"Aside from blowing things up? Me and Dusty love exploring this place. I've been here over a thousand years, and I still find new things! Sometimes we get to help scared tourists leave, and every now and then we help someone get settled in here. I also get to practice my potions, and you'd be surprised at the amount of books that wind up here. We can kinda just do whatever. We left once, so we kinda have free access back and forth, but we definitely like it here more." After only a couple minutes they emerged from the woods into a seemingly endless desert. The sand was snow white, and the sky was purple with what looked like a black hole in place of the sun. Still, visibility was great. There were kegs of gunpowder and discarded wagons sitting around in various places. A few toasters were floating far above the duo in the air. "Welcome to the Deadlands." She reached into her saddlebag and offered Stuffy a round, glass bottle filled with an orange liquid. "Throw it out that way as far as you can."
Stuffy took the bottle and looked in the distance. "Any monsters here? Maybe a sand worm?" She asked, then averted her eyes to the sky. She then took a breath and the the bottle, it went pretty far in her opinion.
"Hmm." Stuffy took a dark blue bottle. She threw it watched the ice bounce from their glassy case. "I could do that." She said, her eyes gleaming add they watched the frozen crystals.
Maya took a yellow bottle and tossed it at a powder keg, causing an impressive explosion. Something about the simple act of making things explode was soothing. "You've gotta be extra careful if you do, dude. Don't let it spill. Wanna give it a shot?"
"Sure why not?" Stuffy shrugged, a small grin forming at the side of her mouth. She carefully grabbed the red bottle and began walking out further from civilization. Tiny colorful crystals sprouted from each of her steps. Ranging from pastel pink to sky blue and more.
Maya called out, "It won't go off right when it breaks, but you're gonna wanna get back here fast!" She was mesmerized by the crystals coming from the sand.
Once she was fast enough away, Stuffy jumped from the ground. She flared just above the sand, her wing helping her gain flight. She zoomed upwards, thinking about when to stop. After a few seconds, she stopped, the barren desert like an anthill and they wagons and cacti like ants. Stuffy dropped the potion and quickly zipped away, staying in the sky until she was close enough in the safe zone.
The bottle broke when it hit the ground, and the liquid began to glow, getting ready to explode. If examined closely, one would notice a bit of sand being sucked towards the point of impact. This was gonna be big.
Stuffy looked back at the liquid, thought it was quite far away. She stood next to Maya. "Was that far enough?"
A huge explosion erupted before Maya could respond, big enough to consume Ponyvillle and then some. The flash was extremely bright. A mushroom cloud was formed, blocking out the black hole sun, and a very visible shockwave came from the blast, tearing apart the wagons and powder kegs, but it seemed to dissipate specifically around them as it went past, dying down to a very slight push on Maya and Stuffy, then still blowing down a tree or two behind them. Maya's mane and tail were blown back a bit by what little force made it through, and her headband fell off, causing her mane to fall into her eyes. "Yeah, I think we're good. You like that? I came up with it myself." She looked very satisfied with her creation, a slightly more giddy smile than before.
Stuffy blinked a few times, with a surprised look on her face. "That.. Was... Awesome!" She laughed, her fur sticking out from excitement.
Maya was giggling along with her. That last one was pretty exciting, and she couldn't contain her buzz. She was having a LOT of fun. "Dude, you have to come back and visit after today!"
(Happens. Just retcon my last post.) "Yeah. Why he picked you is obvious, but Asmo, maybe not so much. His mind is slipping fast because of his, erm, meals, at least according to Dusty, but he hides it pretty well." She picked her headband back up and put her mane back again.
"Meals...?" She asked, a comical questionmark popped up above her head because the question world surrounding her.
"You didn't know, huh? Sorry if I'm killing the mood, but... if he has a hoof in killing something, he eats its mind. I figured it was happening when you guys killed that first manticore, Dusty took a deeper look and found out I was right. Oh, uh, sorry for spying, dude."
Dusty emerged from the trees behind them with scratches and bruises covering his body. Calmly, he said, "Our other guest needs a rest." Maya's smile faded away for the first time. "D...Dusty?!" Her pupils shrank significantly as she began to freak out. "What the hay did he do to you?!" Dusty replied, "It's okay, baby. I'm fine. It was my fault anyway." He watched the mushroom cloud still looming in the distance.
