Astonished, Tarnished Teapot stared at both Octavia and Vinyl, his eyes wide, and a wide grin on his muzzle. He stood at the edge of the makeshift awning that he had placed over the camp, not knowing what to say. Octavia was drinking tea and Vinyl was cooking lunch.

“What are you two doing here?” Tarnished asked. “How did you find us?”

Without looking up from her teacup, Octavia replied, “Helianthus made the suggestion that you two could use a little help. As for finding your location, Vinyl has some location spell on the book she gave to Tarnish.”

Looking up from the fire, Vinyl grinned.

“Don’t be mad at Vinyl”—There was a moment’s pause—“it was my idea,” Octavia confessed. She let out a sniff and her eyes lingered on both Tarnish and Maud. “If something were to happen to you, I wanted a way to find you. You have enemies, Mister Teapot.”

“I suppose I do.” Tarnish thought about his tormentor and knew that there were others.

“Helianthus says that what you are doing here is very, very important. She gave me a rundown and a list of mission specifics. I am here to offer my considerable intellect and Vinyl was tasked with your protection, should outside parties try to interfere—”

“Outside parties?” Maud took a step forwards. “What do you mean, outside parties?”

“Helianthus has some concerns that outside parties may show up and attempt to coerce or otherwise threaten Tarnish into falling into line with their agenda…” Octavia trailed off, a single wrinkle appearing upon her brow, and her eyes glittered in a most dangerous manner. “Vinyl was given free reign to do anything necessary, short of killing. We’re not butchers, but we are not above turning interlopers into mentally handicapped squirrels, are we Vinyl?”

The albino mare grinned and stirred the contents of the skillet.

Letting out a soft sigh, Maud sat down beside the fire, sighed again, and then, turning her head, she looked over at Octavia while Tarnish moved to also sit beside the fire. Maud took a deep breath while still looking at Octavia, and she held out her hoof as a gesture that she had something to say.

“I’m glad you’re here. We could use some help. There is a lot to do here.” Maud paused, drawing in another breath, then continued, “Truth be told, I am relieved to have you here.”

“This is important work.” Octavia pursed her lips as she glanced at Maud. “We are proud to be a part of it. We might have a few more society members dropping by to check up on us.”

Tarnish, who sat dripping by the fire, leaned over and sniffed at what Vinyl was cooking. He didn’t recognise it. It was bright orange and the scent burned his nose while making his eyes water. He dripped on Vinyl, who paused and looked annoyed. She reached out with her hoof, gave Tarnish a gentle shove to push him away, and then let out a huff. Not one to give up, Tarnish leaned back over, and tried to see what was cooking in his cast iron skillet.

Vinyl’s ears stood up when another drop of cold water dripped on her fine white pelt. Her head turned with a measured slowness and she focused her baleful stare on Tarnish. Her horn flared, sending out rays of dazzling brilliance, which caused Tarnish to flinch. He shied away, fearing reprisal, but then was surprised by the fact that he was now dry. There was a chuckle from Octavia and Maud patted herself, as she was now dry as well.

“Whatcha cookin’?” Tarnished asked.

“She’s fixing curry,” Octavia replied. “It shan’t be her best effort, she’s using dehydrated vegetables, but it should still be quite good. She might have gone a little crazy with the curry powder.”

“Smells spicy.” Tarnish, now drip free, leaned over a little more. He sniffed and felt his salivary glands squirting, flooding his mouth. He paused, aware that Vinyl was still staring at him. He leaned back, giving her the space she needed, and gave her a hopeful smile. “What would it take to get some cooking lessons?”

Vinyl paused, shrugged, and returned her attention to the curry.

“You know, I really am happy you two showed up. Spending time with my husband out here is nice, but having friends around…” Maud looked over at Vinyl, then back at Octavia. “I don’t know what to say. I am at a loss for words.”

“It’s difficult… when you feel like it is just you against the world. But then to find your soulmate and fall in love…” Octavia sighed. “And then it is just the two of you against the world and that’s pretty nice after being alone. Life is swimmingly good at that point and you feel content—”

Vinyl sprinkled some fine red dust into the curry.

“—and perhaps you tell yourself that it will never get better than this. And you are okay with that. It’s just you and your special somepony.” Octavia took a sip of tea, blinked a few times, and then looked Maud in the eye. “And then you meet the ponies that you just know are going to be your very best friends.”

As she stirred, Vinyl’s head bobbed.

“We have lots of acquaintances in the Stiff Upper Lip Society. We have like minded associates. And I suppose we are something like friends with Helianthus.” Octavia paused and shook her head. “But she can be distant sometimes, and hard to reach. She vanishes and isn’t seen or heard from for quite some time. She can also be quite demanding, she can.”

“My sister Pinkie…” Maud turned away from Octavia and looked down into the skillet. “She tried to share her friends with me. They’re nice enough, but things didn’t go as well as Pinkie had hoped.” Maud looked up from the food and let out a sigh. “Twilight and I have become close, I suppose. I trust her to do the right thing. She helped Tarnish and dealt with him fairly. She made amends.”

“When I was young, everything was so much simpler.” Octavia’s barrel expanded and contracted as she sighed, and her nostrils flared as her ears pivoted forwards. “You could just be friends and never have to worry about the complications.”

Maud shrugged. “When I was young, I didn’t have friends. Just my sisters. It’s always been complicated for me.”

“You poor dear.” Octavia’s words were warm, sincere, and genuine.

“I had trouble making friends when I was little, but I know why now. Doesn’t make it any easier to accept though.” Tarnish looked at each of the mares around him, his eyes going to each one in turn. “But as a foal, being friends does seem so much simpler for most. You just decide to play together.”

“As an adult, there are so many complications.” Octavia’s ears splayed out sideways. “Do they want to be my friend to take advantage of me? Is there something they want from me? Can I trust them? And then the issue of gender… oh my.” Octavia’s ears stood back up and then she slurped some tea from her cup. She swallowed it with a loud gulp and continued, “Oh, those halcyon days of foalhood… skipping rope and playground rhymes.”

“Worrying about cooties.” Tarnish grinned.

“I’ll hold you down and give you cooties.” Maud leveled her stony stare upon Tarnish.

“Maud, we have guests.” As Tarnish spoke, Octavia giggled.

“We’ll all give you cooties,” Maud deadpanned.

“Hey, this isn’t fair… three against one!” Tarnish drew back in mock-alarm.

As he did so, Vinyl pulled the lid off of a pan, revealing pale yellow rice that appeared to be cooked to perfection. She sniffed, nodded her head, and pulled the pan away from the hot flat rock it had been sitting on so the rice wouldn’t overcook. The scent of cilantro filled the air.

Octavia looked on in approval as Vinyl fluffed the rice with a fork. “Oh my, I do believe that lunch is about to be served.”

The first rays of sunshine pierced the dull grey clouds and produced a dazzling lightshow. Water dripped from the nearby trees and the soaked grass glittered as though it had been sprinkled with diamonds. With the sun came warmth, which drove away the lingering chill in the air.

Tarnish watched as Vinyl and Octavia sorted through the gear they had brought with them to the camp. They had brought everything in on their backs and hadn’t used a wagon. Vinyl brought photography equipment and seeing it made him think of Vinyl’s spectacular tits.

Her boobies weren’t bad either.

It seemed that Octavia was the packhorse between the two of them, which made sense, but it was one of those things that it was uncomfortable to talk about. Earth ponies, because of their strength, endurance, and stamina, could just carry more—in much the same way that Maud was the designated wagon puller—but if one spoke about it the wrong way, one might be accused of tribalism.

Without being able to say why, Tarnish felt uncomfortable and a bit out of sorts with the three mares in the camp. The awareness lingered in his mind, but he couldn’t put his hoof on why, he could only recognise that something was amiss. There was the feeling that he had to be on his best behaviour and it came with some strange tension.

Octavia and Maud were standing together, watching as Vinyl stowed some gear, stacking it near the wagon. Tarnish, who stood watching off by himself, became aware that it was gender that was causing the friction—but with awareness came reassurance—and he knew that it wasn’t all that different than being around the Pie sisters. Or maybe it was a little different, it was hard to say. There was a different level of familiarity here. He thought about the 202 book in the wagon and tried to remember if he had stowed it away for safekeeping. That could be a source for awkward conversations.

“You brought a phonograph?” Maud asked.

“You have to spend some time cranking it, but it is perfectly serviceable for music,” Octavia replied. “It doesn’t use records though, it is a peculiar design that uses cylinders. Far better suited for travel and the cylinders are quite durable.”

Vinyl nodded as she worked.

“Vinyl has an idea to replace both records and cylinders. She’s been experimenting with magnetic tape as a storage medium. If she is successful, and I do believe that she will be, she’ll make us a bloody fortune. We’ll never want for bits again.” Octavia’s brow creased. “She just needs to be a little more confident and believe in her own abilities.”

As Octavia spoke, Vinyl’s barrel expanded as she took a deep breath.

“My unicorn suffers moments of self doubt as well,” Maud remarked in a flat voice as she leaned in a little closer to Octavia. “I think it is a common fault in the basic unicorn design.”

“Hey!” Tarnish felt his ears grow warm and Octavia’s musical laughter filled his ears.

“I am seldom disappointed by my unicorn.” Octavia glanced over at Vinyl and a fond smile spread over her muzzle. “Look at her… she’s perfect.”

“She’s not bad.” Maud looked at Vinyl for a moment and then her head turned to look at Tarnish. “I’m fond of the chocolate brown model. They’re easy on the eyes.”

Overhead, more feral clouds broke up, becoming fluffy white wisps borne away on the stiff breeze. Nature made a valiant attempt to drive away the morning cold, and the temperature soared, along with the humidity. The air was becoming muggy, sticky, and thick.

There was still work to be done this afternoon, though Tarnish wanted nothing more than to while away the rest of the day with his friends. Having them both around would help to ease the long hours though, of that he was certain.

“So, Maud, what were we going to accomplish this afternoon?” Tarnish asked.

“We need to finish surveying the crater,” Maud replied.

“Crater?” Octavia arched one eyebrow.

Maud nodded. “You’re standing on one of the ripples caused by the impact.”

“Oh my,” Octavia gasped as she looked around her.

Looking up, Tarnish couldn’t help but feel just a little bit jealous. High above him, Vinyl held a camera and snapped pictures of the crater site from overhead. The distance was mind boggling. The further away an object was, the harder it was to manipulate. The camera was so high above him that it was a tiny, blurry dot against the blue sky. The further something was away, the weaker a unicorn’s telekinesis was. How did she know how to focus the camera? How could she see what she was taking pictures of? Was she guessing?

He was envious.

This was aerial surveying with no need for a pegasus pony.

The vast spiderweb of simple wooden stakes and twine were all being photographed. Tarnish stood watching, both impressed, mystified, and a bit put out. If he could somehow manage to figure out how Vinyl did what she was doing, he could be a lot more helpful in the future if he could do the same. As he sat there, watching, a fresh, tender, and delicate new tendril of poison joke sprouted out of the ground beside him.

Without warning, Vinyl took off, bringing her camera with her. She moved with surprising alacrity, trotting through the grass, and Octavia was on her hooves in an instant to follow after her. Tarnish got up as well, and Maud moved from where she had been standing.

There was a loud crackle and an enormous parasol appeared, held in Vinyl Scratch’s telekinesis. She opened it and it held it above her, blocking the sun’s burning rays from her fine, delicate pelt. As she moved, her mane bounced in a way most appealing.

Tarnish scrambled up the steep incline, following after Vinyl, wondering where she was going. She hurried through the trees and Tarnish kept an eye out for danger. The herd of ponies moved together, climbing up the side of the ridge. Vinyl’s camera bobbed along behind her and she had a look of single minded determination upon her face. It was clear that something had caught her attention.

“Vinyl, did you see something with your remote eye?” Octavia asked.

There was no reply, no response as the herd passed by an enormous beehive, which Tarnish kept a wary eye upon. He wasn’t in the mood to upset any bees. Tarnish was curious about the mention of a remote eye. Was that how Vinyl was able to see what she was photographing from so high up?

They crested the ridge and began to go down the other side. A gang of squirrels scolded them, chittering and flicking their tails as the herd passed. Tarnish was overwhelmed with curiousity and wondered what had captured Vinyl’s attention.

Reaching the top of a ridge that was a few ridges over, Tarnish paused to catch his breath. He watched as Vinyl came to a halt and pointed. He looked over to where she was pointing. He saw a large boulder, covered with moss, surrounded by trees.

No, not a boulder. Overcome with curiousity, he made his legs move again and he went over for a closer look. This wasn’t a boulder at all. The stone was curved, covered in cracks, and jagged along the top. Now standing beside it, Tarnish looked up, bewildered.

“It’s an old tower,” Maud said.

“It is indeed,” Octavia added as Vinyl snapped a picture.

“This wasn’t built, it was shaped.” Maud stood near, studying the tower with half closed eyes, looking bored and a little sleepy. She trotted over to a piece that had crumbled and fallen off, then poked it with her hoof.

Horn glowing, Vinyl pulled away a massive clump of moss and tangled plant growth, revealing more of the stone wall. Bits of stone crumbled away. She pulled away more growth, revealing an arched doorway. The door had long ago rotted away, but the rusting iron hinges could still be seen.

There was something else too. Above the door, a strange symbol had been carved into the stone. Half of it was a stylised sun, with jagged sunrays, the other half was a toothy gear. Vinyl took a picture of it. The carved symbol was filled with the dirt of ages.

“What is it?” Tarnish asked.

“Might be an old guard tower,” Octavia replied.

“Looks like something smashed it.” Tarnish looked up at the jagged stone. How tall had it been? He could see broken stones half buried in the earth all around him. “Vinyl, how did you notice this was here?”

There was a loud pop as a small wooden framed grey slate appeared, along with a stick of chalk in a small silver holder. The chalk moved over the grey slate, making faint screechy-squeaky sounds.

Vinyl held up the slate so Tarnish could see. I used a remote eye spell to look through the camera viewfinder. There was a flash of magic as she erased the words, and then the chalk flew over the slate once more. I saw this was over here, so I moved the eye over to have a look. Clairvoyance spells are useful. The words, written in fine print, vanished again, leaving the slate clean. It vanished with a poof, along with the chalk.

Impressed, Tarnish nodded.

Maud stepped towards the door. “I’m going to have a look at whatever is left inside…”

Author's Notes:

Vinyl OP, pleeze nerf!