Chapter 16: Indenture
[There is nothing you can do to keep me from my sacred task of restoration!]
My body convulsed as I awoke, gasping. Between sucking in mouthfuls of air, I scrabbled to right myself, though somehow couldn’t get find my balance. I barely saw the world around me, though it was not the eternal blizzard I remembered walking into moments ago. Still, that thought hardly seemed important as I thrashed and flailed.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I gave up on trying to rise, at least until I got my breathing under control… and until my heart stopped trying to crack my ribs from the inside. Remaining as motionless as possible, my heaving chest gradually slowed its rhythm to normal levels.
Finally feeling out of whatever immediate danger I’d found myself in, I cracked open my eyes. I was lying on my back, staring at the cloud-strewn sky.
So I’m outside, at least. I must’ve been out, but nobody dragged me back to the Stable. “Hmph, figures.”
My words has a strange muffled quality to them. This brought the other sounds around to my attention. They too were muffled, and I couldn’t immediately decipher them, but at least they were something to focus on.
I opened my mouth, taking in one final breath before speaking. My ears popped at this, and the sounds became far more pronounced.
“...wish she’d just get up already!”
“Ah, wheesh, ya halfwit!”
“The pair o’ yeh can gi’ it a rest. Oi, Red Ice, on yer hooves right the noo!”
I sat up, baffled. “What in the hell?”
Across from me, the three Raider leaders were looking back in consternation. Caber Toss and Ballbuster were simply annoyed, but Latvi seemed to be shaking with rage. “Sooo glad to see you awake, Snowflake.” His words dripped with sarcasm.
My confusion shifted to anger which I was sure could match, and exceed, his. “What did you do, Latvi?!”
“I-”
“SHUT UP! What the hell is going on here?! How is this possible? What was that spell? How dare you do that to me!!!”
Still shaking, the stallion somehow managed to be smug as he slowly chose his words. “It seems you’ve had quite the experience, Red Ice.”
You have the gall to smirk at me, after springing that… whatever spell on me and- “UNDERTOW!”
Latvi opened his mouth to speak, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards.
“Shut up!” I cast about, trying to find her. “Undertow? Undertow, where are you? Naiara! One of you, answer me!”
Caber Toss and Ballbuster were quietly arguing amongst themselves, but I ignored them. Craning my neck around, I strained to find a glimpse of a stripe, or a goggle strap, or jade eyes, or a droplet-and-ripples Cutie Mark, anything that might show me my friends.
The Barnstormer camp left me disappointed. The same ramshackle structures, same dented soup cauldron, same rusted metal… but no zebra, no Deep Diver.
I was not happy, and not in the slightest bit interested in suffering in silence. Or suffering alone. I bared my teeth. “Latviiii…”
Locking eyes with the bastard, I vigorously pushed myself up onto my hooves. Too vigorously, as my legs went out from under me and I crashed back to the cold ground. Grunting with the slight impact, I ignored the pain and rose again. I only managed to take one step before I met the floor again.
By this time, the married couple were chuckling at me, while Latvi just watched with mirth in his eyes. “Something the matter, Snowflake?”
“I-” I slipped again. “Dammit! What have you done?”
Still shaking, he gave a small chuckle himself. “Well, I’d love to take credit for this, and I’d love to lend you a hoof, but…” He gave a slight tug at his leg, which clued me in on his situation.
It was annoyingly familiar.
While unconscious, I’d covered the place in ice. Not to the extreme of the Stable’s medical bay, there were no icicles, though a thick sheet of the stuff covered every surface in a radius of a dozen meters or so. This included the legs of the three ponies nearby, and the discarded soup ladle that’d tripped me.
Even in a situation such as this, I had to suppress a giggle at two burly Raiders trying in vain to unstick their hooves from the icy ground. Latvi was no better, but seemed to have come to the conclusion that struggling would be pointless. He wasn’t getting out until the ice melted.
The thought stopped me in my tracks.
“Now, hold on there Snowflake.” He was pretty far from smirking now. I wasn’t. Latvi seemed to be leaning back, as far from me as possible. “No need to do anything rash.”
“Oh?” Steadying myself, I pushed forward on the ice, gliding over to him. A hoof to his sternum halted my slide, drawing a pained ‘oof!’, as I smiled glassily into his face. “Now, Latvi, why ever would I do something rash to you?”
“Well...” Caber piped up from the side. “...f’r one thing, on account o’ that mad-mental hex he put on yeh?”
“Aye.” Ballbuster joined in. “Dunno what it was s’posed tae do, but it’s done a number on them eyes o’ yours, turnin’ ‘em green an’ the like. Does it hurt when they gi’ out that purple smoke?”
I hadn’t taken said eyes away from the staring contest I was having with the increasingly-nervous Latvi. “No, they don’t hurt. Though I am very interested in hearing just exactly how I came by these eyes. It’s one of many questions that I have at the moment. First and foremost, though…” All pretense of good cheer evaporated. “Where. Are. My Friends?”
“How should I know?”
I slugged him, as hard as I could. Right in the face. “Wrong answer, Latvi. One more time. Where are they?”
“Ow! What was that for?” Somehow, he managed to look slighted at that.
Seriously? I briefly entertained the question of just how my green-and-smoking eyes would convey the ‘are you an idiot?’ look I was going for. Turning to the others, I felt that I had to ask the question. “You thought it was a good idea to listen to this guy?”
“Only sometimes.” Was the sulky response.
“He’s a mite better at knowin’ where we might find good stuff than most o’ our lot. We’re no’ saying he woulda really been in charge or anythin’...”
“WHAT?!”
I slugged him again. “That was right in my ear, Latvi. I do not appreciate that.”
His cheek shifting from blue to black-and-blue, the scientist stallion tested some of his teeth with his tongue. “Well, I’m terribly sorry that you didn’t appreciate me voicing my disapproval of these two saying that I’m wasting my time, trying to help them get their hooves on treasures from the old world before anypony else! It’s somewhat hard to keep calm when I’m learning that, even though I spent all this time hunting down the last clue to the legacy of the most powerful unicorn who ever lived, just to help out in our arrangement, I’m still not going to get a say in how we go about it!”
I didn’t verbally respond, but immediately turned away from him and began a new search of the area. Where is it? If he gets hold of it again…
I looked all around Latvi, even peeking between the ice-shackles on his legs, which might have been awkward if I held even the slightest desire for him, but couldn’t spot Sombra’s horn. Muttering, I moved behind Latvi and began a wider search. It’s a horn. How far could it have gone?
Someone else found it before I did.
“Psst! Laddie! O’er there!”
Alarmed, I spun around just in time to see Sombra’s horn emerge from under the soup cauldron, held aloft in the navy haze of Latvi’s magic. It swiftly made its way towards him.
“NO!” I surged forward, horn lighting up on reflex.
“EEYARGH!”
The dead king’s horn thunked to the ground. Not questioning my good fortune, I tore after it, diving for the severed appendage. I got a painful scratch down my chest for my trouble, but I had a firm grip on the thing in my hooves.
Caber and Ballbuster groaned in disappointment.
Latvi was more vocal. “My horn!”
“No.” I responded, before turning to look at him. “Now it’s MY hor-oh, you didn’t mean this.”
The ice from my subconscious spell had fully encased Latvi’s natural horn, the cold being enough to throw off his concentration. From his face, I felt confident in assuming that it was deeply uncomfortable.
Slipping the relic into a secure pocket of my barding, I stood up again, consciously using my magic to dispel the ice beneath my hooves. Only beneath my hooves. I had no intention of freeing these ponies anytime soon. Upon reaching Latvi, I placed a hoof flat against his frozen horn.
“What are you-OW! OW! ARGH! STOP!”
I let off the pressure I’d been putting on his icebound horn. “I’m sure a scientist like yourself knows just how… brittle the cold can make something.” I gave another push, eliciting a pained hiss. “Now, for the final time. Where are they?” I began to press again.
“THEY’RE NOT HERE! I swear! After I put you two under, the zebra woke up, grabbed the other filly and bolted. We don’t know where they went after that! Please don’t snap my horn!” The double satisfaction, at his squirming and the knowledge that Naiara had gotten both herself AND Undertow away from here, was simply delicious, but I wasn’t done yet.
Caber Toss and Ballbuster were watching with a strange mix of anger and evaluation. I faced them evenly. “You two are idiots, signing on with this jackhole on any level. Those zebra who gave him the damn horn are too, but I’ll deal with them later. For now, I need a reason NOT to kill the three of you. I have several reasons to do it, not in the least of which is the fact that this whole thing has been a doublecross from the start!”
At least THEY can look a little shamefaced. Probably fake, but I don’t care right now. They should be ashamed!
Ballbuster wasn’t ready to be talked at just yet. “Well, wee lassie, afore yeh get it in yehr heed that yeh’ve got all the answers, ‘member that yeh need us to keep the Raiders in line, if yeh’re wantin’ tae keep goin’ wi’ the Raider alliance.”
“...” Damn. “And you’re saying you actually would listen to me, not like you were gonna do with this clown?”
“Hey!”
“Cold. Brittle. Snap.”
“...”
Sharing a glance with her husband, Sweet Lips took her time responding. “Aye, well… we’re no’ completely opposed tae the idea, but we’re no’ looking for the same thing you are. Yeh’re wantin’ us all peace-able an’ the like. The rest o’ the Raiders’ll no’ go fer that, no matter what we say. Find us something tae hit, and we’ll be in business.”
Perfect! “Not perfect, but I can work with that.” Caber Toss nodded agreement with his wife, so I turned to the final person present. “And you? You’ll need to be more convincing since this whole ruse was your idea. I put a lot of effort into this, and you were planning to sell me to Plottawa, and you tried to take my Pipbuck, AND you hit me because you can’t get a girlfriend!” My hoof was already reaching for his frozen horn again.
“TheMemoryOrb!” My hoof stopped, but didn’t move back, and he quickly continued. “Back when we first met, in the bar. You said you wanted a Memory Orb fixed. I can do that for you. Memory magic’s good for more than digging out secrets. I’ll fix your Memory Orb, uh… when you have it with you.”
Damn, he’s got a point too. “Well… I dunno, I’m sure there are others who can-”
“I’m also the only one who can call off McCoy! I already know he’s set on killing you after he finishes with…” Anger contorted his face, “...Dent. I can convince him otherwise.”
“...Alright, you can stay.” Without the horn, I’m sure I can take him, if nobody else.
“Can I have Somb-”
“No.”
“Can you unfreeze me at least?”
“...No.”
~~~~~~
Half a day later, I stood with Latvi atop the hill where Naiara, Bosco and I had first approached the Barnstormers, and their now-deceased leader Four Fields. Cassie had put an end to that particular Raider chief by blowing a hoof-sized hole in his chest with her sniper rifle, while I was dealing with the Deep Divers. His corpse had been dumped at Lethbridle’s gates, with a message to me, from Wings.
Looking down into the Barnstormer camp, I faced a very different reality than I had hours earlier. Where before I had been one of only four souls down there, now the place was filled with ponies.
The Raider army was gathered.
Not to say that everything was going swimmingly. Three separate groups were visible even from up here. The middle group, also the largest, was made up of Caber Toss’ Whinniepeg-based Haylanders and what was left of Four Fields’ Barnstormers, depleted through infighting after his death. Caber Toss had taken them over through force, and now the two seemed to be okay with working as one clan.
To one side stood a group that was comprised solely of mares and fillies. These were Ballbuster’s Woodpeckers, formed to protect themselves from male Raider… attention. They were fighters, even now they fought with each other, but seemed to be less eager to become one big happy Raider family.
On the other side was an even more extreme case. Not only standing apart from the other groups, the Deep Divers tried their best to stand apart from each other.
Still united enough to plot Undertow’s death, weren’t you? I’m not likely to forget that.
As I watched, Caber Toss and Sweet Lips emerged from the throng and began making their way up the hill. Besides me, Latvi sneered. I’d freed him from the ice last, after sending Caber and Ballbuster off one at a time, to gather the Raiders. The scientist stallion had been grouchy ever since.
As if I’m any happier being here with you rather than Undertow. I have the horn, and you’re a wuss. Even I can take you if you wanna try.
Kicking at the ground, he scoffed sarcastically. “Behold, the scourge of the Wasteland. A bunch of drunks, junkies and thugs.”
“Remember that this whole thing was YOUR idea, Mr. Ambition.” I was keeping half-an-eye on him at best, more intent on watching the returning pair, who were the real threat if violence erupted.
“This was not my idea! I was in charge with MY idea.” He seemed to barely be talking to me at all. “It was going to be a thing of sophistication… of beauty.”
I’d have been lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying the fool’s look of dejection at that point. He should’ve just gone to Plottawa and been a ‘bean counter’, like he said. “Maybe, not very flexible though. You had no idea what you were getting into.”
“And you did?” He shot back.
“No,” I conceded. “but now I do. I have a much clearer idea of how things are going to go, since you shot me with Sombra’s ancient voodoo.” My experience in the Stable had shown me just how I needed to play this. Reputation wasn’t enough anymore. Red Ice needed to prove her strength, first to the Raiders, and then to the Wasteland.
The words of an equally annoying stallion floated back to me from memory. “You’ve managed to fool lots of ponies since we met in Plottawa, Red Ice, and gained quite a reputation for yourself. Tonight, I just want to remind you that I’ve seen just how little you can do with my own eyes.”
I know just where to start showing what I can do.
Sweet Lips and Caber Toss crested the hill at last. “Ho there, doll. What’s the word? We on for go or no’?”
The two seemed happy enough, but I couldn’t let myself remember what had happened at the start of this little summit. I couldn’t relax here, not for a moment. Latvi still had a chance to mess things up, and the two Raider leaders were only willing to go along with my plans if it pleased them.
Nobody trusted anybody, but we still needed each other to make this work. I had to make a strong impression on them too.
Here goes. “Yeah, we’re on for go.”
~~~~~~
The forest east of Lethbridle rang out with the sounds of gunfire, screams, and explosions.
The Plottawan platoon, originally a score strong, was down to less than half of that now, but they were putting up a good fight, even against the heavy numbers advantage that the Raiders possessed. The slavers, all Earth ponies, had taken up a defensive position near some stones, and were using their superior weaponry and tactics to drive back the Raiders, who seemed to worship at the altar of the reckless charge.
Besides the dozen slaver corpses littering the snow, at least three times that many dead Raiders stained the landscape, caught by gunfire or the Plottawans’ rapidly dwindling number of grenades. As I watched, one of the uniformed Earth ponies let fly with another explosive. It detonated seconds later in the midst of a half-dozen Raiders, tossing them in all directions. Only one got up again, and she, a Woodpecker by the marks on her barding, was bleeding heavily and not likely to last long.
Still, there were just too many Raiders for the slavers, and both sides knew it. Two more slavers went down from the uncoordinated fire of the Raiders’ near-junked weapons.
I tch’d. “I really hope they remember that we need at least a few of them alive.”
Beside me, also removed from the action, Latvi glanced over. He seemed to be judging whether I was talking to him or myself. “You could always jump in yourself, just to make sure.”
“Oh, fuck you. You’d love to see me get a bullet to the brain, wouldn’t you?”
“Right now? More than anything in the world.”
“Really? More than Lithu? I’m touched.”
A cacophony of clanking forestalled any response he might have had, no doubt sarcastic, and brought both of our attentions back to the battle. Caber Toss was advancing close to the slavers’ position, shielded by a wall of Deep Divers in full diving gear.
Slow and ungainly though it was, the diving gear was sturdy and strong. Built to withstand the pressures and rigours of underwater salvage, it was proving far more effective at stopping the automatic fire from the Plottawans than the ragged leather excuses-for-clothing that the rest of the Raiders were sporting. With their faces and bodies obscured by the bulky apparatus, the Deep Divers looked like shambling golems as they steadily moved forward.
It was over not two minutes later. Once the Deep Diver wall got within five metres of the Plottawans, the slavers lost their nerve and began to bolt. Caber Toss and his Haylanders and Barnstormers boiled around the other Raiders and gave chase. The six remaining slavers became five.
Then three.
Then finally, two.
Dogpiled by four ponies apiece, the remaining two Plottawans found themselves utterly unable to move, and could only watch wide-eyed as I sauntered up, Latvi in tow. “Afternoon, gents.” I greeted them warmly.
“What do you want?” One pleaded in a weak, reedy voice. “Why did you attack us?”
A lot more than just the two pairs of slaver eyes were on me as I responded, so I had to make it good. “Well, for one thing, these boys and girls wanted some fun…” A small cheer broke out at that, “...and for another, I needed to get your attention.”
Quivering with fright, the other slaver spoke up. “O-our attention? For what?”
Giving him the slightest of glances, I pityingly shook my head. “No, not your attention. I want your boss to pay attention. He and I do not see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, and he doesn’t seem to be taking my calls. I have a very important message for him, and I need you to deliver it.” I turned to a random Raider, a Barnstormer perhaps? “Go get their guns.”
The Raider didn’t move, except to look towards Caber Toss, who said nothing.
So it’s gonna be like that, is it? My horn lit up, and a collar of ice wrapped around the Barnstormer’s neck. “Now.” I casually instructed, as if talking to a slow server.
Swallowing painfully, the Raider sped off, getting the message. Latvi, who’d been surveying the battlefield, turned back to Caber Toss and I. “Well, we killed eighteen of them to more than fifty of ours! Great ‘victory’, Red Ice.”
“Raiders die!” I snapped. “If they were smart enough to not do stupid stuff that gets them killed, we wouldn’t need to do this, now would we?”
A murmur spread through the collected masses at my insulting words, and I felt a not-so-slight twinge of regret. I… may have said too much.
Still, they hadn’t attacked me for it yet, and seemed to be waiting on Caber Toss’ reaction.
He didn’t give one. His wife did, though, as she approached with the ice-collar Raider. “Aye, the wee lassie’s no’ wrong. No’ ‘xactly geniuses here.” Her words caused a general lull in the murmuring, but she still shot me a look that was not friendly. The moment of doubt had passed, though. Latvi was wearing a calculating smile at the exchange.
Wordlessly, the Raider held out the guns of the slavers to me.
...No. I’ve got a better idea. This’ll show that smug bastard who’s in charge. “Latvi!”
He jerked, surprised at my call.
“Take out the clips.” I calmly demanded. Collar-colt turned uncertainly to Latvi, holding out the guns to the stallion, who regarded them disdainfully.
My voice dropped to a more menacing level. “Now, Latvi. And, if you’re thinking of trying anything stupid…” My horn lit up with a glacier-blue glow. “I’ll be watching closely.”
Snowflake wouldn’t have been so suicidally stupid as to provide her enemy, which Latvi most certainly still was, with a loaded weapon, especially not in the middle of a group of Raiders and slavers. Red Ice, on the other hoof, had to establish early on that she was in command here, even over other non-Raiders like Latvi. The masses had to see that, so I wouldn’t always be relying on Caber Toss and Sweet Lips, themselves hardly reliable in my position.
Snowflake talked the talk, now Red Ice has to walk the walk.
A navy glow enveloped the weapons, but they didn’t move into firing position. Latvi was surreptitiously glancing around at the gathered ponies. I hoped I was reading the atmosphere correctly, as it didn’t seem like anybody there was excited at the prospect of him turning the guns on me, which is what I was counting on. None of them knew him from me. The Raiders had no reason, beyond the word of Caber Toss or Sweet Lips, to back either one of us. If they saw me in charge now, they wouldn’t listen to him. Still, I held my magic ready, in case he tried something anyway.
After what seemed like an age, there was clunk, and two magazines dropped to the snowy ground. Looking supremely pissed, Latvi turned a glare on me, saying nothing, but obviously awaiting the next instruction.
I win.
Ignoring the feral smiles blossoming across the faces of Caber Toss and Ballbuster, I jerked my head towards the captives. “There should still be a bullet in the chamber, somebody told me that once. Shoot one of them. If not, then just hit him with it. Either way, kill one of them, but leave the other.”
Neither slaver reacted well to this.
“You can’t!” One cried out. The other just cried.
I wasn’t smiling, but I had to make it look good. “Sure I can. That’s the message. What happened here today. Whichever one of you lives, take the message to Peanut. Tell him Red Ice sent you.”
I made a dismissive ‘get on with it’ gesture without looking at the unicorn. “Latvi.”
“...” A gunshot rang out, and the Raiders piled on top of one slaver jumped aside as his head sank into the snow, already leaking red.
The other Plottawan’s crying instantly stopped. He was too scared for tears.
“Let him up, and give him the empty gun.” There was no hesitation this time. My order was followed instantly.
Dumbfounded, the slaver platoon’s sole survivor just stood there, grasping the empty weapon like a child’s stuffed animal.
After a minute of this, ponies began to shift their hooves awkwardly, and still he showed no sign of moving.
“Ah fer feck’s sake!” Caber Toss swatted the guy on the rear with the flat of his axe. “Off wi’ yeh!”
The slaver bolted.
I watched him go, then spoke aloud to Caber Toss and Sweet Lips. “Finish up here.”
“Aye aye.”
I nodded distractedly, already starting to walk away. “Then send out some searchers for the next patrol. I want to hit some more Plottawa troops while we still have some daylight.”
A whoop went up from the gathered Raiders.
I heard the grin in Caber Toss’ response. “Right yeh are, Red Ice.”
“And get somebody looking for the zebras, and have the Deep Divers look for Undertow. Just looking, mind you, if they touch her, then I’ll kill them. Got that?”
“Aye, doll, we heard yeh.”
“Good.” I said no more to them, and passed the sullen Latvi in silence. I needed to find a spot where I could be alone.
I did it! Now everybody in the Raiders will know that Red Ice, and not Latvi, is in charge! Pretty soon, that crybaby slaver will get back to Plottawa, and Peanut will know I’m coming for him, too.
All in all, a good first day.
I walked for a good twenty minutes, until I was absolutely sure that there were no Raiders around, double- and triple-checked the surroundings just in case, and then ducked down into the privacy of some tree roots for good measure.
I emptied my stomach onto the snowy soil. Half-digested Tarantubaa haggis splattered across the ground.
Then the shakes came.
Undertow, Naiara, I hope you’re far away from all this.
~~~~~~
Hours later, we were surveying the aftermath of our second hunt.
“Sooo…” Latvi looked around, making eye contact with as many of the gathered Raiders as he could, and raised his voice. “That’s another eighteen Plottawan troops dead, and nineteen more Raiders gone. Counting the fight earlier, we’ve lost fifty-five Raiders to thirty-seven slavers.” He gave me a pointed look. “Just running the numbers.”
Boy, I hate you. Some of the fighters were muttering amongst themselves at his words. I had to think of something, or else I might have more trouble on my hooves. “Yeah? Well… run… uh… oh! Run this number. Forty!”
“Forty what?”
“That is the number of guns we’ve taken today. Good condition, top-of-the-line guns, not these junkpiles our Raiders have been carrying up until now.”
The murmurs changed from negative to mixed. Not everybody was satisfied.
“We’re going up against an army.” I continued. “Peanut can call it whatever he wants, but that’s what it is. We’re gonna take losses since they have better equipment at first. We’ve got the numbers though, so the more we kill, the more good-quality weapons we get, and the more we’ll win, with fewer casualties.”
“Aye,” Caber Toss jumped in. “the lass is right. We’re getting better gear, an’ our lot get killed all the time. This way we get tae kill more o’ them than us!”
“Well, no, that’s not really the point I was trying to… and they’re cheering. Fine. Whatever.” I began to walk towards the battlefield, and the two remaining slavers, again held captive by four Raiders apiece.
“We’re not done.” Latvi growled, as I passed him.
“We are for now.” I shot back, not slowing.
Strolling past the gathered Raiders, I was somewhat glad to see that, of the two captive slavers, the mare was being held by four Woodpeckers, who all had new weapons. They were using those weapons to shoo away some of the male Raiders, who looked like they were getting a little excited about having a captive female.
We still have a lot of work to do, so I’m glad I don’t have to see ‘that’ yet. Not sure how I’d take seeing… ‘that’ up close.
I squatted down next to the girl, who had also been watching the stallion Raiders. “And who might you be?”
Decked out in Plottawa gear, it was hard to see much of the pony underneath, but she turned a dazzling pair of blue eyes on me. Around those eyes was a pretty, youthful white face, and the faintest wisps of golden hair poking out from under her headgear. “W-who wants to know?”
Sporting the biggest smile I could muster, I cheerily rolled over onto my back, so I was looking at her upside down. “Why, I do, sweetie. I’m sorry about the treatment, but it’s necessary. Now, why don’t you tell me a little about yourself, starting with your name?”
One of the Woodpeckers holding her down tightened their grip, and she winced in response. “Ngh, let’s start with YOURS.”
“Oh, very well. You can call me Red Ice.”
Those blue eyes shrank to pinpricks. “R-Red Ice? You’re Red Ice? S-stay away from me!”
Still upside down, I shook my head playfully. “Ah ah, can’t do that. I just wanna talk to you, that’s all. Of course, I can’t do that without you telling me your name. How else do I know who I’m talking to?”
“...I’m Hot Topic.”
I clapped my hooves together impishly. “Well it is just lovely to meet you, Hot Topic. I’m sure you have a lot of questions. Me too. In the interest of fairness, I’ll start off with one of yours. Go ahead. Ask me anything.” Crossing my hooves over my chin, I batted my eyelids expectantly.
She reacted by drawing back slightly. “Why are you doing this? Why have you attacked our patrols?”
“Well that’s two questions, but okay. I’m doing this because I need to send a message to your boss, Peanut. I’m attacking your patrols because I can’t exactly walk into Plottawa myself and talk to him, now can I? I already did that once and he kicked me. Several times! How mean is that?”
Hope crept into her eyes. “You could give me the message? I’m sure I could get it to Peanut. He wants any information about you he can get.”
Reeeally? Isn’t that interesting? “Aw, you’re gonna make me blush. He wants to know about li’l old me? Anyway, you’re very kind to offer, and I actually couldn’t deliver it without you, but I need to know a little bit more about you first.”
“Uh, okay?”
“Great! Now then, what’s a pretty thing like you doing working for slavers anyway? It’s not the most upstanding of jobs, is it?”
She’d heard the slightest sharpness that had crept into my voice. “I-I didn’t have a choice! M-my parents were attacked just after I was born, they got hurt bad from it. They died when I was young. I signed on with the Plottawans for safety. They took care of me, kept me going. I swear I don’t like the job, I’m just trying to survive like everypony else!”
I rubbed my chin as I pondered her answer. “Well, I suppose I can understand that, but don’t you think that’s lacking some ambition?”
From where he’d been silently glowering nearby, Latvi made an angry, choking sound.
Hot Topic just looked at me strangely. “What do you mean?”
I shrugged against the ground. “Well, why are you just trying to survive? Don’t you want to make a nice life for yourself? You said you don’t like the job, so why not try for what you really want to do?”
“I… I don’t understand. Everypony’s trying to survive! Everyone in Plottawa, Lethbridle, Vanchoofer, and all around is trying to make a living, and we do that as well as we can. I swear we don’t hurt the slaves! We take care of them until we sell them, even if they’re sick! We make them better!”
I absent-mindedly reached out and patted her on the head. “And that’s lovely, but you haven’t really answered my question. Why are you… why is anyone okay with just surviving? Look at me. I’m not okay with that. I’ve only been out in the Wasteland for a few weeks and I’ve already done so much. I’m trying to make a life for myself, rather than just keep breathing. I mean, I’ve got some good friends, some not so good friends, some enemies…” I leaned in conspiratorially. “Like the blue unicorn with the blond mane over there? It’s not really a secret, but you might not know. He really doesn’t like me too much because I took his horn.”
“But he still has his-”
“Not tha- nevermind. Anyway, back to my point. I’ve only been in the Wasteland for a little while and I’m already on my way to a real life, not just eking out another forgettable existence. I’m thinking bigger than that.” I waggled my eyebrows at her. “Red Ice has plans.”
I cupped her face in my hooves. “Don’t you want to get yourself a real life, Hot Topic? Do better than your parents did? Than Latvi’s doing? He’s the stallion over there, by the way.”
Said stallion muttered something under his breath.
That kind of language hardly seems suitable for the friendly conversation we’re having here, Latvi.
Hot Topic seemed thoroughly out of her depth by this point, and her eyes were constantly cycling between looking at my face, and looking at the hooves on her cheeks. “I don’t… I don’t know what you’re saying. I just want to back to Plottawa and give your message to Peanut.” Tears began to form in her eyes. “I just wanna go home.”
“Ah ah, dry those eyes. I’m trying to show you that there’s another way. You don’t need to be a slaver to be happy. Heck, you’re NOT happy as a slaver, but you don’t try anything different. I can help you find a better way. A nicer way. A way for Hot Topic to get what Hot Topic wants, I mean really wants. Slavering’s not a good life for a pretty thing like you.”
“I… I…”
I drew back, rolling over until I was sitting upright, a yard or so away from her. I spread my hooves wide. “Let me help you, Hot Topic. Let Red Ice help Hot Topic to really find her way in this crazy Wasteland. Do you want that?”
The tiniest of pleading smiles tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I… YES! Yes, I want that! Please help me!”
My grin grew even wider.
“Too bad.”
My horn shone.
Her smile turned rictus, then froze completely as the ice engulfed her from her face outwards. As it spread, the Woodpeckers jumped away before it got them too. Three of the four did, anyway. The fourth was shrieking as the cold crept up her immobile leg.
“Oh stop being a baby.” I concentrated, and the freeze receded from the limb. The Woodpecker immediately took off running.
I wasn’t paying attention. All trace of my smile gone, I turned hard eyes to the remaining captive, a stallion. He’d been watching the whole thing in nervous, now petrified, silence. “Run home to Peanut and tell him what happened here. All of it. That’s my message to him. There’ll be more to come.”
~~~~~~
Leaning against a leafless tree, I let the warmth from the fire wash over me as I stared out over the collective I’d built. The Raiders had gathered in full now that the light had dimmed too much to allow a third clash.
We’re certainly not all one big, happy family yet. The Deep Divers and Woodpeckers still aren’t interested in mingling with the Hay-stormers. I’ll have to talk to Caber and Sweet Lips about that.
“I am only pointing out that I saw what happened with that slaver mare, Hot Topic.”
I craned my head around as Latvi’s voice reached my ears.
It was soon joined by Ballbuster’s drawl. “Aye, but nuthin’ happened. Ah’ve made it clear what’ll happen if Caber’s eedjits try sumthin’.”
Latvi wasn’t done, though. “Sure, nothing happened this time, but what happens in the future? I notice that those four girls were the only Woodpeckers who got any of the new gear. Wanna know who didn’t notice?”
Sweet Lips was sounding more interested now, and a little angrier. “Who? Caber?”
“No, not Caber…” He trailed off as he locked eyes with me. “Oh, hello again. How’s the fire?”
“Like a nice, warm hug.” I deadpanned. “What was that?”
“What was what?” He matched my gaze without blinking.
“That.” I growled. “What were you just saying?”
He made a show of tapping his chin slowly. “Oh, right. That. Well, I was just going to congratulate you on the show you put on earlier. Very Raider. Didn’t even seem to care that you might’ve frozen one of Ballbuster’s Woodpeckers in the process.”
A grunt of annoyed agreement sounded from the mountainous mare’s throat. “The laddie’s no’ wrong.”
“Yes he is! I fixed it, didn’t I? Magic’d the ice off her right away.”
“You also told the poor girl not to ‘be such a baby’.” Accompanying his chide with a rueful shake of his head, it was still easy to see the smirk beneath his swaying mane strands.
“Are you kidding me?” I growled, standing up and squaring my hooves.
Latvi held up his hooves placatingly. “No, not kidding. I’m just making sure you remember that these aren’t just Red Ice’s Raiders, Snowflake. They are Haylanders, Barnstormers, Deep Divers, and yes, Woodpeckers. I just want you, Red Ice, to remember them.”
The number of fires around suddenly seemed far larger.
“But anyway,” Latvi shrugged, sitting down across the fire. “what’s next for our little entertprise?”
“What?” As we were talking, Caber Toss strolled up and sat down beside his wife.
“Well, while I think we can all agree that ambushing slaver patrols is fun…”
“Oh aye!”
“‘s aces!”
“...but still, there must be more to this, right? You didn’t go through all the trouble of bringing the disparate Raider groups together just to form a larger Raider group that indulges in the same old activities, did you?”
I hate you more than Roc. “No, I didn’t. The thing is, none of the towns and cities around here will give Raiders a chance to prove we’re changing, not by choice anyway.” Visions of all my friends who’d told me just that surfaced in my mind: Bosco, Breeze, Lexi… “So, we need to get ourselves into a position where we can be treated as credible, same as places like Plottawa or Neighlway. Once that’s accomplished, we can start getting the message across that the Raiders are changing.”
Caber Toss started. “Changin’ hoo?”
“...That’s for when we get there. Right now, we’ve gotta concentrate on showing the likes of Plottawa that we mean business.”
That cheered the big brawler up. “Hahah! Aye, tha’s the way! ‘mon then, back to it n’morra. Best be getting tae shawshie bawbaws.”
“Uh… what?” Latvi and I chorused.
“Means ‘sleep well’.” Sweet Lips translated, as her husband nodded sagely.
“Oh yes!” Latvi injected altogether too much enthusiasm into his words. “Do sleep well, Snowflake. Though I hardly think you could do otherwise with all these Raiders around. Yes, I’m sure you’re just as safe as can be here.” His predatory grin was really beginning to grate on me. “Sleep tight.”
Caber and Ballbuster had already vanished into the darkness. Latvi joined them after a final smirk.
Bastard. I lay down near the flames, letting their warmth lull me into a comfortable doze.
It did not come easy.
~~~~~~
“Mrrrrrrrrgh.” I staggered around the Raider encampment, lamenting the quality of my slumber.
There was little activity to be found around the camp. The Raiders seemed to be happy to take a lazy morning, with only a few fights going on, spaced far apart and drawing few onlookers.
I unenthusiastically accepted a bowl of… something from a Deep Diver, who for some reason hadn’t taken off… his? her? diving helmet even though there was no water anywhere near here. Spooning mouthfuls of the breakfast down my throat, I took another look around.
Latvi’s not around, and neither are Mr. and Mrs. Raider. I’d probably be worried about that if I wasn’t so damn tired.
I did spot one interesting thing though. A threesome of Raiders seemed to be fiddling with some of the gear from one of the Plottawans we’d killed. Judging from the harsh feedback, it seemed to be a radio. Finishing up my meal, I wandered over and listened in for any worthwhile distraction.
The Raiders weren’t kind to the machine, fervently tugging and bashing at the settings. A few snippets of music made it through, songs about how it was ‘great to be different’ and ‘proud to be a’ something or other. It wasn’t to the tastes of those working the dials, so never more than a second was heard.
A twist of a knob. “-OOD MOR-” The familiar voice vanished in a burst of interference as the Raiders moved on.
“Wait! Go back to the that one.”
Glancing over to me briefly, the stallion at the controls just shrugged and moved the dial back the other way.
“-d it hurts! There’s a good chance we’ll get more hurt than healing in the next little while, listeners. Ol’ DJ Pon3 has been hearing some very disturbing reports coming from up north.”
I rolled my eyes. Here we go. All aboard the blow-it-out-of-proportion express.
“Seems like the Raider Queen’s been busy indeed. Ponies have been talking for the past few days about massive Raider movements from all around Lethbridle and the surrounding settlements. Whatever Red Ice is planning, looks like it’s started.”
The Raiders began to chuckle and rib each other proudly. I waved at them in annoyance until they quieted enough for me to listen again.
“What we do know is that you want to be as far from Plottawa as possible right now. If possible, avoid travelling at all. Traders have apparently come across dozens of bodies in the snow. Some Raider, some Plottawa. It’s looking grim, folks.”
It’s not looking anything to you, you mouthpiece. You’re half a world away.
“Now, this DJ is hardly gonna cry over dead slavers OR dead Raiders, but both sides have a lot of bodies to throw at this, and there’s a half-decent chance that they’ll do just that. If they do, we’re gonna have fireworks. Big ones, and lots of them to boot. The most faithful of my listeners will remember that it was the Plottawa slaver head honcho, Peanut, who first told us about Red Ice. It sounds like she didn’t take it well.”
I pursed my lips, pouting. “I took it as well as anybody would.”
“Whatever the reason, Red Ice is waging a large scale grudge match against Peanut, or vice versa, and it’s really not gonna end well for anypony caught in the middle. Stay away, my little ponies. Stay far away. Lethbridle’s walls are there for a reason, keep them between you and the fighting. These two gangs of maniacs will tear into each other, and hopefully the rest of us can keep out of it. That’s the best thing to do here. Do NOT go vigilante. The bounty on Red Ice isn’t that high. It’s definitely not worth your life.”
I dunno, given the state of affairs in the Wasteland, that many caps could buy and sell a fair few ponies who just try to ‘survive’.
I jumped as a short burst of an upkeep rhythm rang out, painfully loud. The DJ’s voice followed immediately after. “And that’s all the time we’re gonna give to a couple of warmongers. There’s happy news out there too, ponies! Sprinkles Supplies has re-established trade with the buffalo of Grindstone, thanks to the combined efforts of Deputy Dent and his now-fiancee Lithu, who travelled to Grindstone after a dangerous mercenary shot up their apartment building in Lethbridle. Two upstanding young lovebirds there, folks. A buffalo and a unicorn. Ain’t it beautiful?”
“Yeah, it kinda is.” I mumbled to myself, managing a small smile. The other ponies around just gave me strange looks. I shook my head in jest. “Heh, colts.”
“I think this calls for a classic Sweetie Belle love song, in honour of the happy couple, who’re making the Wasteland just a li’l brighter all by themselves. I’ll leave you with the melodious tones of our bicentennial starlet. Enjoy the music, listeners. This is DJ Pon3, signing off.”
As the ‘melodious tones’ sounded out from the radio, one Raider scowled and made to change the channel, only to get blocked by one one of the others. Within seconds a fight had broken out, lovingly supported by the ongoing song. I just walked away.
Just you wait, DJ, you and all your gullible little listeners. Pretty soon I’m going to make it so that you can’t just ‘stay away’ from my Raiders. You’ll have to acknowledge us, have to deal with us, and then you’ll see what I’m really trying to do here. Then you’ll see that you were wrong to label me as a blight on the Wasteland. All I’m trying to do is help. Soon that’ll be clear to anyone.
~~~~~~
“Well, this is ‘exciting’.”
“Would somebody hit Latvi for me?”
THWACK!!
“OW!”
“Thank you, Caber.”
“Nae problem, doll.”
It was past noon, hours after DJ Pon3’s radio broadcast, and we’d been searching for more Plottawa patrols the entire time. So far we’d had no luck.
For the last hour, Latvi had delighted in reminding us all of that fact.
Worse still, some of the others are starting to agree with him.
Recovering from the backhoof clout that he’d idly received from Caber Toss, Latvi wasn’t done. Shaking his unkempt blond mane to clear the stars from before his eyes, he gritted his teeth as he spoke. “What an eloquent response. Truly I am convinced. Just for clarification, though, could you show me some of the Plottawa slavers we’ve killed today? How about any new weapons we’ve taken?”
I stamped a hoof, losing the battle to keep my frustation in check. “Shut. Up. Latvi.”
“He’s a wee gubshite, but he’s got a point, Red Ice.”
“DOES HE?!” I rounded on Caber Toss. “Because I really hadn’t noticed that we’ve been looking for hours and your Haylanders haven’t found a damn thing! Now I’d love to do everything myself, so I know I it won’t get messed up, but I can’t! I’m stuck waiting for your hepped-up-on-Dash Barnstormers to STUMBLE across twenty ponies!”
Caber Toss was not Latvi. His shoulders bunched up under his orange coat, and blue-and-green tartan moustache couldn’t hide his flaring nostrils as he reached up, grabbed his formidable axe, and slammed it into the ground between us with a mighty THUD! “Watch yehr mooth, Red Ice. Ah’m no’ gonnae take that from the likes o’ you!”
I’d taken a step back on seeing his axe come out, very much aware of Latvi’s words from the night before, and the general situation I was in.
These guys aren’t my friends. I’m stuck in what is still enemy territory, trying to keep them all happy. My fear at the situation was still there, but it was joined by anger. I stepped back towards Caber, horn glowing. I had to make it clear that I wouldn’t put up with being threatened, or else everything would fall apart. “Put that damn axe away right now, or else I’ll stop your heart COLD!”
Undeterred, Caber Toss tightened his grip on the axe, leg sinews tightening. Not wanting to wait, I immediately focused on the blade of the axe, where it was buried in the dirt, and willed a film of ice to form around it. “By the time you get it out of the ground, I’ll have frozen the blood in your veins.”
It was a bluff. I wouldn’t even get the ice on the axe before he took my head off, but I had to keep up the appearance of brutality.
Nobody else moved, they all just watched. I glanced around surreptitiously, looking at their expressions. It was a mix, some, Latvi included, were glaring at me. Others were glaring at Caber Toss. Others still were smiling, and even more were looking confused or worried. Things were getting divisive, and the sea of unfamiliar faces just made me feel lonely.
“Look,” I started, my horn’s glow fading. “we’re all pissed off. Just keep looking, come find me when you find some Plottawans.”
Without another word, I turned and walked away.
~~~~~~
The stone splashed into the puddle, throwing up droplets of dirty water.
From atop the small mound, I watched the miniature rain fall again. I’d been away from the Raiders for an hour, and didn’t feel any less angry at the situation.
“How hard is it to find a freakin’ slaver in the Wasteland? They’re supposed to be hunting other ponies! They’re supposed to be hunting me! It shouldn’t take this many Raiders this long to find some.”
The ripples on the puddle’s surface calmly spread out from where the stone sat, half-submerged.
I suppose I shouldn’t really expect much. I mean, the Raiders are idiots, I knew this coming in, but seriously! Not only can they not find any slavers, but they can’t even tell me where YOU are.
Even as I thought that, I was uncertain that I even wanted the Raiders to ever find out where Undertow was. Regardless of how we had met, this was not meant to be her world.
This world was filled with monsters and rogues, and she was anything but either. She’s the best thing to happen to me out here, and I’ll be damned if I let Latvi get anywhere near her again!
“I promise I’m gonna keep you safe, Undertow, from anybody who tries to hurt you or take you from me. I’ll find you, and I’ll make this right.” Undertow would be safe enough for now, Naiara had gotten her away from Caber Toss, Sweet Lips, and Latvi. She’d still been hit with the same spell I had, and I had to wonder what happened to her, if I’d been sent to the Stable.
Still, I could trust Naiara with her safety. No matter what else she’d done at the Raider meeting, she’d never try to hurt Undertow. They would both be safe.
I had to stop as a chilling thought slipped into my mind. That’s assuming that Naiara keeps Undertow away from others, or gets her back to Bosco, Schwarzwald and the others. Even with Breeze there, the others won’t let her hurt Undertow.
But what if she takes her back to the zebra? I fished the broken horn of the dead king out of my pocket. It was them who gave Latvi this damn thing in the first place. Atesh and Cept, you put people I care about in danger for your own ends?!
Naiara’s my friend, but you two definitely aren’t. I owe you both, especially Atesh, some payback, and I plan to pay you back in full.
According to Latvi, Atesh and his zebra were still looking for a way to get a supply of readily available gems for zebra-kind. Apparently that was what they were fighting for two hundred years ago, while ponies wanted the coal in the zebra lands. If they could harness the power of Sombra, the so-called Crystal King, then they would be much better off.
They won’t be happy that possibly the ONLY unicorn in the Wastelands with the ability to use the horn’s spells doesn’t have it anymore. They might come after me to get it back.
Well bring it, Atesh. You’re not the only one with fighters now, so if you want it, then you’re gonna have to meet my terms… whatever those’ll be when I get around to deciding.
“And my debt with you is already squared,” I giggled. “so don’t expect any favours from me. Unlike last time, I won’t be a ‘terrible haggler’. You’ll be paying through the nose for what you want from me!”
“Well, that sounds equal parts good and bad.”
“AAAAHHH!!!” I dove forwards in panic, landing square in the puddle, soaking my front.
“Smooth.” The voice was robotic, though somehow still amused.
Spitting out some of the muck-filled, no-doubt irradiated water, I sat up without turning around. “It’s been a while, Watcher. What have you been up to?”
“Mostly watching.”
Very helpful.
“And sorry for not speaking with you sooner, I’ve been busy since Crystal Point.”
“Yeah,” You liar. “Crystal Point seems like a lifetime ago. Feels as if a whole lot has happened since then.”
“Yeah it has, Snowflake. I think it’s high time we talked.” Buzzing around behind me, Watcher’s tone was equal parts concern and admonishment.
I sat back up, brushing at my damp coat, and closed my eyes. “I suppose so.” Scooting back away from the water, I popped a Radaway and began to sip it, relaxing until I was almost lying on my back. “Go ahead, Watcher, I’m listening.”
“Alright. First off, why are you working with Raiders? Is it true that you’re attacking Plottawans?”
I chuckled through my nose, still not looking. “Yeah, it’s true. I put all this effort into this project, and now I’m showing what it can do.”
“Snowflake!” Watcher’s voice had shifted further towards worry and not a little anger now. “You’re working with some of the most dangerous, crazy ponies in the Wasteland, and you’re picking a fight with a monster. Don’t you know how dangerous that is? What are you thinking?”
My eyebrow twitched in response. All hope of relaxing had disappeared. Sitting up, I opened my eyes and fixed the darkest glare I could on the floating contraption. “Oh, fuck you , buzzbot! Where do you get off preaching at me? I’m the one who did all the legwork to put this all together, I’m thinking that maybe I should get something for all my hard work! And fuck your danger, too! I know what I’m doing, and everybody needs to stop acting like they know better than me! I did this, and I’m gonna carry on, until everybody realises that I can handle myself!”
Chest heaving, I continued to glare at the robot, which had halted mid-air, remaining stock still.
“What?!” I snarled. “Got nothing to say? No sage advice from the oh-so-wise Watcher?”
It was a tense few seconds before Watcher spoke again, and when he did, it was in a choked, fearful voice. “What happened to your eyes?”
I scoffed. “You like? And here I was thinking that it wasn’t my colour.”
He wasn’t listening. “No no no, it can’t be! He’s gone! He can’t be back!” Watcher was zipping backwards and forwards, examining me from every angle. “WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR EYES, SNOWFLAKE?!” The roar that shot through the speakers set me back on my haunches.
His panic was disturbing to watch, after all he’d told me before this. “Sombra’s still dead, you idiot. Though you should know as well as I do that the Wasteland won’t let things end at death. He left a legacy, Watcher, and I’ve experienced it firsthoof.”
“Snowflake.” Watcher halted his discombobulation and faced me directly. “I don’t care if you don’t like me right now, you can hate me even, but I need you to listen to me for this one thing. You cannot mess around with Sombra’s magic. I don’t care what form it is, stay away! Get out any way you can. This isn’t something you can play with, and it’s not something you can control. Sombra used the worst kinds of black arts. Please, I’m telling you, just stay away from it!”
“Oh please, Watcher.” I waved a hoof dismissively. “I’ve seen Sombra’s magic. It’s bad but I can handle it. If it comes down to it, I’ll even use it myself if I can.”
“No!”
“YES! I’m not helpless, Watcher. Soon everybody is going to see that.”
“I can’t let you do that, Snowflake! Don’t make me stop you!” He was seething, even through the speaker.
I threw my head back and howled with laughter. “What are you gonna do, watch me to death? Oh please try to stop me, Watcher. I could use a laugh.”
Everybody keeps thinking that I’m making mistakes, over and over again. I’ll show them all!
Furious, Watcher tried one more time. “Snowflake, pay attention. This power is not for you. It’s not for anyone. It should have died with Sombra. No good will come from it.” The bot was right into my face now. “It’s… it’s not the way to live. There’s a better way!”
I said nothing, already growing bored of his spiel. Taking a long drag from my Radaway, I just stared.
Unconcerned, he continued. “Look, I should have been keeping a better eye on you, and I’m sorry. I should have put you on the right path earlier. See, the thing is, every pony has a goal, a-a special something that defines them… something that holds true in their very soul. It’s what makes them so special, so unique. The Ministry Mares all had one, back before the Ministries and the war. They lost track of theirs, because of all the fighting and the hard decisions they had to make. This magic, Sombra’s magic, it’s just going to distract you from finding yours.”
“Are you kidding me? What’s having a ‘special something’ gonna do for anybody?”
“It’s everything! The one thing that the Wasteland can’t take from you. The one thing that makes you into best pony you can be. It’s yours and yours alone. Finding your... virtue is imperative for finding your own way to live out here.”
I puffed out my chest. “Then I guess my ‘virtue’ is pride. I’m pushing myself harder than anybody, doing things they wouldn’t dream of, all in the name of pride. I’m making my mark on the strength of my pride!”
“No,” Watcher replied, suddenly old and tired. “pride is not your virtue. It can’t be. If all you’ve done, all of this has come about through foolish pride, then it’s about as far from your virtue as you can get. Finding and following your virtue shows you the right way. This? This is a vice. Pride is your vice, not your virtue. You have to get away, Snowflake, and soon. If you don’t? Your pride is going to bury you.”
“Tch, if you’re so sure that I’m wrong, then what’s my virtue, smart guy?”
All the calm had drained from his words. “I don’t know. You sure as hell don’t know. I’ll try to find that out. You need to keep looking too. It’s the most important thing now. If you don’t… then I. Will. Stop. You.”
My teeth gritted. “Oh, go back to the ponies who want your nonsense!” Schwarzwald can deal with you, Watcher, I’ve got things to take care of.
If the bot had eyes, they’d have been glaring as it slowly turned and moved away, the mockingly upbeat tune emerging as it left.
~~~~~~
Level Up!
Perks gained - No Wasteland for Old Horses - The influence of those who came before affects Snowflake’s resolve.
~~~~~~
Author’s note:
Well, that was crazy. I struggled mightily to write this chapter, and it’s still 2000 words shorter than I expected it to be. I’m gonna change my approach for the next one.
Anywho, it’s done now, and the story lives. I hope people are still enjoying it.
As always, a big thank you to KKat, Y1, Auramane, Cascadejackal (he did the original cover art, which is still on the Fallout Equestria wiki), Void Heart (he did the new 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.
That’s all for now, folks. Please keep reading, commenting, and spreading the word on Old Souls. I really appreciate your feedback.
Toodles.