Portion Or Helping?
[Now, a lesser person might want that kind of overwhelming force on their side, but you know - where's the challenge in that?]
“Well… this doesn’t help.” Bosco had a knack for summation.
Angrily, I tossed the communicator back to Naiara, who stashed it away. “No. It doesn’t.”
That damn DJ’s got some nerve, trying to paint me as the bad guy just because I’m trying to help some ponies he doesn’t like. I get it, Raiders are trouble, have been for a long time, but all those layabouts don’t even try to change that. At least I’m trying! They sit around, perfectly content to talk about me like they know me, yet do nothing to change the situation!
Pushing myself off the bed, I found I couldn’t stay still as my anger built. Pacing around the cabin, my thoughts turned vocal as they continued outside of my head. “And who’s this jackhole in Lethbridle who says I’m building an army? That’s not what I’m doing, I’m just trying to get the Raiders to stop killing ponies so much! That’s a good thing!”
“Well, at least you’re not taking this jackhole’s words badly.” Naiara’s droll paraphrasing was pretty far from what I wanted to hear right now.
“Don’t even start! I am NOT raising an army of Raiders! I just want to show that they’re not all monsters. I mean, look at Undertow!”
Surprised at having my hoof pointed at her face from inches away, the goggled unicorn, drew her head back slightly. “Lady Snow… perhaps it would be best to simply ignore the DJ’s ramblings? We all know that he is… misinformed, in this instance.” She looked to the others for support.
“He’s hundreds of miles away, in Tenpony Tower, working on second-hoof information. He knows nothing.” Bosco had a point. This DJ only had what someone else, who also didn’t know the full story, had told him.’Reliable source’ my flank!
“Look,” Naiara began, still wearing the grim frown she’d had since kicking the cabin door open, “You know that we’re not one hundred percent sold on this whole Raider alliance idea. It came from a Raider in the first place, and a Raider crazy enough to stand in front of a Lethbridle gate, in full view of half the guard force, unarmed. Four Fields was even worse. Frankly I’m not even sure YOU are totally on board anymore.”
It was hard to argue that point, but I still felt that abandoning the idea was not the way to go. However, before I could vocalise this, Naiara carried on. “But, Four Fields is dead, and I still think that Caber Toss and his Raiders will riot if we call the whole thing off. Most of all, though, is the biggest plus so far from this whole thing, and why I think we should keep going.”
“And what’s that?”
Another hoof was pointed inches away from Undertow’s face. “Her. Our dear little Undertow here, supposedly a Raider, is about as far from the stereotype as you can get. She’s the perfect poster child for what you’re trying to do here. Would you be willing to write her off as just another savage, Snow?”
“NO!” I blurted out instantly, horrified at the idea. Already blushing from Naiara’s praise, the red in the Deep Diver’s cheeks deepened as I voiced my absolute rejection of her hypothetical wickedness.
She was pure scarlet after Bosco weighed in. “She is a very convincing argument for not killing Raiders, at least not without checking them out first.”
Naiara just couldn’t help herself when set up like that. “Have you been checking Undertow out, Bosco?”
And just like that, there were now two blushing ponies, along with one grinning zebra. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Huffing, he fell silent.
“So you two are saying we should keep going, even with Four Fields dead, and probably more to come if Breeze keeps this up?” I purposefully brought up Breeze, and the memory of her strong words before leaving. We had to be sure that we were willing to go against her, at least in this, and that we were willing to face the consequences of that.
I don’t think Bosco really cares much either way, he only knew Breeze for a day or so. After what happened in the boathouse, I think Undertow’s perfectly okay with going against her. The real issue is Naiara. She’s the only one of us who is a true friend to Breeze, and vice versa, given what she said over the communicator. Still, how long will it take for the anger between them to go away if we do this?
On a side note, this is hardly going to make getting my Pipbuck and Memory Orb back easier. For all I know, Breeze might just break them both.
Bosco was the first to respond. “I’m in. Wings has been killing Raiders since before this anyway, Schwarzwald too, and that’s not gonna change any time soon. Even if we get these four Raider groups together, there’re others. You saw the group back in La Buque. They had no idea who you are,”
“Yeah, I meant to ask, were you relieved or insulted at that?” Naiara’s tongue-in-cheek question was thoroughly ignored,
“…Uniting four groups of Raiders isn’t going to change the entire Wasteland, not even close, but it might save some lives, and it might repair your reputation if we get results. I really like having Hoofshine Harlots as a place to stay, but I still want all of us; Red Ice, zebra, sorta Raider, to be welcome in Lethbridle. There’s really not much else around here for fun.”
I didn’t really know how to take that. “So this whole thing is pointless?”
“No,” he clarified, “not pointless at all. Just not the same point you want to make. It’s clear from this trip that there are tons of different types of Raiders. You can’t change them all with something like this.”
“He’s right,” Naiara chipped in, “and you also can’t change what everypony thinks of Raiders just from these four gangs. The best we can hope for here, is that Lethbridle and Sprinkles Supplies and the other towns around here get a little bit of a break from Raider attacks. We can make this area a little safer, by lowering the Raider threat, but we’re not gonna stop it altogether. You’re still thinking like a Stable pony, Snowflake.”
“I am a Stable pony!”
Naiara and Bosco shared a strange look at this, but I couldn’t decipher the meaning.
“So I’ll ask again, do you two still wanna carry on? Even going against Breeze?”
One nod. “Breeze is my friend, but that doesn’t mean I agree with her on everything. We’re weird like that. If you recall, the first thing I did when I met her was beat the hell out of her.”
We all gave her funny looks as she beamed at this.
Two nods. “I actually think carrying on will make it easier to talk to Breeze, and Wings, and Schwarzwald, and Cassie. We’ll see them more often. They can get angry at us all they like, but it’s not like they’ve never done anything we disagree with.”
My distracted rubbing of the patch of fur where my Pipbuck had been made me realise something. I couldn’t tell exactly where it was anymore. It didn’t look any different than the rest of my fur. The covered area had been lighter and finer before I lost the piece of Stable tech. “Yeah… you’re right.”
Which brings us to the last member of our little committee.
Having stayed silent up until now, Undertow now found herself under the attention of three pairs of eyes.
It was time to ask the question that I had been silently dreading for days. “Undertow?”
She straightened, having been following our conversation but not previously involved. “Yes, Lady Snow?”
I didn’t really want to ask this question. I had to treat Undertow as the boss of a Raider group again, just for a little while, and it turned my stomach to do so. I felt nauseous just getting the words out. “As leader of the Deep Divers, I, Red Ice, offer you and your followers the chance to join an alliance with other Raider groups, for mutual benefit. Do you want to come to the meeting, or do you want to stay here, at your lake?”
There, I said it. The ball’s in your court now, Undertow.
Please, please say yes.
The question’s effect was profound and instantaneous. Even with her eyes hidden by her goggles, the utter heartbreak that washed across her was emotionally devastating. Quivering lips opened and shut soundlessly, and soon the tremble spread to her shoulders, and her damp turquoise mane, and finally across her entire aquamarine frame.
The filly was shaking all over, and I did not know why. The others apparently did, as they moved as one to wrap the girl in a hug. This was nothing new for Naiara, but Bosco’s willing participation was a surprise.
As was the accusing glare he sent my way. “What is wrong with you?”
Confused, I could only stare blankly back. “Huh?”
Naiara was no happier. With her hooves wrapped tight around the quaking unicorn, she alternated between speaking angrily at me, and softly to Undertow. “Seriously, svara, that’s not cool. It’s okay, Undertow, she didn’t mean it. I mean, come on, Snow, what were you thinking? She’s really sorry, Undertow, not thinking straight right now.”
Ice shards stabbed through my heart as I realised that they thought that I had caused this reaction in Undertow. “What did I do?”
Even while wrapped in a warm cocoon of friendly limbs, still shaking, and with her head buried in Naiara’s shoulder, Undertow’s words still came through soul-twistingly clear. “You promised to protect me, lady Ice.” The words, though clear, were quiet, emerging in a soft sob.
They hurt.
So much.
I told her to stay here, while I went away, even after promising to protect her.
What IS wrong with me?
I crossed the distance between us in a blink, the colt and zebra opening their holds so that I could get in close, and wrapped Undertow up as tightly as possible, with the others’ hooves closing back up around us.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” I kept repeating, tears streaming into her mane as she transferred her face from Naiara’s shoulder to my chest, “I didn’t mean it like that, I swear. Please forgive me. I didn’t mean it. Stay with me where I can protect you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
A small nod, and noise of agreement, gave me her answer.
Overjoyed, I clung tighter.
~~~~~~
After our emotional embrace, Undertow had departed, to inform the Deep Divers of her decision, and to charge the diving lights before she left. According to Breeze, they would last a week without needing another charge, so that was our informal deadline for the Raider chief meeting.
When I was sure that Undertow was safely away, I turned to Naiara and Bosco, my jaw set firm. “I need your help. It’s important.”
Still less than impressed with my recent decision-making, they were sceptical. “What is it?”
“Knock me out.”
Seconds ticked by. The silent was imposing.
“…What?” They chorused this.
“Knock me out.” I repeated simply.
“…Why?” Their symmetry was impressive.
I took a deep breath, and began from the beginning. “Since I killed that ghoul, at the nitrate facility, I haven’t been sleeping. Like, at all. I’m not sure if you guys noticed.”
“…” From their faces I could tell the effort they were making not to be sarcastic here.
Pressing on, I pointed emphatically towards the open cabin door. “I can’t help but think that this might be partly responsible for my making decisions like that one just then. Partly.”
“Partly.” They agreed.
“I can’t have that anymore. Not after what I promised Undertow, and not after what happened with Breeze and Four Fields. I need to be stronger, and quicker, and smarter, and basically better. I need rest.”
“But every time you try you just end up sitting there all night.”
I nodded. “I know. I can’t sleep, because my mind won’t let me. My body still needs rest, though, so I want you two to put me out, get around the blocks my mind is using, and let me get some rest. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.”
“Alright.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Now, I know this is a little weird, but I think it’s the right thing t-… excuse me?”
“I’m game.” Bosco was popping his neck.
“Oh, I will totally do this.” Naiara was loosening up her shoulders.
“Hey,” Bosco rounded on her, “why do you get to do it? It should be me.”
“No way! I’m doing it.”
“You are not!”
“Guys?”
“I’m the hoof specialist!”
“That doesn’t matter here! Hit her with anything heavy enough and it’ll work, regardless.”
“Um… guys?”
“I should get to do it! I’ve been dragged into all sorts of stuff thanks to Snow!”
“I’ve been getting dragged around from the day she left the Stable!”
“If I could just…”
“I WANNA DO IT!”
“I WANNA DO IT!”
“If you two don’t knock it off, I’m gonna go get Undertow instead!”
Twin gasps, as my threat caught them aghast.
“Nooo, you asked us.” Bosco’s reply was quick, trying to outrun any chance of losing this opportunity.
“You saaaiiiid.” Whined Naiara.
“Get on with it then!” I snorted in frustration. This should not take this long.
“…Together?”
“Alright.”
“Hey wait a sec-”
~~~~~~
The slightest… something was happening. Like a far-off echo, my ears were driving my brain mad, as they struggled to make sense of what they were picking up. Too insubstantial to focus on, yet impossible to ignore, an indescribable noise was dipping in and out. It was low, and constant, and maddening in its familiar strangeness. It was almost like wearing ear protection.
But why would I be working in the Reactor core? That wasn’t my assignment this week.
I resolved to give my ears such a telling off for their treachery, complete with the scariest glare I could muster. But not here, down in the caves. There wasn’t enough light. This had to be a full sensory attack.
Flooding in past my eyelids, a dull, but comparatively shining, gloom pervaded. The lights must be dying again. A requisition would need to be put in for their replacement.
Whatever the light situation, it wasn’t good enough. I couldn’t give my ears a good talking to like this, I couldn’t make anything out! There was a blur covering everything, like Lo had pranked the cleaning staff’s solution with grease again, and everything ended up looking dirty and indistinct.
Oh damn, Mrs. Doublehorn’s gonna give me hell for this. I was supposed to be watching him.
She had, I realised, as the other horseshoe dropped. This WAS that time. I’m daydreaming.
Right, because that’s Buff, and Al, over there, already covered in gunk. So covered, that Al’s got stripes, and I can’t see Buff’s horns. Lo really went all out. I’m kinda proud.
What happened next?
I remembered trying to rise from where I was sitting, except my hooves wouldn’t stay under me long enough to get upright. After a few attempts, I gave it up for a bad job and just let myself fall. Fortunately, my head fell onto something soft, which would also get me a chewing out, because I shouldn’t have let the Reactor core get this cluttered with random objects.
I’d handle that in a minute or two. For now, I was just gonna enjoy the free headrest. Everything seemed pretty calm for the moment, a minute or two’s break wouldn’t be too bad. At least, if it weren’t for the weird noise.
Seriously, what is that?
My break would be ruined if it kept up. Was it the filters? The outflow valves? Cracks in the bulbs, which would also account for the bad lighting?
Coming back to the noise, it was strange that I couldn’t pin down how it had sounded before. It was still bothersome, but I had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t the same. There were gaps now, silences, and the loud parts were… changing, even as I was trying to listen.
Can the others hear it too?
“You hearing this, boys?” Whatever this soft thing I was lying on was, getting up was out of the question. I was happy to pay with my voice slurring in exchange. The question probably sounded more like “Yooweirienis, bus?”
They heard me, but they might’ve had their own cushions, as I’d never heard them sound like they did just then. Buff’s calm rumble was too flat, while Al’s heavy growl sounded downright feminine. I couldn’t help giggling, which set Al off, as I knew it would.
I still couldn’t make out what was being said, but there was more feeling in his voice.
“Stop complaining and help me get Lo cleaned up. He’ll be a mess.” I knew he would be because I’d been through this before. It took hours to get it all out of his fur.
And then he jumped in two more times for fun, the little monster.
His lazy brothers made no move to help though, even as covered as they were. It almost seemed to be getting worse, at that. The stripes were more pronounced, and Buff’s coat was losing its colour, shifting slowly more grey by the second.
On the plus side, whatever the noise was, it seemed to be dying down, and regular auditory service was resuming. Sort of. Buff was still speaking too flatly, while Naiara had calmed down and wasn’t looking this way anymore.
Rolling my eyes at them proved to be a mistake, as my vision swam the moment I did so, and I had to shut out the light again until the dizziness subsided. When I was confident that I wasn’t gonna topple over, I let some light back in.
“...Huh.”
The Reactor core was gone. So were my brothers. So was Stable 61. Instead, all I had to go on was the soft, warm something that I was lying against, and a veritable on-rush of startling clear sensations:
The gentle sound of the lake waves on the shore.
The rise and fall of my chest.
Bosco and Naiara talking in hushed tones.
Undertow’s soft breathing on my face.
Undertow?
As I accomplished the last step of my resurrection, opening my eyes, I took in the scene before me.
I was laying on the bed of the cabin, stretched out, with the warm around my shoulders, neck, and head due to being cradled in the crook of Undertow’s sleeping body. Taking a slow pan around the room with my eyes, I took in the perpetually cloudy sky through the still-unfixed hole in the cabin roof, to the open door and the cresting water beyond, and finally to my other two friends, sat at the table, eating a meal.
“Thanks.” I croaked out, only then realising how dry my throat was.
I’d get up, but this is really comfortable.
“Happy to help.” A jocular Naiara beamed down at me, flexing a muscle as she did. Bosco just smirked and continued eating, though he did seem to be making small shadow boxing moves with his free appendage.
I noticed he had a bandage wrapped around the hoof. “What happened to your leg?” I kept quiet, so as not to disturb my slumbering pillow.
The charcoal colt’s grey eyes flicked briefly to said pillow. “When she came back and found you out cold, she got a little… upset.”
Oh boy. I was hoping that I’d be awake again before she got back. “How long was I out?”
“A full day.”
“WH-… what?” Undertow stirred at my stifled shout, but didn’t wake. Her hoof moved though, searching around on the bed, and she quietly moaned when she found nothing, her sleeping features creasing up in concern.
I reached a hoof up to hers, and she grasped it tight, instantly calming. Within seconds her breathing was low and regular again.
“You needed the rest, Snow,” Naiara was more serious than usual, “you were awake for days.”
“…Fair enough. So, Bosco, what’d Undertow do to your leg?”
Throaty chuckles accompanied the answer. “She bit him.”
I goggled at her words. “Bosco, she bit you?”
He just shrugged and kept on eating, only talking after swallowing. “I said she was upset, and when she found out we were the ones who put you under, she, ah, didn’t take it well. Took a while for us to get her calmed down.”
I turned to Naiara. “Did she bite you too?”
Naiara raised her snout proudly. “Nope, couldn’t catch me.”
Still eating, Bosco cut her pride to shreds. “Tell Snow what she did instead.”
Her jade eyes glowered at him, before she sighed. “She put me through the door.”
The door? A second look made my eyes widen. What I’d originally thought to be the open cabin door proved, on closer inspection, to be the non-existent cabin door. Shards of wood littered the shore outside. “How?”
“I wasn’t expecting it, okay!” Her ego must’ve been hurt worse than her body, considering how Undertow couldn’t even touch her in their first fight.
The whole thing made me start to laugh. My little Undertow got so mad at my getting myself knocked out, that she bit Bosco and blasted Naiara straight through a wooden door.
“Mmm… Lady Snow?” My mirthful shaking had apparently been enough to wake Undertow, where a short shout had not.
“Hi.” My response was light, and cheery, and energetic. I’d accomplished what I wanted from my slumber. My body felt much lighter and capable. A few experimental jolts showed me that my magic came easier too.
None of that really helped when two hooves wrapped around my neck in a choking deathgrip of death. “YOU ARE AWAKE!”
“Ggghk!” I could only flail as her over-enthusiastic embrace threatened to send me back under.
“Undertow, she’s choking.” Naiara was nonchalant about the whole thing, but the hooves soon slackened.
“Ah! My apologies, Lady Snow.”
Rubbing my neck, I took a few long, slow breaths to equalise my breathing. “It’s fine, Undertow. Glad to be back. Have you been here the whole time?”
“Yup, she never left your side… except to bite me.”
“I really am very sorry, Bosco. And to you, Naiara. I just… I…” Her blush was back in force.
Neither of them looked to hold a grudge. “Don’t worry about it, Undertow. We know you were just worried about her.”
Undertow said nothing, just demurely clung to me. I was more than happy to reciprocate. “Try not to do that again, Undertow. Bosco and Naiara are friends, they usually have reasons for this kinda stuff.”
“I understand. I’m sorry, Lady Snow.”
“It’s fine. So what time is it?”
“Mid-morning, give or take.”
We were all gathered, and looked to be in good health. I saw no reason to stay any longer. “Wanna get going then?”
~~~~~~
The last of the water froze, causing the tiny ring to fall, giving off a pure crystal sound as it clattered down my horn.
“Hah, I did it!” My delighted exclamation was cut short, as I had to swiftly shake my head to dislodge the frozen band, “Eesh, that’s cold!”
Naiara and Bosco just smiled supportively, while Undertow clapped her hooves at my success. “I knew you could do it, Lady Snow. Shall we try further away?”
The same method Undertow had used before for teaching me magic, levitating a ring of water around my horn, was still what she and I used to practice. Before, I’d simply been able to find the water with my magic, even a half-inch from my horn. It had taken me an hour, and I hadn’t managed anything more than that.
Now that I was finally rested again, I’d managed to not only locate Undertow’s water, but also to freeze it.
Granted it still took me several minutes and was, as said, half an inch from my horn, but I’m still counting it. Woo, progress!
We’d tried greater distances, but after an hour of practice I’d only increased my range by a few feet. I was starting to feel dizzy, so we took a break.
I felt lighter, and happier, now that I wasn’t dragging a dead-on-its-hooves body around. I was practically bouncing as we strolled along, and my good mood seemed to be catching with the others. Naiara regularly broke into simple Stompeii Emboli routines as we went, and Undertow was starting to open up too, being engaged in a lively discussion with Bosco about Molar Bears.
“They move through the trees?”
“Almost as easily as you swim through water.”
“Amazing! I would not think that something of the size you describe would be able to move so easily.”
“I don’t think many ponies get the chance to find out. They can tear a stallion in half in seconds with those claws.”
That drew a shudder from the water-wielder. “Perhaps I should avoid the forest if possible.”
Chuckling, Bosco just shrugged. “I dunno, so long as Snow’s around you might be alright. According to her and Naiara, she’s survived five of the things.”
Whipping her head around, Undertow stared at me with awe. “Five?”
Molar Bears weren’t really something I wanted her underestimating, so I felt like I needed to set the record straight. “Don’t be fooled, Undertow, I had a lot of help. The first time I came across a Molar Bear, I’d have died if it hadn’t chased me into town at Cefar. Bosco and a bunch of others shot it to hell. When I came across the family of four, they seemed more confused than anything, and Naiara did… something,”
“Flashbang.” She called out, still listening even as she somersaulted and cartwheeled back and forth,
“Right, Naiara did a Flashbang, and we managed to get away. That’s what you need to do with Molar Bears. Don’t try to fight, just get away however you can.”
Undertow’s awe transferred to the colt and the zebra. “You two saved Lady Snow?”
All three of us burst out laughing. “ ’Tow, we’ve been saving her since she came to the Wasteland!”
“Got a list and everything.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I gruffed, “I’ll square up with you guys one day.”
“There’ll be interest.”
We all laughed at the joke.
“Get in on this, Undertow,” Naiara quipped, “I’m sure you’ve got a few saves to call in too.”
“I… do not have much need for money.” She was trying, but easy banter was not something she was accustomed to, and she struggled to keep up with the chatty Naiara, and snarky Bosco.
Heck, I still struggle to keep up with them sometimes.
“Why’s that? You rich?”
“Not wealthy, no. However, our lake salvage is intriguing for traders and researchers, and so we Deep Divers use it in exchange for food and other supplies. We tend to welcome more researchers than traders. They offer less disruption to our solitude.”
A thought struck me. “Since the Deep Divers want to be left alone, how are they gonna react to joining up with the other Raider groups?”
She didn’t immediately have an answer. None of us did, and we all lapsed into silence as we each pondered the question.
“Come to think of it,” Bosco mused, “each of the groups is pretty different from each other. I mean, Caber Toss’ lot… what were they called?”
“Haylanders.”
“Right, his Haylanders, seem quick to a fight, but they weren’t anywhere near as vicious as Four Fields and his Barnstormers. Mostly they just seemed rowdy.”
“That’s probably because Caber Toss was there, though. If he wasn’t, they’d probably be a lot more shooty.” I couldn’t really disagree with Naiara’s assessment. Caber Toss had been able to silence his entire group just by stomping his hoof. They definitely accepted his authority, but in general, they did seem to like getting wild.
“From what you have told me, these Haylanders, and Barnstormers, seem to take on the traits of their leaders. Caber Toss is a stallion who enjoys violence, and thus, so do his Haylanders. Four Fields, before his death, was a vicious pony who enforced his rule through fear. His Barnstormers will see that as the correct way to act.”
“Wonder what they’ll turn into now that he’s dead?” Bosco’s muttered response did bring up an important point. With Four Fields dead, would the Barnstormers still want this alliance? How would their new leader, whoever that turned out to be, act and shape their followers?
“How’s this alliance even going to work, anyway?” Naiara piped up, “I mean, Caber Toss was kinda skimping on the details, really. ‘Unite us’ is all well and good, but how?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, think about it. Instead of four groups with one boss each, now they’ll be one big group with four bosses, and presumably, Red Ice at the top.”
“I don’t wanna be on top.”
“We know you don’t, Snow, but that’s kinda the problem. They might all follow you out of respect, but if you don’t do the job, how do they decide which way to go between the four of them? Undertow’s got a voice there, but Caber Toss, Ballbuster, and whatever new guy shows up for the Barnstormers are gonna want to do things their way, too.”
“I’ll do my best to support Lady Snow in this!” She was adamant about sticking with me, even in this.
I studied her earnest face as I thought things over. Do I want her having to deal with this? Do I have a choice? She’s the non-Raider Raider, so I might NEED her to play a big part.
“Argh, bureaucracy is hard!” I rubbed my head in an effort to sort the problem. It didn’t really help.
I stomped a hoof. “One thing I’m damn sure not gonna do, though, is make the Raiders my army. No matter what some faceless DJ says!”
“Hear hear.” Was the deadpan chorus.
Still, I thought, as Naiara and Bosco began grilling Undertow on what those big fish in the lake, Poseidoceros was apparently the name, were like, and how they measured up to Molar Bears, what do I want this alliance to be in the end?
~~~~~~
It took us a full day to cross from the Deep Diver village, on what I now knew to be Soft Swell Lake, and all in all, it had been a pleasant trip. Even the falling snow hadn’t dampened our spirits.
That ended upon our arrival at the Woodpecker settlement. As we crested the snowy hill, we were instantly snapped back to the reality of the situation.
It was on fire.
“What the hell’s this?” Bosco was, as always when presented with danger, all business. He was already getting his pistol and knife out.
We stared, confused, at the scene. Dark smoke was billowing up from several places in the ramshackle village, built out of busted sky carriages and train cars. As we watched, another fire kicked up, started by an explosion.
Somebody was attacking the Woodpeckers.
“Let’s go!” I began half-running, half-sliding down the soft white snow, trying to reach the village as soon as possible.
“This is definitely the place, Bosco?” Naiara kept pace with our tumbling easily, her natural grace manifesting even in this situation.
“Yeah, it lines up with Caber Toss’ map. This is the place.”
“Who’d be crazy enough to attack a Raider stronghold?” I thought I might already know the answer to that, but didn’t want to believe it was them.
Unfortunately, the Wasteland doesn’t care what you believe. Swooping through the smoke of the centre-most fire, I saw a winged figure strafe the village, with a new series of explosions following in her wake.
“That’s Breeze!” Naiara and I confirmed together.
“Oh, hell.” Bosco muttered, while Undertow just kept her silence and continued onwards.
We were halfway down the hill when two more fliers made themselves known. Corkscrewing up from between buildings, Cassie reached her vantage point and unslung her powerful rifle, sighting down on some unseen, unsuspecting Raider. I saw the muzzle flash before I heard the thunder clap of the shot being fired. I couldn’t hear a scream over the crackle of the fires, audible even at this distance, but I knew firsthoof how good a shot she was.
Wings was pacing Breeze, the two of them raining bullets and grenades down onto the Woodpeckers. Two earth pony mares scrambled up onto a roof, and began returning fire with automatic guns. Breeze broke off, but Wings just juked and opened up with her revolvers, sending one Raider tumbling over the side, and soon joined by the other as the diminutive griffon cannoned straight into her as she struggled to reload. The pony’s high-pitched scream cut off abruptly half a second later.
We were close now, only a few hundred meters away. My breath had stopped fogging as we drew closer to the burning village, and adrenaline was running through all of us, driving us forward.
A disturbing sound almost ground us to a halt as we entered the village proper: Schwarzwald’s laughter. Loud, deep, and melodic, she was obviously enjoying herself. I caught sight of her as we reached the centre of the village.
Framed by the fire, the earth mare was having the time of her life, trading fire with the locals. Her battle saddle flashing and screaming as she run-and-gun’d her way around the square. She put the last of her opponent’s down just as we burst into the clearing.
“SCHWARZWALD!”
Her grin growing wider and wider as she turned, the joy dancing in her forest green eyes was palpable. “Snowflake-dahling! Bosco-dear! How good to see you again! I have missed you since the fight with Wings and Cassie.”
“What are you doing, Schwarzwald?”
My desperate imploring had little effect, if any, on her mood. “Why, I’m just killing some Raiders, dahling. Hardly a new concept.” She turned back to the carnage. “I won’t be long, then we can have a nice chat and catch up.”
“Wait!” I started forward, but a shot rang out, striking the ground before me.
“That’s close enough, Red Ice!”
Five pairs of eyes turned skyward, to see Cassie flapping in place a dozen meters above us, her rifle sight fixed on me.
“Stop this now, Cassie, please!” I had a better shot with her than I did with Schwarzwald. Cassie was no pleasure-seeker, and she had seemed genuinely remorseful on the monitor in Neighlway.
“I cannot do that, Snowflake. What you are doing is wrong!” Her aim didn’t waver, and she spoke around the barrel. “The Raiders are too much of a threat already. I will not allow you to make them worse!”
“I’m trying to make them better!” I pleaded, angry and scared that nobody understood that.
“Oh hey,” a rough voice called out, “the gang’s all here!” Wings swooped over our heads, before turning mid-air to hover beside Schwarzwald. Above, Breeze glared daggers at the four of us, with the possible exception of Naiara, as she took up position next to her sister. Two of her custom grenades were in her hooves.
The atmosphere was incredibly tense, even with the panicked shouts of Raiders rushing to battle fires or get away. In the corner of my eye, I spotted a fair number who were simply watching from the side lines.
Even Raiders love free entertainment, I guess.
Or they’re just going to jump all of us in a little while.
“Wings, what are you doing here?” The sapphire-eyed griffon had a hard look on her face, but was the only flier not to be pointing her weapons at me.
She just shrugged. “I’m stoppin’ you, Snow. Can’t let you keep going with this crazy plan of yours.”
I spread my hooves to indicate the chaos around us. “Like this?!”
She held up her claws in a ‘calm yourself’ gesture. “Relax, we’re only killing the ones who fight back. Just trying to scare ‘em, is all. Make it so they don’t want any part of your Raider army.”
“IT’S NOT AN ARMY!”
“Then what is it?” Breeze snapped at me. “What are you trying to do with these murdering psychopaths?”
“Dammit I’m trying to change them for the better! Raiders are still ponies! They can change!”
She remained dismissive. “You mean like that monster beside you?” Her eyes swept over Undertow, barely concealing the rage within.
Undertow bristled at that. So did I. “Don’t you dare call her that!”
She snorted out a laugh. “Why not? We had a nice chat with Four Fields about her, among other things. She’s killed more ponies than the rest of her flock put together.”
“She would wager that so have you.” Undertow’s whip-crack response shattered Breeze mocking smile.
“I’ll kill you, monster.” She snarled, but her sister put a hoof on her shoulder before she could do anything else.
Cassie, though looking less than pleased at how Breeze was being spoken to, nevertheless maintained a more collected air. “Red Ice, you have to know that this will not work. Too many will oppose it, and your collective will be drawn into a conflict whether you wish it or not.”
“So I shouldn’t even try?” I scoffed, “Just sit back and let you wipe out all these Raiders?”
“Most ponies would thank us.” She replied simply.
I didn’t need to utter a single word to convey my judgement of the opinion of ‘most ponies’ right now.
“Breeze, you gotta stop this now. It’s not you.” Naiara was facing her friend for the first time since La Buque, where she’d been dismissed as just another stripe. The hurt was still present on her face.
Breeze saw it too, and reacted in a way that gave me hope for the two of them. “I’m sorry, Naiara, but the Raider alliance isn’t something that I can allow to happen. This needs to be done.”
Getting into a ready stance, Naiara didn’t break eye contact. “Then I’ll fight you, and we can talk it out after I win.”
Her words, and actions, caused six of our remaining seven to drop into our own stances. Only Schwarzwald, thoroughly amused by the whole thing, remained relaxed. “Oh how fun! This should be delightful. There are four of them, and four of us. Shall we each pair off?” She was treating this as a giant game, which scared the hell out of me, but also made me think that perhaps she wouldn’t be looking to kill whoever it was she ended up battling.
“Whatever works.” Bosco surprised us with his willingness to go along with this. If we were split up, we couldn’t help each other. Everybody here, except myself, was a skilled combatant. We might end up with several deaths if we carried on.
Breeze was certainly okay with the idea. She kept her eyes on Undertow. “I’ll take the Raider.”
Undertow gave no response, other than for her horn to begin glowing.
“Oh poo,” Schwarzwald pouted, “I wanted to see what that cute little one could do. Oh well, no matter. I’ll take the pretty zebra.”
How Naiara didn’t react to the older mare’s toothy grin, I would never know. “Bring it on.”
A clicking noise drew my attention skyward, to where Wings was reloading her revolvers.
Bosco stepped up, his own gun ready. “I got her.”
Cassie’s voice floated down from on-high. “Leftovers are fine with me.”
I ground my teeth at that. Could have been worse. Cassie might not kill me if she gets the chance, though I’m not gonna roll over and give it to her this time.
“So,” a chipper Schwarzwald remarked lightly, “how should we start? Is there a signal?”
As if on cue, a building to the side collapsed under the heat.
She grinned at the serendipity. “That works. Follow me, pretty thing.” Then she turned and ran down one street. Naiara obliged her.
“Be careful, and don’t kill her!” I called after her.
Back in the square, Wings curled a talon beckoningly at the charcoal colt, before flapping backwards over some rooftops. Bosco, far more cautiously, and still wary of Cassie and Breeze, followed.
“Bosco…” I began, but he cut me off.
“I won’t kill her if I can help it, Snow. Might not be my choice though.” Then he was gone.
That’s about all I can ask here. Thanks, Bosco.
Undertow made no snide comment, instead opting to open up with all the stored water she had. It poured out of her bottles, and shot at Breeze like a hail of bullets.
The Pegasus almost didn’t react in time. She spun to the side at the last second, avoiding most of the barrage, but lost her grip on her gadgets, which vanished down into the well in the square.
Undertow called her water back, and then turned and vanished down the same street that we had come from, one of our group not chasing for once.
Enraged, Breeze went after her, with her sister calling out after her. “Be careful, Breeze.”
“Don’t kill her if you can help it, Undertow, and definitely don’t die!” I hollered too.
That first part is very, very important, but the second part is vital. I really don’t want to have to choose between you two, Breeze, but I’ll take Undertow if you force the issue.
Breeze, please don’t force the issue.
And then there were two. Cassie and I made no move to change location. There was no need. She had a clear view with her rifle from where we were, and I knew nothing of urban combat, so using the environment to my advantage was not going to happen.
“Is this really what you want, Cassie?” I asked, while slowly using my nose to point out some of the damage that had already been done; The collapsed building that was our ‘signal’, the dead bodies of Schwarzwald’s previous opponents, the still raging fires licking at whatever they could consume, the craters and debris left by Breeze’s grenades, and the bullet holes riddling multiple surfaces.
“No, she replied immediately, “of course not. However, the question could be posed to you too. This Raider alliance, you must know how dangerous it could be. Is developing that threat really what YOU want, Snowflake?”
“Not ‘Red Ice’?”
“That depends on you.”
She looked almost as miserable as I felt about this whole thing. “What can I do to convince you that I’m not raising an army? That I mean no harm for the Wasteland?”
She regarded me levelly. “You would have to convince Breeze, I think, and that is beyond your powers of persuasion.”
“Does she hate the Raiders more than you?”
A tittering laugh rained down. “Oh my, no. No, she hates them far less than I do. She is simply more proactive in her hate. I will support her in all that she wishes for the Raiders, even if it means wiping every last one of them off the face of the planet.”
My stare was just as even. “You seem to have discovered a fair amount of the Raider alliance idea. Do you know who Undertow is?”
“I do, she is the leader of the Deep Divers. A Raider chief.”
“She’s no more Raider than you are, and she is very precious to me. I can’t allow Breeze to hurt her.” My horn began to glow faintly.
Cassie hefted her rifle slightly in response. “You don’t know our own words, Red Ice, but you know as well as I do that I won’t let her hurt Breeze.”
The implication was clear.
“I’m sorry.” We spoke the words together, before we began.
Another bullet slammed into the ground where I’d been as I launched myself backwards, backpedalling into the cover of a chest-high storage shed. With the barest minimum of my eye poking out, I tried to get a bead on Cassie, and instead received a face full of shrapnel, as her high power rifle round tore through the container inches from my face.
My pained scream drew more shots, blasting apart my barricade, a little at a time. Scrambling away, I received several grazes along my legs and ribs as I haphazardly snaked my way to sturdier cover.
From what I could make out from my peripheral vision, Cassie was in no hurry, content to stay high and take her shots.
I backed off, trying to buy time to formulate a plan. I’ll never beat her like this. I have to find a way to get her away from her rifle. I retreated further, back into the disorganised placement of the homes here, ducking between, and around, and through, homes wherever I found a path wide enough to travel.
The trouble with paths wide enough to travel, though, was that you were also visible down them. Each time I sprinted down one such path, a bullet would follow. Cassie’s ridiculously strong eyes would find me faster than I could dodge, and shot after shot cut a shallow path through my flesh.
Flattening myself against a wall, chest heaving, I knew that I must have looked a picture, with more and more red creeping into my colours. Each cut was shallow, but they were adding up.
It’s obvious she’s toying with me. She’s hit me a dozen times, on every part of my body. If she wanted to end this, I’d already been dead. She’s just stalling so Breeze can take care of Undertow.
“Snowflake?” She called down from somewhere, her voice echoing around the metal buildings, “You can’t win. Give up now, so I can go help Breeze deal with Undertow.”
Something drew my eye. A puddle on the ground. A puddle with a clear reflection of a floating Pegasus.
And her rifle.
Gotcha. My horn blazed. This was no different than Undertow’s training, and having your life threatened did wonders for your focus. “Not happening, Cassie. I won’t let Breeze kill her.”
Cassie was motionless, her wings keeping her perfectly still in the air. I had all the time I needed to get the measure of it.
I felt the magic happen.
Smiling, I stepped back out into the open, looking straight at Cassie. “We’re not done yet.”
Heaving a sigh that seemed genuinely reluctant, she sighted down the barrel, and pulled the trigger.
A pathetic, hollow click emerged from the rifle.
click, click, click.
Confusion, and growing fear, seeped into her eyes, as she tried in vain to unstick the frozen firing mechanism. Finally, a full minute of trying, she understood what happened. “You’ve gotten better.”
“I had plenty of incentive.” I left it ambiguous to her whether I meant Undertow’s protection, or her theft of my gear. I meant Undertow’s protection, though.
I turned to head down the street Undertow and Breeze had taken, but a coil wrapped around my hind leg.
Oh right, her whip. I managed to think, before being yanked off my hooves.
Thudding into the dirt, I rolled in an attempt to untangle myself, managing it just in time to scramble upright, as Cassie advanced on me, whip trailing from one bracer, and sharp blade deployed from the other. “I said I won’t let you go, Snowflake.”
She rushed at me, slashing with the knife, and striking with the whip. The dancing cord hounded me this way and that, always driving me into the range of the knife. My frantic, unscripted jerks were just barely keeping me from serious penetration, though my gashes increased with each slice.
Finally, she got a solid strike in. I’d just managed to avoid the knife and whip, but it left me way too close to Cassie, who simply flipped backwards, her hind hooves catching me full in the chest, and launching me back into a puddle of blood. The red liquid had softened the ground beneath it, and the splashing red scarlet coated my hooves as they sank slightly.
On instinct, I raised my front legs and my horn glowed, as she leapt towards me.
Spreng!
We stayed motionless for a moment, her pushing down with her knife, and my hoof blocking, with the cover of frozen blood becoming makeshift armour.
Wide-eyed at the new development, she didn’t react fast enough when my free hoof, also now armoured, swung up into her chin. The impact sent tremors along my limb, as I hadn’t held back, but it had the desired effect.
Reeling back from the blow to her chin, there were stars in front of Cassie’s eyes. I tried to press my attack with another blunt swing, but she turned and caught the blow on her shoulder, using the momentum to twirl around and backhoof me in the side of the head with her bracer.
We broke apart, each shaking out the cobwebs. Recovering, I sent a wide, arcing hook towards her, but she blocked with the barrel of her rifle, before jamming it into my stomach, thumping the wind out of me.
I collapsed to the ground, retching, and tried to suck some air into my lungs. Inhaling became far more difficult as her whip lashed me from shoulder to flank, in what felt like one long, agonising streak of fire. I couldn’t even scream. My hooves went out from under me, even as my back spasmed with the pain, and I fell face first into the dirt and ash.
I shut my eyes, dreading another bite from the whip’s fiery tongue, but none came. Instead, there was a dull thud, and my eyes snapped open to reveal that Cassie was no longer standing over me.
She was lying a few feet away, with a furious Naiara springing back to her hooves. Her eyes were swollen and blackening, and bruises and bites riddled her body.
Following my friend’s glare, I saw Schwarzwald standing there, still grinning, but looking no better than her chosen dance partner, who she’d just thrown into Naiara.
“Oops,” she giggled, “sorry about that, dahling.”
She’s keeping up with Naiara? The thought initially had me worried, but I soon noticed that it wasn’t quite so bad as that. While both combatants were heavily bruised, and would no doubt be sore later, Naiara wasn’t breathing heavily, while Schwarzwald was sucking in long draughts of oxygen, and favouring her right side. Naiara had the upper hoof, but it was not one-sided.
I heard a grunt behind me, and saw Naiara dancing away from a clumsy attack from Cassie. It almost did me in, as Schwarzwald took the time to charge at Naiara when my attention was elsewhere.
My attempt at preventing this was as unimpressive as Cassie’s failure to catch the nimble zebra, as the mercenary mare effortless ducked under my frozen hoof, losing no momentum as she snagged me around the chest, flinging me away. “No no, Snowflake-dear, Naiara is my playmate, and I will have my fun.”
Failing to hide a grin herself, Naiara casually repelled Cassie. “Don’t worry, Snow, I got her. Breeze’s sister giving you trouble?”
In some ways, svara, you’re as crazy as Schwarzwald is. “I took out her gun. I’ll be fine.”
Just before the two squared off again, the earth mare took the time to congratulate me. “Oh? Well done, dahling. I’m so happy for you.”
“Schwarzwald, what are you doing?” Cassie’s words dripped with incredulous disbelief. “We’re trying to stop them!”
“Stop them, yes, Cassiopeia Venatici, but clearly not kill them. We all know that if you desired Snowflake’s death, she would have already have a bullet through the brain.”
Hah! Knew it.
The accused said nothing, instead grimacing as we watched the two hoof-fighters continue their vicious brawl. I was fairly sure that I wouldn’t have to worry about either of them doing permanent damage. Schwarzwald clearly didn’t want to kill us either. I wasn’t sure why, exactly, but I was sure regardless.
“Ahem.” Cassie was drawing her whip back. “Shall we go again?”
“What for?” I challenged. “You’re just stalling anyway, giving Breeze a chance to kill Undertow.”
“Aren’t you doing the same?” She shot back.
“I’m trying to stop an entire village from being burned to the ground!”
“You already know the village will survive. We only killed those who fought back.”
“Of course they’re gonna fight back, you attacked their home!” I wasn’t going to let her try any sort of justification here. If she, her sister OR Wings had a problem with what I was doing, they could have always come to talk to me directly! This isn’t even about the Pipbuck and Memory Orb right now.
Cassie disagreed. “You would not have listened, had we approached you directly. Your anger at Wings, Breeze, and I would have clouded any discussion.”
“YOU DIDN’T EVEN TRY! NOBODY EVEN TRIES WITH RAIDERS! You all just kill them without another thought! Well, I’m sick of it! ‘Raider’ is such a damn lazy label that you jackholes put on these ponies, so you can try to fool yourself into thinking you aren’t killing other Wastelanders! I’m not gonna let you do that to Undertow, and I won’t let you do it here!”
Her whip cracked furiously against the ground. Livid eyes glared back at me. “You know NOTHING, Stable dweller, NOTHING of what a Raider is. Do not dare to lecture me on that so-called ‘label’, after mere weeks out of your hole in the ground!”
We stood there, glaring at each other in resolute silence, each unwilling to hear the other’s point of view, before she spread her wings to take flight, and my horn’s glow returned.
Our clash was derailed, however, as a torrent of water exploded out of the village well, carrying with it the grenades Breeze dropped earlier. The mass rocketed away over the rooftops and, as we watched, re-emerged seconds later, fountaining a wildly spinning Breeze straight up into the air. Even as the water broke off, splitting into smaller streams, which curled gracefully back down out of view. Even as the water left her, Breeze’s trajectory continued unabated, until she righted her spin after a few moments.
As Breeze dove down after the water, my opponent and I returned each other’s look. A second ticked by in silence, before the two of us, in a synchronised motion, broke into a gallop in that direction.
Leaving the square, we jostled and barged at each other, as we each tried to beat the other to the conflict between Breeze and Undertow.
“Leave her alone!”
Damn, I hate that she said it too.
So focused were we on reaching that particular conflict, that when Wings and Bosco burst through a flimsy excuse for a wall into the street before us, talons and knife giving off sparks as they clashed, we didn’t even slow down, even as the two locked into a stalemate, hooves and claws pushing to keep the other’s gun pointed away.
“Wings, can you handle him?”
“Bosco, you got this?”
“I’m good.” They chorused, without breaking their unblinking eye contact.
Satisfied, Cassie and I separated and ran around the pistol brawling pair, splitting up at a fork in the road.
“Come on, Undertow,” I panted as I ran, “where are you?”
It really didn’t help that everything in the camp was made of the same material, and the same basic design. That, plus the fires and explosions, and general grime of Wasteland life, had rendered every building I passed as more or less identical to its neighbours. I looked everywhere I could, but I couldn’t tell where Undertow was in relation to me.
I thought I saw a glimpse of blue wings to my left, and ducked down the next available alley. Bursting between buildings, I came back out into the open just in time to catch Undertow, having been caught under the chin by Cassie’s kick, the same one she’d used on me before beating me here.
With the stunned unicorn in my hooves, I couldn’t move fast enough to avoid the detonation, which sent us rolling. Neither Pegasus pressed the attack, as Cassie was fussing over Breeze, making sure she hadn’t been hurt. She had been, but not badly enough to incapacitate her.
I found myself doing the same for Undertow, who surprisingly shrugged me off, like Breeze was doing to Cassie.
Two glowing horns squared off against two pairs of wings, and we were then joined by two earth ponies, and finally two non-ponies. As all eight fighters gathered again, I felt utter frustration that we had wasted all that time, just to end up right back where we started: Each group facing down the other, in the still burning village.
“LALALALALAHHHHH!!!!!!”
The eight of us each raised an eyebrow at the scream, looking quizzically at its source.
Rumbling down the street towards us, was what seemed to be the entire Woodpecker group of Raiders, led by the biggest mare I’d ever laid eyes on. Her milk-coloured coat was covered by straining Raider gear, and she was mountainous, bigger even than Caber Toss, and nearly as round as she was tall, with a mouth full of missing teeth, and a red mane tied into a severe bun. Still, she was moving at a fast clip, even out pacing those following behind her.
“What the hell is this?” Wings vocalised what we were all thinking.
Dropping her smile for the first time since our entrance, Schwarzwald shrugged in disappointment. “It would appear that we have run out of time, dahling. The Raiders are here, and I believe we might not be in the best condition to fight the entire village right now.”
“But we’re not done!” Breeze had returned to swapping glares with Undertow.
Cassie remedied that by laying a hoof on her shoulder. “Unfortunately, sister, we are. Schwarzwald is right, we are not fit to battle an entire village.”
Wings and Breeze kinda looked like they wanted to continue, and the death of either, or Cassie and Schwarzwald, would all but destroy any chance I had to get my stuff back from them later, so I added my voice to Schwarzwald and Cassie. “Get going already, Wings! I’ll keep them from coming after you.”
“You will, will you?” Her scepticism was obvious.
What do you want from me? I’m trying to save your life! “Just go before you all die!”
Schwarzwald was already on her way, though she was waving cheerily at the four of us, while the three fliers hesitated, apparently needing to get some parting shots in.
“…Not bad, Bosco.” Wings’ admission was grudging at best, but it was something. She took to the sky immediately after.
Which just left the twins. Cassie was still tugging at Breeze, trying to get her to escape. Finally, the mechanically-minded Pegasus relented, and started to rise with her sister. “Another time, Undertow.”
“Goodbye for now, Red Ice.”
The Deep Diver and I said nothing in response, just watched silently as they retreated into the sky, following after Wings. The Raiders had no fliers, so they’d be fine as soon as they got out of range of whatever pitifully-maintained guns that the Raiders might have, but Schwarzwald could only make a run for it, and she was the only one of the four that I had no real grudge with, so I moved to make sure that she was alright.
Planting myself in the path of this living locomotive of a pony, I took a deep breath and held up a still-frozen hoof. “STOP!”
Shockingly, it worked. The massive mare skidded to a stop, not budging an inch when her followers, all female for some reason, piled into the back of her. Squinting down through her bloodlust, she finally focused on me standing there, feeling less confident now that she was close enough for me to get a real measurement of just how much of a big girl she was. “Wha’s wrong, wee lass? Yeh no’wantin’ tae get after ‘em?”
I heard Naiara facehoofing behind me, and wanted to join her. This accent again. Great. “Um… no?”
The ground shook as she stomped an angry, disbelieving hoof. “How no? Them cheeky bints set me toon on fire!”
If she’s gonna speak like Caber Toss, I’ll act the same way around her as I did with him. That would have made no sense, were I calmer and not coming off an emotionally charged confrontation, but it seemed perfectly reasonable then and there. “Because I’m Red Ice, and they are my prey.”
The response I got to this bravado was overwhelmingly positive, and overwhelmingly painful. The mare-hemoth swept me up and off the ground in an organ-rearranging embrace. “Red Ice! Oh, it’s a pleasure, lassie, what wi’ you savin’ may Woodpeckers an’ e’rythin’! Come ‘ere and lemme gi’ yeh a squeeze!”
I’m actually going to die. The thought was all I could muster as my shoulder blades literally ground together.
“If these are the Woodpeckers, then you must be Ballbuster.” Naiara’s words saved me, and doomed her, as Ballbuster dropped me and seized her up instead.
“Ah am indeed, yeh wee stripey thing! Thanks tae you too. That was some fine fightin’ yeh were doin’ wi’ the earth pony. Ne’er seen anythin’ like it.”
“O…kay.” Was all that the zebra could croak out.
Soon enough Ballbuster had a new target though, as she turned her attention to the last ‘lassie’. As she moved forward, Undertow was already shrinking behind me. “Wha’s wrong, hen? Come oot an’ lemme gi’ yeh a cuddle!”
“She’s not good with hugs.” I tried to be diplomatic about it. Didn’t want Ballbuster’s friendliness, painful though it was, to disappear.
Thankfully, the stout mare accepted without any trouble. “Aye, ah’m always hearin’ that the Deep Diver’s arenae much fer that stuff, seems their boss is nae different.”
“So you know who she is, then?” Bosco seemed glad to move the topic along, and avoid a hug himself.
He got a very different response than the three of us did. Ballbuster scowled at him. “Ah thank yeh fer helpin’ mah village, colt, but watch yehr mooth.”
That surprised all of us. “What’d I say?”
Her scowl threatened to turn into a glare. “The Woodpeckers’re no’ fans o’ males. Too many o’ them try their chances wi’ mah girls. Get rough wi’ em. Ah’ll no’ have that here, which means ah’ll no’ have YOU here.”
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” It seemed I wasn’t the only one carrying frustration from the fight, Bosco cut loose, raising his voice. “After all I just did to save your piece of…”
“BOSCO!” Naiara cut him off before he said anything that’d get him killed. Ballbuster WAS glaring now, and her Woodpeckers were starting to produce weapons.
“…Fine.” He wasn’t so angry that he’d commit suicide here, so he simply thrust out a hoof at Naiara instead, “Gimme the communicator.”
“What for?”
“I’ll leave, but I wanna call Schwarzwald.”
That put Naiara on edge. “Her? Why?”
He said nothing in response, just stood there with his hoof out, waiting.
I could only shrug as Naiara looked to me for clarification, but she eventually handed over Breeze’s communicator. “Don’t break it.”
“I’m not gonna break the fu-… ugh, forget this!” He turned on his heel and stalked away, muttering unflattering things about all present, and recently-present.
Two Woodpeckers followed him discreetly. “Jes’ tae make sure he’s away from the village, they’ll no bother him past the toon’s edge.”
As soon as Bosco was away, Ballbuster was all smiles again. “ ‘mon then! Le’s get some food in yeh. Yeh’re all so wee an’ tiny! Ah’ll get yeh fed up.” It wasn’t really up for discussion, as the three of us found ourselves drawn along within a procession of excited fillies, all trying to talk to us at once.
~~~~~~
We found ourselves sat in an impromptu picnic in what remained of the square, with Ballbuster sat next to us, as Woodpecker cooks brought out great cauldrons of seasoned ground meat, along with a thick, brown, herby liquid to pour over the top. “Tarantubaa haggis ‘n’ gravy. Nothin’ finer in all o’ the Wastes. Eat yehr fill, there’s plenty tae go aroond!”
It took me a little while to overcome my apprehension about eating those fluffy spider creatures, but my exertion from the fight had caught up with me, and it did smell good, so I soon found myself tucking in alongside Naiara and Undertow, who had no issues with the food.
Ballbuster watched with satisfaction as we made short work of the food. “Aye, tha’s the way,” she proclaimed loudly, “a full belly’ll do wonders fer a pony.”
She sighed wistfully. “Used tae make this all the time fer mah wee ‘uns, afore they got too big t’stay wi’ their maw.”
“You’ve got kids?” She was showing motherly behaviour, to be sure, but her attitude towards stallions make this surprising.
“Oh aye. Ah was lucky enough tae find a decent buck, either that or he was lucky tae find me!” She, and the other Woodpeckers hooted with laughter at this. We just chuckled politely.
“Anywho, aye, ah had a few. Dunno where they are noo though, been years an’ years since ah last saw ‘em. They’re prob’ly deed.” She didn’t look particularly sad at this, seeming to accept it as part of life. “They all turned out thick as bricks, just like mah husband.”
“Is he here?” Naiara asked, around a mouthful.
“Course no’, he’s a stallion. He’s no’ welcome here. None o’ ‘em are. No’ even yehr wee pal. Mah husband’s prob’ly off gallivantin’ aroond wi’ wee hussies!” Her smile turned lopsided, and frankly deranged, as she spoke on the matter.
“This food is excellent, Ballbuster, could we please give some to Bosco? He will be hungry.”
Undertow’s words defused the situation, drew surprised looks from Naiara and I, and caused a knowing smile to grace Ballbuster’s lips. “Oh, ah see. That one yehr fella, Deep Diver?”
“NO!” I cried, as Undertow blushed, and Naiara burst out laughing. “He’s our friend, and we don’t want him to miss out.”
“Areet, fine,” she relented, signalling to one of the cooks, who took off after Bosco and his guards with a hearty helping of food, “an’ mah name’s no’ really Ballbuster, ah jus’ use that fer scarin’ folk. Ah’m Sweet Lips.”
A morsel caught in my throat, choking me. Seriously? Sweet Lips?
I received a mighty slap on the back from Sweet Lips, which almost snapped my spine, and a drink of weak ale to ease the discomfort. I let it work on my throat as I finished my meal.
When I was done, I decided to move things along. “So… Sweet Lips, I’ll tell you the same thing I told Caber Toss and Undertow. I’m trying to get some of the Raiders in the…”
“What’d yeh say?” She interrupted, a strange tone emerging.
I didn’t think much of it, despite Naiara and Undertow tensing up. “Caber Toss, he’s your husband, right? Anyway, the different Raiders in… the ar… e… a…”
I clicked onto what the strange tone signified.
Oh hell.
~~~~~~
“LALALALALAHHHH!!!!!!”
“What did you do?!” Bosco was unhappy to have his meal interrupted, especially by the three of us grabbing him anywhere we could, mid running-the-hell-away from an enraged Ballbuster, who was chasing us with a very large, very sharp, and very heavy-looking axe.
“STAY AWAY FROM MAH FELLA, YEH WHOORES!”
“Snow mentioned that we’ve met her husband.”
“She did not take it well.”
“So I see.”
…Hate. You. All.
~~~~~~
“AHAHAHAHAH! That’s mah wife alright.”
“And you didn’t think to tell us she was your wife before we met her?”
“Eh. Wasnae important.”
“…” I swear, if I still had my ice gauntlets…
After having barely escaped from Ballbuster, or Sweet Lips, we’d made for the closest safe haven: Vanchoofer. Amusingly, I’d run into the same trouble as I had the last time I came out this way. Namely, the portly Raider.
“Ho, look at that glameen run!”
Only this time, he’d taken one look at me, and waddle-bolted in the opposite direction, as fast as his tubby frame could carry him.
Caber Toss had caught the whole show. He’d been remarkably unfazed by the Woodpecker incident. “Aye, terr’ble temper on Sweet Lips. Amazin’ cook though. Amazin’.”
“What are you even doing here?” I was in no mood for his antics after what invoking his name had just caused. “Didn’t you say the Haylanders were based up around Whinniepeg?”
He nodded. “Aye, tha’s right. Ah’m just comin’ from seein’ the Barnstormers.”
“The Barnstormers?”
“Yep. Now that Four Fields’ deed, I went tae see how they were farin’. No’ well, really, so I took ‘em on as part o’ the Haylanders.”
“You… took them?” We were all frowning at this revelation, and Bosco and Naiara were subtly edging around to Caber Toss’s sides, in case he tried anything.
For now, he was all smiles, though. “Aye. Them Barnstormers are used tae obeyin’ the toughest. Four Fields was toughest ‘cause o’ his magic. Me? I jus’ beat the livin’ shite outta the new fools who wanted tae be boss. And now? Ah’m the boss, so ah said they’re Haylanders now.”
“I thought you wanted an alliance, not more followers?” This was sounding more and more suspicious all the time.
“Ah still do, but Four Fields was the on’y one o’ ‘em who coulda kept the others in line. It’s no’ perfect, but it’s easiest this way.”
He scratched his neck before shrugging. “Although, sayin’ that… Ah didnae really want Four Fields deed, but I was sorta hopin’ yeh’d off Ballbuster fer me.”
“WHAT?!” That was his wife he was talking about!
“Aye, chances are she’ll no’ work wi’ me. Woulda made things simpler.” He gave a hapless little chuckle. “Ah well, cannae have ev’rythin’. Ah’m setting the date fer the meeting o’ the bosses fer a week fro’ today. We’ll do it in the Barnstormer village, since it’s def’nitely safe now. Ah’ll go pass along the message tae Sweet Lips, she’ll prob’ly no’ be wantin’ tae see yeh again so soon.”
He sauntered off on his way, without waiting for a response.
Not that I had one to give, as I was having a really hard time sputtering over his words.
Eventually, long after he’d gone, I found my voice. “What the… FUCK is this?! The alliance is falling into shambles all around us, and he’s acting like this is the best thing that could have happened! Of the five people he wanted there, me included we’ve only got three guaranteed, one’s dead, and the last one hates us all! This is stupid!”
“…It was your idea.”
“SHUT UP, BOSCO!”
“YOU SHUT UP! IT’S STILL YOUR IDEA!”
“WHY DON’T YOU BOTH SHUT UP?”
“SHUT UP, NAIARA!”
“Um…”
“YOU SHUT UP TOO, UNDERTOW!”
“Eeep!”
“DON’T TELL HER TO SHUT UP!”
“THEN WATCH WHO YOU’RE TELLING TO SHUT UP!”
~~~~~~
The four of us, even Undertow, held our silence over the hour it took to reach Vanchoofer. I’d tried to coax Undertow into some magic practice, but got a pretty cold refusal.
So now we were waiting in line to enter, with hunched shoulders and pressed lips. To pass the time, I was readying my caps to pay the entrance fee. A frown crossed my face as I hefted the bag I’d gotten from Lexi for the caravan run. After Undertow’s armour, and several days of travelling through Raider country, not known for their wallets, it was lighter than I was really comfortable with.
I wasn’t gonna starve, not yet, but perhaps it would be wise to take it easy over the next week, until the Raider conference to the north.
Naiara hadn’t wanted to cover herself in makeup again, having griped long and loud about how much of a pain it was, so she’d simply donned a heavy cloak, keeping her steps short so the fabric didn’t reveal much of her striped fur. She dropped her fee on the table, and vanished between the guards without a word.
Bosco wasn’t much better. He never said a word either, but at least he glanced back, perhaps more neutral than positive, but at least he didn’t glare.
The trouble happened when Undertow tried to go in. After leaving her caps on the desk, she moved past the first guard,but she was forced to stop as the second guard moved his assault rifle into her path, though he didn’t point it at her just yet. “What’s wrong with your eyes?”
Startled, she could only raise her head quizzically, providing all present a good view of her goggles. “There is nothing wrong. These are simply my goggles.”
The gun in her way didn’t move, and the guard repeated his question more forcefully. “And I’m asking you why you’re wearing them. Something wrong with your eyes?”
“…They protect my eyes. There is nothing wrong.”
“Protect them from what?” The gun eased forward and tapped against the boxy mask hanging around her neck. “And what’s that?”
She stared back at me imploringly, but I couldn’t get past the first guard. He wouldn’t let me go until his colleague was done with her. All I could do was mouth “It’s okay.”
Still apprehensive, she nonetheless squared herself with the second guard without shrinking back. “It is my rebreather. It allows me to breathe underwater.”
The first guard immediately moved as far as away from her as he could, with the second guard snapping his gun into a firing pose. “Underwater? With all the radiation?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“Don’t move! Who knows how many rads you’re leaking.”
With the first guard still trying to simultaneously move away from Undertow, and keep her in his sights at the same time, I found that I had room to dart past him, ignoring his calls to stop as I ran towards the filly, who seemed to be trying to shrink into her skin. “Hey, what’s the problem?”
The guard’s rifle swung around to point at me. “Keep back! She might be irradiated!”
“Irradiated?”
“Who’s irradiated?”
“What’s going on?”
The first guard tried to calm the line down, leaving the two of us with the paranoid stallion with the assault rifle. I put a protective hoof around Undertow, pulling her into my side. “Just leave her alone. She’s not gonna put anybody in danger, look,” I pulled the Pipbuck-less Stable goggles from my pack, and jammed them over my eyes, “See? Doesn’t mean we’re dangerous.” I felt Undertow shift and look up at me as I donned the visors.
His gun started to shake. “You’re another one? Y-you and your sister can’t come in. Go away!”
“What? But we already paid!”
I really didn’t like how much the gun was jittering. “I don’t care. Take your caps and get out of here!”
I pointed roughly past him. “Our friends are in there! We’re not leaving!”
The line was getting angry at the delay, causing two more guards to materialise out of the shadows. One went to help with crowd control, while the other stepped up beside our aggressor. He was stone-faced, but calm at least. “What seems to be the problem here?”
I nodded my head at the perspiring guard. “This one won’t let us through, even though we’ve paid.”
“Is that so?” This one had a much better poker face, giving nothing away.
The one who originally barred our way was looking pretty low on the career ladder at this point. He’d lowered his gun the moment the new guy showed up, and it was obvious that he was deferring to him. “Th-they been swimming in radioactive water.”
A small crack appeared in the calm mask. He was surprised, but quickly covered himself. “Really? Hmm… still, we don’t need all this noise for something like this. Just sell them some Radaway.”
Another crack appeared now, and it worried me more than the first. I didn’t like the way his eyes travelled up Undertow’s body. “Shall we say, three doses, at fifty caps a apiece?”
My goggles almost slipped right off my head as my eyes shot wide. “Fifty? That’s outrageous! I’ve never seen them go for more than twenty!” While I was no great shakes at haggling, I’d been to enough stores to see the price trends for medicine.
The colt retreated behind his stone face. “If you don’t buy the Radaway, then you don’t get in.”
“I-it’s fine, Lady Snow.” Undertow mumbled, already reaching for her cap pouch.
“Hold on there, Undertow.” I didn’t want to back down to this jackhole who tried to bully her into extortionate prices. If it was just me, I’d have paid and been on my way, but he was scaring Undertow. The other one was just anxious and stupid, but this bastard knew exactly what he was doing. “I’ll take four for a hundred caps, that’s two for each of us, and to make you feel better, we’ll drink them right here. I’m not paying more than that just to pad your pockets.”
He may have been checking Undertow out, but the look I got implied that he’d much rather cave my nose in. “And if I say no?”
I turned back to the line, where there was still jostling, and some ponies were starting to turn away. “Then we stay here and argue for a while, and you lose caps every second.”
Forget breaking my nose, he was itching to teach me a lesson about who was in charge. His mask had dropped entirely. “Fine.” He finally groused.
I all but threw the hundred at him, and true to our word, we choked down the chalky, probably stale Radaway before moving on.
“Be careful in there.” He threatened and warned, simultaneously.
~~~~~~
Almost bouncing as she trailed along beside me, Undertow barely paid attention to the crowd, instead shooting near-constant looks at my new fashion statement. “Are they from the Stable, Lady Snow?”
“What, these?” I adjusted them with my hoof. “Yup.”
“Does everypony have them? Do Buff, Al, and Lo?”
I remembered talking about my brothers the last time too, when I was here with Wings. “Sometimes, it depends on what job each of them were doing.”
“What was your job, Lady Snow?” Her tone was light, inquisitive. She was being adorably precocious.
“Pfft, mostly Monitor Duty. I never got a chance to do the good jobs.” …more than once.
She cocked her head to the side. “Why not?”
“Couldn’t tell you.” Or more like I couldn’t prove it. There was clear favouritism at play. The same reason that ‘Overseer Roc’ is even a possibility, while ‘Overmare Snowflake’ is a bad joke, for more reasons than just my having left the Stable.
“If… if we were in your Stable,” her tone had shifted to a shy, hopeful question, “what job would I perform?”
That stopped me dead, as I considered it. “Good question. I guess… working on the reactor? You could really do wonders to help it stay cool. Or maybe working with the farmers, making sure each of the plants has the right amount of water? Ooh, I know! Since you’re so good at salvage, you’d be used for exploring the caverns that the Stable is built into.”
As Undertow glowed with pride at my appraisal, memories rushed back for me. What would have happened if Undertow WAS in the Stable? What would have happened if she was the one to find the Memory Orb? Would she be made to leave?
Probably not, they’d like her better than me.
I missed what was said, but Undertow’s talking interrupted my thoughts. “What’d you say?”
“I said that I would like to visit your Stable one day, Lady Snow, and meet Buff, Al, and Lo.”
I nudged her hip with mine. “I’d like that too. Now come on, let’s find the others.”
~~~~~~
We found Bosco and Naiara at the food stands, looking far less angry than before. They were chatting around mouthfuls of… something. I had no idea what it was but I could smell the sugar from 10 feet away.
A salivating Undertow stepped in front of me and went to greet them. “Hello again, Bosco. Hello again, Naiara. What is that you’re eating?”
“ ‘s called a Heartbreaker,” Bosco conveyed between bites, “dunno what’s in it, but it’s sooo tasty.”
Naiara was giggling as the sugar coursed through her system. “Bosco, you silly, ‘s not a Heartbreaker, it’s a HeartACHEr.” Reaching into her food bag, she withdrew a third, and shoved it between Undertow’s lips. “Try some.”
To avoid choking, she did. Almost instantly the corners of her mouth turned upwards as she chewed. “This is good!”
“Told you.” Bosco was already on his second.
I jumped as Naiara gasped and bounded upright, pointing at me. “Bosco, look look! Snow’s got goggles now!”
How sugary is that stuff? “Naiara, you’ve seen these before.”
“Yeah, but not side by side with Undertow. Aww, you two look so cute together!”
I gave Bosco a side glance. “Should we maybe get her some water or something?”
When he started cooing alongside the zebra, I had to accept the cause as lost. Pretty soon I found myself munching on an Heartacher, just like the others.
Damn, this is good!
“HeyBosco,” He and Naiara were about to start their third treat each, “I’llraceyou!”
“WhatdoIgetifIwin?”
“I’llgowithyoutodowhateveryouwantandyougowithmetodowhatIwantifIwindeal?”
“Dealonetwothreego!”
There was a blur of motion, and suddenly both their hooves were empty. I thought it was a tie, and so did Bosco, before Naiara laughed and pointed at his cheek, just as a flaky, deep fried morsel lost its hold and dropped. Hyped up on sugar, he snapped it out of the air with his tongue, but the damage had been done.
“IIIIIII WIN!” she was doing a side-to-side victory dance, lifting both front and hind left leg to ninety degrees, then switching to her right legs.
“Aw, I wanted to win.” The charcoal colt only managed a half second of disappointment before something out of my eyeline caught his attention, and he seemed to forget all about what was happening.
Grabbing his hoof, Naiara dragged him upright. “Come on, we’re gonna find some dancing!”
“What? Why?” Horror was etched across his entire face, or at least the parts that weren’t covered in frosting.
“Cause I had fun when I got to dance at Plottawa, and so did you!”
“No I didn’t!”
“Really, even with all those showgirls? Well, tough, I won, so it’s dancey time!”
“Help meeeee!” I made no move to do so as he was dragged away. What could stop a sugar-hyped Naiara?
And I’m not idiot enough to try.
Licking the pixie dust off her cheeks, Undertow looked around in confusion. “Were Naiara and Bosco not with us?”
“You were really into that sweet, weren’t you?”
She hid her embarrassment behind her hooves, but I was sure she was also taking the chance to lick them clean.
You can’t fool me, little one, I’ve got three younger brothers, I know all the tricks. “So what do you want to do? We could go watch the dancing, or look around on our own?”
Looking at the crowded dancing area made her blanch, so we elected to walk off the junk food. Skirting the edge of the thrall allowed us to take in the sights without triggering a panic attack for Undertow. The incident in Lethbridle’s marketplace was not so long ago, and had really tried her. Crowds still affected her strongly, after spending years in relative seclusion.
Still, she marvelled at the sights and sounds of the playhouse atmosphere. I’d seen them before, but it was refreshing to watch them again through her eyes.
Though I couldn’t see them, I imagined that said eyes were darting back and forth as she was swept up from behind in a giant hug. “Uwahh!”
Whipping around, instinctually activating my horn, I was brought up short by the scene before me.
Sat on her flank, with her front legs wrapped around the terrified filly, as she lovingly rubbed cheek-on-cheek, was a wood brown mare with a forest green mane, and a body full of scars.
“The zebra was so sexy, but you are simply lovely, little one. And you have matching goggles! So cute!”
Now rigid with shock, Undertow could barely get the words out. “L-L-Lady Snow, please help!”
I’m sure her panic only increased when my horn’s glacial glow vanished and I relaxed, but I took the opportunity to appreciate the cuteness. Finally, I reached out and tapped Schwarzwald on her free cheek. “Alright, Schwarzwald, you’re scaring her now. Enough’s enough.”
“Aw, please, dahling?”
“No,” I repeated more firmly, “I said stop.”
A smile blossomed gradually onto her face at my words and tone. After one last cheek rub, she released Undertow. “As my Lady Snow wishes. How could I refuse such a firm and confident order?” She lustily rubbed her cheek in the spot where Undertow had been. “Command me, Lady Snow.”
“Later…”
“Ooh!”
“…Now why are you here?”
“In Vanchoofer in general, or right here with you, and your adorable little sister?” She smiled widely, still very suggestively, at Undertow. “Hello, Undertow-dahling, I’m Schwarzwald. It’s so very nice to meet you here.”
This had her cowering even further behind me. I stepped to the side decisively. “Come on now, Undertow, Schwarzwald’s weird but she won’t hurt you…uh, in this situation.”
“Why thank you, dear Lady.”
“Go on,” I urged. “Say hello. Just because she hangs around with ponies we don’t like, doesn’t mean we can’t like her. I kinda do.”
Tentatively, Undertow stepped forward. “H-hello, Schwarzwald. It is nice to meet you… please don’t squeeze me again.”
“As you wish, little one.” She smiled that smile again. “That is, unless Mistress Snow commands it.”
“Schwarzwald! Don’t put strange thoughts in her head!”
“Apologies, Mistress.” It would be impossible to call the older mare remorseful at this point, obviously taking great satisfaction in her new game.
Dammit! “You said meeting us was different from coming to Vanchoofer, what did you mean?”
“Well, I am here in Vanchoofer on business, which involves you, but that can wait. I came to find you two first, instead of the ever-so-fun zebra…”
“Naiara.”
She sighed wistfully. “…Lovely, which suits her, and Bosco. No, I saw your confrontation in the entrance way, and I wanted in on the fun.”
Schwarzwald’s definition of fun was always trouble. “What fun would that be?”
If anything, she looked even happier about this than about teasing me. “We have company, now that the guards have changed shift.”
Ah. ‘Fun’. “Who and where?”
“Only three, and not far. They are watching us. Shall we invite them to play?”
I almost said “no” on automatic. Almost. However, I was still holding some tension from Caber Toss and Ballbuster, or ‘Sweet Lips’, and with Schwarzwald and Undertow with me, I felt pretty confident about working out some tension.
Right to that arrogant jackhole’s face.
“You know what? Yeah, let’s play.”
She double-took. “Wha-, really? Oh, Snowflake, you ARE so lovely right now. You and your sister both.”
I was falling into her pace, and let my pride in Undertow show. “You should see her in combat. She’s incredible.”
Undertow was giving us both worried looks, but Schwarzwald was looking all the more satisfied. “I cannot wait, little Undertow, until you personally show me all of your skills.”
“Later, Schwarz.” I cut in. “Now, where should we have our playground?”
“There is an unused stage nearby, dahling. Follow me.”
I beckoned as she strolled off. “Come on, Undertow.”
“A-are you sure this is wise, Lady Snow?”
Smiling reassuringly, I gave her a wink. “Don’t worry, we’ll be smart. Get your magic ready. If they bring weapons, take them away from them immediately. After that, anything goes.”
Still looking reticent, she said nothing more, simply following Schwarzwald with me. The mercenary lead us towards the outer edge of the town, away from the food, dancing, and bright lights. With the abundance of cheap accommodation options that offered reasonable privacy, there were few reasons to be out in this end of town right now, unless you were an exhibitionist.
Going by the noises in the brush, there are a few of those around.
The stage wasn’t far, as Schwarzwald had said, nor was it impressive. Just a flat, raised platform, it would be a suitable ‘playground’. We stepped up onto the stage, and Schwarzwald immediately began stretching, complete with overemphasised moans and groans.
I basically ignored her, instead turning to Undertow. “Can you coat my hooves in water?”
“I can, but why?”
“Something that happened when I was fighting Cassie. Please, Undertow?”
Her expression said I didn’t need to ask so sincerely, and immediately water began swirling around my hooves.
“Thanks, Undertow, and sorry about this, but I’m gonna have to touch them with my horn.”
That drew a frown from her. “If you do not try, you will not improve, Lady Ice.”
“Just this once?” I begged.
“…Proceed.”
Lifting the hoof, with the water coming with it, I tapped it with my horn, keeping the magic going until the water solidified. I repeated this with the other hoof. Soon enough I had another set of hard limbs to swing, though this time they weren’t red with frozen blood.
Just in time too, as the clopping of hooves onto the wooden stage alerted us to our guests. Turning, I was surprised to see no sign of Schwarzwald. Only Undertow and I remained on the stage, with the obnoxious guard, and two flunkies, ascending the stairs. Surprisingly, they actually didn’t have guns.
The jackhole guard sneered at me. “I’ve been looking for you, loudmouth. I’m gonna make you pay for trying to cheat me.”
I stepped back, trying to shield my armoured hooves with the rest of my body. “You brought it on yourself, jackhole. Shouldn’t have been so rude to my friend.”
His attention was drawn to said friend, standing off to the side. “Yeah, I’ll be sure to make it up to her, long and loud.” He leered, drawing crony-ish chuckles from his entourage.
He had my teeth grinding with how he was talking. “Touch one hair on her head, and I’ll snap off the hoof that did it.”
“You mean these hooves?” He snarled, and charged. I fell back as he came on, with his followers beelining for Undertow. The stallion jumped forward, confident of his size advantage, which resulted in my ferocious double-uppercut busting his chin wide open.
His eyes unfocused, and he fell past me to the floor, drops of blood splashing across the stage. Facing away from me, he tried to rise, so I dropped one icy hoof, hard to the back of the skull.
He tried again, still not looking at me, so I hit him with the other hoof. That time he stayed down.
Reasonably satisfied, feeling like I’d worked out my tensions enough, I turned away from the unconscious stallion, to see how the others were doing.
One flunky was suspended above the stage, within a bubble of water, helpless to aid his companion, who was curled in a ball, being pummelled again and again by rushing fists of water.
“That’s enough Undertow. We’re done. Let that other one down.”
Without delay, the airborne bubble split into tiny streams, drawing a startled yelp as the stallion within dropped like a rock to the hard wooden floor. He groaned, still conscious, as was the one Undertow had been beating. Neither chose to get up.
“Come on, Undertow, let’s find the others.” She fell in beside me, hopping off the stage with me.
“Schwarzwald, have your fun. Come find us when you’re done.” I called over my shoulder. There was no way she’d have just left, not really. It was completely out of character.
All I heard before we left was a mirthful “Hello, dahlings.”
It wasn’t hard to smile.
~~~~~~
“A pity you did not stay, Snowflake-dear. They made such entertaining noises.”
From our spot on the grass, Naiara shot into a fighting stance. “What are you doing here?”
“Easy Naiara,” Bosco spoke up before I could, which surprised all of us. “She’s here to see me.”
“She is?”
“To be precise, Bosco-dahling, I am here for you AND Snowflake.” She corrected, sitting down between the two of us, across from Naiara, who continued to look on in confusion.
“What’s going on?”
Kinda wondering that myself.
“Do sit down, Naiara-dahling, I am not here to fight. Business before pleasure and all that.” She obviously knew the effect her smile had on people, and just as obviously didn’t care in the slightest.
Still, Naiara sat down next to Undertow, as if trying to find some solidarity.
“Much better. Now then, Bosco and Snowflake, I have been approached for another job by dear Amber.”
“Bernstein?” Bosco was frowning, remembering the first time we’d met the socialite. He’d been far more interested in keeping an eye on her numerous bodyguards.
“Indeed.” Noticing Undertow and Naiara looking blank, she clarified for them. “Amber Bernstein is an associate who frequently has work for me.”
“I wonder why.” I quipped under my breath, remembering how Schwarzwald’s casual dismissal of a permanent position had greatly lowered Amber’s spirits.
“We’re not hunting more monsters are we?” The last two times the charcoal colt had helped Schwarzwald in a job for Amber, he’d ended up fighting monsters.
“Yes,” she replied, causing him a look a panic. “But not this time. This time, she seeks some information in a facility to the south. She would not tell me what the information is for, but she promises an impressive reward for our participation.”
Schwarzwald broke off to stare directly at me. “She specified that she desired all three of us to participate, or none at all.”
That was slightly unnerving. I had to wonder why Amber was suddenly taking an interest in me, as she’d been so dismissive when we met, only having eyes for Schwarzwald.
“Amber also made sure to mention that she would guarantee your safety while on the job, possibly beyond.” At my raised eyebrow, she pressed on. “Do not fret, dahling, Amber is nothing if not honest. She prides herself on it. Not for any misguided notion of honour, merely that her business partners appreciate it.”
“Well doesn’t she sound just lovely?” Naiara was grumbling at being basically left out of the conversation, I was sure of it. It twinged at her pride to have fought Schwarzwald so recently, and yet be completely ignored in their next meeting.
“Do say yes, Mistress.” I noticed the others mouthing ‘mistress?’ to each other, as Schwarz continued. “It will give us a chance to spend some more time together. I feel as though all Wings and the twins do is talk about you, but we never see each other anymore.”
“They talk about me?” I pounced on that bit of sentence. “What do they say?”
“So many things, dahling. Enough that I would rather you simply talk directly. It would save time.”
“Oh really? I can’t wait to sit down and chat about how they stole from me.” Sarcasm dripped from every syllable.
“Don’t… don’t say no so quickly, Snow.”
My jaw dropped. “Bosco?”
He didn’t meet my eyes. “It… may not be such a bad idea to call them, Snow.”
“Bosco, what are you talking about?”
Sharing a glance with Naiara, who nodded, he squared his jaw. “Talk to them, Snow. Really talk.”
Scoffing, I could hardly believe my ears. “Now why would I…”
“You were happier before.”
The words hit me like a slap. I couldn’t think of a response, so I just waited for him to continue.
Taking a deep breath, he did. “I know what they did to you, Snow, and how much it hurt. I also know just how much you’ve been through since leaving the Stable. You don’t realise it, but you changed after Neighlway, after Naiara, Cept and Breeze got you out the second time.”
“It’s true, svara.” Naiara chipped in, turning kind eyes on me, “It wasn’t losing your Pipbuck and Orb that did it. Not really. Sometimes, you barely seemed to notice they were gone. Do you know that you haven’t mentioned either of them in days?”
My breath caught in my throat. “I… I haven’t?”
“Not to us, Snow. Whenever you talk about it, it’s always about finding Cassie and Wings, never about the things they stole.”
“I-I…”
Even Schwarzwald was getting in on the act. “Do not think them monsters, dahling. They regret what they have done. If you reached out to them, they would not draw back.”
Bosco and Naiara, I could understand, but what did Schwarzwald really have invested in this? “What does this matter to you, Schwarzwald?”
Ecstatic laughter burst from her in a torrent. “Because you are both so wonderfully confusing, you and Wings. I cannot wait to see what would come about, should Red Ice and Blue Fire mix!”
It was so like her, such a Schwarzwald answer. Saying little, but at the same time speaking volumes.
Surprisingly, it was Undertow who spoke up next. Laying a comforting hoof on my foreleg, her watery voice was smooth, but strong. “Bosco, Naiara, Schwarzwald, is this true? Do you honestly believe what you say?”
The colt and zebra gave solemn nods, while Schwarzwald’s was… less so. Still, it seemed to satisfy. The Deep Diver nodded her own agreement. “Then I support this.”
“What? Undertow!”
“Do you think I only seek your protection, Lady Snow? You are more precious to me than that.” Leaning forward, she pressed her forehead to mine, with our horns meeting.
They were waiting for my answer, but I really had none to give. It was hardly as easy as they said: Get on the communicator and meet for a chat. They had acted against my wishes, and refused to even explain themselves to me. Worse, they seemed to consider all of my actions as a tragic, misguided reaction.
I couldn’t just let that go!
But you know, I admitted only to myself, I do miss them sometimes. Breeze would have loved to explore the ghoul facility. Cassie and Amber would have been fast friends.
Wings… still hasn’t told me her name.
Wordlessly, my hooves came up, and wrapped around Undertow. Opening my moist eyes, I took in their concern, and Schwarzwald’s undisguised interest.
“…I’ll think about it.”
Immediately, Schwarzwald nodded and stood up. “I expected as much. Nothing more, and nothing less. There is a generous time limit for Amber’s satisfaction. Consult me when you wish to proceed.”
“How do we do that?”
Spinning to face Bosco, she dropped an elaborate device into his lap. “This is a communicator, a luxury model from the Bernstein Conclave. I have its twin. Call me when you are ready.”
I expected her to give me one too, but she instead began walking away. “Hey, what about me?”
“No,” she called back in amusement. “I think I shall leave it with Bosco. Do not allow Snowflake to use it, dahling, it is for you and you alone.”
“Come on! Really?”
“Oh yes!” Does she have to smile at everything?
“Before I forget, Naiara-dahling, do not fret about Breeze. She does not hate you.”
“Really?” Relief flooded from her.
“Really.” The mercenary confirmed, with a more tender tone that she’d shown yet.
“Mistress Snow commands that you give it to me instead!” I tried, desperately. I wanted that communicator!
This, at least, got her to turn around, grinning from ear to ear. “Oh no, Snowflake, you cannot skip to the end without playing the game.” She ran her forehooves down her body sensually. “If you wish to lay claim to my possessions, then you must first make me your possession.” Four jaws dropped. “I eagerly await your attempt.”
Through great effort, eye contact with any of my three friends was avoided.
How am I supposed to face them after a comment like THAT?!
Half-turning to leave, Schwarzwald paused, seemingly remembering something. “Oh, and do watch out for Amber, dahlings. She is honest to a fault, but only so far as her words extend. She wields her tools, words included, with great skill. Do not take her lightly.”
With a final wave, she said her goodbyes. “So long; lovely Undertow, pretty Naiara. We shall see each other soon, I am sure.”
~~~~~~
Level Up!
Perks gained: Eye Love You. – When you wear matching eyewear, unicorn companions receive a magic bonus, decreasing their magic cost by 10%.
~~~~~~
Author's Note:
Fight scenes are weird. I’m not a writer by nature, and I’m especially not a natural combat writer. Still, I’m trying. That counts for something, right?
Guys?
As always, a big thank you to Hasbro, Kkat, Y1 especially in this chapter, as he provided some great insights (his story, Conviction is definitely worth a read too),Cascadejackal (he did the cover art), and you, the readers. Please read and comment, and pass the word along if you like the story.
Toodles.