//------------------------------//
// Fallout Equestria: Old Souls - Chapter 13: Butterflies 
// Story: Fallout Equestria: Old Souls 
// by Pillbug 
//------------------------------//

Butterflies

[Uh… panic?]

“Come back!” I cried, hooves outstretched as the last of the fog carrying Undertow and Bosco disappeared into the distance. “Comebackcomebackcomeback!”

It was just a speck on the horizon now, and the murky night sky was stealing them from my sight.

“Bosco! Undertow! Give them back!” I ignored everything else; my beaten body, the cold night air, the creaking fire escape on which I stood, none of it mattered.

Pathetically, my horn flared, mindlessly trying to reach out to them, but the distance was too great, and I was pitifully unskilled.

“Snowflake, I need you!” I ignored Schwarzwald’s words from within the warehouse floor. They weren’t important.

In the forefront of my mind was a constant loop of Bosco and Undertow, hiding within a futile shield of water, soundlessly pleading for me to help them.

And my failure to do so.

“Snowflake?!” Schwarzwald called again, more insistently this time.

I barely heard her. She could take care of herself. She’d been doing so for decades. I’d promised to protect Undertow. I’d promised to help Bosco.

Why couldn’t I do anything?

“Help!” They’d said. They were children, snatched by a phantom out of nightmares. They should never have been in danger, and definitely shouldn’t have been taken.

What good was I, if I couldn’t keep two children safe from a nightmare?

What good were any of us? Schwarzwald was a grown mare, why didn’t she do something? Why didn’t Naiara?

“Naiara is hurt, Snowflake!”

My heart went cold. “What?” No, no! Not another one!

It shattered my heart to turn away from the empty sky, even more so now that I could no longer see them, but I had to do something. I couldn’t lose Naiara too.

On leaden hooves, I stumbled back inside, my eyes zeroing in on the fallen zebra, and the earth pony mare who crouched next to her. “What’s wrong with her, Schwarzwald?”

When she looked up, it uncovered enough of Naiara’s body that I could answer my own question. A deep gash had been torn through her side, leaking blood at an alarming rate. Schwarzwald was piling bandages on top of the wound, but they were staining red within seconds.

I clattered down the stairs to reach them, finding Schwarzwald trying to pour a healing potion past Naiara’s lips, though as much was staining the floor as was getting into her mouth, and half of what did came out again as she coughed up fluids.

For once lacking her carefree smile, Schwarzwald was working diligently, and stoically, to heal her. She didn’t look confident as I took up station beside her. “The bleeding is slowing, but she is vulnerable. Whatever that thing was, it landed a solid hit.”

My knees were already turning crimson as I knelt there. “Can you save her?”

Without looking, she held out a hoof. “Another potion, quickly!”

Obeying instantly, I dug into the nearest pack that I could find, rooting around until I mercifully found one of the vials. “Here! Take it.”

She directed me to massage Naiara’s throat as she poured the formula into her open mouth, much slower and more carefully this time. It took longer, and almost half came back to sticky our hooves, but finally the blood loss was diminished enough to satisfy Schwarzwald.

Tossing aside the empty bottle, she wasted no time in gathering up her supplies. “I think that will take her out of immediate danger, but we must take her from here, now, and find help. She may be damaged in ways that we cannot see.”

Trying to still the terrified beating of my heart, I couldn’t do much more than sit with the zebra. “What do you mean?”

Schwarzwald was twisting and grabbing at her battle saddle. With a clang, one of her automatic weapons dropped from its place on the harness. “We know nothing of this creature, this fog, that slashed her. It may have left something behind from the claw strike.”

I gulped. “Some kind of disease?” Half of my attention stayed on Naiara’s trouble, but I found renewed fear for the two who were taken, enveloped within the fog.

Undertow’s shield won’t last forever, even as strong as she is.

A grim nod was given. “Perhaps. Regardless, she requires healing, more than we can do here. We must take her to somepony with the skills to help her.”

“You can’t help her?” I asked, desperate.

“No, I am no doctor.”

Before I could lose it any further, a whirring hum filled the air.

Spitting out a curse, Schwarzwald wrenched the second weapon from her saddle and tossed both guns at my hooves. “It is the elevator! The sentries are coming, they know we are here!”

“No!” We couldn’t possibly survive another battle with the hardy robots with just the two of us.

Schwarzwald wasted no time. She scooped Naiara up, which elicited a pained gasp from the zebra, and gently laid her across the battle saddle, as a makeshift yoke to carry her. “Snowflake, take my guns, the bags, and whatever has been left on the catwalk, and then meet me at the fire escape. We have to go now!”

I complied mutely. The adrenaline still coursing through my system prevented me from feeling their weight. Bosco’s knife and pistol still lay on the catwalk, and were quickly scooped into my bags. Undertow had been taken with her possessions intact, which was a small miracle, as she held some of our medical supplies, giving the two of them a better chance to survive, wherever they might have been taken.

The elevator dinged, and my heart stopped.

Standing outside on the fire escape, Naiara still precariously laid across her back, Schwarzwald tossed me a grenade. “Snowflake, collapse the catwalk, and follow me! They must not follow!”

She disappeared out of sight as I juggle-caught the explosive. Robots began to pour into the room, bullets and beams flying, as I rolled the now-pinless grenade towards the section of walkway that the fog had tried to collapse to prevent OUR pursuit. With any luck, this would finish the job, and trap the sentry robots inside, while we made our way down the outside of the building.

I didn’t see the result, as I was already heading down the external stairs after my comrades, but a dull whumpsounded a second later, followed by the crash of metal on metal.

There was nothing more I could do to keep us safe. Not Naiara, nor Bosco, nor Undertow, and not even Schwarzwald. I would have to pray that the older mare’s experience was sufficient to keep at least herself and Naiara alive.

~~~~~~

After an hour of maintaining a balance between trying not to jostle Naiara more than necessary, and moving with as much speed as we could muster, Schwarzwald called a halt. I’d spent the entire time sick with worry, scanning both the skies, and our trail for any signs of robots or fog.

Neither appeared, simultaneously bringing relief and heartache.

Standing completely still, Schwarzwald directed me to attend to our injured friend. Balancing on my hind hooves to reach the taller mare’s back, I did my best to make Naiara more comfortable. I wiped the sweat from her brow, and changed her bandages.

“Hold on Naiara. We’ll… we’ll take you back to Sprinkles Supplies! Lexi can fix you up! She promised!” My bedside manner was not composed, or confident, and I utterly failed to reassure anyone of the situation, least of all myself.

“I am afraid we cannot take her there, dahling.” Schwarzwald’s voice still hadn’t regained its usual playfulness. The disparity was glaringly obvious, and only served to deepen my fears about the situation.

I found myself hating her joking, more than I ever thought I would. “Why not? Lexi said she’d heal us up if we got hurt, I heard her!” Lexi had no reason to be angry at Naiara, no matter how she felt about me. I didn’t care if she never wanted me to come back, she would do this!

“We are not welcome until the Raider issue is settled, Red Ice.” The moniker cut right through me, bringing a fresh wave of self-loathing. “The guards would never allow us to get close, we would be cut down before we ever got inside.”

“So what do we do? Naiara’s dying!” I was wailing now.

“Calm yourself for a moment, and allow me time to think.”

As she lapsed into silence, I attempted to reduce my own noise by childishly slapping my hooves over my mouth, though they soon became hot and wet with my tears and hyperventilating. Still, I would keep them there until Schwarzwald came up with an idea. I didn’t dare risk breaking her concentration.

“… bra… near.” I instantly cursed my idiocy, as Naiara’s rasped words made me jump, and painfully shake her.

“What is she saying, dahling?” Schwarzwald was craning her neck around, as surprised as I was that the zebra was awake.

I crowded in close, a manic smile of relief on my face. “I’m here, svara, what is it?”

Still breathing sharply and shallow, Naiara managed to whisper through the pain. “…Zebra… always near… can help.”

“Clever Naiara!” Schwarzwald crowed, a small smile returning to her face, and her voice. “How can we signal them?”

“… Flare… gun.”

I needed nothing more. Naiara carried no pack, but her cloak was filled with pockets and pouches. I dug through them with gusto, my hooves feeling and passing over all manner of items before finding a small, snub-nosed pistol. Withdrawing it, I shakily loaded the canister into the oversized barrel.

“Cover your eyes!” Holding a hoof over Naiara’s face, and squeezing my eyes shut, I pointed the flare gun at the cloud barrier, and pulled the trigger. A plume of bright red smoke rocketed into the sky, burning brightly in a tall arc.

It was a long thirty minutes before the flare paid dividends. We spent the time in silence. I worried and fretted, while Schwarzwald remained rock still and steady. I couldn’t get any kind of reading on what she might have been thinking.

They were on us before I ever heard them. Two zebra stallions seemed to appear out of thin air, weapons ready. They each carried strange armaments in their hooves, very different from anything Equestrian.

Neither looked happy to see us, and even less so when they saw Naiara. Schwarzwald was basically immobile while supporting her, so it was up to me to calm the situation down.

“Wivti pec svarati!” I cried as I held up my empty hooves, hoping they wouldn’t just kill us both, dooming Naiara. “Wivti pec svarati!”

Surprised though they were that a pony could speak zebra, they still didn’t believe that Schwarzwald and I were friends, most likely due to the heavily injured zebra we were lugging around. One of the stallions pointed at Naiara, snarling out a question. “Sweq nimbala?”

“Sweq mua nimbala.” No, Naiara was not okay, but I had no idea how to explain what had happened in the fight. “Um… do you speak Equestrian? A… uh… gold fog attacked us, and it cut her. She needs to heal!”

Stern and angry, the two stallions devolved into a heated argument between themselves, too fast and too complicated for me to follow, with my limited understanding of the zebra tongue. Schwarzwald had remained silent throughout the entire exchange, and continued to do so, while at the same time scrutinising the zebra intensely.

Finally the two broke off their argument, and one again pointed at Naiara. “We take.” He said in broken Equestrian. “You follow.”

“Unten! Unten, svarati!” I gushed, overjoyed.

They weren’t. They moved towards Schwarzwald, who tensed up at first, but relented when I signalled that it was okay, letting the two take Naiara from her, but keeping the zebra’s cloak. A poultice was rubbed into the wound, before the bandages were reapplied, and then they set off, with us following behind.

Moving in close to me as we followed, Schwarzwald dropped her voice to a whisper. “When we reach our destination, return my weapons immediately. I do not trust this to be a smooth transition.”

I recognised that she was suspicious of the zebra, but didn’t care. Naiara’s gonna be alright! Whatever zebra concoctions they wanna use are fine with me, so long as it gets her better. “Whatever you say, Schwarz, but don’t start a fight until we know that Naiara is taken care of. Nor after, if you can help it.”

“Do not worry. I will be nice, I will merely take some precautions beforehoof.” She dug into Naiara’s cloak, withdrawing the communicator that Breeze had given her.

Still keeping an eye on the stallions ahead of us, as one was constantly looking back, she keyed the microphone. “Breeze-dahling, are you there?”

There was a momentary crackling before she received a confused response. “Schwarzwald? What are you doing with this communicator? Why aren’t you using…”

“Something has happened, Breeze.” Schwarzwald cut her off before the inventor Pegasus could reveal the other communicator’s existence. “We are on our way to meet with the zebra tribe. Naiara has been badly hurt.”

“What?!” Even across the airwaves, Breeze’s rage and shock were apparent. “What happened?”

“We were attacked by something, though I do not know what. It was a very strange creature, and it looked like a gold fog. She has been cut deeply, but is stable for now.”

“Where are you? We’ll come find you right now.”

“I hoped that you would. But I don’t want you to come all the way to us. I am not convinced that the zebra will be friendly, and wish to have you three in reserve, in case the situation turns troublesome. We are currently heading east from Whitepony, roughly an hour and a half out. If you three stay high, you should be able to find us without revealing yourselves. Keep pace when you do. If we need you, I shall signal for you.”

“I… got it. We’re on our way now. It might be a little while.”

“I understand, dahling, but hurry if you can.” Schwarzwald stopped paying much attention to the communicator, as the watching zebra had moved closer.

Still, Breeze’s voice came through clear before she signed off, pregnant with emotion. “Schwarzwald?”

“Yes, dear?” She was still watching the zebra stallion.

“…Please don’t let her die.” Then the line clicked dead.

Stashing the communicator, she couldn’t stop a hint of smugness leaking into her voice. “You see, mistress? Those three… they are not monsters.”

That remains to be seen. And that was all the thought I spared for anything that wasn’t Naiara’s safety.

~~~~~~

I sat on a rock, on the edge of the zebra encampment, facing away from them. The two stallions, upon reaching the main group, had whisked Naiara away, hopefully to treat her. I’d caught sight of Cept moving to intercept them, meaning that she was in good hooves for the time being.

I was still worried about her, but felt I could breathe a little easier. Unfortunately, this had the added effect of having my other worries break through again.

My voice was quiet, yet haunted, as Schwarzwald approached, having also been denied access within the boundaries of the camp.

“Did you… see the way… she looked at me?”

With her battle saddle reassembled, Schwarzwald’s mood had improved somewhat. She was expecting trouble, and was now ready for it. She hadn’t yet cracked a joke, not since calling me ‘mistress’ again, but I got the feeling that one wasn’t far off. “The way who looked at you, dahling?”

“…Undertow, when that thing took her and Bosco.”

“No, I was inside, tending to Naiara. How did she look at you?”

My vision blurred, and my hooves shook. “She… she expected me to protect her. During the fight, I could tell, she had no doubts that I would help her, if she reached the point where she couldn’t help herself. She was sure of it. But, when that time came, all I could do was watch.” I slowly buried my face in those shaking hooves, letting the tears spill out.

Schwarzwald said nothing in response, though whether she was waiting to say something later, or simply not listening or caring, was impossible to tell.

A new voice did join the conversation, though. A masculine voice, though I’d first heard it when it was distorted through a Steel Ranger helmet. “She is safe, for now. Be at ease.”

That’s one of three. “Ira leija, Cept. Unten.”

He didn’t return my pleasantries. When I looked over, there was anger in his dark gold eyes. “What caused this, Snowflake?”

“Naiara knocked me out of the way during a fight, but she took the hit instead.”

He opened his mouth to ask another question, but Schwarzwald broke her silence first. “You could have prevented that, Snowflake.”

Her words hit me so hard, I almost collapsed. “What?”

Cept said nothing, instead watched the earth mare as he waited for her to elaborate.

She did. “You rushed in without thinking, like I told you not to. We had no idea what the fog was capable of, and yet you attacked anyway.”

“What are you saying?” Cept demanded of her.

“I am saying, handsome Cept, that Naiara was hurt while saving Snowflake from her own stupidity. She is not the only casualty either. Two of our friends were taken, and even now we do not know what it was.”

“I…” I started, feeling helpless in the wake of this two-pronged attack.

Cept didn’t let me finish. “You put Naiara in danger?”

“Indeed, dahling. Naiara had to save Snowflake when she got in over her head, as usual.”

Cept loomed when angry. His already impressive physique seemed to be magnified. “What do you have to say for yourself, Snowflake?”

“She is no fighter, but merely blunders into frequent combat.”

He wheeled around, frowning at Schwarzwald. “And this excuses her? If that is the case, she should be working to improve!”

My knees were shaking. “I… I am! Undertow is teaching me magic! I don’t want to be weak, I want to protect them all!” What more do you want from me? I’m NOT a fighter, so I’m still learning this stuff. Do you think I wanted this to happen?! Just for an instance, my grief shifted to rage at the two of them, for condemning my actions so casually, even in these circumstances.

Cept didn’t let up though. “Naiara is not just YOUR friend, Snowflake! We need her here.”

Another arrow through my heart. “What do you mean?”

“I cannot tell you much, but we are not in Equestria without reason. Naiara has responsibilities. If you are deemed to be a hindrance to those goals, she will be taken from you.”

“No, you can’t!”

“I can’t, even though it might be for the best, but our leaders may see the situation differently.”

“But she’s my friend.” My response was weak, but all that I had. There wasn’t time to act, dammit! Undertow and Bosco would have been taken even earlier if I did nothing! I didn’t want Naiara to be hurt, but I had to do something!

“You hurt your ‘friend’ with your reckless attitude. What was it that you fought, exactly?” Cept would need something good, to be satisfied of the necessity of endangering Naiara.

Schwarzwald shrugged her shoulders. “We are not exactly sure, dahling. It attacked as a gold fog, though it formed a solid claw to injure Naiara, before abducting Undertow and Bosco.”

Surprisingly, this got a reaction from him. “A… a gold fog, you say? Excuse me.” Abruptly turning on his heel, he marched away towards the main camp.

After we silently watched him go, Schwarzwald whispered to me conspiratorially. “He knows something, dahling.”

“He does? How?” The fog monster had appeared out of nowhere. How would these zebras, miles away from Whitepony, have known about it?

“Does it matter? If they do know something, then we shall need their help. You wish to rescue the others, as do I. They are not just our friends, if you recall. Undertow is crucial to your Raider effort, and Bosco has my data. I shall assist you in bringing them back safely.”

I sniffed. “You will?”

Finally, the full smile that I’d been missing returned to her face. “Of course I shall, dahling. I cannot disappoint dear Amber, nor would I pass up this challenge. That fog monster is something formidable, and I wish to battle it again. Seeing you improve your combat would be entertaining too. Undertow is not the only teacher you should seek, should you truly wish to keep your sister safe.”

I wanted to show my gratitude, but held back as another thought appeared. “What about the others? The twins and Wings? Can they help?”

“Can you afford their help? Would they offer? Would you accept?” She blew a kiss skywards with her hoof. “These questions are your burden to answer, Snowflake. I will not interfere. It would be no fun. You will have to find a way to convince them without me.”

“Then why did you call them here?”

Her smile turned wicked. “In case these zebra are not as trustworthy as dear Naiara.”

I’d all but forgotten the insults she’d been slinging at me not minutes before. For all her edges, Schwarzwald was an excellent distraction from my troubles. “Who do you trust?”

Still smiling, she shook her head slowly. “I have told you this already, mistress, but you cannot skip to the end. To know my secrets, you must first play the game with me.”

“…What about Wings?”

“I am very fond of Wings. Does that answer your question?”

“Uh… does it?”

She said nothing, but instead turned to face the returning Cept, along with the other zebra with him, an ancient stallion, nowhere near the mass of the younger Cept, but carrying himself with an authority that instantly made me pay attention. A red and gold wrap lay about his shoulders, and around his torso. Sunken hazel eyes and a tuft of grey beard compounded his age.

Stopping a short distance from us, the old zebra regarded us both for a few seconds before speaking. His voice lacked the frailty I’d been expecting, but was not booming either. It was statesperson-like, not reliant on volume to draw listeners. “Cept has informed me of your strange encounter. Would you be kind enough to retell the tale?”

We looked at each other. What does he want with the information? Schwarzwald seemed to judge it safe, and launched into a far more neutral account of the battle than that which she had given Cept. She didn’t blame me this time either.

The elderly zebra listened in silence until she was done, then spoke in a peaceful tone. “And you say that your friends were taken by this… fog?”

I couldn’t nod fast enough. “Yeah, and we need to find them.”

“Of course you do. Svarati are very important, yes? You and Naiara share this bond, don’t you?”

I wasn’t sure I liked where this was going. “Uh… yes. I apologise again for what happened to Naiara.”

He waved this off. “Do not worry, child. Naiara will make her own decisions, as she always has done. More importantly, though, is that…”

“Who are you?” Schwarzwald interrupted flatly.

Blinking in surprise, the old zebra managed to get himself under control again. “Ah, now I must apologise. I am Atesh, leader of this tribe, and I wish to help you to reunite with your friends.”

“And why do you wish that, dear Atesh?”

If her use of “dear” affected him at all, he gave no sign. “I want to say that it would be thanks for being kind to Naiara, but really, we want to ask you to help us in return.”

All but saying “I knew it”, Schwarzwald’s smile turned sinister. “And what would you like our help with?”

“Not your help,” Cept piped up, even though this caused Atesh’s smile to disappear. The younger zebra cocked his head towards me. “…her.”

“Me?”

“Yes.” Atesh interjected, not looking so pleased anymore. “Thank you, Cept, that will be all. I wish to speak with our friends in private. Please go and see to Naiara.”

Consternation spread across Cept’s face as he uneasily walked away. Quickly, I called after him. “Cept?”

He stopped but didn’t turn. “Yes?”

“When Naiara’s better, can you tell her to meet us at Hoofshine? She knows the way.”

He wordlessly acknowledged my request, before moving off again. Atesh and I watched him go, but Schwarzwald had been watching the older stallion. “How very generous of you to offer the help of your followers, Atesh. Do you really believe that you know where to look?”

Stroking his beard thoughtfully, he mulled the question before answering. “Most likely. My followers and I are able to find much information, given enough time. Let me to talk with my advisors, and we will have the information you need in hours.”

“Hours?! We can’t wait that long! The others are in danger!” This old zebra expected me to wait here for hours while Undertow and Bosco were in trouble? There wasn’t time for that!

“Snowflake is right.” Schwarzwald was digging around in Naiara’s cloak. Finally, she withdrew Breeze’s communicator. “This will allow you to contact an ally of ours, who will then relay your information to me. I shall inform them about you. If you find anything, let us know, and we will investigate it.”

Though still polite, and gentle, Atesh’s demeanour subtly changed, becoming more focused. “So you agree to help us, Snowflake, if we help you?”

“YES!” I blurted out, cutting in on whatever Schwarzwald was going to say, drawing a sigh of vexation. I didn’t care. Cept would take care of Naiara, and when she was better, she and Cept, and maybe others, would help me find Undertow! This was perfect!

The mercenary mare idly tossed the communicator to Atesh, who smoothly fielded it, before it disappeared under his robes. “Take care of the device, Atesh-dahling, it belongs to Naiara, and she is quite friendly with the pony on the other end. One or the other may… be upset if anything happened to it.”

Her and Atesh wore matching smiles now. “I understand. Snowflake, we will talk at a later date about your help, but for now, if you must go, then we will contact you as soon as possible through this device.”

The zebra gave a small bow. “I wish you luck with your other friends.”

It was a polite goodbye, but a goodbye nonetheless. Schwarzwald turned away first, not looking back, and I turned to follow after one last look at the zebra camp. Stay safe, Naiara. We’ll be back soon.

I caught up with Schwarzwald within a few steps, but she said nothing until we were a fair distance from the camp. “You are a terrible haggler, Snowflake.”

“Huh?”

“You will see.”

~~~~~~

Out of sight of the zebra, I realised that I was at a loss. I’d meant it when I said that I wouldn’t wait for hours, but I still had no idea where to go to rescue Bosco and Undertow.

“Schwarzwald, what do we do now? Where should we look?”

“I have an idea on that.” Turning her face skyward, an ear-splitting whistle was sent up.

Clutching my tender lobes, I whined when she stopped. “What was that for?”

Her battle saddle shifted slightly as she shrugged. “I am calling in those who are involved in my idea. Wait for a moment, won’t you?”

Fine, bring whoever you want. I won’t let any of them get in the way of my finding Undertow and Bosco!

I didn’t have to wait long. The beating of wings announced their arrival. Touching down around me as three quarters of a square, the fourth being Schwarzwald, Wings and the Pegasus twins seemed slightly miffed at my presence.

“Dahlings!” Schwarz was all smiles again. “You are here. Did you have any trouble on the way?”

While glaring at me, Breeze answered her question with one of her own. “Forget to mention something when you called me, Schwarzwald? I should have known she’d be here when you called me about Naiara.”

“And hello to you too, Breeze.” I snapped. I knew I shouldn’t have, given the circumstances, but she was always so hostile, and I wasn’t in the mood to take it.

Turning to the others, who were far less openly antagonistic than the unrestrained technocrat, I greeted them more calmly, though neutrally. “Cassie. Wings. Good to see you.”

“Hello, Snowflake.” Cassie, ever polite, remained calm.

“Hey Snow, what’s up?” Wings’ reaction was controlled as well.

Breeze didn’t dance around the issue. “How’s Naiara?”.

“She’s fine, the other zebra are looking after her, and Cept won’t let anyone get to her.” I wasn’t gonna start a fight and waste more time.

“I told her hanging out with you and your little pet Raider was a bad idea!”

Red mist seeped into the corners of my eyes. You’ve been pushing it for far too long, Breeze. “Undertow is not a pet!” Avoiding a fight was the plan, anyway. “Don’t insult her, Breeze!”

“Or what? You wanna go?” She hunched down, wings spread.

Wings and Cassie looked frustrated with the development, while Schwarzwald took a more direct approach. “DOWN!” She barked. “BAD GIRLS!”

Startled, the earlier conversation with Cept, where she’d chewed me out for putting everybody in danger by acting recklessly, made me stop immediately, but Breeze’s silence ended just as quickly as it had begun. “Don’t fucking talk to me like that, Schwarz. I’m not your damn dog, and I don’t take orders from you!”

“Would you like to test that, little girl?” When no answer was forthcoming, she continued. “Now is not the time. The little ones have been taken.”

Confused, Cassie looked between us. “What little ones?”

Wings, more familiar with my friends, caught on more easily. “You mean Bosco? He’s been taken?”

“As well as the ‘pet Raider’, as Breeze so eloquently put it.”

“I need your help,” I began, my voice already cracking. “I don’t know how to find them!”

“Seriously?” Breeze mocked. “You called us for help? We don’t like you, Snowflake.”

“This isn’t Raider business,” I desperately pleaded. “I just want to get them back!”

Breeze’s scoffing aside, Wings and Cassie were still looking pretty neutrally on the proceedings. I didn’t care how bad I looked at the time, or how they felt about me, so long as they agreed to help. They might not like me much, but I knew how strong they were. Wings had no real problem with Bosco, despite brawling with him at the Woodpecker village. The two of them just ended up on opposite sides that one time, and had fought together before.

I got three favours out of that fight, but she can’t help Bosco out now?

Cassie was less hopeful. We’d never really been on good terms. Our first meeting was a battle, then she had robbed me with Wings. They’d expressed guilt about that, but after the two of us fought in the village, she might not be so favourable. She hadn’t reacted well to the idea that Raiders should be reformed.

Whatever her past with Raiders, it runs deep. Her sister hates Undertow, too.

Surprisingly, it was the Pegasus, not the griffon, who relented first. “Tell us what happened, Snowflake.” She held up a hoof to stop Schwarzwald from butting in. “In your words, not anypony else’s.”

It was a start, and I seized on the opportunity. “Bosco wanted to go to Whitepony to help Schwarzwald, so we did. After we got there, we got in a fight with some sentry bots, and ended up separated. We managed to get to the warehouse at the top, but a gold fog monster attacked us. It cut Naiara, and foalnapped Bosco and Undertow!”

“A gold fog monster? Well that helps so much. Any more vague descriptions you wanna use instead?”

Cassie silenced her sister with a stare, before turning back to me. “And this has nothing to do with the Raider business?”

“Nothing, I swear! Please, Cassie, you have to help me!”

“Wasn’t Whitepony your mission, Schwarz?” Wings joined the conversation, her blue eyes unreadable.

“It is, but Amber specified that Bosco and Snowflake join me.”

“You mean they’ve met her and I still haven’t?” Looking slightly put out, Wings flapped her wings huffily.

“You are always busy when she calls. It is ironic, no?”

“Wings, please…” I was going to use every trick I could think of to convince them, including dirty tricks. “I told her that I would protect her. I promised to look after her, just like you and your hatchling cousin.”

“…That’s low, Snowflake.”

“I know, and I’m sorry, but I need your help. I’ll do whatever it takes to find them and keep them safe.” I turned a sly, though still emotional, eye on the Pegasus twins here, trying to invoke the way they’d fought so hard after getting separated near Neighlway. Cassie had been tricked into thinking Breeze had been captured, so she’s worked to pay her ransom, while Breeze had flown herself ragged trying to find Cassie.

While it was undoubtedly unfair to bring up the knowledge I’d gained when spying on the two under Steel Ranger care, it seemed to be swaying Wings. I couldn’t read Cassie yet.

Breeze obviously didn’t like it. “We don’t have to take that from Red Ice! She’s playing us! Probably gonna lead us right to her Raider pals!”

Wings had some dirty play in her too. “She may have a point. I mean, they could already be dead.”

“NO!” I couldn’t entertain that thought for less than a microsecond. It was too painful.

“No?” Her question had an edge to it. “Why no?”

“They just can’t! They… they… they wouldn’t have been taken just to be killed!”

“Good.” Wings’ words were hard. “Remember that. Regardless of whatever else happens. Even if we don’t end up helping you, remember that they’re still alive.”

“Wings…” I didn’t know what to say. Her casual cruelty turned out to be from a good place.

“Why should we help you, Snowflake?” Wings was playing the game, and I didn’t doubt that she wouldn’t help me if I didn’t convince her well enough, but she was at least willing to give me a chance to do so, perhaps even hoping I’d win. Schwarzwald must be rubbing off on her.

“Breeze,” I would have to take drastic steps to bring this one around. “I know you don’t trust me, or even like me, but I really do need your help. What will it take for you to help me get the back? Just tell me and I’ll do it!”

Her reaction was initially automatic. “There’s nothing you can offer me, Red Ice, I wouldn’t he-…” She stopped when she caught sight of her sister’s face.

Cassie wasn’t openly showing signs of willingness, but she didn’t react positively to Breeze’s taunting either.

Both were silent for a few moments before Breeze deflated. “…Whatever Cassie decides, I’ll go along with.” She turned away, muttering to herself. “…Fuck’s sake.”

That left Cassie and Wings. I returned to the griffon first. “Wings, I know I don’t have any more favours with you, can I owe you one? I really need your help with this. I ca-…I can’t do this without you.”

Wings’ blue fire eyes watched me for a long time. Finally she turned them on Schwarzwald. “Whaddaya think, Schwarz? Should I help her out?”

Schwarzwald shrugged. “I will not say either way, dahling. It is up to you both to reach an agreement.”

Clicking her tongue against the roof of her beak, Wings didn’t seem surprised. I lamented Schwarzwald’s lack of help here, and briefly hated her for it, even if she had said she wouldn’t earlier.

This isn’t about me fucking up anymore, Schwarzwald! I need to get Bosco and Undertow back, and you won’t even help with convincing YOUR friends to come along.

“…TWO favours, Snow. One for each pony we rescue. They won’t be small either, I’ll be savin’ ‘em for something important.”

My aching heart eased a little at her words, and a laugh mixed with a cry as I nodded my gratitude. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Wings!” I really couldn’t care less about those future favours at this point.

Off to the side, Schwarzwald was shaking her head. “Terrible haggler.”

“And us, Snowflake? What do we get for our assistance?” Cassie seemed to be willing to let the price decide the participation of her and her sister.

I spread my hooves, completely willing to buy high for this. “Name your price. What do you want for your help?”

Humming and hawing, her eyes became unfocused as she searched her mind for a suitable price tag. This went on long enough for me to feel like she was just wasting my time.

Time which could be spent on rescuing Undertow and Bosco! “Cassie? Anything?”

“Do not rush me, Snowflake. We have come a long way.” That thought struck a chord with her. “Ah, yes, I know. Breeze tells me you have a cabin at Soft Swell Lake. I will accept that as payment for our participation.”

“I don’t have a… wait, that’s Undertow’s, not mine!” No matter what Undertow said, I wasn’t going to accept it as mine just because she thought that I claimed it when I won the fight we had.

“Nevertheless, that is our price.”

“It isn’t mine to give!” How dare you try to take Undertow’s home from her?! I wouldn’t have cared if you wanted Hoofsh-hey! That might work, and it might even shut Schwarzwald up about my haggling too. “Uh… the cabin is Undertow’s, not mine, but I have an alternative, if you’re interested?”

Setting her face into a mask, Cassie prepared to deal. “Go on.”

“Well, Bosco, Naiara, Undertow and I have a place outside of Lethbridle. Really great condition, fully stocked, pre-war tech…” Breeze’s ears perked up at that, and Cassie noticed that I noticed. “…plenty of rooms available, all built for comfort. Um… Lethbridle adjacent?”

That last part was a good selling piece, at least it was when judging by her reaction. “Convenient.”

I blustered on. “Exactly. Now, I can’t give you the entire place, but I can give you two rooms there, one each, for your own personal use, and only you decide who you invite in?”

She was tempted, but not yet fully convinced. “How far from Lethbridle? Which gate?”

“3-4 hours walk from the North gate. Less if you fly. An hour off the path to Cefar, which isn’t much travelled as it is. Peaceful and private, and plenty of security, again from Old Equestria.”

Cassie was struggling to keep her poker face on. “That… may be acceptable.”

“Hey!” Wings cut in. “What about me? Or Schwarz? Don’t we get a room?”

“You have your favours.”

“Well then I’m cashing in my favours! Both of them. Two favours for two rooms. One for me, and one for Schwarz!” She put one claw on her hip, and held the other one up with two talons raised.

“Okay.” I replied, seeing no reason to tell her that Bosco had already promised Schwarzwald a room anyway. That would be her pleasure, or his, when we got him back.

I sobered up at that, wondering what I was doing. I shouldn’t be wasting time with this crap! “Okay, so four rooms in exchange for your help, deal?”

“Deal!”

“Deal.”

“Can I look at the tech when I’m there?”

“So long as you don’t break it. On that note, there’s no fighting there, no matter what we think of each other, understood? It’s neutral ground. Leave it all outside. Naiara, Bosco, and Undertow have rooms there too.” That was important. If I couldn’t trust Breeze when she was there at the same time as Undertow, I wouldn’t let her stay. The others were lesser worries, as Schwarzwald would keep Wings and Cassie in line. Cassie would, in turn, hopefully keep Breeze in line. She seemed to be the only one who could.

“Ugh, fiiiine. I’ll play nice with the baby Raider.”

“Yes you will. Now that we’re decided, what do we do next?” No more haggling, or games, or hostility. We were all in it now, all decided, and that meant all that was left was bringing Undertow and Bosco back.

Schwarzwald broke her silence here. She’d sworn not to convince them for me, but now that they were convinced, she stepped back into the conversation. “Wings, take Breeze and go to Gull Gulf.”

Extreme reluctance burst from Wings almost immediately. “Aw, do I have to?” Her response, and her movements, were suddenly lethargic, as if she was trying to make every part of her body drag as much as possible.

“Yes you do, dahling. This is part of the package. The zebra say that they will show us the way, but I do not trust them completely. If the griffons can tell us anything, it is worth investigating. They will not talk to any of us if you are not there.”

“Wings… try not to mention me while you’re there. Just in case it comes up. I dunno if you heard, but I kinda pissed off a griffon pretty badly, and now he wants to kill me.”

Four funny looks were thrown my way. Wings’ was the most expressive. It somehow managed to show amusement, pride, a less-than-positive evaluation of my intelligence, and the question “Why?” all in one.

“What did you do, Snowflake?”

“Well,” I rubbed the back of my head, embarrassed. “This was the morning after Whinniepeg. I was still IN Whinniepeg, and McCoy and his Monsters showed up and started looking a building in town. I got caught spying on them, and told McCoy what I thought about griffons being traitorous bastards. He didn’t take it well.”

If she disagreed with my decrying her race as untrustworthy, she didn’t show it. “Oh, shit. You pissed off McCoy? You didn’t tell him about me, did you?”

“Well… not by name.”

“Snow!”

“You started it!”

Wings threw up her claws in mock-despair. Clearly not looking forward to seeing more of her species, which was somewhat understandable given her history and my recent actions, the griffon sometimes called Blue Firewheeled around and took wing. After getting a kiss on the cheek from her sister, Breeze went after her.

Said sister turned back to we non-flying ponies. “And us, Schwarzwald? Where are we to search?”

“Until the zebra call with information, we shall ask around in Lethbridle. There is nowhere else to look for information around here.”

Sceptical, Cassie pointed to the northeast. “What about Vanchoofer?” Then northwest. “Or Sprinkles Supplies? Traders frequent both, and they are as good a source of information as any.”

Turning an amused eye on me, Schwarzwald indicated that I should answer.

“We… um, we kinda beat up the guards at Vanchoofer. I doubt we’ll be welcome.” My sheepish tone turned sombre. “And we’re definitely not welcome at Sprinkles Supplies. We know that firsthoof.” How would I ever face Lexi if I didn’t get Undertow back?

Though her tolerance of nonsense would have been high from years of living with Breeze, Cassie still didn’t look impressed. “…Right. Lethbridle it is, then.”

~~~~~~

The better part of a day of a day was spent getting to, in, and around Lethbridle, and we ended up with a big fat nothing to show for it.

With Cassie and myself wearing our cloaks low, she to hide her wings, and me to hide my Red Ice, we’d visited every dive bar, back alley rumour trader, and ‘upstanding gentlecolt’ parlour Schwarzwald knew, even sneaking into Nightcap’s bar.

Another place I’m barred from.

Nobody knew anything about this gold fog, or if they did, they weren’t willing to share.

I’d gotten equal parts sadder and angrier as the day went on, until I found myself sat on a bench, heart heavy and glaring at nothing. The others were sitting nearby, crossing off where we’d been in the city on a map. There were a lot of crosses.

“Schwarzwald, pick up.” Wings’ voice snapped us all to alertness. She didn’t seem happy either.

Raising her communicator, Schwarzwald glanced around, making sure no one was giving undue attention. “Wings-dahling, what have you found?”

“I fucking hate griffons, that’s what I’ve RE-found.”

Schwarzwald didn’t react to Wings’ attitude, apparently used to it. “So you did not find out anything useful?”

“I didn’t say that, I said Snow was right. Griffons ARE bastards.”

The slightest bit of concern leaked past Schwarzwald’s jolly visage. “Was it McCoy?”

“No, didn’t see him. I just had to give up more than I’d like for the information. I’ll tell you later. Right now they…”

A beeping noise was heard. “Sorry Schwarz, that’s the other line. Breeze says it’s Naiara’s communicator. Zebra?”

“Zebra. Let Breeze talk to them.”

“Okay, we’ll get back to you in a little bit.”

The line went dead.

My anger was gone now, and there was hope on top of my misery. “Think they’ll have something? Will Naiara be alright by now?”

“Doubtful.” Cassie had been listening in too. “From her injury, she may need some time, even with zebra medicines, surprisingly effective though they are.”

That was surprising. “You’ve dealt with zebra before?”

“Once or twice. Pegasi are regarded with almost the same amount of suspicion by Wastelanders, which ironically makes the zebra more willing to not kill us on sight. When Breeze and I were younger, we could not always find a doctor willing to treat us when we were sick, so sometimes we sought out zebra shaman instead. They empathised with our situation, and charged fewer caps too.”

That was… kinda sad. “You’ve had it rough, huh?”

“Sometimes.” She didn’t seem inclined to talk more on the subject.

Luckily the comm crackled. “Schwarz, still there?”

“Yes, dahling. What have you found?”

Wings’ voice was calmer now, and Breeze was chattering animatedly in the background. “Well, first off, Naiara’s okay. She’s awake now.”

A weight removed itself from my shoulders. “That’s great. Thanks, Wings.”

“No problem, Snow. She says that Cept gave her the message, and she’ll come over as soon as she can. Didn’t say where though.”

She didn’t need to, so long as she has the message. She knows where Hoofshine is.

“Anyway, it looks like the griffons were on the level with their info. The zebra told us the same thing. The gold fog’s been spotted recently.”

Now she had my full attention. “Where?”

“You won’t like it.”

I grabbed the communicator from Schwarzwald. “Just tell us, Wings!”

“…Both griffon and zebra reports have something matching the description heading towards Whinniepeg.”

“Whinniepeg?!” She was right, I didn’t like it. I’d only been there once and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. Doubly so because of the griffons involved.

The communicator crackled. “Told ya you wouldn’t like it.”

Yes, good idea Wings, hammer home a repeat of you, on a communicator, asking me to go to Whinniepeg.

Lovely.

“Well, we both know the place, don’t we?” She stayed silent, so I continued. “Look, meet us there. You two can move faster than us, but you’ve got further to go. Hopefully we’ll reach it at around the same time. Either way, whoever gets there first stays where they are until the rest get there, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. See you there.”

I closed the channel. Freaking Whinniepeg!

~~~~~~

Each step further into Whinniepeg only served to increase my distrust of the place. Since my first trip here, the town had become associated with loss, amoral griffons, Haylander Raiders, and now a pony snatching fog monster.

It hadn’t gotten any prettier either. The burned out husks of homes and shops still stood empty and ruined, the blackened bench where Cassie and Wings had jumped me was still filthy, and now the mountain wind and snow had begun creeping into town from the north. There was a definite chill in the air, stressing my already fragile mood.

“Any sign of Wings and Breeze? I don’t want to stay here any longer than it took to get Undertow and Bosco back.”

“I don’t see them, dahling.”

“Nor do I, though I share your unease.”

“Oh?” I bit out, sardonically. “Why’s that? Guilty conscience maybe?”

Cassie didn’t respond further, just continued to scan the surroundings as she floated a few metres above us.

Kicking at a blackened wall, Schwarzwald’s hooves blew up small clouds of ash, and lighter patches of concrete were left where her hooves had struck. “Where shall we search first, when dear Wings and Breeze arrive?”

I could only really think of one place that was even worth searching in the dead zone. “After Cassie left with Wings,” I tactfully avoided mentioning what they had been doing here, as if it needed to be said. I’d already told Schwarzwald what had happened at Hoofshine, and it was obviously on Cassie’s mind too. “McCoy’s monsters showed up, and went into that building over there. It’s got plenty of underground levels, and it was some sort of research facility. The fog might have been made there, or something.”

The tall, maybe irradiated building lay at the centre of the town, and was the only thing that still had all its walls and ceilings. Idly, I wondered if Caber Toss’ Haylanders spent much time inside there.

Maybe I’ll ask him when I see him at the Raider summit. Though, after the stunts he pulled with Ballbuster and Four Fields, I’m not telling him we were here until after we’re long gone.

“They are here.”

Looking first at her to gauge the direction, Schwarzwald and I turned to face the same way. I couldn’t see anything though, and the mercenary mare was squinting too. I was about to suggest that Cassie was seeing things, until two specks appeared on the horizon, far above the ground.

How did she see them from so far out? Those sniper eyes of hers are strong.

“You’re sure it’s them, not any of McCoy’s griffons coming back to poke around inside some more?”

She was adamant. “Wings is scowling.”

“…Now you’re just showing off.”

She gave a small smirk. “No, now I am just lying. But it is them. I recognise my sister.”

Cassie flew higher to catch the attention of the incoming fliers, while Schwarz and I began to head for the research building. True to my word, we stopped before going further, to wait for them. True to Cassie’s word, Wings was scowling when they landed.

“What’s wrong with you?”

The scowl deepened. “Friggin’ griffons asked a lot for their help. I don’t wanna talk about it, let’s just go already.”

I looked to Breeze for an answer, but she just shook her head and took up position beside her sister. Filing it away for later, I pushed open the door, leading them into the lobby.

It was as deserted as the last time, with the glass doors still forced open. Trotting quietly around the desk, I peered into the corridor beyond. There was just enough light to see by, but the path was still dark.

Igniting my horn, I let the glow drive back the darkness a little bit. Cassie stepped up beside me, using the light from my horn to sweep the corridor. “It is clear.”

“You two should go first, dahling. With your eyes, and Snowflake’s glow, you have the best chance to spot any trouble for us. Wings and Cassie will guard the sides, and I will watch your rears.” It was a more subtle double-meaning than Schwarzwald usually came out with, but perhaps she was just trying to keep us from being detected.

We all nodded our agreement with the plan, and set off. I tried to remember what I could from my time in the custody of McCoy and his Monsters, but I hadn’t been giving my full attention. I couldn’t even remember how many flights of stairs I’d gone down before we were forced to give up.

There was a fair amount of jostling behind us, as Breeze kept stopping to peer into the gloom of the ransacked research labs, probably hoping to find some cool gadget or device. I had my doubts she’d find anything even if Schwarzwald didn’t simply push her onwards, as the Monsters, and whoever else had visited before them, had gone over the place with a fine toothed comb, taking anything not nailed down that possessed even an ounce of usable material.

As we made our way down each floor, the same blocked passages and rubble greeted us as I’d experienced with the Monsters. Sometimes there was only one way to go, and it always led down.

One such instance was particularly egregious, as there were four possible pathways, though all but one turned out to be blocked straight after the first corner. Soon enough, the backtracking and turnarounds had us gritting our teeth.

“This place sucks!” Breeze never was one for restraint in her opinions.

Nobody argued though. We were all thinking variations of it, but I contented myself with glaring at each collapse that turned us away. Most of the time I contented myself with that, at least. I did aim a kick at one pile of rusted metal and chalky earth that looked particularly annoying. The others had already turned back, and as I moved to follow them, I thought I saw something in the pile, out of the corner of my eye.

Is something living in there? Like a rodent or a bug or something? Whatever it was, I quickly stepped away and rejoined the others. Nothing followed, and when I looked back, the pile was just a pile.

After a dozen or floors, we were getting pretty sick of the run around. “How far down does this freaking place go?”

“Dunno,” I called back. “but I don’t think I got this far last time, which is weird, because we got blocked down every corridor on one floor.”

“Maybe somepony has been here since?” Cassie was still acting as our scout, but she was blinking more often.

I could relate to her strain, my horn’s glow had diminished from being in constant use. Maybe it’s just darker down here?

“Snow… it might be time to call it quits. It looks like the zebra and griffons were wrong.” Wings had been talking quietly with Schwarzwald for the past few floors, apparently about how to broach the subject.

“No! Not yet. We keep going until we can’t get any further. I won’t give up on them just like that!”

“Yeah, I know, but…”

“Aha! Dahlings, I found some stairs!” Schwarzwald’s happy interruption forestalled whatever nonsense Wings was about to say. I gladly rushed over to where Schwarz was standing. Sure enough, there was another flight of stairs here, though how we missed it, I didn’t know.

Doesn’t matter now. We keep going. “Let’s go.”

Without waiting for an answer, I took the stairs down, two at a time, ignoring the cries to wait. The staircase was longer than the others so far, and didn’t turn back on itself.

It took a full minute to fully descend, and when I did, the glow from my horn barely extended past my face. This was not a time move further without support, so I did wait this time.

Schwarzwald was the first to arrive, and wasted no time in whapping me upside the head. “I told you not to wildly run in, Snowflake! Remember what happened last time?”

“I walked down the stairs, then stopped to wait for you. How is that running in wildly?”

“We do not know what is at the bottom of these stairs, dahling. It may be something fun, but we can’t indulge ourselves until we find the little ones.”

“Good point.” I turned to the dark surroundings. “Bosco? Undertow? You there? If you can hear me, please say something!”

I hadn’t received an answer by the time the three fliers arrived, and spread out to the sides.

“Found a wall.” Breeze poked around the side of the stairs, and discovered one edge of the room. Cassie relayed similar information from the other side.

We still don’t know how far the room stretches, but at least we know where the exit is.

“Undertow?” I tried again. “Bosco? Please, if you’re here, tell me where you are.”

We got an answer, but not the one I’d been hoping for. We all had to cover our eyes as blinding light filled the room.

“Who’s there?”

“I can’t see!”

It was a worthwhile demonstration of how weak my horn’s glow had become in comparison. While I’d been barely beating back the darkness inches from my face, these powerful illuminations filled every spot in the room, not even allowing a shadow.

I was the last of our group to remove my hooves from my eyes, and I was finally able to see the room for what it was. Mostly barren, it seemed to be a simple cube, maybe fifty metres across, with our stairway at one end, and a heavy metal door at the other.

Between us and the door, however, was the gold fog.

It was much larger than it had been at Whitepony, taking up half the width of the room as it floated there.

We were all readying ourselves for the confrontation; Wings and Cassie were reloading, Schwarz’s gatling gun was spinning up, and Breeze’s hooves were on her irregular arsenal. My horn had blazed back to full glory too, the sudden shock and adrenaline of the lights and fog appearing serving to wash away my tiredness.

“Where are they?!” My rage and fear were bubbling over as I faced the impassive cloud. “Let them go!”

It wasn’t clear whether or not the fog was even alive, or could communicate, but it responded nonetheless. Splitting off from the main body, two smaller mists floated to the floor, and then began to coalesce, changing and morphing as they did.

Within seconds, two glorious Molar Bears stood before us. Not the smaller ones that Bosco had mentioned either. These goliaths outweighed even the creature who’d chased me into Cefar.

And there’s two of them!

“Oh shit.” Breeze and I whimpered. She certainly hadn’t forgotten stumbling upon the family outside of Grindstone.

Cassie and Wings already had their guns up, eyes hard and watching.

Schwarzwald, though I couldn’t see her, certainly sounded happier than she should be at this situation. “It would appear that we are to be tested. More fun for us.”

All the possible ways that this would not be at all fun ran through my mind, while Schwarzwald took charge. “Wings, Cassie, get their attention. Breeze, Snowflake, support them with your special talents. I shall cover you.”

The two Molar Bears picked up on this, swinging their tree-like arms down, claws throwing up sparks as they raked across the floor. In unison, they unleashed their spine-chilling roars, momentarily freezing even Schwarzwald in her tracks.

Then they charged.

“WATCH OUT!” The eruption of Schwarz’s battle saddle snapped the rest of us out of our stupor, and split the Fog Molars apart. They were still coming at us, but now they were on opposite sides of the room.

Recovered, Wings and Cassie surged forward to meet one each. The Molars swiped at their flitting opponents, trying to swat them out of the air, but couldn’t connect. Wings twisted her body into a cylinder, shooting under the wicked black claws, while Cassie went high, popping off a shot that slammed into the thigh of one of the creatures. It didn’t seem to have much impact.

Breeze crossed my path as she moved to help her sister, unofficially leaving me to back up Wings. The chocolate-and-cream griffon was orbiting the beast, peppering its back, chest, and shoulders with revolver rounds, while it held up its arms, to protect its head and neck.

That took a lot of the Molar Bear’s natural weapons out of the fight for now, but Wings would run out of bullets eventually. I’d need to help her out now, while she could keep up the barrage.

I could just barely make out the glaring eyes of the beast through the gap in the claw barrier it had thrown up. It was, at this point, a blessing that the fog chose to take on a guise of the big, slow variety.

Its eyes were hardly moving, and I already knew where they were with my magic. It wouldn’t take much.

My horn hummed.

The predatory eyes suddenly turned white, as a blindfold of ice covered them. Howling, the creature lashed out wildly with its arms against we now-unseen enemies, forcing Wings to break off her strafing, or risk being decapitated in a blind swing.

The Fog Molar dropped to its haunches, letting loose a roar that made me cover my ears, or risk going deaf. The roar was so powerful, that I barely noticed the beast sniffing at the air, and zeroing in on my scent.

“Uh oh.” I didn’t even hear my own words past the roar.

The Molar Bear was already in mid leap, wicked claws outstretched and shining. It couldn’t see me, but it could smell me, and it had claws the size of my torso. It was not so concerned with accuracy, with weaponry and endurance like it had.

I squeaked helplessly as it covered the entirety of my vision, before a blur cannoned into me from behind, forcing me between the creature’s legs and past its tail as it landed.

Wings, having swung around behind and saved me, immediately turned and opened up with her guns again. Three shots caught the Fog monster in the back, causing it to turn back to us, though as soon as it did it became the victim of a triple grenade strike, courtesy of Schwarzwald.

Rocked, the giant demon crashed to the floor.

Wings took the opportunity. “Snow, take out the claws!” Shooting upwards, though angling away from the unmoving main body on the other side of the room, Wings reached the ceiling in seconds.

In those seconds, I’d managed to freeze the claws of the Fog Molar to the floor, trapping it on its belly.

Wings descended, talons first. She must have run out of bullets.

In an almost contemptuous display of strength, the gold Bear effortlessly ripped its claws straight out of my ice shackles.

It wasn’t enough, though, as Wings reached it before it could raise them high enough. Slamming down on the head from on-high, Wings’ diving claw strike exploded the demon.

Literally, it exploded into a cloud of gold dust, which immediately began to segue back into the main body.

Claws stuck in the metal floor, Wings was blinking her blazing blue eyes owlishly, thoroughly confused about the lack of resistance to her dive.

“One down. Let us help the twins now, dahlings.” Schwarzwald didn’t even sound winded.

“R-right.” My ice barely affects these things, what am I supposed to do?

The answer, apparently, was not much. In a testament to their long years of fighting together, the two pegasi had already taken care of their beast.

Confined to an octagonal Shock Lock pen, the second creature was convulsing madly, barely able to make sense of its own muscles. With every twitch, one random body part tensed, while another involuntarily straightened.

Cassie had holstered her rifle, but her whip trailed lazily out of her bracer. Beside her, Breeze’s greave was dribbling a thick liquid down onto the wire, coating the entire length.

At a nod from her sister, Cassie swung her whip in a beautiful arc, drops of the coating flying as the cord swung down, wrapping around the neck of the Fog Molar.

Tugging it tight, she nodded to Breeze, who ran her switchblade, deployed from her greave, along Cassie’s whip bracer, causing sparks to fly. One landed on the whip wire, and instantly ignited.

The fire raced down the garrotte, until it reached the noose around the Molar Bear’s bulging neck. Within moments, a collar of dirty orange fire was ablaze, turning the roars of the creature into panicked howls. Cassie dispassionately ejected the burning wire from her bracer, and watched the Fog Molar die.

Until it too exploded, again with the leftover smoke returning to the main form.

Forming up, we faced the Fog monster. “We beat your pets, now give me back my friends!”

The Fog clearly had more ability than simply sending out two offshoots against us. It was toying with us, and I was not willing to accept being toyed with, not while it still held those dear to me.

This time it did communicate, though not with speech. The entire structure of the Fog began to morph, not just offshoots this time. The noise it gave off was unlike anything I’d ever heard before. I didn’t even have words for the sounds I was hearing.

The five of us began to retreat a few steps as smoking wings burst from the mass, followed by a horn erupting out of the cloud.

When it was finished, none of us expected the giant, shining gold Alicorn staring down at us.

Eyes wide, I could only stare. I’ve only seen them in pictures. Were they all this big?

“That’s not possible.” Schwarzwald’s voice was barely a whisper, and completely devoid of her characteristic humour.

“What the fuck is that?” Wings and Breeze chorused.

Cassie just gaped.

When it spoke, it was with many voices in unison, some mare, some stallion, some filly, some colt. “You have potential. We must ask something of you.”

“W-what?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Not just the acoustics, the words were beyond comprehension.

“Why the hell should we do shit for you? We just beat your crappy guards, ya big freak!” Despite the size of the monster, Breeze was riding a wave of confidence after winning the fight against the Molar Bear copies.

Does she have to taunt the giant demon?

“Those were merely a test, to determine your strength. If you wish it, we shall show you our true power.” Opening the swirling nexus that functioned as a mouth, a metre thick jet of green flame shot out, encircling us in a blink.

“Breeze.” Wings spoke very carefully, shying away from the cordon. “Shut. Up.”

Even Cassie was glaring at her.

I tried to ignore the flame, and push through. “Where is Undertow? Where’s Bosco? Why did you take them?”

The starlight pinpricks of its pupils came to rest on me. “We sensed something. Something we thought lost. We must discover their secrets.”

“WHERE ARE THEY? They’re not yours to keep!” I couldn’t leave those two in this… thing’s clutches. That was the polar opposite of protecting them.

A horrible smile formed, though the lips didn’t seem to move as you’d expect. It was more like they fell out of focus, and then reaffirmed themselves in an upward curve. Whatever had happened, there was no warmth there. Turning a quarter circle, the golden demon showed off its ‘cutie mark’.

A sphere of water, with two ponies trapped inside.

“Undertow! Bosco!”

A small gap formed in the shield, through which I could see a unicorn worn ragged through the effort of maintaining the barrier for so long. “Lady Snow! You came!”

“I’m so sorry, Undertow! I couldn’t protect you!” Tears streamed down my cheeks as I poured out my shame.

“I am alright, Lady Snow, but… Bosco…”

“What? What’s wrong?”

I followed her gaze to the quivering colt within the shield. “I do not know, Lady Snow, but something is affecting him.”

Bosco was shivering violently, and his charcoal coat was slick with sweat. He seemed in pain, hooves wrapped around his head and body, as he squeezed his eyes shut tight.

“Just hold on, we’ll get you of there now. Please, just wait a little while longer, Undertow.”

“I-I will try, Lady Snow.” Forlornly, she closed the gap, reforming the complete shield.

The monstrous gold tail of the false Alicorn swung around, enveloping the sphere. When it came away, it took the two with it. The Fog apparition was now blank-flanked, with Undertow’s bubble perched on its tail.

Alarm bells rang through me as the door behind the beast opened up, and the bubble barrier was flicked inside, with the heavy iron door immediately slamming shut behind it.

“NO!” Uncaring of the fire, I ran straight through it. “BRING THEM BACK!”

“Snow, don’t!”

“Fool, don’t rush in!”

“Get back!”

“Red Ice!”

A colossal hoof slammed down in front of me, the shockwave knocking me back.

The red mist was in my eyes, and I screamed incoherently as I bolted upright, charging again. A second hoof came down, putting me onto my back once more. It happened a third time before three ponies and a griffon dog piled me.

“UNDERTOW! BOSCO!” I screamed at the four pinning me down, and the grotesque ghoul blocking my path. “GIVE THEM BACK!”

“They are ours. If you want them back, you must bring us something in exchange.”

Bastard! “What do you want?”

“You call them Memory Orbs. There are three. Bring them to us.”

“There are thousands of Memory Orbs out there, you jackhole! How will we find them?”

“We sensed them, when we fought you before. The sense was weak, almost vanished. You know something, AND YOU SHALL BRING THEM TO US!” The last part thundered around the room like an earthquake.

“Give me back my friends first!” I wasn’t going to do anything until I knew Undertow and Bosco were safe, especially if Bosco was sick.

“Little pony, we will return the two when you have completed your task, and not before. Go now, and do not return until you have what we ask.”

Raising its grandiose wings, a green fire aura swirled around its horn, flashing out and blinding us.

After the flash faded, there was no sign of the Alicorn demon.

Or the door through which Undertow and Bosco had vanished.

“Nonononono! Not again!” I struggled in the grip of the four, unable to move. “Get… get off me!”

“Where’d it go?” Breeze let go, then took wing and began exploring the room. The other followed suit.

As soon as I was free, I was charging towards the wall. I threw my hooves against it, beating against every part I could find, trying to make the opening reappear. “UNDERTOW?! BOSCO?! WHERE ARE YOU?!”

Schwarzwald hadn’t moved from her spot in the centre of the room. “They are gone, Snowflake. We have lost.”

“No, they can’t be gone! I saw them! She’s waiting for me to get her, and Bosco needs help! We have to find them!” Couldn’t she see that?

“We shall find them, and bring them back, but this place is closed to us for now. Our best hope is to find these Memory Orbs that that… creature wanted.” Even she seemed disturbed by the Gold Fog-turned-Demon we’d encountered.

The others flew back down to stand around me. “Sorry, Snow, but there’s nothing here.”

“We will assist you in bringing them back. We gave our word.”

“…The colt, at least.”

Breeze swiftly backpedalled after her words, as I was clawing at the space she’d been standing, my rage overloading my mind. Wings struggled to hold me back.

My strongest desire at that moment, even above bringing Bosco and Undertow back safely, was to tear out that insufferable bitch’s Hate-Filled. Evil. Lying. Tongue!

“Apologise right now, Breeze!” Cassie snapped at her sister with as much force as she’d shown to me, during the fight at the Woodpecker village.

“She’s the one trying to kill me!”

“This time you deserve it, now apologise!”

“But, Cass…”

“No! Not this time. You went too far!”

“I…” Breeze looked heartbroken at her sister’s disapproving glare, dropping her head in shame. “I’m sorry, Snowflake.”

My strength was draining from me, as grief over losing my friends a second time overtook my rage. I said nothing, made no acknowledgement of Breeze’s apology. I simply sank to the ground, still held by Wings. My hooves wrapped around her as the emotions burned me up.

~~~~~~

“…Cefar.”

The listlessness of my reply to Wings’ request for the passcode, to enter Hoofshine Harlots, was basically unnoticed. Hardly surprising, considering I’d been acting that way since Whinniepeg.

With a click, the lock disengaged, and we trooped inside, Wings went in first, then Breeze. Cassie was next, having made certain to always position herself between her sister and I. Schwarzwald brought up the rear, back to her jovial self.

My hoof lethargic pointed down the corridor. “Rooms are down there.” I monotone. “Last on the left is Bosco’s room. Set one hoof in there, and I’ll kick you out to freeze. Naiara and Undertow will also have a room. Other than that, take whichever one you want.”

I didn’t wait for an answer, instead plodding towards the bar, and the hidden master bedroom. As I was unlocking the underground entrance, I caught sight of the four as a reflection in the glass.

Wings was poking through the various cupboards, and examining the pictures on the walls. Breeze was already assaulting a terminal, trying to glean its Old Equestria secrets, with her sister nearby, engrossed in a laminated drinks menu.

Schwarzwald was watching me, though she turned and headed down the corridor to the bedrooms when our eyes met.

Though her expression was far from normal, I was neither able or interested enough to discern its meaning.

Inside Miss Match’s subterranean territory, I flung myself face down on the bed, hating that I was here.

The only place I knew where we might find three Memory Orbs was in Bosco’s bags. If he wasn’t carrying them with him, then this was the first place to look. It had taken us until dark to reach this place, and it had been decided, by the others and with heavy protest from me, that we’d stay here tonight, and head back to Whinniepeg in the morning.

Wait as long as you can, Undertow. Keep him safe, and I’ll be there as soon as I can. I won’t let anything happen to either of you.

…Don’t die.

~~~~~~

The hours passed slowly as I lay there, too worry-sick for sleep, and with the covers thrown haphazardly away.

The situation I found myself in plagued my mind with questions:

What was that thing under Whinniepeg?

What did it want with Bosco and Undertow, while ignoring the rest of us at Whitepony?

Was Bosco going to be alright until we got back?

Would he be okay with us giving away his Orbs?

The Memory Orbs. This whole ordeal hinged on them, sitting in Bosco’s room right now.

I suddenly felt uncomfortable leaving them there, resolving to at least keep them with me for the time being.

Still exhausted, both physically and soulfully, I lugged myself out of the room. When I emerged into the bar, a Pegasus was sat at the counter, nursing a strong drink, going by the smell.

Still furious, and not in the slightest bit interested in talking with her, I woodenly moved around to the other end of the bar, and headed for the bedrooms.

With Bosco’s Orbs stashed away in a pocket, I returned to the bar. She was still there.

I was two steps away from the entrance to my bedroom when she broke her silence. “Do you think she’s hurt bad?”

Pupils shrinking, I jerked away from the hatch. “Breeze, if you say one more word about her, I swear…”

“Fuck you. I’m not talking about the Rai-“ She caught herself. “I mean, I’m not talking about Undertow. I’m talking about Naiara. You fought that thing In Whitepony, didn’t you?”

“…Yeah.”

“Is she hurt bad?” The ice in her glass rang as she took another sip.

“She was. Cept says she’ll make it.”

“How’d it happen?”

“It went for me, she got in the way. It slashed her side. She lost a lot of blood before we got her to her people.”

Staring evenly at me, she took two more sips before responding, setting the glass down on the bar as she did. “You’re a bitch, you know that?”

“Love you too, featherbrain.” I mocked darkly, tossing Naiara’s words at her.

From the way she was bristling, she’d picked up on it. “See? That right there. What the hell did Naiara ever do to deserve you?”

I cared less than nothing for her opinion at the time, but she clearly wasn’t going to stop until she’d had her say. I wanted it over quickly, so I stayed silent and waited for her to continue.

“Naiara, Schwarzwald, that colt, Bosco. What did any of them do to deserve having to deal with you, a dumb bitch with a pet Raider?”

“Undertow’s not a pet. If you plan on calling her that again, you can leave right now.”

She angrily threw her hooves wide, spilling some of her whiskey as she did. “See, I don’t understand that at all. She’s a Raider, a blight on the Wasteland! She’s done terrible things, like all Raiders have! Why do you care so much about her? Why didn’t you just kill her like any other Raider?”

I was already weary of this conversation, and gave a sigh as I explained. “She’s a Raider because people like you call her one. What she really is, is a scared little filly who doesn’t like being around others too much. She can’t handle it. She killed those who wouldn’t leave her alone, even though she went all the way to Soft Swell Lake to BE alone. Her magic makes it so the water’s a second home to her, private and quiet. She’s the only one who can experience it like that. Others wanted to see it for themselves, and hounded her to let them in. It was always because others wouldn’t leave her alone.”

Having been forced to respond, I felt myself starting to wake up more, and knew sleep wouldn’t be coming any time soon. Thus, I poured a drink for myself too. “The lake was everything to her, playground and protector, garden and guardian. I took that from her, made it so that she lost her belief that the lake was stronger than anything. I robbed her of the one thing that was sure in her life. So I had to make it up to her, and protect her myself. It’s the least I can do for her, make sure she’s safe, and warm, and happy. It’s what you do when you’re the older one, you look after them, and try to keep them on a good path.”

She was staring at me strangely. “When you’re the older what? You’re an older what to Undertow?”

I blinked, not understanding. “The older pony, older friend. The one who looks after the others.”

She calmly, but forcefully, whacked the glass back on the counter. “Unbelievable. I know you’re a bitch, but that’s just cruel.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Her constant insults had me tuning out.

It didn’t stop her though. “After all Cassie and I went through, and we knew it straight away. This sort of thing… just fucking cruel. Congrats, you’ve actually got me feeling a little sorry for her.”

“Breeze, what are you talking about?”

“Ugh, I can’t believe you. What does Naiara think about you and the Raider brat? I said brat, not pet. What does Bosco, or Schwarzwald?”

“What do you mean? They like her.”

Rolling her eyes, her expression suggested that she’d have more success talking to a newborn foal. “I know that, Red Ice. That wasn’t what I asked.”

“Then what did you ask?”

“…Think about it. How you talk, and act around her, and what they think about that.”

“…”

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she gave up and hauled herself off the barstool. “I’ve got nothing against Bosco, and I’ll help you get him, and Undertow, back as a favour to Naiara, but you seriously can’t keep things like this. It’s not fair.”

“What’s not fair?” I demanded, thinking she was insulting me in a more subtle way.

“No, I’m not telling you like this. We’ll get them back, and then we’re back on different sides about the Raiders. You’re not even close to showing me that that’s a good idea.” Stifling a yawn with a wing, she lazily waved the other one as she went to her room. “G’night, cruel bitch.”

I stared after her, more confused than insulted now, though still insulted. Her questions hadn’t made any sense, except to fill my brain with a lot of words that I’d need to filter out, before I could rest.

I need some air.

Opening the front door, I stepped out into a world of white, of falling snowflakes.

My breath misted as I stepped away from the building, strolling into the trees, though I made sure that I wouldn’t lose sight of Hoofshine.

As I walked, I voiced my musings. “Little ways to Cefar. I wonder how Facemask is doing.”

The kindly doctor pony had been the first pony I’d spoken with after leaving the Stable.

How things have changed. What would you say now, Facemask?

Beyond Facemask, and Cefar, lay the Stable. I’d never reach it without the Pipbuck, which brought to mind the nightmare I’d experienced days ago: Freezing to death while chasing Cassie and Wings through the snowfields and forests.

I really want to bring Undertow to the Stable, show her where I grew up. She wouldn’t like the crowds, but I know all the quiet places. My brothers’d love her too. They’d make her one of the family in a heartbeat.

A shivering squall brought my train of thought to a halt. My hooves were getting soaked by the fallen snow, so I decided to turn back.

“Sorry, Undertow. Another time. We’ll talk about it when I get you out of there.”

The wind picked up as I returned to our den of freeloaders and squatters. The cold was invasive, slipping beneath the skin, teasing my lungs when I breathed.

Seeing a way to kill two birds with one stone, I triggered my ‘move faster’ slick spell, and soon was gliding over the snow. The actual speed increase was negligible, but it lifted my spirits a little, and there was no more crunching when I crushed snow underhoof. With the wind’s whistling, any noise I made was being masked.

It was almost enough to lift my spirits. Almost.

Any possibility of positive emotions disappeared when I spotted something in the trees, around a corner of the abandoned brothel. A blinking blue light, moving back and forth.

What in the world?

Still using my spell to mask some of my movement, I crept closer. Flattening myself against the hard corner wall, I eased my way up to the edge, listening intently for any sign of trouble.

“You worry too much, dahling.”

Schwarzwald? Why’s she out here this late? And who’s she talking to, Wings and the twins are inside.

There was a response, but I couldn’t make anything out over a cracking branch.

“You must be patient. This will not happen overnight.”

A happy thought surfaced. Maybe it’s Naiara? The zebra medicines might have sped up her recovery!

Poking my head around the corner, I prepared to welcome Naiara home. At least one worry would be eased when I saw her.

My eyes shot fully open. It was not Naiara.

“I’ve been patient for longer than you know, Schwarzwald. Now what’s going on?” The blue light had revealed itself.

Staring her down, the Spritebot’s words were heavy.

I whipped my head back around the corner, relying on my ears to keep track of the conversation.

I’d seen that Spritebot before, and knew the voice.

Watcher?! Schwarzwald and Watcher?

She addressed the floating bot. “I am not yet convinced, dahling. It is too soon.”

A short burst of static served as a fine indicator of annoyance. “You’ve been talking her up to me for weeks, and now you say to wait? What changed?”

Schwarzwald was her ever-entertained self. “The game. There are new players on the board. The tests she passed before will no longer suffice.”

Watcher was less than pleased. “You know I hate it when you call it a game, Schwarz. There’s a lot riding on this, and we can’t afford to be less than thorough.”

I lost my battle with curiosity, and risked a peek around the corner, looking for video and not just sound.

Schwarzwald’s face was contorted in such a pinched, tight position, and she spoke with a voice that was colder than the air around us. “You do not need to lecture me on the stakes of the endeavour, Watcher.” The lack of a ‘dahling’ seemed deliberate here, and set me on edge. “I know better than any other of how the game is played, and also the risks and rewards.”

The two stared each other down for a moment. Neither spoke, and it was clear that Watcher had crossed some sort of line. Schwarzwald had never acted even close to that in all the time I’d known her. She’d frowned, and she’d shouted, and calmly expressed disapproval, but had never lost her cool like I saw her do with Watcher.

Whatever they’re talking about, it has to be big. Watcher doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who messes around, and certainly not like this. Schwarz being serious is the bigger give-away, but what would tick her off this badly?

Watcher broke the silence at last. The little bot managed to look sheepish, and somehow repentant. “You’re right, Schwarzwald. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

The wood-brown mare lowered her head for a moment, before opening her conifer green eyes, all smiles again. “Do not fret, Watcher-dahling, I am sure you meant no harm.”

Shaking excitedly, the robot effectively displayed relief. “Okay then. So these new players, do you think…”

“Yes, dear, I do. Well… no, I doubt that they will be what we are looking for. Certainly not that one, but the others... I shall watch them closely, and try to be sure. There is potential there, though for what is not yet clear.”

Watcher’s bot body didn’t move, but his tone was speculative. “It would be pretty crazy if you’re right about all of this. I can get behind your thinking about her, but these others? It’s been a while, and I’m not sure.”

Schwarzwald shrugged. “The net must be cast as wide as possible, dahling. A conservative approach will not serve here.”

Watcher twitched. “Damn, almost out of time, but you may have a point. Keep on it, Schwarz. You know I trust you. I’ll try to keep in contact more often, so if you can find some excuses to get some quiet time away from her, then that’ll make it easier.”

“I understand. Good luck with your investments.”

Another burst of static. “Please, Schwarz, don’t call them that. It makes them seem less than alive.” The voice cut off in a screech of interference, before being replaced by tinny, upbeat music.

Watcher had run out of time, and the Spritebot was already ascending, disappearing into the night.

Schwarzwald, and I from my corner, watched it go. A full minute after it was out of sight, she barked out a sudden, hard-edged laugh. “ ‘Less than alive’? An interesting choice of words, coming from a floating relay, dear Watcher. Perhaps your calling is comedy, rather than what you strive for?”

As I looked on, she angled her rifle upwards, and fired off a single solitary round into the cloudy sky. “The starter’s pistol has fired, dahlings, and we must all join the race. We will soon reach the first corner, and those without control will reveal themselves, by falling and tripping the others. The leaders will be those who find their way through the chaos.”

She paused her soliloquy by bending down, and scooping up the spent, smoking cartridge. Wisps of steam and smoke curled up from her hoof. “Games are only fun when they are uncertain. One-sided affairs are dull and uninteresting. You worry far too much, Watcher. It is all the better if we are unsure. It allows the players, and the game, to lead to more outcomes, as different as night or day, or fire and ice.”

A slight tilt let the shell slip from her hoof, and stick in the snow, pointing down. She looked at it curiously, before smiling widely, as per usual. “It’s going to be such fun, dahlings. The game has no rules except those the players make, so who will master it first?”

I chose this unanswered question as my best moment to slip away, heart beating and mind racing.

What was that? Schwarzwald and Watcher? What were they talking about? WHO were they talking about? Does it have to do with Princess Cadence? Or Shining Armour?

Why couldn’t it have just been Naiara?

~~~~~~

Level Up!

Perks gained: Mismatch’s Successor – Hoofshine Harlots provides neutral ground, no enemies will attack, and all medical and restorative effects are doubled while inside.

~~~~~~
Author’s note: This is very important now. This chapter has not a damn thing to do with the Goddess. The Goddess does not feature in Old Souls at all.

Make of that what you will.

I threw a lot out in this chapter, and the story’s going to get more intricate from here on in. There’s still a fair amount of what I’ve already planned out to get through, so calling it an arc would be egregious. I’m now realising there are several arcs contained within what I have planned out so far, and more to come after. Ah well, I’ll just write it and see how it goes, nothing else to be done, is there?

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. Finally, because I find it a really funny coincidence to have another fic with a Stable 61 that’s set in Equestrian Canada, go read Fallout Equestria: Pure Hearts.
Enjoy the chapter, kiddies.

Toodles.

P.S. In case anyone was wondering, at long last I present to you: Snowflake (sans cutie mark)