried about you.” She finished by giving the Bat Pony a gentle smile and offering her back her sun hat.

Angel sighed, rubbed her eyes, and took her hat, dropping it listlessly onto her head. “Ah, you’re right. I guess it isn’t fair to blame Hooves. I doubt it’s his fault he’s dead. I did go on this stupid trip of my own free will, after all, and even if I have blown all my money, I won’t be any worse off than I was before I met him.” She reached into her cloak and pulled out a small bit pouch and examined the contents. “Hey, just enough to get home. Thank Celestia for small blessings, I guess.”

Daring’s ears splayed, and she felt her chest tighten. After yesterday, her nerves were raw enough with self-pity. She really couldn’t stand adding a whole other kind of pity into the mix on top of that. “Hey, listen. Last night, I had considered going to Transylmaneia myself with Artemis. He talked me out of it, but I’d still like to go and see it. Exploring old cities and stuff is kind of what I do, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to get out of Dodge for a while. I could use a guide, if you’re interested in a new employer.”

“Really?!” Angel’s ears stood erect, and her eyes lit up, the ghost of a smile playing across her lips. She leaned forward on the tips of her hooves like a foal who had just been promised their favourite toy for Hearth’s Warming and couldn’t quite believe what they were hearing.

Daring chuckled and returned the smile with a grin of her own. “Sure. And hey, if you start now, I’ll even pay for your train fare home.”

Angel leaped forward and wrapped the Pegasus mare in a bone-crushing hug. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I am so glad I ran into you!”

Daring winced at the sudden compression but managed to return the hug, albeit awkwardly, with one leg. After several seconds, she managed to break Angel’s hold and turned on her hoof, nodding towards her apartment. “Come on.” She coughed. “Just let me grab a few things, and then we can go.”

~~~

The two mares weaved their way through the early afternoon traffic on their way to the train station. Daring had opted to wear her old travelling cloak, concealing her customary hat and shirt in her saddlebags. There were a lot of stops between Dodge Junction and Transylmaneia, and she wanted to avoid attracting attention from the throngs of ponies who would have read about her and her latest find in the morning paper.

Angel, for her part, looked every bit the tourist. Her head spun this way and that, trying to take in every little detail she passed on her first trip through town.

Peering between the sun-bleached, wooden buildings, she gaped at the seemingly endless ocean of the desert flatlands with their warm earth tones, disappearing into a horizon of shimmering heat waves.

Daring was reminded of the first time her parents allowed her to tag along on an expedition. The wonder of a strange, new world could captivate anypony. She could hardly fault the mare at her... side? Noticing the empty space where Angel should have been, Daring paused to scan the faces in the crowd, eventually spotting Angel a few hooves back. Shaking her head with a soft chuckle, she went back for her wide-eyed companion.

“It’s all so... brown and cracky, like somepony baked the entire town,” Angel said as Daring approached.

The Pegasus cocked an eyebrow. “Well, yeah. It’s the desert.”

“It’s just, I’ve never seen so much brown. And the houses are in, like, rows! Perfect rows! They’re entirely wood too, like everything was made to fit. Not a junk wall or scrap roof in sight. And the hats! I don’t even know what you call half these hats but everypony’s got one. They’re so cool!” Her cloak whipped back and forth as she spun, trying to point out everything.

Daring smirked at her companion. She could almost see the Bat Pony’s eyes sparkle in wonder. She knew how Angel must have felt. She felt it every time she unearthed a new artifact. “Hehe, you know, your head’s gonna snap off if you keep doing that.”

Angel didn’t seem to have noticed the comment, her attention having been caught by a passing cart, piled high with shiny, red and yellow cherries. She drooled and barely avoided walking into a lampost, saved only by her unerring, bat-like spacial awareness. “Is it true that, around here, you can just pick fruit right off the trees?”

“Well, yeah.” Daring chuckled. “But unless you work on the farm, you still have to pay for them so, don’t go getting any ideas.”

Angel’s ears drooped a little, but only for a second. “Aww nuts. Still--” her grin broadened and she failed to suppress an excited skip in her step “--It’s all fresh and juicy. You are so lucky to live here!”

Daring couldn’t help but give in to the Bat Pony’s infectious enthusiasm and sped up to match her bouncing pace, a wide grin on her face. Some ponies could see the bright side to anything.

The crowd thinned as they approached the train station, and Daring was pleased to see the line at the ticket booth wasn’t too long. They took their places, and Daring was about to start up a new conversation when she noticed Angel had closed her eyes and was taking in slow, deep breaths through her nose. “Uh, Angel, are you okay?”

Angel’s eyes snapped open, and her cheery countenance reasserted itself as though her moment of silence never happened. “Good thing the line is short; the train will be here in about five minutes.”

Daring scanned the empty horizon. With no train in sight and no discernible sound save for the background chatter of the ponies on the platform, she quirked an incredulous eyebrow at her companion. “How can you tell? Oh, wait.” She bopped her forehead lightly with a hoof. “Gus’s trick, right? Forgot about that. That actually works?”

“Every time,” Angel said with a reassured grin and a nod. Daring made a point to check the station clock-- five to one-- but said no more on the subject. She had to remember to learn that trick, if only to mess with Artemis.

In no time, the pair reached the front of the line, and Daring ordered their tickets. As she was counting out the necessary bits, a thought struck her. “Oh, sir, could you do me a favour?” The stallion in the booth looked up from his ledger. “Could you take a message for Artemis Trotson? He works the Western Line and should be coming through here in a day or two.”

“Certainly Miss...”

“Daring, Daring Do.”

“Daring? Where have I heard that name before?” The stallion scratched his chin, and Daring tried to hide the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She really hoped this wasn’t going where she thought it was going. “Oh, I remember! Well, isn’t this a coincidence?” He reached under his desk and produced a small, folded sheet of paper. “Here you are, wanting to leave a message for Artemis, when a message for you from Artemis arrived just minutes ago! I didn’t even have time to call for a messenger to take it to you.”

Daring took the offered telegram and read:

DEAR DARING STOP

MADE IT SAFELY TO TRANSYLMANEIA AND IDENTIFIED HOOVES BODY STOP

UNFORTUNATELY RED TAPE MAY KEEP ME HERE UP TO A WEEK STOP

STAY STRONG AND PLEASE TAKE CARE OF FENRIR WHILE I AM GONE STOP

LOVE ARTEMIS STOP

Daring groaned and turned back to the stallion in the booth. “Could you please exchange our tickets? It seems we’re going to Canterlot.”

The train pulled up to the station just as the clock struck one. Angel beamed.