Chapter 18: Reverse Peristalsis
[My natural instinct had always been to put my back to a wall, but now there was nowhere to hide.]
The zebra camp had moved since I’d last been here, and the atmosphere was noticeably different. An air of resentment stuck cloyingly in my lungs as I waited at the perimeter for Cept to return with Atesh.
Yeah yeah yeah, I mirrored the glares of the tribespeople each time they glanced up from their tasks. I don’t trust any of you either.
The old zebra appeared from behind a row of tents, walking in fast, but measured, steps. He and Cept were whispering rapidly, and it didn’t seem like he was happy.
Our eyes met and there was a brief flash of mutual frustration. I didn’t want to be here, and he certainly didn’t want me here. Still, he did not falter and came to stand before me. “Red Ice, do you have any idea of what you have cost us with your crusade?”
A bottle cap, casually flipped, dropped in the dust at his hooves. “That should about cover it. Are you done?”
Both stallions let out a long, angry, nasal sigh. Cept was more expressive, as his sigh, combined with the sunken look in his eyes, conveyed not just his disapproval but also his unease.
If you’re that worried about Naiara, stop yanking my chain and go find her, or better yet let me do it.
Atesh’s elder-statescolt calm gave less away, though he would have to be some kind of bastard to not be on edge concerning the missing filly. Evidently it wasn’t going to be discussed here, as he pressed on: “This is not the time for flippancy, Snowflake. The further you travel down this Raider path you are on, the more you disrupt our efforts, and the less value you hold to us.”
Cept jumped in immediately, as the edges of my vision began to fill with purple smoke. “That was not a threat, Snowflake. Please do not take it as such. We are all merely… less than pleased at our current situation. You have to understand that it is not easy for us to stay here like this, not with such a large group. As much as you might think otherwise, we are not ponies.”
Squeezing my eyes shut for a moment, I opened them again to find my vision clearing. “And here I was thinking that the stripes were just to look cool. No shit you’re not ponies, Cept, what’s your point?”
Gathering his robes around him, Atesh dropped into a relaxed sit. “His point, Red Ice, is that we are not here to make a home in Equestria. We have, or perhaps I must now say had, a plan to enact. When you emerged from your Stable not two months ago, you came across Naiara, and helped her to take possession of something important to those plans, which you now know to be-”
“Sombra’s horn.” I interrupted, focusing on the slight weight on the inner pocket of my Sprinkles armour.
“Indeed. A long-dead king who built his empire from the ground up. Literally, in fact, as he nurtured the ground to form the precious gems which gave his land its name. Sombra’s crystal magic was unmatched, and even Equestria’s greatest could not do what he did.” He paused for a moment, tiredly ruffling a hoof through his beard. “Tell me, what do you know about the war between your kind and mine?”
I tch’d. “I know people are still talking about it, for all the good that’ll do.”
His anger wasn’t particularly animated, but it clearly showed on the old zebra’s face. “It should be talked about. There are lessons to learn from the past, adolescent, and you are perhaps more in need of them than most. However, I am talking about the reasons behind the war that ravaged two nations. It was, as always, about greed. We zebras had coal, and needed precious gems. You ponies had precious gems, yet needed coal.”
“But what about the stars and-”
He held up a hoof, with a mirthless smile crinkling his face. “A fine story for foals, but hardly enough to drive both countries to this outcome.” He nodded in the direction of the Wasteland.
Flopping onto my back, I was surprised to receive an upside down view of some returning zebra warriors. The ones who had stayed behind to drive away McCoy and his Monsters. Some were bloody, others were limping, and a few were both. Not one paid me any attention at all, merely giving a respectful bow to Atesh before moving into the camp.
Still lying on the ground, I spoke to the air. It was up to Atesh to hear it if he wanted to continue the conversation. “I already know that both sides wouldn’t share, Atesh. I really hope there’s a point to all this.”
A sturdy hoof slammed down an inch from my rapidly widening eyes. Cept stood over me, golden eyes hard.
“Get. Up.” Without waiting for me to respond, he reached down and physically wrenched me upright.
“Hey! Get your damn hooves off me right now!”
“SHOW DUE RESPECT!” He roared back. Still dragging me, he turned us both to face Atesh. “Your attitude has caused us no end of problems, Snowflake, but I will not allow you to act this way in front of my clan leader! You will listen!”
I disagreed. “Get off me, Cept! I’m not taking this from you!” Battering at him with my hooves didn’t seem to have any effect on his grip, which remained solid.
I was a few seconds from icing him up with my magic when Atesh’s soft speech did what my struggles couldn’t. “Let her go, Cept. She won’t cause problems until I have explained myself. Isn’t that right, Snowflake?”
Tearing my limb away from Cept’s now slackened grip, I just nodded grumpily.
“Excellent. Now then, as to why we are here at all. I’m sure you can guess, but I’ll explain anyway. We want to help the zebra nation recover from the lack of gemstones that it has suffered in the past 200 years. To do this, we worked together with the one you seem to have so much disdain for.”
I bared my teeth. “Latvi.” He’ll pay for trying to take my Raiders from me.
Nodding, Atesh shifted slightly, enough to catch my eye and bring my attention back to him. “Latvi. Even before you met Naiara, we had been in talks with the scientist. His memory magic seems to be exactly what we need to gain access to Sombra’s spells.”
Shoulders bunching under his red and gold cloak, Atesh’s anger returned. “But then you drove him from Lethbridle, and set him on this foalish Raider enterprise. Both of you are equally misguided in this. He wanted revenge, and you? Well, I wouldn’t even hazard a guess as to what your goals were in this. It doesn’t matter, really. All that matters is that we need Latvi alive, along with Sombra’s horn, for our goals to be reached.”
Still smarting from being yanked around by Cept, I was less than courteous in my response. “You’re not putting your plan’s failures on me, Atesh. Latvi was always looking to get rich. I may have worked the Raider angle, but he’d have gone his own way regardless. Your plan was always doomed to fail!”
With a final stroke of his beard, Atesh fixed his expressionless eyes on me. “We shall see. What is important now, though, is to keep Latvi alive-”
“Not interested.”
“Hush. We do not need you for that. What we do need you for is the horn. We know you took it from Latvi, but we do not know what happened to it after that.”
This was it, the moment of truth. If Atesh called my bluff and had Cept or the others try to take the horn from me physically I’d probably end up dead. I didn’t think I could take the entire tribe in a fight, magic or not. Still, the fact that they didn’t know that I had it on me was interesting. It meant that they weren’t always watching. Cept lied to me earlier. It seems to be a pattern with this tribe.
“It’s in a safe place, Atesh. If you want it, then you better have something to offer me in return.”
Rolling his eyes, he rose to his hooves again. “I suspected as much. No doubt you want ‘your’ Raiders back?” He put extra emphasis on the ‘your’, which had me scowling. “That works for our goals too, so we will help with that, at least for getting Latvi away from the Raiders. We won’t help you to take control again, that is your problem.”
“Of course you’d say that. Getting Latvi away from the Raiders is just one part. Your boys will also help me track down some items that have been taken from me. You get Latvi and the Horn, I get the Raiders and my things. Deal?” No matter how well they’d hidden my Pipbuck and Memory Orb, I didn’t see Wings and Cassie being able to keep an entire tribe of zebra from finding them. I’m not telling you who has them, Atesh. That’s for me. You just need to find the gear.
Atesh was slow to answer, giving me a long, judging look. “I do not know what schemes you are hatching behind those spell-marred eyes, Red Ice, but we will not stand for any sabotage to our goals. Remember that.”
I’m so gonna kill Latvi the first chance I get. “Do we have a deal or not, Atesh? I’ve got things to do.”
Instead of answering directly, he laid a hoof on Cept’s shoulder. “Go with her, svara, until Latvi is ours.”
Cept just nodded, immediately setting off.
“Come.” He commanded as he drew level with me.
Though perturbed, I nevertheless fell in beside him. “Be nice to me, jackhole. You need me to get your precious horn.”
“I work with you for the sake of my tribe.” Was the terse reply. “Once our business is concluded, I will go find Naiara. She has been missing since she completed her task at the Raider conference.”
I didn’t respond to that right away. I might have been better at hiding it, but I was just as concerned with Naiara’s disappearance as Cept was. She was one of my best friends, and she’d gotten Undertow to safety. I owed her for that at least, and I wanted to see her again. I mean, it’s not like she chose these guys for a tribe. I can’t blame her for their mistakes. Wouldn’t want to either.
In the end, I decided to be nice just this once. “Naiara will be fine, Cept. She’s a natural survivor.”
He said nothing, just continued walking while rigidly looking ahead.
“Besides, you know that she’s close with Breeze, right? You getting Naiara back to her safe and sound will net you major plus points. Easily enough for a kiss.”
He’d locked up again at my mention of Breeze, but couldn’t keep the corners of his lips from tugging up as he daydreamed. “That… would be nice. Aqua Breeze and I talked through her communicator several times while Naiara recovered after Whitepony. She is such a fascinating mare.”
I stifled a chuckle, smirking to myself. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?” Though hell if I know what you see in her, you damn idiot.
~~~~~~
“...and it was totally gonna work!”
“...Your plan?”
“Yeah.”
“You had a plan to escape Neighlway when we first met, without my assistance?”
“It was a good one too!”
“I am doubtful that it would have succeeded.”
“No, see, here’s what I was gonna do. Firs-”
I had to break off as the sound of the explosion reached us. It was soft, dulled by the distance, but unmistakable. As were the other explosions that followed it.
Cept regarded the horizon in grim focus before beckoning to me. “Follow. I will get us there undetected.” I followed with only the slightest grunt of discontent.
We crossed the remaining ground in silence, focusing on keeping our eyes alert and our ears open. It was hard to notice much sound over the ever-louder explosions, though they were soon joined by the sound of gunfire, and then by other sounds of battle.
As we gradually climbed a hill, Cept in the lead and keeping us at a crawl, the noise told us that the battle was raging fiercely on the other side.
Apparently my side trip to Gull Gulf, with Latvi following, had meant that the Raiders weren’t interested in moving on until he came back.
Pretty good bet that they’re fighting with Neighlway’s Rangers again. Wonder how many of each side are dead since I left?
Flat on his belly, I shimmied forward at Cept’s signal, just enough so that I could join him in peeking over the crest of the hill.
I gulped as I looked over the situation. It was very different than the last battle I’d been in. Back then, my Raiders had pinned a trio of Rangers against a hill similar to the one we were on, eventually swarming the three armoured ponies.
The situation was not nearly so advantageous this time.
The full Raider force was massed on one side, looking bigger than I remembered. We’re not so far from Whinniepeg. Maybe Caber Toss called in the rest of his boys?
The Raiders were putting the appropriated Ranger and Plottawan weaponry to good use, keeping up a relentless stream of fire at their opponents.
Said opponents were no mere scouting party, however. There were easily two dozen rangers on the other side, a much stronger fighting force. They were well organised too, formed up and working to cover each other as they answered the Raiders’ fire with heavy artillery of their own. Great clots of dirt were being kicked up all over the battlefield as both sides slung grenades and heavy ballistics at each other.
The ground between the two was littered with Raiders bodies, as well as the occasional motionless metal armour shell. The ponies inside were clearly dead, or would be before the battle was over. With all the chaos and fire in the air, neither side could afford to gather their wounded.
Despite the number difference, the battle seemed to be a stalemate. The Raiders couldn’t rush the Rangers without being victimised by heavy ordnance, while the Rangers couldn’t advance without risking another swarming, or being picked off by the griffons swooping overhead. Guess Latvi brought some friends home to play.
Neither side was backing down, but they’d be there for a while. Nudging my shoulder, Cept nodded in the Raiders’ direction, leaning in close to talk over the clatter. “You know their forces better than I. Where will we find Latvi?”
“Latvi?” I snorted derisively. “That jackhole’ll be at the back, safe and sound. He’ll stay right there until the fight’s over.”
Cept accepted this without reacting. “Then we must move around the Raider forces, and surprise Latvi. If an alarm is raised, we will be unable to retrieve him.”
“And what a shame that’d be.” I muttered to myself. “Come on then, let’s go.”
He tossed me some fabric. “Put that on. It will help you avoid Latvi knowing you until we are close.” Unlike Naiara, who chose to masquerade as a pony with makeup to hide her heritage, Cept just put a barrier between it and the outside world.
I slipped the cloak over my barding. “Whatever, now come on. I want to get this over with.”
Skirting a generous line around the Raider forces, we managed to get by with just one scare, when one of McCoy’s Monsters briefly wandered a little too close for comfort. Luckily, the griffon seemed to be uninterested in taking on ponies who weren’t in Power Armour, and soon diverted back to the main battle. After waiting for a minute or two, Cept had us keep moving.
Just as I predicted, Latvi was right at the rear of the Raider force, overseeing the battle from a high rise. What I hadn’t predicted, however, was that he would have some serious protection nearby.
Two Monsters flanked him, though thankfully neither of them were McCoy, Wicker or Eitom, who were most likely to recognise me quickly. Still, they were armed and wore body armour, which was bad news given that neither Cept nor I carried guns.
Hunkered down in a shallow basin not far from Latvi’s position, we pondered our next move.
“Now what? Are we gonna kill those two or something? McCoy’ll be pissed at me if we do, even more than he is now.”
“I find it quite impressive that you have drawn the attention of so many influential figures in your short time in the Wasteland.” Though his whispered tone wasn’t any different than usual, his inference was clear.
...Dick. “How about this? I think I can take out their guns with my magic, if I’m careful anyway. Can you take them out if I do?”
He gave the pair another glance, sizing them up. “Possibly. It depends on how well trained they are.”
I grimaced. “Not gonna lie, they probably won’t be pushovers. Still, taking their guns out will distract them, and they’ll be stuck by sticking with Latvi. They won’t go against orders like that. He can’t fight worth a damn either, so you don’t need to worry about that. I’ll try to back you up as much as I can after dealing with their guns.”
The shadows under his hood did little to hide his displeasure. “...I do not like it, but they must be dealt with if we are to take Latvi. They will raise an alarm otherwise. I do not see another way.” He slapped at the dirt in frustration. “If we do this, it must be quick. You cannot hesitate, and you cannot fail. Do you understand?”
The look I sent him was not positive. Course I understand. I’m Red Ice. “Watch this.”
My horn lit up, and twin trails of ice began to slither silently along the ground towards the griffons. Neither they, nor their unicorn protectee, gave any indication that they saw them, not even when I parked my Cryo Serpents between the paws and claws of the two griffons.
I couldn’t help but grin smugly in Cept’s general direction. I think I can afford a little dramatic flair here.
Crude mouths formed at the ends of the Serpent trails, jumping up to bite at the weapons before hardening in place.
The reactions of the Monsters was hilarious. “What the fuck?!”
“My good-luck rifle!”
Latvi’s reaction was less so. Infuriatingly less so. Without preamble, he left forward straight away, heading for the main Raider force. “She’s here! McCOY! CABER TOSS! BALLBUSTER!”
“Binn tusaa!” We chorused.
We took off running. “I got Latvi, take those two!”
“Red Ice, wait!” When he received no answer, I heard him growl angrily before he thudded towards the two griffons.
Cept engaged them in a flurry of hooves and claws as I charged past. The situation was bad, but at least one small part of me was glad to finally be able to get some payback on Latvi. You’re not getting away from me this time, bastard. No more bargains, no more tricks, just you and me. Imma get you!
Though he had a headstart, a natural sprinter he was not. Latvi stumbled and half-fell his way down the incline, with me in pursuit. “Stay and play, Latvi!” My call was laced with laughter. I was pretty sure I could catch him before he got to the safety of the Raider horde. Hell, I can probably catch you after you reach ‘em too. Not like they’re guaranteed to get in my way.
My heartbeat thudded in my ears as I closed the distance. A dozen metres. Half a dozen.
Three.
Two.
One.
“Jackhole!” I tackled Latvi mid-stride. We rolled down the hill, bucking and punching, me laughing, him shrieking. Slamming down at the bottom, we rolled apart. I popped up first and dove at him again, but he scrambled away just in time. He only got two steps this time before I dove onto his back. Only adrenaline let him carry my weight and keep on running.
He dropped like a stone when I whacked him in the temple though.
Cowering on the ground, he threw his hooves up in front of his face. “N-now calm down, Snowflake. It doesn’t have to be like this!”
“Too la-ate!” I sing-sang with a crooked smile. “Now you’re all mi-ine! I’ve been waiting for this.” Glacier-blue light blazed from my horn. “I’m gonna shatter you like glass, LATVI!”
“No! no wait, you can’t!” His pathetic snivelling was music to my ears, and I laughed aloud again.
“I totally can, you know.” My voice dropped from joyous to tranquil fury. “Let me show you.”
That was when the griffon slammed into me flank-first.
“Dammit Cept, is it too much to ask that you take care of two griffons with no weapons?!” I punched the griffon as hard as I could in the face, but he didn’t react.
Oh. Probably because he’s dead. Heaving the body off me, I cast about for Latvi, who was up and running clear in the other direction. “Son… of… a… WHORE! Why won’t you die?!”
“That was not our agreement, Red Ice!” Off to the side, limping over the body of the other griffon, was my current ‘ally’.
Nostrils flaring, I stomped towards him. “Oh fuck you, Cept. You had one job. One damn j-”
“I did my job!” He fired back. “I took care of the griffons, but I do not see Latvi here! Perhaps you shou-”
“AAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!!!” We shared the briefest of confused glances before Latvi flew straight past us at full gallop.
Then a wall of gunfire tore into the right flank of the Raider forces, courtesy of the Plottawan soldiers charging their lines in a vicious sneak attack.
...Really?
The Steel Rangers swiftly took advantage of the ensuing distraction to fire indiscriminately into the mixing Raider/slaver throng, tossing Plottawan and Raider bodies to and fro, quickly devolving the two-on-one skirmish into a free-for-all.
I turned away and started jogging in the other direction. “Fuck this, I’m out. I’ll get Latvi another time.”
“By ‘get’, do you mean-”
“Not now, Cept! We have to leave, or else somebody here is gonna kill us.”
“And what about Latvi? Shall we leave him to die?”
I all but spat. “Tch, I should be so lucky. McCoy’s Monsters will get him out of here, if only to make sure they get paid. You go after him if you want, Cept, but I’m done.”
“I-”
“HEY, THERE’S RED ICE!”
“GET HER!”
“Is that a zebra?”
“Get him too!”
The shouts were accompanied by gunfire as the Plottawans charged out position.
“COME ON!” I yelled to Cept, bolting in the direction Latvi had headed. Cept followed.
As we ran, I looked around for Latvi, but saw no sign of him. Tch, I only need to be lucky once, Latvi.
We ran into the chaos that was the mixed battle of the three armies. I dodged around Raiders, jumped over slavers, and almost got trampled by a Steel Ranger with one of each on its back.
“This is madness.” His voice was in my ear, but I reasoned Cept was talking to himself.
“Yeah, kinda.”
Wherever our pursuers were in the mess, they weren’t shooting at us directly. Nobody was. Everybody was packed too closely together. Knives slashed at us as we ran, drawing bloody lines in our coats. I hissed every time but didn’t stop.
Finally we burst through to the other side of the throng, and almost immediately had to skid to a halt as two griffons slammed down in front of us.
Still not McCoy, Wicker or Eitom. How many Monsters are there?
The two mercs brought their guns up. “End of the line, Red I-” His head exploded as a bullet ripped through it. Cept and I dove for cover as the remaining griffon fired wildly at the unseen assailant. I willed a spike of ice up from the ground, sending his rifle flying. He dove after it, but two more shots sounded, and he dropped to the ground.
Somebody grabbed at me and dragged me to my hooves, pushing me forwards. We ran. We ran, and didn’t stop. We moved in the direction of ‘away’ for as long as my burning lungs would let me, and then even further.
I was near blinded by the spots in my eyes when we finally did halt. Collapsing on the ground, I rolled over slightly to see Cept, also doubled over. “*Huff* *Wheeze* Good… shooting. Where’d you… get the gun?”
“*Puff* I… thought that you were the shooter?”
My breath caught in my throat. Aw hell.
“You’re welcome, you two.”
Shaking my head to clear my vision, I rolled towards the speaker. Casually loading bullets into twin revolvers, our protector was watching the way we’d come for pursuit.
The shock and exertion made the need to breathe more prevalent than ever. It took several deep breaths before I could finally blurt out a single word. “Wings?!”
Her sapphire eyes were still watching our escape route. “Hey Snow, busy day today.”
I was still gaping. “What… what are you doing here?”
“Was tracking the Plottawans. It’s not often you see that many of them out at once. Didn’t know they were coming after you and your Raiders. You must’ve really pissed ‘em off.”
I couldn’t tell if that was a compliment or not.
Cept recovered before I did, regarding Wings with suspicion. “Are you one of McCoy’s griffons?”
Blue fire blazed in her eyes. “Fuck no. Don’t lump me in with them. I’m nice.”
“You just shot two griffons in the face.”
The chocolate-and-cream griffon didn’t blink. “...I’m mostly nice. Breeze says hi, by the way.”
He started. “She does?”
She shrugged. “Eh, probably. You’re Cept, right? Only met you once.”
“Yes, I am Cept. It is nice to see you again.”
“Then she says hi. See? Nice.”
“I… see.” He joined her in watching our path. “Are we still being followed?”
Wings flapped up a few metres for a better view, descending with a shake of her head. “Can’t see anybody. Musta got distracted by somebody back in the big rumble. Lucky us.” She slipped her revolvers back into their holsters. “So I know why Snow was with the Raiders, but what about you? I kinda doubt you’re looking for that life.”
Cept locked eyes with me before responding. “Snowflake and my clan have an arrangement, though it seems neither of us will achieve our goals.”
My breathing was back under control now, so I rolled myself upright. “Speak for yourself, Cept.”
“Still you persist?” Revulsion, and some pity, mired his face. “I must speak with my clan, to discuss our next move. Please excuse me, Wings.”
Confused, she just grunted. “Sure, no problem.” One claw came up, pointing away from the direction of the Raiders. “Head that way for a while before you go your real direction. Snow and I’ll head in another direction, see if we can confuse them if they come following our tracks later.”
Nodding respectfully, he said nothing more. He left, moving at a rapid jog.
Yeah, go pout. No Breeze kiss for you.
We watched him go for a little while, then Wings turned back to me. “Sounds like we have some catching up to do, Snow. I talked to Schwarzwald,” Of course you did. “and I want to hear your side.”
“My side of what?” I challenged.
“Whatever all this is.”
“That’s not an answer.”
She huffed a little. “Fine, you wanna do it like that? Let’s get some more distance first, so they can’t find us by following the yelling.”
~~~~~~
The sounds of the three-way battle stayed with us for longer than I remembered as we moved away from the action. It was a long time before Wings was satisfied that we were clear.
She glid down after one last check of the horizon. “Yeah, we’re good. Must be crazy over there.” She landed a few metres from me, a wry grin on her face. “Guess you’re getting out just in time, huh?”
“I’m not getting out.”
The grin vanished. “What?”
Shrugging, I started walking around her in a slow circle… for warmth. Mostly. “I’m gonna let my boys have their fun with the Plottawans and Rangers, then when the fight’s over I’ll be heading back there to get my Raiders back.”
‘Flabbergasted’ was too weak a term for how Wings looked. “You… you can’t be serious. Snow, you can’t go back there. They’ll kill you if you do.”
I just rolled my eyes. “They’ll try.”
“Snow!” She chirped sharply. “This isn’t a game. Think about what’s happening back there. Even without the Plottawans and Steel Rangers, one person can’t control all that!”
“I can! I did all the work, and I’m gonna be damned if I let somebody else get all the rewards!”
Her brisk step forward halted my motion. “Snow, listen to yourself! Why does all of this nonsense matter so much to you?”
Bristling, I glared back at her. “You’re calling it nonsense?”
“Well, what would you call it?”
“I’d call it MINE! I was the one who dared to do it, I went to every different Raider hideout with nothing but a few friends as backup, I kept it going even after Four Fields died, and I didn’t allow Latvi to win! It was my mission, my responsibility, and my proof that I’m not just a joke!” Seething, I had to take a deep breath before I was calm enough to continue. “I did it all. I made it all work. Nobody, not even my friends, thought I could do it. They… you did nothing except lie to me, steal from me, ignore and look down on me! Well not this time! It. Is. Mine!”
The blue fire had dulled in her eyes as I railed at her, but it hadn’t gone out just yet. “Even after all this time, after all that’s happened, you never once thought that we might have had a good reason to do that? Cassie and I didn’t attack you for laughs, Snow! We thought-”
“‘We thought’ is the problem! You thought you knew better than me! You thought I was dumb and useless and an easy target! Well I haven’t been blindingly running all over the Wasteland in a panic ever since, you know, I’ve been working to get my stuff back. I didn’t sit and cry about it, I made deals and arrangements with groups like the zebras so that we both win. The deal now is that they get that bastard Latvi, and I get my Raiders AND my Pipbuck AND my Memory Orb back!”
Her claw twitched towards her holster. Wings’ normally brash, confident voice came out hollow. “You… you sent hunters after your things? That could put the others in danger, Snow! What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that if I still had my fucking gear then maybe this wouldn’t have been necessary, would it, Blue Fire?!”
“Don’t you try to turn this around on me, Red Ice. I just saved your sorry flank from your own fuckup!”
“I’ll put it on you all I like, considering this all started with you!” My eyes were burning as we glared at each other. “Why did you do it? Really? Why did you get up that morning and decide to strand me in the fucking Wasteland by taking away the only two things that could tie me to my home?”
Wings was scrutinising my eyes in silence, feathers bunched and tense. “Since when could your eyes do that?”
Dammit, Sombra! Stay dead why don’t you! “Nevermind my eyes, and don’t change the subject. Why did you and Cassie attack me in Whinniepeg? Why did YOU attack me at all? Why…” The burning increased, and a line of wetness ran down my cheek. “...have you never once said you were sorry?”
She was looking into my eyes now, rather than at them. Still, attentiveness wasn’t what I wanted from the chocolate-and-cream griffon.
She seemed to know that too. “Snowflake, I’ve never said it because I still don’t know if what I did was wrong or not. Listen, you’re a Stable pony. A very kind Stable pony. You hadn’t yet learned the truth of the Wasteland.”
“And you wanted to teach me, is that it?”
“Let me finish. Your Pipbuck is no joke. Gear as good as that doesn’t come around often nowadays, especially not out in this region. It’s valuable, and obviously irreplaceable to everybody except you, since you know where to get more.”
It’s irreplaceable to me too. I won’t be going back to the Stable again.
Wings wasn’t done. “You were nice, and you didn’t know the Wasteland yet. You didn’t know the people out here, so what was to stop you from handing it, and your Stable, over to the Steel Rangers if they convinced you that they were the good guys? Worse still, what about Plottawa, or the Raiders, or even this Latvi guy I keep hearing about? If you were alone and they offered to ‘help’, would you say no? Even if you did, your magic sucks and you can’t shoot worth a damn. Even letting them know that your Pipbuck was out there would be too much of a risk in the long run, because of what they could do with it. Schwarzwald, Bosco, Naiara and the rest would be in too much danger if that happened. Cassie and I had to make the call.”
“...What.”
Wings’ confusion prevented her from answering, but her feathers began bunching as she took notice of the storm brewing.
“You ‘had to make the call’? That’s what you’re gonna say to me? Because there was ‘too much danger’?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???” Wings had gone too far on this one.
“What? Snow-”
“SHUT UP! You are seriously gonna stand there and tell me that it was to keep our friends out of danger? Seriously? If you wanna talk about putting our friends in danger, why don’t we talk about the little deal you made with a couple of Monsters, huh, Blue Fire? Eitom and Wicker sure seemed to get a good price in your deal, didn’t they? What else did you offer them besides the volumes of personal info you already coughed up? You’re lecturing me on trusting the right people, but you were an informant for a mercenary outfit in the employ of an immoral weasel like Latvi! How are our friends going to like the fact that YOU have put them in guaranteed danger, unlike the fiction you and Cassie dreamed up for me?”
There was still some fight in Wings, however. “You know as well as I do that griffons don’t break their word, Snow! The deal I made with those two took that into consideration, since I’m not stupid! The only ‘danger’ that MY actions would have caused to our friends is the same danger they face everyday anyway: The Wasteland. Schwarzwald, Bosco, and the twins have been dealing with that danger every day of their lives for years. They know the risks, and they have each other to back them up. Nothing I did at Gull Gulf was gonna change that, especially since, oh yeah, I went there with Breeze! Do you really think she was gonna let me put her sister in danger? I knew what I was doing, and she was there as backup. We hammered out a deal with Wicker and Eitom, and we did it in a way that won’t let them turn it around on us without breaking contract. Griffons don’t do that!”
I exploded, stomping at the ground, and unconsciously throwing up icicles all around me. “YOU DO! You’ve admitted that you’ve broken contract in the past. You’re a griffon, and you lie, you cheat, and you steal! How can I trust any deal you’ve made? Even if Breeze, who’s not such a saint herself, was with you, I’ve got no guarantee that you haven’t screwed me and my friends over. You’re a liar and a thief, Wings, you go back on your word, you won’t even tell me your real name, AND YOU STILL HAVEN’T APOLO-”
FHUUP THUDTHUD!
The impact stopped my words cold, and sent me stumbling back a dozen steps. When I finally got my hooves back under me, I noticed Wings’ wide eyes. She didn’t meet my gaze this time, instead her vision was locked on my body.
What’s she looking at? And why is everything so heavy? Finally looking down, I saw the damage.
Twin rivulets of crimson blood ran out of inch-wide holes in my barding, and the flesh underneath. I could barely lift turn my hoof to see the one that’d gone through my ankle.
Kinda more worried about this one in my chest though. Can’t seem to take deep breaths. I guess the Rangers or Plottawans or Latvi and McCoy caught up with us.
Heh, they actually did follow the yelling. There’ll be no living with her now.
I raised my head again to ask Wings if she had any healing potions, or tried to at least. All I managed was to fall forwards rather than sideways.
~~~~~~
Waking was not a gentle affair.
My chest felt like it was on fire and deep underwater at the same time. My perforated hoof was not much better. I was caked in sweat and the blankets and straps holding me down felt like sandpaper against my body.
Everything was a white blur, except for a purple wisp roving back and forth. I could barely lift my head to follow it, and couldn’t lift my hoof at all to rub the sleep from my eyes. I had to resort to slowly blinking away the fog. After what felt like an age, my vision cleared enough to understand what the ‘wisp’ I had been chasing was.
Lexi’s horn made another pass over my savaged flesh, gradually binding it back together with her healing magic.
I’m… in Sprinkles Supplies? How did I get here? What hap… Wings! Where is she? We were talking and then… yeah I got shot! I hope she killed whatever bastard pulled off that fluke.
Seriously though, where is she?
Fighting through the pain, I managed to tilt my head towards Lexi as she worked. She was never a bad sight to see, at least to my eyes, even in situations like this.
The older unicorn glanced up at me for the briefest of moments before returning to her task. There was no hint of emotion in that millisecond stare, and she made no attempt at communication.
Still seeking answers, I opened my mouth to speak, but she reached a hoof up without looking, pushing my head back onto the pillow. Shaking her frizzy orange mane, she gave no further acknowledgement of my being conscious.
It soon grew dull, and still painful, watching her healing my prone form. I was still so tired, and felt my eyes getting heavy again. Even if I wanted to, I could hardly fight it, simply falling back into slumber.
~~~~~~
Some unknown time later, my eyes opened up again. Once again, after finding my focus, I was greeted with Lexi tending to my wounds. She was packing some tools into a carry case, and wore different clothes than before.
Is it even the same day as before? The question brought a flood of others, and they fought in my chest to be the first off my tongue. Blinking, I realised that the pain, while still present, was heavily dulled, and my breathing was much easier than it was, though again nowhere near normal.
“B-boss…” I croaked out.
I got a response this time. She immediately turned and raised me into a sitting position. “Easy does it, girl. How’re ya feelin’?”
Raising my aching hoof, I listlessly rubbed at my chest. “Still hurts a lot.”
Grunting, Lexi pushed my hoof away from the wound. “Well it’s gunna! Nopony takes a shot like that and goes dancin’ the next day. You’re real lucky to be here enjoyin’ my comp’ny, got it?”
“I… I got it. But why? I mean… I thought… you said-”
“I know what I said!” She interrupted brusquely. “An’ I ain’t fixing t’make this a regular thing, not s’long as yer still being Red Ice Raider.” A veritable gamut of emotions were running behind her orange eyes. “This is a one-time thing, an’ y’can thank yer griffon friend fer it!”
“Wings?” I started, but winced as I felt something twinge. Lexi noticed too, and firmly pushed me back down.
“Yeah, her. When she showed up wi’ you, I was all set t’turn her away. You shoulda known better than to come here ‘xpectin’ help after last time.” The faintest of smiles played across her lips. “Thing is, though, she didn’t know a damn thing about this place. Didn’t even know you’d been here before at all. I almost told her she was lyin’ to her face, but the more she talked, the more it showed she wasn’t foolin’. She really didn’t know. An’ even not knowin’ anything about what’s happened with you an’ me, she still begged me t’fix ya up.”
The breath had caught in my throat as I listened to her story, finally fighting its way out in a hoarse cough. “She did?”
Lexi returned to putting her tools away. “Damn right she did. Offered all the money she had t’get ya fixed up, an’ when I still said no she threatened t’put a bullet in me.”
“SHE WHA-argh!”
“Snowflake! Do I gotta strap you down?!” The harshness of her words was offset by the tenderness she displayed in soothing my pains.
When I was calm again, she continued. “Anywho, she’s been stayin’ in the guard barracks and mannin’ the walls while I’ve been workin’ on you. Didn’t want t’leave ya here by yer lonesome, not in the state you were in.”
Hmph, least she could do after what went down.
“I’ll let ‘er in t’see you when yer strength’s back. Firs’ thing’s first though...” She gave me one final check over, making sure I was sitting comfortably and was breathing without difficulty.
When she was finally satisfied, she slapped me across the face. Not full force, but hard enough to feel it. The shock hit me harder than the pain.
“Boss?!”
“WHAT’D I TELL YA, HUH?! WHAT DID I SAY’D HAPPEN WITH YOUR DUMB LITTLE IDEA! THE ONE THING I SAID T’YOU WAS NOT TO GET YERSELF KILLED, AND YOU SHOW UP AT MY DOOR LOOKIN’ LIKE THAT?! IF NOT FER THAT GRIFFON, YOU’D BE DYIN’ IN THE DIRT! AND WHERE THE HELL’S UNDERTOW?!?!”
I latched onto that last part. “She’s… not involved. Naiara got her out when we went to meet the Raiders at the summit. I haven’t seen her since I took over. I swear, Boss, she has nothing to do with it!” A bout of hacking racked my chest and I had to break off.
As I coughed and spluttered, Lexi stayed silent at first. “Yeh’d best not be lyin’ t’me, Snowflake. This ain’t somethin’ I’ll suffer jokes fer. You look me in th’eyes an’ you tell me she’s no Raider.”
Conviction overrode everything else as my head snapped up. My gaze didn’t falter as I spoke. “I swear to you, Boss, on my life I haven’t seen her in all my time as a Raider. Naiara got her away from the summit and there’s been no sign of her since.” I felt a lump growing in my chest. “I… I can’t… I don’t know where she is, but it isn’t where the Raiders are. Naiara wouldn’t let her go near them. I promise.”
Quiet for a long time, Lexi sat by the bed as she worked through her worry. When she finally spoke, her words were tinged with a sliver of relief. “An’ that’s why I’m gonna heal you up this time. Your Wings didn’t know us, but still did everythin’ she could t’get us to fix you up. An’ you? You still know enough t’not put Undertow through what yer doin’.” She slapped one hoof into the other for emphasis. “So here’s what’s gonna happen over the next li’l while: First, you tell Wings you owe ‘er one when you get a chance, y’hear?”
“Yes, boss.”
“Right. Next thing is you ain’ leavin’ this bed just yet. I ain’t done pluggin’ those holes you got shot in ya. ‘til I am, you stay put.”
“Yes, boss.”
“An’ last one: I ain’t kiddin’ about this being a one-off. I will not have you here again until you stop Red Ice-in’. Once yer healed, yer out again. I know what you’ve been doin’, been hearin’ it over the radio. We’ll talk more about that later. Understand?”
“...Yes, boss.”
Snapping her carry case shut with a loud click!, she nodded gruffly. “Good,” Her mask cracked for a moment as she ever-so-gently brushed some loose strands of mane away from my eyes. “Now get yer rest.”
There was nothing to do but obey, and close my eyes with a little smile. “Yes, boss.”
~~~~~~
“Hey, wake up!”
I jolted upright with a half-snort, immediately regretting it as my stiff muscles complained. “Who’s there?”
“It’s me, idiot.”
Ah. “I’d know that caring personality anywhere. I’m trying to sleep, Breeze, what do you want?”
Fluttering her blue-spectrum-tipped wings in annoyance, the techie pegasus settled into a chair and rested her hooves on the end of the bed. “Oh nothing much in particular, just wanted to check up on you and see the damage.”
“Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I’m still alive.” I gnashed out, struggling to keep a civil tone.
“Oh, I never doubted that you’d be alive.” She replied while idly inspecting her hoof.
“Oh? And why’s that? Am I too stubborn to die or something?”
No,” she deadpanned, still not looking up, “it’s just that if Cassie wanted you dead, she’d have put one through your eye.”
“...What.”
Jocularity rang through her words as she smirked. “Oh yeah, Cassie was the one who shot you.”
Slumping back against the pillow, I tried to process this.
“I… she… WHAT?!”
“She does good work, doesn’t she?”
“...I’m gonna kill her. I’m not even kidding, I’m gonna end her life.”
Pulling a face, Breeze shook her head. “Mmmyeahhhno. Now I know you probably can’t see it right now, but Cassie wasn’t trying to kill you. I mean, you’ve seen how good her eyes are, right? And you were standing in the open ranting and raving at Wings about Lethbridle.” At my shocked expression, she flicked her ears. “Great hearing, remember? Anyway, Cassie shot you where she knew you’d be okay. Sure it hurt, but last warnings generally do.”
“LAST WARNING?! What the hell, Breeze? Your sister shoots me in the chest and you say it was a warning?” She’s insane! Her and her sister. Completely nuts. Why the fuck did you let her in here, boss?
After a few moments of even staring, she shrugged. “I figured you’d react like this when you found, which is why I came along to provide a little context.” She rubbed her naked wrists. “Had to leave my gear with Wings, she wouldn’t let me get close otherwise, and I’m sure she’s just on the other side of that door with the boss lady. I was always gonna play nice anyway, but now you know I don’t have a choice either way.”
I’d fixated on one word among all others. “Context?”
The insane filly was rubbing the back of her neck apprehensively. “Yeah. Now this is gonna sound weird and kinda backwards, what with Cassie getting violent and me sitting here chatting with you, but here goes: Cassie’s afraid.”
“She fucking should be! I’ll kill her!”
“Not of you. For you. You and Undertow both.”
I’d had enough, slamming my hooves down against the sheets, ignoring the warning pangs from my semi-healed bullet holes. “Oh get the fuck out right now, Breeze. If you’re gonna sit there and try to blame us for what happened to your parents then you’d best flap away before I ram an icicle through your neck!”
“Parent.”
“Huh?”
“Parent. Singular. Our mother, Stargazer. She, well…” Drawing in a long breath through her nose, Breeze looked at nothing for long seconds. “I know you’re a Stable pony, so you’re pretty sheltered, but… have you ever heard the term ‘rape foal’?”
The silence was deafening.
Neither of us spoke. She obviously didn’t want to, and I simply couldn’t. There was no response to give. I opened my mouth to try, closed it again, opened it again, then closed it in defeat.
I… what can I say to that? Why is she even telling me this?
Breeze grimaced, turning her face away from me. “So you understand. The Raiders ripped our family apart before we were even born. The stallion who should have been our father could do nothing but watch as his wife gave birth to Raider-blood fillies. We can’t ever undo that.”
Breeze turned back to me, her long mane bang flipping forcefully. Her eyes’ focus rooted me to the spot. “Raiders destroy lives, Snowflake. They don’t care about anypony and they will hurt whoever they want. What Cassie is afraid of, is that you’ll not only suffer that fate, but inflict it too. To those around you, to some random kid out in the Wasteland… to Undertow.”
She stood up to leave. “Cassie and me, we can’t change our blood. You’ve got a chance. She shot you, that was her last warning. This is mine. Give up on the Raiders, they won’t be what you want ‘em to be. If you move even one inch in that direction again, there won’t be another miss.”
“If she’s so concerned about me then she can give back my Pipbuck and Memory Orb!”
Without another word, the doors closed behind her.
~~~~~~
“Easy does it, Snow.” Wings hovered beside me as I tentatively walked out of the Sprinkles Supplies main gate.
Lexi had healed the damage done by Cassie’s attack, but I was still weak from being off my hooves for days. In that time, Wings had stubbornly dodged all of my questions about the current state of affairs, including the twins’ actions.
It was, suffice it to say, aggravating. “I’m fine, Wings, just gotta work out the stiffness.”
Behind us, and flanked by fully armed caravan guards, came Fedexi Lexi. She’d been strictly professional after chewing me out in the medical bay, using her time with me strictly for healing.
She broke her silence as we crossed the threshold. “Hold on a sec there, Snowflake. We ain’t talked about your payment fer me fixin’ you up again.”
Internally groaning, I made every effort to keep my vexation from showing on my face. Can’t blame her, not really. Red Ice is not a name she wants to be associated with. “Alright, boss, what’s the damage?”
She stepped forward and poked me in the chest. “Now I heard enough when y’got yer little Pegasus visitor to know you got plenty to deal with over the next few days. Places t’go, ponies t’settle with, an’ so on. But I’m tellin’ you right now that you ain’t gonna be doin’ any of that straight away.”
“Wanna bet?” I scoffed, mind already full of the buffet of violence I was gonna feed to Cassie. I’ve got just the place for that fucking rifle, bitch.
“I AIN’T PLAYIN’ AROUND, SNOWFLAKE!” Punctuating her outburst by telekinetically wrenching my head around to face her, Lexi trembled in fury. “This is payment fer services rendered, girl. You’re workin’ fer me ‘til you complete the job I’m gonna give you.”
Blowing air through my teeth, I exchanged a glance with Wings, who didn’t seem inclined to join the conversation any time soon. “Oh come on, boss, can’t this wait?”
“No it can’t.” Lexi’s voice dropped to a low, serious tone. “You’re gonna fetch me somethin’.”
Aw, dammit. Sighing, I steeled myself for whatever minutiae I was going to be roped into this time. “And what am I fetching?”
“Undertow.”
I jerked like she’d slapped me again. “Undertow? But… I don’t know where she is!”
“I don’t care!” The raw emotion in her voice shut me up instantly. “You find her, Snowflake, I don’t care where you have to go, or how long it takes. She’s out there somewhere, an’ you damn well better-”
“Uh, I know where she is.”
“-go get her this instawhat did you say?” Both Lexi and I stared open-mouthed at Wings, who gave a nervous half-smile.
“Yeah, see the thing is… Naiara called while Snow was healing. She told me where Undertow is.”
Her blazing blue eyes found themselves inches away from mine, after I’d grabbed her and pulled her in close. “Where?! Is she okay? Is Naiara? Are they together? Tell me already!”
She tried in vain to worm out of my grip. “A-alright already! She’s at Sombra’s Shadow lake!”
Gasping, I let her go as the memories of the lake came flooding back. That was where Watcher and I… before Whinniepeg…
“She’s not that far from here!” I shared, and reveled in, the cheer in Lexi’s voice. “Y’heard her, Snow. Get goin’!”
“But what about Naiara?”
This time I was the one dragged eye-to-eye. “Naiara can take care of herself just fine, Snow. An’ she’s not the one who needs you right now, much as you might not think it.” Lexi’s orange eyes, hard as stone a moment ago, began to water as worry soaked her words. “You go to Sombra’s Shadow lake, Snow! You go an’ you find that sweet li’l girl an’ you bring the both of you back here safe an’ sound, do you hear me?”
“Y-yeah, boss, I hear you.”
“Good, ‘cause this is your last chance, awright? No more. You come anywhere near my caravans without Undertow, my guards’ll shoot you on sight. Try t’come back here without her and I’ll shoot you myself. You gotta do this, Snowflake, it’s your last chance. Show me an’ everypony else that you’re not just Red Ice.”
~~~~~~
The cold air of the shores of Sombra’s Shadow, it was no different. It didn’t bother me, only extreme cold did, thanks to my magic, but it was whipping up the mist from the ice, hiding most of the lake from my view.
Standing atop the hollow known as Crystal Point, I strained my eyes for any sign of the water-wielder.
Crystal Point itself hadn’t been occupied, and I had no idea what to look for in terms of signs of life. Junky old detective stories in the Stable always talked about checking the dust and looking for hoofprints, but the hollow was nothing but rock. I didn’t know what to do with rocks.
Is she even still here? Naiara called more than a day ago. What if she’s moved on? This was my only clue.“Come on, Undertow,” I whispered into the wind, “give me a sign.”
...Nothing. The Wasteland kept its secrets, as always. I wasn’t going to find Undertow by standing in one spot and wishing. I’d need to work harder.
thock
My ears twitched as the faint sound reached them. “Eh?”
Searching with only my eyes, I stood ramrod still, waiting for an encore. After a full minute of nothing but the wind, I exhaled. “Damn, could of sworn I-”
thock
“-YES! Where is it?” Encouraged, I took the slope in easy bounds, heading down onto the ice itself. I know I heard something, it has to be her!
The ice welcomed me like an old friend, with my slide-skate spell triggering subconsciously. Soon I was gliding in smooth, long strides, covering far more distance than I would at an unaided gallop.
Thock. It was louder now! I was heading in the right direction. Heart rate rising, foggy breaths blew past my cheeks as the ice reflected my growing smile.
Thock! “I’m coming, Undertow. Wait just where you are, I’ll find you.”
The mist parted.
THOCK!!
Skidding to a halt, I half-laughed as I fought for breath. She’s okay!
There she was, my Undertow. Her back was to me, engrossed in her task. I giant plume of water gathered on the ice, floating up overhead. The mass reformed into a wedge, pointing downwards, before slamming into a small crater in the lake shell. The distinctive sound that had brought me to her sounded out as it struck. As the wedge rose again, small streams of water chased after it through minute cracks.
She wants the lake water. Why?
I sat and watched for a little while, just happy to have found her again.
Finally I couldn’t wait anymore. “Un… Undertow?”
She didn’t respond, just continued her task without pause. Her magical excavation was patient and deliberate, just like water.
Doubts crept into my mind at her continued dismissal of my presence. She had to know I was there, but made no move to acknowledge me. Taking tentative steps, I moved in close. “Here, Undertow, let me help you.”
Focusing, I let my magic sense extend out to the water wedge as it reformed above us. Locating it in my horn’s eye came much easier than it had on the way to La Buque, and, upon finding it, I slipped my glacial influence into the waves. A hoof-sized disc of ice formed on the wedge’s surface, blossoming outwards.
At least for a second. A brief, painfully intense sensation of walls slamming shut assaulted my magic sense, forcing me out of the mix. “Wh-wha?” Gasping for breath, I watched the ice melt back into water in less than a heartbeat.
What really stole the air from my lungs was the change in Undertow’s once-calm voice. “Do not interfere, Red Ice. This lake is mine. You are not welcome here.”
“Not welcome? Undertow, what’s wrong?” Moving toward her, my outstretched hoof only narrowly avoided danger as the water wedge slashed between us.
“Stay back. Do not touch me.”
She shouldn’t be like this. What happened? Ignoring the growing lump in my throat, I didn’t back away. “Undertow, please talk to me. Tell me what happened to you?”
“What happened?!” She laughed without mirth. The sound plunged daggers into my heart. “You happened!”
“M-me?”
“Have you so easily forgotten? I suppose it is to be expected, as you are Red Ice.”
“Undertow, please!” I pleaded again. “I haven’t done anything to you. Tell me what happened!”
The corners of her mouth dropped instantly, and the briefest baring of her fangs reached my eyes before the water slammed into me full force. The impact lifted me up and sent me twisting end-over-end, slamming down onto the hard ice a dozen metres away. Fire exploded along my back as the air was driven from my lungs.
“LIES! YOU ALWAYS LIE TO ME! You stole me from my lake, and you have been lying to me ever since!”
Rolling painfully onto my side, I turned horrified eyes to the other unicorn, now facing me. Even with her goggles covering her eyes, her glare was obvious.
It was a struggle to stand. “Undertow, I have never lied to you. I’ve been worried sick about you ever since I woke up at the Raider camp and you weren’t there!”
Horn blazing, her water geysered upwards in a rush. “BECAUSE YOU THREW ME ASIDE!” Her words were just shy of a shriek. The raw heartache they were laced with brought tears to my eyes.
“Threw you aside? What?”
“Now you mock me with feigned ignorance? After the attack, I woke up to you finally showing your true face!” Anger and pain were battling for dominance over her speech. “Your grand deception! You told me that I was nothing but another Raider to you! To be used up and thrown away. I never had your protection, and I never had your love!”
Tears were freely streaming down my cheeks now. I tried to break through my pathetic reflection in her dark goggles, to the pony underneath. “Undertow, I never said any of that, I wouldn’t! Please, you have to believe me!” Has she always felt like this? Was I just being selfish by bringing her along?
Settling into a ready stance, she sent the water swirling around her in an aqua haze. “I will never believe you again, trickster!”
“Please sto-” Was as far as I got before I had to dodge aside, a water whip cracking down on where I’d been standing. “Undertow, stop it! I’m not gonna fight you!”
“Then you will die for what you have done to me.”
My heart stopped in my chest. She… she hates me!
Her attack was relentless, water chasing me from every angle and all sides. I could do nothing but frantically backpedal. I can’t fight Undertow! Whatever she thinks, I can’t fight her again, not after everything we’ve been through!
As I dodged another strike, I fired off a freezing spell into the watery spear, freezing it solid. I did the same with the next strike too, before the third one slipped past my guard and rattled my teeth with a ferocious uppercut.
Spitting out blood, I jumped shakily back to my hooves. “Undertow, please stop this! I don’t want to fight you! I’ll never want to fight you! You have to talk to me, tell me how I can make it right. Please, you have to talk to me!”
Undertow stalked forward. “I do not have to do anything you say, Red Ice. You are not my mistress anymore, not since you sent me away.”
I wailed as she bit out the last few words. “Why do you keep saying that? I didn’t send y-”
Then I saw it. In the chaos and confusion, I’d missed the most vital detail. A fact that changed everything, for me and for her.
Purple smoke seeped out from under her goggles.
“It’s not real.” I whispered. Latvi’s spell… Sombra’s horn… what she saw was all thanks to that! None of it really happened!
Wait, but that means… The Stable… it was all lies, every moment. And everything I’ve done since!
...Latvi, you will burn for this.
Though thoroughly shaken by the revelation, I found the smallest glimmer of hope in it too. It’s fake, all of it, and I can show you! I’ll make you better, I promise!
Buoyed by the truth, I gave the brightest, most gentle smile I could. “I am so sorry, Undertow, about everything I've done to you, but I need you to stop for a little bit. I promise I won’t hurt you, but I need to tell you something.”
Even delivered in mocking disbelief, I found her laughter beautiful. “Stop me, Red Ice? You seem to believe I am the same as when we last met. Allow me to show you your error.”
Her aquamarine magic wrapped around the water I’d frozen, and I watched in amazement as it instantly reverted back to liquid. “Undertow, that’s wonderful! You…”
“I cannot control ice, but I can take my water back from you. You will not defeat me like you did at Soft Swell!”
Still smiling brightly, I radiated pride. “I wouldn’t even try.”
Her anger gave way to confusion, but was swiftly quashed. Teeth gritted, she renewed her attack.
This time, I fought back. For every water strike she sent at me, I matched it with a Cryo Serpent. Her water froze and melted and solidified and liquefied over and over again.
Not that I could ever hope to truly match her skill or power. For all my dodging and magic, I still took at least two hits for every five attempts. I kept at it though, never changing from my Cryo Serpent spell.
I couldn’t change from that spell, I needed her to see that.
Undertow saw, and she adjusted to it. Almost as soon as I fired off one Cryo Serpent spell, it shifted to water and reversed direction, wrapping around my throat and slamming me onto my back.
She was on me in an instant. “Hi,” she breathed out through her sniffling snout, wet but relaxed, “I’m Undertow, can we talk?”
She grinned savagely at her mockery of how our first fight ended, before her scowl returned in full. “What game are you playing, Red Ice? Your spell is worthless against me, and I know that you can do more. I taught you to do more. Why won’t you fight me with everything you have?”
My hoof caressed her cheek for just a moment before she slammed it back onto the lake ice. Even with the water garotte around my neck, I forced the words out through a rictus smile. “Because… this is… all I… could do… without you.”
Her eyebrows rose over the rim of her goggles. “W-what?”
Her grip on my neck and hoof slackened, and I took my chance. Putting everything into the motion, I wrapped my hooves around her in a fierce embrace, burying my face into her shoulder.
She reacted violently, shaking and jerking to free herself. “What are you doing, Lady Ice? Stop this right now! Let me go!” Her hooves found purchase against my chest and broke my hold. She shoved again and sent me sprawling.
“What is this, Red Ice?” Hopping back a few steps, she glared at me.
It was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.
I lifted the goggles caught on my hoof, watching her eyes widen in shock. “I’m not Red Ice, not to you. I’m not Lady Ice, or Lady Snow, or any kind of title. Let me show you why.”
Under the glacial light of my horn, a sheet of ice rose up between us, bisecting the view. I looked on joyously as two halves of two ponies looked back at me. One was Undertow, and the other was my reflection.
“Look,” I softly urged, “really look. You want to know why I won’t fight you? This is why I won’t fight.”
Watching comprehension dawn for her was wondrous. Her mouth hung open, gaze shifting back and forth between the ice mirror and myself. Under any other circumstances, I would have hated seeing her cry, but I found myself tearing up right with her as she cried.
“There’s no ice without water.”
The two halves of two ponies, both unicorns, with different colours and builds, stared back at each of us with two pairs of identical orange eyes.
The reflection dropped away as the mirror disappeared, revealing the same eye underneath. I held out the goggles to Undertow and her beautiful eyes.
“You’re my sister, you always have been, and I will never send you away.”
Rooted to the spot, Undertow could do nothing but sob. “Lady Snow, I am so sorry, I-”
Gathering her into a hug, I shook my head. “No, not ‘Lady Snow’, not anymore. Not ‘Lady Snow’, or ‘Lady Ice’, or ‘Red Ice’, or ‘mistress’ or anything else stupid like that. I’m just Snowflake, and you’re just Undertow. Sisters don’t use titles, and I am so sorry that I made you wait for that.”
“My… sister.” Her hooves came up and returned the embrace, her sobs merging into quiet, constant tears.
I’ll protect you, I promise. Nothing will ever hurt you like I have.
~~~~~~
We were in no hurry to do anything as we sat snuggled up in Crystal Point. After we’d both calmed down, we’d been not-at-all-trying and failing to keep smiles off our faces.
“Never had a little sister before.” I mused. “Hope I don’t mess it up.”
“You? Never. Your brothers are proof of that.”
“OUR brothers.”
My heart melted all over again as she giggled adorably.
Too bad the moment was ruined by some unwanted guests. “Finally found you, Red Ice.”
The gruff stallion’s voice made us both jump. Standing at the mouth of the hollow were two earth ponies and a unicorn, all with pistols at the ready.
I’d never seen any of them in my life. “Can… can I help you?”
The leader, an unremarkably brown earth stallion spoke up again. “So you are definitely Red Ice?”
Undertow had untangled herself from me and stood off to the side, watching the other two. I kept my eyes on the leader. “Yyyess, I’m Red Ice.”
He flashed a dirty grin. “Great. So how does this work? I mean, are there caps or…?”
“...What?”
His grin faded slightly. “The reward. What do we get?”
“Reward?”
The grin faded entirely, and the other two stallions were looking annoyed. “Alright what is this? We were told that when we found you, we’d get some kind of reward from Red Eye.”
“From Red Eye? I don’t-” I stopped mid-sentence as comprehension dawned. “Wait, this is still a thing? That was weeks ago, and it was a pile of crap back then!”
The click of a hammer being drawn back interrupted my complaining. “It’s starting to sound like there’s no reward, Red Ice. I can’t say we’d take that well.”
Dammit, Amber! Normally I’d have been a little anxious about having guns soon-to-be pointed at me, but one thing changed the situation entirely. My little sister looked calm as ever, and so I felt no fear.
“Sucks to be you fellas, but yeah, there’s no reward.”
The unicorn at the back leered at Undertow. “Oh, well, that doesn’t have to be true.”
SHHK! “Oh yeah it does. No don’t bother trying to use those guns, they’re frozen to your hooves and can’t be used. Now fellas, I’d have let you just walk out of here if your friend there hadn’t just oggled my sister, but now all bets are off.”
Ice began to spread across the cave floor at the same time as a wall of water blocked out the light from outside.
~~~~~~
I felt a lot of fear this time around. In fact I was shaking.
Undertow and I stood before the gates of Sprinkles Supplies, and before us stood a stone-faced Fedexi Lexi. Atop the walls of the compound stood grim sentries with ready weapons.
Fighting my tongue off the suddenly dry roof of my mouth, I barely managed to get the words out. “We’re… uh… we’re back.”
Lexi didn’t move, just continued to stare.
I tried again. “Boss,” and that’s as far as I got. All the emotions of the past week caught up to me; Latvi, Wings, Breeze, Lexi herself, Undertow, those three idiots, they all slammed me at once. I hadn’t realised, until that very moment, just how important it was to me to be welcome here again.
“c-can w-we c-c-come i-in?” I blubbered, eyes screwing shut to avoid her gaze.
Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes, ple-
“Aw, get over here!”
I didn’t need telling twice, damn near leaping into her open hooves. Undertow joined a millisecond later, and I hugged the both of them like there was no tomorrow. A whoop went up from the walls as the perimeter guards showed their support.
“And it’s done? This Red Ice and Raider business? No more messin’ around?”
I nodded into her mane. “Mhm.”
Lexi’s warm twang lifted the last of the weight from my heart. “That’s my girls.”
~~~~~~
“An’ yer sure this is what you want?”
“Yes.”
Half-opening my eyes, I looked around groggily. Shifting under the blanket, I took in Lexi’s apartment. I was on the couch, where I’d apparently fallen asleep.
The voices of Lexi and Undertow drifted in from the other room. “So yer okay with all she’s done?”
“...Not okay, exactly, but I will stay with her.”
“An’ if she goes all Red Ice again?”
Oh. Having those two, especially those two, discuss my failings wasn’t the best thing to wake up to.
“She won’t.”
“I reckon yer right. Still, if she does, it’s your job to bring her back, y’hear?”
“I know.”
Thanks, Undertow.
“An’ if you can’t stop ‘er by yerself, you come straight here to me, got it? We’ll get her right together.”
“Of course.”
You won’t need to.
“However, we won’t need to.”
“Prob’ly right, but why’re you so sure?”
I heard the smile in Undertow’s voice. “Because she is my sister.”
~~~~~~
Level Up!
Perks gained: Family’s For Life - Sisterhood suits Snow. Being around family grants a boost to stamina and charisma.
~~~~~~
Author’s note: I have been looking forward to writing that scene for so long! Welcome back, little sister.
If anybody was confused about the special connection that Snow and Undertow share, I'll direct you to the Old Souls page on the Fallout Equestria wiki, where you can see a picture of what Snow looks like.
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),Shunketsunoponi 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.
A special thanks goes out to Honey Mead for his assistance with this chapter. He really provided some solid insights. If you are unfortunate enough not to have read his story, Fallout Equestria: Rolling Bones then you should go do that straight away. It is well worth your time.
That’s all for now, folks. Please keep reading, commenting, and spreading the word on Old Souls. I really appreciate your feedback.