//------------------------------// // Fallout Equestria: Old Souls - Chapter 29: We Await The Day // Story: Fallout Equestria: Old Souls // by Pillbug //------------------------------// Chapter 29: We Await The Day [So try again! Make new friends! And if something that you can't control happens that changes things, work through it together!] The heat from the blaze was sweltering, but it wasn’t the reason my eyes burned. Atop the pyre, an unmoving form lay amongst the flames. I barely felt the sweat-soaked rags covering my head and face as I looked up at her, deceptively peaceful within the fire. The burning increased as wetness coated my cheeks, and the lump in my throat grew larger. How could you be dead, Naiara? How could this happen? No answer came. Closer than I, braving the fierce heat, a pegasus and a zebra clung to each other as our friend burned. Breeze barely had the energy to stand, and even Cept’s hooves trembled as they supported each other, physically and spiritually. What are we going to do without you? Nearby, a second pegasus and a Changeling waited, misty eyes flicking between the couple and the fire. Cassie and Bosco could do nothing, but wouldn’t let Breeze and Cept go through this alone. Why couldn’t we save you, like you kept saving us? Away and to the side, a young filly buried her face into the embrace of three stoic buffalo bulls. Undertow made no effort to hide her pain at the passing of the mare who had shown her nothing but love. Buff, Al, and Lo paid their respects, even if they hardly knew Naiara. When did we ever spend time on you? Did we ever? I didn’t move my head when paws and claws stopped at my side, and hooves across from them. Schwarzwald and Wings solemnly watched as grey, striped hair turned black. Who could ever be a better friend? A better person? Schwarzwald cleared her throat, but her voice still cracked as she spoke. “It nev… it never stops hurting, dahling, not for a moment. No matter how much we wish.” Wings’ head dipped. “Even now? Twenty years?” Schwarzwald did nothing for a long time, before quietly taking a breath. “Even now. They… all of you… so young.” With patience and fortitude I couldn’t hope to muster, the two remained silent as I tried, over and over, to force a response. Eons passed before I managed. “It shouldn’t be her up there.” “I know.” The older mare’s sad warmth softened the hurt, for a fraction of a moment. Wings’ voice faltered. “It shouldn’t be any of us. This wasn’t supposed to happen.” “I know.” “Why?” I half-cried. “Why couldn’t it be… not her?” So many names and faces ran through my mind, but not a one of them reached my tongue, no matter how I wished them to. Latvi, Peanut, Willow Wisp, Roc… any of them. Why couldn’t they be burning up there while she smiled with Breeze and Cept? Swapped jokes with Bosco and Undertow? Sparred and sat and sang with me, Schwarz, and Wings? Why— Even the thought choked me. “...not her.” Was all I could say. Nothing, no robot or horn or ANYTHING is worth this. Worth her. “...I know.” I couldn’t even see her in the flames anymore. The griffon beside me shifted. “What… do we do now?” “We finish.” Laboriously, Cept turned from the fire. His face was drawn taut around his golden eyes, and every word visibly drained him further. “Naiara was— IS my closest friend. She always will be. I know no better soul. She cannot rest easy if we do not finish her work.” With the slow force of a rolling storm, Breeze’s head came up to rest under his chin. “No matter how long it takes. Forever. Besides my sister, she was my first friend, and I didn’t always deserve her. I have to make that up to her.” Sniffling and snuffling, Undertow pulled herself from Al’s embrace. “She was… the best of us. Whatever can be done must be done.” Cassie nodded. “I won’t stop until I’ve found Latvi.” “Not even for a moment.” Bosco’s grey eyes flashed green for a moment. Metal scraped on leather as Wings drew her revolver. “And the rest.” I nodded past my rags. “Them too. All of them.” Looking to each of us in turn, Cept nodded before turning to Schwarzwald. “Please take Breeze and keep her safe. Our clan must pay their respects, and prepare our clan-sister for the next world. This… only zebra now.” Eyes wide and glistening, Breeze separated from him. “I can’t stay?” “Not for this.” There was no irritation in him, only sorrow. “There are things that zebra do that are not for outsiders. Naiara is still part of our clan, and we will show that now.” He reached out and caressed the technophile’s cheek. “I do not want you to go, but the clan will not allow it. Please understand.” She held his hoof in place with one of hers. “I love her as much as you do, Cept.” Without warning, he pulled her in. Their lips locked together as he wrapped her up in his hooves, the fire roaring behind the two. We could only watch, stunned, at the brazen display from the normally-reserved stallion. Cept broke the kiss after a dozen seconds. “I know. I love you as much as we love her, but for this moment…” Again he looked to Schwarzwald. “I understand.” The older mare moved up next to Breeze, and began softly leading her away. “Come with us, dahling. We will wait for Cept back at the compound.” Breeze didn’t resist, but did look over her shoulder at Cept, blue and white mane falling across her face. “Be gentle with her, Cept, please?” A small smile was returned. “She is family, Breeze. We will send her soul on with all our love.” The rest of us moved away, Breeze and Schwarzwald, Bosco and Cassie, Undertow and Doublehorns, Wings and I. After a hundred metres, I looked back. All around Naiara and Cept, zebra were shimmering into existence from under their cloaks. I couldn’t be completely sure from that far out, but it looked like Atesh was not among them. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “So… what now?” Not one of the other thirteen sat in the Sprinkles Supplies bar answered Esto’s question immediately, thoughts still on the funeral. Nobody was really in a hurry to acknowledge anyone else, more sitting in close proximity rather than as a group. I barely saw the others past my rags and the pair of dark welding goggles that Mom had scrounged up for my eyes. Shifting on her stool at the counter to look across the entire bar, Esto rearranged her glasses and tried again. “I’m sorry, everyone, I know this is a hard time for you all. Still, Latvi is out there, and his forces are far stronger than they were two days ago.” “We know.” Cassie snapped succinctly. “We’re going to stop him.” Even under the Sniper Pegasus’ glare, Esto didn’t wilt completely. “I am afraid that it will not be as easy as that. Going by the manifest I pulled from Whitepony after…” She broke off, lowering her voice, “...after Whitepony, it seems that Latvi got away with roughly sixty percent of the guard robots. We could only acquire the other forty.” “So what’re yeh sayin’?” Mom hadn’t left Undertow’s side since we got back from the funeral, and sat with my sister and I in a square booth. My brothers sat in the adjacent seats. “She’s saying,” Bosco piped up from the opposite wall, where Cept, Breeze, and Cassie also had situated themselves, “that we can’t take him in a straight fight.” The scientist nodded remorsefully. “Not with the forces we have available.” “Just get me a clean shot,” Cassie interrupted again, pressing a hoof hard into the table top. “I’ll do the rest.” “Ain’t gonna work,” Leaning against the wall, Wings twitched a claw, “he’s still got griffon air support. You won’t get close enough.” Cept thumped the cracked, faded leather. “What can we do? Latvi cannot win. Is there any news that can help us?” Breeze rested a hoof on top of his. “We know where he’s heading.” She looked at me. “North. Way north.” What a surprise. “The Stable. Of course he’s going there. That moron Roc sends out an open invitation, AFTER he already lets the Rangers inside, and expects things to go well.” I briefly pondered how Iron Sights, the Steel Ranger Elder, had reacted to Roc’s broadcast. There was a zero percent chance that he’d have been in favour of it. “If we can’t take Latvi’s army, can we at least beat Neighlway’s fighters? We can’t leave the Stable in their hooves either.” “We do not know.” Sitting with Esto and Amber at the counter, Schwarzwald shrugged. “No one knows how strong the Neighlway Rangers are together. They are avoided for good reason, and only small patrols are ever seen. We do not know if we can beat them either.” I coughed into my hoof. “When Latvi and I had our Raider army, we took on the Rangers a few times. They’ll at least have lost some forces from that, and someone told me once that Neighlway isn’t that big of a detachment.” “Do we have to take ‘em on in a straight fight at all?” Bosco held his hooves out separately, then crossed them in front of him. “We know Latvi’s heading to the Stable, and the Rangers are already there. He’s gotta go through them to get in, and they’re not gonna like that. Why not let them duke it out, and deal with the winner?” Undertow shook her head. “We can’t wait that long. Every moment that the Rangers are in the Stable is another chance for them to find Chrysalis’ core. They could bring the Windigoes down on all of us.” She rubbed Lo’s shoulder. “Besides, the residents of the Stable might be suffering under the Rangers. I don’t want your friends to go through that.” Lo beamed down at her. “That’s sweet, li’l sis.” “I’m sure they’re fine,” Buff soothed, “but thanks for thinking of them.” “Yeah, you’re the best.” Al nuzzled her cheek. “The guys in the Stable’ll will be alright.” “Whatever. Screw ‘em.” I muttered, mostly to myself. Mom nudged me in the ribs, before clearing her throat. “Ah don’t know ‘bout the rest o’ yeh, but from what Ah know of the Rangers, they ain’t the type to bunker down if an enemy’s comin’ for ‘em. They’ll wanna fight.” “So?” Wings glanced my way while she asked this. Judging by her frown, she’d heard me too. “Well, they might know that this Roc wants ponies comin’ to the Stable, but might not know that an army’s headin’ their way. Ah propose we let ‘em know.” Quizzical looks were exchanged all round. Esto was the first to respond. “For what purpose?” Lexi nodded in Bosco’s direction. “Two reasons: One, gets ‘em fightin’ each other and whittlin’ down both sides’ numbers. Two: They do it outside the Stable. The folks inside don’t get caught up in the fightin’, at least until our side gets there. Less casualties fer us.” The charcoal Changeling colt scratched at his chin. “Not a bad idea, all things considered. We make a big fuss over Latvi heading to the Stable, get the word out as far as we can, and make it like the Rangers don’t stand a chance. They’ll wanna prove us wrong.” Breeze sat us a little straighter. “And while they’re fighting, we sneak inside, or attack them both while they’re distracted.” “Or both.” Cept squeezed her shoulder. “The Rangers would not have many guards at the Stable while their fighters attack Latvi’s robots. We could beat them and take the Stable without a fight.” Doubt it’s gonna be that simple, but it’s a better idea than going head to head with two armies who might both be bigger than what we’ve got. “If you could get me and the boys inside, we can take you to the main points you’d need to control the place.” A rapping on the bar counter cut into the discussion. Amber held a piece of scrap paper in her mouth, folded into quarters, for Schwarzwald to read. “‘The Steel Rangers do not know about Latvi,’?” Read the mercenary mare, before squinting at the author. “What do you mean by that, Amber-dahling?” In response, the Bernstein leader twitched her lips, just enough for the quarter-fold to come undone, exposing more writing on the new half. Schwarzwald dutifully continued reading. “‘We must give the Rangers a known quantity to counter. One who is guaranteed to oppose their plans.’” Bosco shifted uneasily. “You mean somebody they’re gonna want to kill?” Wings stopped leaning on the wall. “I know somebody we can use for that.” Everybody looked at her. “You do? Who?” She hooked a claw back at herself. On the other side of the room, Amber unfolded the rest of the message, with two words written on the other side of the paper, underlined and in bold: BLUE FIRE “You?” I began shuffling out from the booth, looking to Amber for answers. “Why Wings?” Her ‘reply’ was a severely frustrated grimace, and a pointed stare. “Right, right, sorry.” I turned back to Wings. “Why do you have to do it? The Rangers don’t like any of us, and more than half here have had direct contact with them.” She shrugged lifelessly. “They don’t have our reputations, and you’re needed in the Stable. ‘s gotta be me.” Breeze grunted. “You’re makin’ it sound like you won’t be with us at the Stable.” Wings’ expression didn’t change. “Because I won’t. We’ve gotta sell this to draw the Rangers out. I have to be with the bots. Some tintop spots me in Stable 61, calls it in, and suddenly they’re all heading back that way. Can’t let that happen until they and Latvi’s lot knock enough lumps out of each other.” Everyone was staring at her now. Bosco slid off his stool and joined her and I in the center of the room. “Wings, you can’t be the only one of us out in the open. You’ll be a giant target for Latvi AND the Rangers. We already know our bots can’t hold them off. You need some more backup. Let me go with you. I can help with tactics too.” Breeze reluctantly let go of Cept’s hoof and flapped out of their booth. “Cassie and I’ll go too. Pegasi aren’t good in narrow corridors anyway, and Naiara would never forgive us if we let you go alone.” Amber rapped on the counter again, furiously scribbling on more paper. Schwarzwald leaned over her shoulder and read it aloud. “‘No more fliers’.” She nodded. “A fair point. You four are the only ones here who can fly. We can’t use the sky carriage without one of you, two if we all go. Latvi has fliers too. We would be in trouble without bringing some of you with us to the Stable.” “Not to mention the Overmare, and the Pegasi or Griffons in the Stable itself.” The words ground themselves out from between my teeth. Buff noticed. “Snow, the Overmare’s one thing, but you don’t think the Stable residents will try to fight us, do you?” “Yes.” Was my instant reply. “Snow,” his brow creased, as did that of my other two brothers, “I know they weren’t always good to you, but do you really think—” “—that they’ll put a bullet in my brain to save their own sorry hides from the Rangers? Of course I do.” I wasn’t even angry, not really. I just couldn’t see it happening in this or any other reality. “But we’re going off-topic. Wings shouldn’t be staying back alone, for the same reason that she’s saying she should: Blue Fire’s too valuable to lose. After all this is over, there’s still gonna be a role for her.” Schwarzwald purposefully cleared her throat. I know, I know, shut up. “I mean we’ve still gotta clear out the Raiders and slavers trapped in Lethbridle. We’ll need Wings for that.” The aforementioned Griffon groaned, spinning on her heel and stalking from the bar. “This is getting us nowhere. We’ll work out the rest on the way. Let’s just send the damn message first, then work out the rest on the way. Latvi’s already heading for the Stable. We don’t have forever to discuss this in fucking committee.” She disappeared around the corner, still ranting. “Hey, Snow’s Mom, where’s your broadcast gear? Let’s get the message out already!” I stared after her, stunned at the sudden shift in atmosphere. Wings? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “The good people of Stable 61 should not suffer under the Steel Rangers’ cruelty. I won’t allow—” I shut off Wings’ message. I’d heard her recording it, and it’d been playing every hour since. There was much more to focus on as it was, even if I was relegated to keeping out of the way, lest my wrappings come loose. In the main Sprinkles Supplies courtyard, our delegation readied to depart. Out of the main gate, the Whitepony guard robots stood at attention, awaiting orders. Not far from them, Breeze was hooked up to the sky carriage, itself full of supplies and tech. Inside, the activity level was leagues higher. In her status as Blue Fire, Wings had been named leader of the expeditionary force, which included my family, our friends, Amber, Esto, Lithu, and any Sprinkles Supplies guard who wanted to follow their boss figuratively to the end of the world. There really isn’t any further to go than Stable 61, unless you wanna commit suicide-by-Windigo. Some former Lethbridle guards, coming from Vanchoofer after the Crush incident, were going to meet us on route. More fighters against Latvi’s robots and Monsters, and Iron Sights’ Steel Rangers, but still not nearly enough to tip the scales in our favour. The original plan was gonna have to go on ahead, no matter how much I didn’t like it. Wings is risking too much for this, I have to come up with something better. Unfortunately, that left me bundled up against more than just the cold. Red Ice was not a popular name to any group here, not even our inner circle, and we couldn’t risk revealing who I was to our allies. I was stuck in my increasingly stuffy and sweaty coverings. Three metres off the ground, Wings hovered, taking one last look over the proceedings, before giving a sharp avian keen. “LET’S MOVE OUT!” She’d said it loud enough for all to react to, but there was no emotion in her words, just cold professionalism. She’d been that way from the second the initial message went out, barely speaking to any of us outside of checking preparation details. Even as I watched, she brushed past Schwarzwald in silence. That’s not like you, Wings. What’s wrong? You tackle problems, you don’t go robot at them. You’ve put a gun to my head more than once to get me to knock off the crazy. Hell, you’ve pulled a gun on my mother instead of taking ‘no’ for an answer. What gives? The tension remained for the first four hours of the trek, with the Griffon practicing an economy of words that would make Amber seems chatty. Her only interaction with the rest of us came when Cassie, having taken over lugging the sky carriage for Breeze two hours earlier, came down to swap out. Seizing my chance, I snuck up to the carriage while Cassie was fixing the headset radio onto the Griffon, so she could still communicate with those on the ground if she spotted something. The sniper Pegasus’ eye swivelled in my direction as I eased the hatch open, but she said nothing as I resealed it behind me. Inside the cramped compartment, I remained still until Wings reached a steady altitude, then slipped the communicator I’d borrowed from Undertow out of my barding. I switched it over to a short-range private channel. “Hey, Wings?” “HOLY FUCK!” The carriage rocked violently from her shock. “WHAT THE HELL, SNOW?!” I peered out of the narrow porthole, giving a small wave at her as she glared back at me from the harness. “Can we talk?” “Oh yeah, sure, just as soon as I make sure the crap you scared out of me didn’t hit anybody down below!” I couldn’t laugh, not so soon after the funeral, but I managed a half-smile as I turned and slid down the wall separating me from her and the open air. “That’s better. I was worried since you were so quiet.” She tch’d through the speaker. “Maybe I don’t wanna talk to anyone right now.” “You could talk to yourself,” I tried, “I’ll just leave the channel open and not say a word.” “Why’re you pushing this, Snow?” She challenged, voice taut. “Tryin’ to make things the way they were before Naiara DIED?” Fresh daggers cut into my heart at that last part. “Things won’t be the way they were, Wings, not ever again. But that doesn’t mean you have to cut yourself off from the rest of us. We’re all hurting, but we all want to help each other get through it. Naiara wouldn’t want her friends breaking up over her.” “Well, isn’t that great for you to know what Naiara would have wanted.” The sulky tone dragged me up to the window again. Wings resolutely looked forwards, not at the window. “What’s that mean?” Her scalp feathers, bundled up in the usual ponytail, shook slightly. “I honestly can’t say that I remember a whole lot about her, Snow.” She couldn’t maintain her stoic speech, resulting in it turning watery and shrill. “Do you remember what you told me, back when I left to go back to my family with McCoy? You told me that Naiara was so pissed when I said she wasn’t really a friend.” I wanted to reach through the glass, to wrap her up in a tight hug. “That was a while ago, Wings. She knew that wasn’t true. You know that’s not true. Don’t do this to yourself.” The dam broke, and she lost all composure. “I still hardly know anything about her, Snow, and now I never will! I never got the chance to make it up to her for saying that!” “Wings, we all feel that way.” That soul-sucking regret, that crushing doubt, the constant and unrelenting feelings that she’d still be here if we were even a fraction as good a person as she was. “Breeze and Cept are cut up about bringing her to Whitepony, and if anybody’s to blame for Latvi’s involvement it’ll be me, but Naiara was her own filly. She didn’t… doesn’t carry grudges, and she certainly doesn’t blame you for anything. She stayed with us, all of us, because she didn’t want us to be alone. She knew we made each other stronger. Don’t doubt that you made her stronger.” I cradled the communicator to my cheek. “I know you make me stronger. That’s how you show you’re her friend.” “...It still doesn’t feel like it’s enough. Not even close.” “I know.” Tears ran down my cheeks freely. “It’s because we love her so much. We have to make sure we stay the people she loved, and who love her. Can you do that for me, Gigglewings?” She sniffed a few times, still sounding pained. “I can try, for Naiara.” That brought a genuine smile. “For Naiara.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “IF ONE MORE OF YOU JACKHOLES TAKES A SINGLE STEP TOWARDS NAIARA’S ROOM AGAIN, I’LL USE EVERY GRENADE I HAVE AND BLOW YOUR DAMN DICKS OFF!” I shut the front door behind me, confident that Breeze had the situation in hoof… and that Cassie would stop her from going too far. Maybe stopping at Hoofshine for the night wasn’t the best idea, with all these hangers-on. The Lethbridle, Sprinkles Supplies, and Vanchoofer guards who’d accompanied us had colonised the former whorehouse’s bar for the past few hours, and some of them were on the wrong side of where any bartender would cut them off. Since we had no bartenders, besides my on-off apprenticeship under Whiskey Sour back in the Stable, nobody was around to declare Last Call. They had even stopped listening to Blue Fire on the matter. Speaking of the griffon, she had already retired for the evening, along with most of our friends. My family was safe and snug in the master bedroom under the bar, too. Only the twins, Schwarzwald, Bosco, and myself remained awake. Guard duty fell to the bots. The twins were inside, guarding Naiara’s room and its contents, while Schwarzwald had slipped away for reasons unknown. Bosco was dealing with a much more interesting situation. The charcoal colt was engaged in an animated discussion with a haggard Earth pony stallion, his pale yellow mane and emerald coat bundled up in Molar Bear fur and hide. “The Rangers are camped out on the north end of town, while the robots are holdin’ just outside the south entrance.” Bosco listened intently to Facemask’s intel. “Cefar’s gonna end up a wreck once they start going at it.” I walked up to stand beside Bosco. “Good to see you got away safely, Facemask. Sounds like the situation’s pretty bad.” He took in my concealing bandages with a doctor’s stare. “What happened to you, girl? Did your brothers find you?” I smiled back. “Yeah, thanks to you. They’re sleeping inside.” I circled my face with my hoof. “As for this? I found the bad side of the Wasteland that you warned me about.” The old healer grinned. “You’re still kicking, at least. That’s something. Still got to get through the mess back the way I came, though. Least, I assume that’s where you’re goin’ with all this?” “What about the others?” Bosco interrupted, eyes probing. “They didn’t stay in Cefar, did they?” Facemask didn’t answer for a moment, before shaking his head. “Most were smart enough to leave when the Rangers came through last week, heading up the mountain. They mostly left us alone, but…” The younger colt gulped. “‘But’?” The doctor looked away. “Kiddo, the Rangers killed Lenny.” Bosco’s face fell. Mine… didn’t. I simply deadpanned “Oh no, they killed Lenny.” That earned me a glare from Bosco, and a deep frown from Facemask. “You got meaner, girl.” “Yeah, I did.” I confirmed, easily meeting his gaze. “Wanna know why? All those things you warned me about - the Rangers, Raiders, slavers, and the like. Well I found ALL of them.” He took all this in with just the barest widening of the eyes. “Guess it ain’t surprising then. Still, with how much those three buffalo boys were gushin’ over you, I’m almost disappointed.” Scowling, I brushed him off. “I’m glad you’re okay, doc, but you’re gonna be even more disappointed if you think I’m gonna cry over the death of an idiot whose only interaction with me was wanting to have sex with my dead body!” “That’s enough, Snow.” Steering Facemask away, Bosco wouldn’t look at me. “We’re gonna go inside, you should stay out here and cool off.” Without another word, the two headed inside. I stared after them, mentally kicking myself. Sorry, Bosco, I shouldn’t be making light of this so soon after Naiara. Stepping away from Hoofshine Harlots, I let my hooves lead me on a meandering path through the trees. The lights and sounds of the building didn’t penetrate far into the forest itself, leaving only what little illumination could find its way through the cloud cover. The Moon hasn’t given up on Equestria yet, it seems. Too bad I can’t see it. Hell, I might be wrong. For all I know, that’s a Windigo up there, waiting for me. Whichever you are, keep waiting. I’ve got things to do. As did others, accompanied by a chirping Spritebot, Schwarzwald materialised out of the gloom. “Dahling, you should rest. Tomorrow is a busy day.” “Just getting some air.” Giving a lazy salute, I greeted the floating machine. “Watcher, been a while. How’s business?” “Oh, just dandy.” If the bot could have rolled its eyes, it would have. “So Schwarzwald tells me you’ve gotten really close with Sombra’s horn.” I could do sardonic too. “Yep. Pretty much inseparable, we are. You could almost say we’re of one mind.” Even through the speakers, I heard him breathe in through his nostrils. “Yeah, done with the jokes now. Show me.” The last part wasn’t a request. I denied it anyway. “Watcher, I’m sure you have my best interests at heart, but I’m really not in the mood for another lecture. It boils down to this - I needed my magic to take on the Windigoes, and I lost my other horn. As Breeze rightly pointed out, we had a spare. I’m using that spare. You wanna talk about the pros and cons? See me after we get into the Stable.” Schwarzwald was fixed with a hard stare. “Not a word out of you either, Schwarz. It had to be done.” Schwarzwald canted her head, grinning. “I know, mistress. I was there.” Watcher’s Spritebot whirred. “What do you want me to say, Snow? That I approve of what you’ve done? Of what you’re doing? Sombra nearly the destroyed the Crystal Empire, and the Changelings you’re helping once invaded Canterlot. There aren’t many more ways I can say it - You’re messing with dangerous forces.” “Helping the Changelings is only a side effect of two other goals. The first is to help Bosco find his way again, and the second is to stop the Windigoes.” Glacial light leaked out from the folds of my wrappings. “Whatever happens with the others, that has to happen. The Windigoes will kill us all if they get past Chrysalis’ blizzard. We have to keep Chrysalis out of the hooves of the Steel Rangers. Their in the Stable now, and it’s only a matter of time before they find Chrysalis’ core.” “WHAT?!” The outburst devolved into static that had Schwarzwald and I wincing. “You know where they are?” Schwarzwald waggled a hoof in her ear. “We know they are in the Stable, dear Watcher, but no more than that. The Changelings did not give a precise location.” He was barely listening, tootling back and forth in the air. “Imagine what we could accomplish if we got Cadance back…” A smirk formed on my face at the satisfying clunk that occurred when I tapped my hoof against the bot’s shell. “Finally found some faith, Watcher? Enough to get you off my case and let us do this thing?” The random floating ceased immediately. When he spoke, Watcher’s voice was subdued. “Snow, it was never about getting in your way, or bothering you. It’s always been about what’s best for Equestria. I work my angles and you work yours. Any reservations I have on the matter are an attempt to get you to look at the whole board, and possible ramifications of your actions. We’ve never not been on the same side.” I stilled myself too. “Then give me the benefit of the doubt, Watcher. Look at this way - If we fail tomorrow, we were already fucked no matter what else is going on. If we succeed? Happy days. We can continue our work. There’s no risk here.” Silent for a long time, the floating bug drone surprised both Schwarzwald and I with a quick twirl. “You’ll go no matter what I tell you, yeah? You don’t really have a choice. Suppose I gotta believe in the two of you, and your friends. I’m behind you guys, really I am. Just don’t get Wings killed if you can help it. I mean, some other candidates are getting exciting, but I don’t wanna thin out the field if I don’t have to.” Guess that’s as good as we’ll get. I’ll take it. Schwarzwald and I shared a wink, before she cleared her throat. “Tell Snowflake about the others, Watcher-dahling. She should know who else is out there.” I chuckled and leaned back against a tree. “A bedtime story? Sweet. Spin me a yarn, Watcher.” Good cheer returned to the roboticized voice. “Alright, I’ll give you the rundown on a few of the other candidates. So, get this. This little unicorn walks out of Stable 2, right? Takes her all of about a week to get into trouble with, if you can believe this, a DRAGON of all things...” The hell’re you laughing for, Schwarzwald? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ We’d gotten underway just before first light. The fourteen of us, plus Lexi’s guards and the robots, were joined by Facemask. Bosco had tried to get the old stallion to stay behind, but he’d refused, citing his limited-but-not-non-existent medical skills as reason to come along as another healer. It takes some of the strain off Mom, at least. We were maybe half a mile out from Cefar when the rumble of heavy ordnance fire echoed back to us on the wind. Our entire force halted, murmurs springing up. My eyes went straight to Wings, who stood with a tight jaw and narrow blue eyes. “It’s started.” She didn’t look over, only clenching her beak a little tighter. “Yeah.” She sighed to herself, then motioned to Breeze. “Time to go to work, I guess.” The technophile Pegasus hooked the cannibalised control unit of my Pipbuck around her wrist, cinching it tightly in place. “Remember, you’re just there to point the robots in the right direction. Don’t get into the thick of it. Let the bots whittle down their numbers. You’re just there to tie up their forces, Wings, not win this whole thing for us. Don’t try to be Blue Fire if it means Wings gets in some shit. Wait for the right moment, get in, do your damage, and get out again.” “Point and click, got it.” The griffon’s quip was not well received. “Alright, yeah. I’ll hang back and direct. Can’t hold my guns and press the buttons on this thing at the same time anyway.” “Seriously, Wings,” Bosco and Cassie joined Breeze in fussing over her, “be careful.” Undertow and I crowded in too, hugging her tightly. “Dying won’t help us, Wings, no matter how many you take with you. You’re more important than the bots, ours or theirs. You can’t fall out here without ever seeing my Stable. I’ll never forgive you if you do.” Claws wrapped around my neck in return, she squeezed back. Her warm plumage rested against my chest. “Wouldn’t miss your embarrassing baby pics, Snow.” When the hug broke, Wings turned to her oldest friend. “Sure you don’t wanna come with, Schwarz? Lots of violence and explosions. You might pick up some more scars?” Schwarzwald ruefully shook her head. “It sounds wonderful, dahling, but we each have our role to play. I wish you well, and repeat what the others have said.” She squared her shoulders and, even though it didn’t outwardly change, her grin became obviously strained. “Do. Not. Die.” A veteran of Schwarzwaldian bravado, Wings barely blinked. “Yeah, I love you too. Keep everybody safe, Schwarz, yourself included.” Schwarzwald led the others to the sky carriage, with Bosco helping to get the twins into the harnesses. That just left Wings and I standing in the snow. I feel like I should say something, but what? No answers came, so we continued to stare each other down. Finally, I blinked. “I, uh… I’ll be waiting in the Stable. Don’t… don’t take too long.” She held out a clawed fist. “Just remember we’re here to keep the Changelings safe. The Stable might’ve been jerks to you, but they’re caught in the middle of this. Focus on getting the Rangers out of there, first. I’ll gladly help you get some payback afterwards.” My hoof bumped against her claw. “You do that, and I’ll owe YOU a favour for once.” She snickered. “I thought we weren’t counting?” So did I. “Just this once.” “That’s a promise. Don’t do welching on the deal later.” Her claw withdrew, and she turned towards the robots. I watched her go. “Not a chance.” For the short walk to the sky carriage, I didn’t bother to look up. Too many thoughts of what might happen to Wings while the rest of us were away in the Stable plagued my mind. I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice the Sprinkles Supplies guards going in the other direction until I ran into the last one. Shaking off the collision, I glared at him. “Where are you all going?” He glared right back, but nodded over to the hatch, where my mother stood waiting. “Looking after the griffon. Boss’ orders.” What? I scampered over to her. “What did you do, Mom?” She offered a hoof to pull me into the carriage. “Ah ain’t about t’leave mah daughter’s best friend without backup, now am I?” Gaping open-mouthed as we took off, it was several seconds before I could talk around the lump in my throat and chest. “You’re the best mom ever.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A rolling wave of mist, courtesy of my glowing horn, filled the tunnel leading to the Stable entrance. We stood at its mouth, the wind if not blocked, then dulled, by the bulk of the sky carriage. The blizzard outside, and the curvature of the rock, meant that light barely reached a dozen metres in. I willed another wave of fog down the passageway. “You guys stay here for a minute. I’m gonna check it out.” The four forms of my siblings started at this. “By yourself?” Lo’s concern was touching, but unnecessary. “Calm down. I’m not gonna go nuts. Just gonna check it out. I’ll keep the mist cover up. It’ll be easier with just me. If we all go down there, the noise might alert any guards.” I was already a hoofful of body lengths in by this point, giving them no time to argue. “I’ll be back soon.” “...Be careful, Snow.” I gave a final wave before turning the first corner. I hadn’t been kidding that I would be careful. Even with my haze cutting visibility, I hugged the wall. Any overzealous tintop decides to just shoot until he hits something, I’ll be out of there before he finishes his first volley. It was slow going, though, and a not-insignificant number of curses were choked back due to stumbling on fog-hidden stones. Still, after a few minutes, I felt my coat growing damper. Hmm. I blew out another patch, only to watch it displace the pre-existing miasma back around me. Nowhere to go. Slowly, I extended my hoof, feeling through the soupy air. I whispered to myself as I probed. “Gently, gently, gent-” CLANG! The ringing of my horseshoe on the solid Stable door rang out jarringly. “...-ly. Dammit.” “WHO GOES THERE?” Above me, both top corners of the haze exploded into noise. Rattling and feeding back, 200-years dormant speakers wheezed out the robotic voice of some unseen Steel Ranger, on the other side of the Stable door. Friggin’ speakers?! Overmare, you bitch! Gave me the silent treatment for like an hour when you kicked me out. Couldn’t have just told me to move on, save me half freezing for nothing? Rather than answering the repeating demand, I reached back, along arcane channels, until I felt my favourite familiar water sourcery. My frustration at being noticed, coupled with growing battle readiness, got the message across. I felt her reaching back, growing stronger as she and the others drew closer. Atta girl. “IDENTIFY YOURSELF! YOU ARE TRESPASSING, AND THIS FACILITY IS UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE STEEL RANGERS! THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING!” I couldn’t help it, snorting in response to the wording. “‘Protection’, right. Whatever you say, fella.” “Oh!” A less robotic, and far too familiar voice, took over. “Snowflake, there you are. I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival.” Undertow and the others are almost here, I can feel it. “Have you now, Roc? I don’t remember calling ahead.” The smarmy griffon’s practiced warmth didn’t falter. “Well, perhaps not directly, Snowflake. But, from their past encounters with you, my Steel Ranger friends here were quietly confident that you would find your way back here after you stopped in to visit them at Neighlway.” “Oh, is the gang all here? Open the door and I’ll pop in to say hi.” I almost believed he would, too. But then the sounds of the others approaching became noticeable behind me. The golden-furred griffon’s silver tongue kept wagging, but got a little sharper. “My, well, that’s a terribly kind offer, Snowflake. However it appears that, like me, you have friends with you. I wouldn’t want to keep you, considering how rarely you manage to socialise.” The veiled insult practically oozed from the speakers. My tail shifted as one of the others brushed against it. “Get ready.” I grunted to them, chin down, before addressing the unseen Overseer. “Never let it be said you’re not one for etiquette, Roc,” “Thank you.” “...but I’m comin’ in, and any ‘friends’ of yours that try to stop me won’t survive the attempt.” With a flourish, the magic-born mist was dispelled, and my hooves and tongue ripped away the makeshift shawl covering my head. “Now shut the fuck up and open this door.” My twisted horn and bubbled scars brought instant sputtering and background chatter through the loudspeakers. A dull thunk, then frantic scrabbling sounded before Roc came back on the line. “Snowflake, what have you done to yourself?” Ignoring Roc’s flapping, we approached the door. Bosco rapped a hoof against it. “Feels pretty thick. Can we override it somehow?” The twins were probing the edges of the doorframe. Breeze shook her head. “No way to connect from this side. Probably intentional.” “It is,” Al piped up, “I took a look at the blueprints one time. The door’s just solid metal. It gets moved with a mechanism inside.” Breeze huffed. “Then I got nothing.” “I’ve got something.” Taking a few deep breaths, I stepped up to the door, resting my horn on the metal. “Been thinking about it on the way up. It’s gonna be dangerous, so you guys should probably back off like, ten metres or so, but be ready to move when I break through.” Esto raised an eyebrow. “What are you planning?” I shrugged. “It’s about to get very cold in here.” The eyebrow raised higher. “If you are planning what I think you are, the temperature—” “I know, which is why you all need to back off.” Her scepticism grated a little. “It’s gonna need to be damn cold, and I don’t want you all getting caught up in it.” Without another word, Esto began moving straight backwards. “Everyone, I strongly suggest you back up to the next bend. This will be dangerous.” Thankfully, they heeded her advice, leaving me free to concentrate. “Gimme a few minutes, Roc, I’ll be right in.” My horn began to glow glacier-blue, but then faded as I stepped back to look at the speaker. “Oh, I almost forgot. Overseer?” Years of practice kept the decorum in his voice, but just barely. “...Yes, Snowflake?” The most wicked grin I could manage spread across my battle damaged face. “You’re fired.” “Excuse me? Snowflake, you are hardly in a position to—” I let him rant, and focused on the task at hoof. My entire focus went to the very centre of the door, an area barely the width of a bottlecap. My magic rested on it, feather light, and then I started concentrating. Cold poured onto that bottlecap space, more and more, layering into one pure, tiny sphere of ice. My will pushed on that sphere, keeping it the same size, will filling it ever denser with chill. I poured it on, harsher and harder, sweat falling from me from the effort. Instead of hitting the cave floor, however, the falling drops froze and then crumbled into nothing mid-descent, robbed of their energy and form by the frozen core I pushed into the Stable door. The door itself was feeling it too, with small pops and groans increasing in frequency and volume. Roc’s voice couldn’t be heard any more, the speakers warping and cracking in their sockets. Still I moulded more raw frigidity into that same space. The cold was so intense now that the metal behind it was cracking and snapping off, a small crater in the centre of the mighty barrier. Go deeper! I willed. Bite and claw and dig your way through. My breath was turning ragged from the exertion, but I kept at it, the frost sphere boring through the door, the headbit of my horn’s drill. As it reached critical mass, the very light around the area dimmed, its warmth and power stolen by the ravenous core. The twinges of the core were making themselves known now, hinting at the rapidly approaching apex. I could feel the sphere now, having dug through to the three-dimensional centre of the door now, the perfect position for its intended purpose. The only issue being that I was still standing barely a metre from the door. Swiftly backtracking, and with no spare concentration to send a message through to Undertow, I had to hope that I made it around the bend in time. Here...three steps…it...two...comes...one! Four pairs of hooves reached for me,trying to drag me out of view, just as the core… went off. As it did, I saw the door turn black. Not just black, the deepest, fullest, most absolute black there could be. The utter absence of light. Light wasn’t the only absence, either. The door was completely silent. No sound escaped, the vibrations drained by the cold. Light, sound, warmth, energy. The state of the door was ultimate stillness. For ten seconds, twenty, it remained that way. “Um.” The door exploded. The basest levels of the metal, robbed of their energy, grabbed at anything they could find to regain their normality; each other, the energy around them, reaching out as far and as fast as they could. Throwing my hooves up to protect against the shrapnel-filled shockwave, I braced for the pain to come. However, while the cacophonous ringing of metal on metal filled the tunnel, coupled with sudden and violent gunfire, I didn’t feel any chunks tear into me. When I lowered my hooves, I saw why. A rippling transparent barrier stood in front of me, reaching out and up to block every millimetre of the rock and metal, which piled onto the shield in jagged bushels. Beyond the barrier, a pair of fully armed and armoured Ranger Paladins stood in the now-empty door frame, loosing volley after volley of bullets, bombs, and lasers. Every shot of theirs struck at the barrier directly in front of my eyes, and would have either put holes in my head or taken it clean off if not for the clear wall cutting them off. Standing next to me, Spell Shooter up and glowing, Breeze twitched. “Get ready, everyone. Barrier’s about to go down. Move when you see the flash!” With that, she crouched down behind the piles of door pieces, pulling me down with her. “Nice work, Snow. Seriously, damn.” The others bolted around the corner as the barrier flickered, huggin in low to get behind the temporary cover. I found myself getting positive looks from more than one of them. “Uh… thanks. I’m glad it worked.” Breeze flicked her hoof, ejecting the spent crystal over our cover. “Cassie!” “Eyes!” Still back at the corner, the sniper’s rifle barked as the barrier dropped. Her aim was true, and struck the tumbling shard, resulting in a blinding flash. We’d heeded her advice, and turned our heads away, but the Rangers cried out as the glare overwhelmed their optics. Bosco was first over the wall. “GO GO GO!” He and Cept snaked in on the right-most Ranger, ducking low under the arc of their blind return fire. Schwarzwald’s gatling sang out between the charging colts, jerking and jolting the Ranger’s armour and aim. On the left, my siblings followed a similar game plan. Undertow kept up a steady torrent of levitation-accelerated shrapnel, to batter and discombobulate the Steel-clad pony, to cover her three charging brothers, wielding massive reinforced iron sheets as pseudo-riot shields. With that much gunfire, shrapnel, and flash beating down on them, the two Paladins couldn’t set themselves long enough to line up shots. The Doublehorns slammed bodily into the left Ranger, shields first, crunching him backwards into the wall. Across from them, Cept flipped into a double dive kick with his hind hooves, both connecting right into the faceplate. As the tin pony staggered back, Bosco used his smaller stature to duck between its legs, then flashed green fire around himself, bringing a fourth buffalo, magnitudes bigger than his colt form, into the fight. The sudden size increase beneath it up-ended the Steel Ranger, leaving him easy pickings for Buff. Leaving Al and Lo to keep the left Ranger pinned against the wall, with Undertow jamming its weaponry with shrapnel telekinesis, Buff body slammed down right on top of the rightmost Ranger with a mighty crash. Buffa-Bosco joined him a moment later, with Cept’s Fallen Caesar hammer blows raining down on the exposed head of the prone pony. Even when pressed nearly flat against the wall by two hefty bovines, the other Paladin still tried to fight. Servos whining, they inched themselves around until they could angle a shot against Al. I saw Al’s eye widen as the Paladin growled out a curse. “Wastelander SCUM!” That was as far as he got before Cassie surged forwards, slamming her rifle’s barrel point-blank against his eyeguard and pulling the trigger. The other one lasted only moments longer. I’d frozen a hoof-wide spot along the armour’s neck joints, and Cept’s hoof crashed down onto, and then through, the embrittled metal, collapsing the cartilage underneath. Bosco and Buff kept her pinned as she gurgled out her last. The half-second lull in the fighting revealed to us that Roc was still on the p.a. “What are you doing, Snowflake? All of you, stop this now!” “Stay out of the way, Roc. We’re coming in, and you’re not stopping us.” Hopefully he runs and hides, but he’s probably gonna sit there in his office until I break down his door. Roc’s decorum had evaporated entirely. “Why are you doing this, Snowflake? You are not a resident of this Stable any longer. You are not welcome here!” I couldn’t resist, even if it was gonna make the situation slightly worse. He’d been such a pain back when I lived here that I took a second to taunt him. “And yet here I am, former-Overseer Roc.” “You were not invited here, Snowflake, and you are attacking those who were.” Nasally breaths played over the speakers for a few moments, before Roc composed himself enough to continue. “I can see that the rumours about you were true, Snowflake. You truly are lost to Old Equestria.” “Yeah, yeah, big bad Snowflake’s here to cause you trouble. Sure.” I spat on the ground. “Get over yourself, Roc. We’re not here for you.” “You said ‘we’.” Roc replied excitedly, changing tac. “You others there, you may not be aware, as you are travelling with her, that there is a bounty out for Snowflake’s capture. If you apprehend her now, I will pay the amount here, and allow you to take her to collect the same from the one who issued it out in your ‘Wasteland’.” Breeze, who had been poking and prodding at the dead Rangers’ systems, straightened up. “You don’t say? You got the caps for that?” A slight hesitation on the griffon’s part. “Not caps, no. I am afraid that we don’t yet deal in that form of currency. We do have bits.” She rolled her eyes. “Not interested. The exchange rate sucks.” “Wait!” Roc tried again. “We have something else. I saw your weapon before. We have technology of our own here. Technology that has been lost for two hundred years! Pristine, maintained stringently and untouched by radiation. Surely we could trade some, up to the price of the bounty, for you to capture Snowflake?” Back and forth, slowly and deliberately, Breeze rubbed her chin with a hoof, before breaking out into a bright smile. “Y’know what, Roc? You’ve got a deal…” “Very gracious of you, my lady Pegasus. Now, if you—” The smile disappeared. “...if you can answer this question.” Riding high, there wasn’t a shred of hesitation on his part. “Of course. However I may be of help.” Breeze was dangerously neutral. “Does ‘Naiara’ mean anything to you?” “Hmm, ‘Naiara’,” It felt like Roc was the one rubbing their chin this time, “my apologies, but I am afraid that I’m not familiar with the term.” “I see.” Breeze’s wing unfurled, laser straight, to point at me. “It means something to her.” Slamming another crystal home in her Spell Shooter, Breeze spoke to the entire room. “Snowflake knew Naiara. Snowflake loved Naiara, and was loved by Naiara in turn. Naiara was not so foolish that Snowflake could dupe her, so that means she genuinely found worth in Snowflake.” She had all our attentions now, mine especially. Her words hit deep inside. Breeze... Feathers shaking, the technophile Pegasus stalked across, placing herself squarely in front of me. “The ones Naiara loved are here in this room. Snowflake is one of those Naiara valued and loved. That makes her ours. That makes Snowflake one of us. To threaten Snowflake, to try to take her away, is to spit on Naiara’s memory. I will be damned if I let another one of us be taken away.” She finished by raising the Spell Shooter up, primed to fire, and aiming it at the speaker pointedly. Even through the purple smoke, my eyes were wet, and the lump in my throat ached warmly. You don’t know how much that means to me, Breeze. Naiara would be proud. Roc got the point. “Unfortunate. I had hoped someone in our group would be reasonable. I see now that that won’t happen, therefore I call on Elder Iron Sights, and all Steel Rangers, to drive these intruders from my Stable.” The p.a. system cut out. Breeze didn’t give it another thought, and instead strolled past the entrance room, into the Stable proper, where the corridor split into three directions. “Let’s go to work.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A water tendril slammed one Ranger acolyte into the steel corridor wall, but Undertow had to duck back as his buddies returned fire, peppering the metal where her head had been with laser scorch marks. Breeze retaliated by whipping a grenade down the passage with her wing, mouthing “Three, two, one” until the boom came. Screams sounded from the Rangers’ position, making me glad my stomach was empty right now. How do my sisters do this? When the enemy fire didn’t immediately resume, Buff tightened the straps on his sheet metal shield. “We need to get through if we’re gonna get to either destination.” My youngest sister tugged on his shaggy fur. “I can clear a path for us, we some help.” She looked past him to the other side of our T-junction, where Lexi, Esto, and Amber waited, with only Lexi’s shotgun to protect them. “Mom, get ready to shoot.” The older unicorn shook her head, frizzy orange mane going haywire in the process. “Ah can’t line up a shot fast enough without getting mah head blown off.” “Then leave your head where it is,” Undertow continued, unconcerned, “I only need THEIR heads occupied.” “Awright. Jus’ gimme the word, babygirl.” Nodding, Undertow turned to the pegasus. “Do you have any of Naiara’s flashbangs left?” Pausing in the middle of replacing her Spell Shooter’s crystal, Breeze dug into her pack. She withdrew a clearly-cobbled-together device. “Yup.” “Great.” Half a dozen bottles of irradiated water floated out in her aquamarine magic, bottlecaps twisting off as she pulled the liquid around her in a six-strong orbiting halo. “You, then Mom, then me. Buff and Al follow after me with your shields.” Breeze tossed the flashbang, pre-cooking it for a second first. The corridor filled with light within moments, through which I could just make out the purple glow of Lexi’s shotgun as it barked out at head height, even when she had no chance of seeing anything herself. Undertow wasn’t next to me anymore. I couldn’t see her, or much of anything. I could hear plenty, even with the shotgun, including energy weapons discharging. There were other sounds too, dry rips followed by wet pops, and finally more screaming, though often-times it cut off abruptly. Buff and I knew our jobs, and followed our sister down the corridor. Occasionally, a stray beam sizzled against our shields. The whole thing had taken around ten seconds, before the light began to fade, and a voice, even more watery than usual spoke up from between Buff and I, a second after we ran into the far wall. “It’s clear.” Undertow stood stock-still, six tentacles of water extending from her legs, frozen needle tips dripping crimson. Lexi scampered up the corridor first. “E’rypony okay?” She came up short when she spotted the blood running down Undertow’s back, and the fact that— OH SHIT! Her mane’s on fire! Me, Buff, and her mother all slapped at the embers until they died out, leaving blackened ends. When that was taken care of, a pair of tweezers came out of the medic’s bags. “Stay still, baby, Ah gotta get the pellets out. Why gotcha, didya see?” Wincing and shuddering as the surgical tools dug around under her skin, Undertow still managed a smile. “You did. I thought you would aim higher.” Fedexi Lexi’s heart visibly broke. “This was me? Undertow, Ah’m so sorry.” Her concerns were waved off. “It’s fine. I knew the risks. But, can I have some healing bandages anyway? We still have work to do.” Breeze, Esto and Amber had caught up by this point. Esto was covering one corridor with a pistol she looked anything but comfortable carrying. “Where to next?” I pointed the opposite way she was looking. “Down this way’s the Monitor Room. Undertow, Lexi, and Amber and I will get in there, and gets eyes on the rest of you. We’ll keep you updated.” Buff stepped up next to Esto. “You and Breeze are with me. We’ve gotta move carefully though. There’s no way the Overseer’s Office is unguarded.” Breeze stuffed the two best-condition laser weapons into her bags, and what looked like the power packs for the rest. “Doesn’t matter. Snow told us what his computer can do. We need that access.” Esto nodded stoically. “Then good luck to you four. Contact us via Breeze’s communicator as soon as possible. Let us know what we might face if we do not reach our target first.” Amber silently clicked her communicator on and off, the static sputter confirming the signal on Breeze’s end. Satisfied, the buffalo, Pegasus, and Unicorn swept down their path, further into the grey-walled Stable. Our remaining quarter moved off half a minute later, once Undertow was mummified to a compromise between Lexi’s satisfaction, as her mother and a healer, and her own, as a warrior with more fighting to do. We only saw one more group of Steel Rangers on our way to the Monitor room, a pair of scribes bearing plasma pistols, but my Pipbuck alerted us to them before they noticed us. We managed to scramble out of sight before they passed, avoiding another encounter, which would just lead to another delay. The Monitor Room itself, when we reached it, had its door wide open. Voices could be heard inside. Damn Rangers had the same idea we did. My Pipbuck’s Eyes-Forward-Sparkle only showed two red dots inside. “We got this,” I whispered to the three ponies huddled behind me as I hefted my shield, “just two in there. C’mon.” Leading with the metal, we all surged towards the door of the room. At the threshold, I met one of the red dots coming the other way. Solid metal, backed by buffalo bulk and momentum, soundly beat the walking-pace Earth mare in thin robes. She careened backwards, ragdoll limbs flailing uselessly, until she bounced off the Monitor Station desk, hitting the floor without complaint. We were all already in the room with the remaining Ranger before he got his mouth closed at the sight of his unconscious colleague. Half-risen from his seat, his eyes flicked between us and the pistol by the keyboard. “Don’t.” I half-warned, half-pleaded. “You won’t reach it. Please, just surrender.” Sweat dripping down his face, he made a decision. “Damn Wasters!” Hoof snapping out, he went for the weapon. Lexi’s shotgun blew his head off before he got a good grip. Far too casually, Undertow’s water wiped the blood and bone from the desk and camera feeds, allowing Lexi and Amber to sit and work unimpeded. My sister and I took up position by the door, shield and spells ready. Undertow looked to the two older mares. “How is the situation?” Amber grimaced, daintily pointing at one screen in particular. When the three of us saw what she saw, we all halted. “Uh oh.” Lexi recovered first, and keyed the communicator. “Y’all need to hurry, Ah’m lookin’ at where the Stable door used t’be, an’ Ah’m seein’ a whole mess o’ griffons, an’ one blue unicorn. They’re inside.” “Not just them,” Undertow had somehow become even less thrilled as she continued watching, “I see two Plottawan uniforms with them. One is Peanut, the other is a Pegasus.” I almost howled my next words. “That’s Willow Wisp. It’s the Overmare!” If she could, Amber almost certainly would have said more. Her face was saying plenty already, even as she watched the monitors like a hawk. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ My family’s radio update brought me skidding to a halt. “Peanut and the Overmare are working with Latvi? Since when?” Cept, without looking away from scanning a corridor, spoke over his shoulder. “Willow Wisp was taken by McCoy’s Monsters when my clan fought the slavers in Plottawa. Now we know why.” “And, apparently, she invited her boss along too.” Cassie, facing the other way from the stallion, did not appear all that surprised. “She knows this Stable well. That is a dangerous advantage for our enemies.” Yeah, it is, but-wait, hold on… I spoke into the communicator again. “Mom, what about Wings? Has she come too?” “We ain’t seein’ her, sweetheart. Latvi didn’t bring his bots, though. Looks like she’s still tanglin’ with them an’ Rangers outside.” “She is a capable warrior,” Cept tried, “we must trust her.” “She’s doing her job, Snowflake.” Cassie reminded, not unkindly. “I’m worried too, but her reputation is keeping us from being swamped by two armies we can’t defeat. The faster we take out the leaders of both sides, the safer she’ll be. She’s buying us the time to do it.” I don’t want her buying me time. She’s alone, those Sprinkles guards won’t be able to keep up with her. “Let’s hurry then. Residential area’s up ahead.” We broke into a gallop. Cept kept pace with our shorter strides rather than charge ahead. “You are sure a zebra and a Pegasus will be welcome here?” To my mild irritation, Cassie beat me to the answer. “This Stable is not the Wasteland, Cept. It houses more than just ponies. Zebra, griffons, buffalo, and others make up the population.” Oh, thanks for filling me in, Cass. What would I do without you? “Short answer: You’re fine. Don’t worry.” We turned into the housing quarter of the Stable, and I stopped again in front of a familiar door. “Can’t say the same for me. You two go and deal with the Stable residents. Make ‘em stay out of this. We don’t want any casualties if we can help it.” Well, you guys don’t mostly. It’s more the pain of having to fight through living shields for me. The two of them wheeled around, perplexed frowns on both of their faces. “You’re not coming with us?” “It would be better to have a Stable dweller speak to them?” “If it was one of my brothers, sure.” Who knows what stories they’ve heard about me by now. “I’m… probably not the best choice for this, all things considered. I wasn’t popular here in the first place, and you two know better than most that I’ve made some… questionable decisions since leaving.” I tapped the door I stood beside. “I have a little business in here, and then I’m gonna head for Chrysalis’ core. I think I’ve got an idea of where it might be.” Their eyes met for a split second. Cassie spoke first. “Where might that be?” I met her stare. “Further in. Someplace where… Cadence and Chrysalis could stay hidden, and not have some random stumble across them.” “And the Stable dwellers?” Cept had resumed his watch of the corridors. “You know them better.” Well, I was around them more, at least. Doesn’t seem like we ever really ‘knew’ each other. “You’ll do fine. You’ve just gotta remember that they’re not Wastelanders. They don’t know killing like we do. Keep your weapons down, and speak softly, like they’re babies. Which, in a way, I guess they kinda are.” Harsh heat swelled in m breast. Coddled little fucking babies in a steel crib. Children with their playground games, don’t know anything about the world outside of these walls. “You’ll do fine. Just be kind. You got this, Cept, Cassie. Get them to stay in their rooms, and we’ll go back to the real work.” While they had moved on to the main residential area, I stayed in the outskirts. Triggering the door to my old room, I took a deep breath. Wonder if they gave my room away while I was gone? BEEP BEEP BEEP OH SHIT! Magic surged as an ice cocoon shot up around me. Through the frost, I saw the flash as the mine went off. The explosion blasted me, cocoon and all, straight backwards into the far wall. The shield around me shattered into tiny, frozen razor shards, digging into and across my flesh as I cowered. Only when the twinkling hail subsided did I remove my hooves from being wrapped around my head. What remained of my room was a complete shambles. The bed’s frame was warped and burned. The mattress, sheets, and pillow were still ablaze. All that remained of my spare Stable jumpsuits, and the wardrobe that held them, was a pile of smoking fibres. The dresser across from the bed was overturned. I can’t believe they boobytrapped my old room. Still blinking away stars, it took a few tries before I could get my shoulder under the dresser to lift it upright again. When I did, I found I could breathe a small sigh of relief. “Oh, thank heavens.” There it was, the only thing in the room whose survival I actually cared about. The frame was cracked, but intact. Soot and ash marred the glass cover, and the bottom quarter had been burned away in a rough triangle. That’s fine, I didn’t need that part. So long as the rest is okay. Digging a small item out of my pocket, I eased the frame away, and slotted it into the gap where the bottom triangle had been. “Perfect.” I left the room without a second thought, heading to the next door over. The boys’ room was far larger, and had been mercifully spared further explosive surprises. Apparently the Steel Rangers hadn’t known of the connection between the Doublehorns and I. Still, I didn’t delay. It hadn’t been a lie that we had other things to take care of, and I couldn’t linger too long. It might have been my imagination, but I could swear that Mama Doublehorn smiled a little brighter in her frame when I placed my room’s salvaged treasure next to her picture. A long second glance held me at the door this time. “My only good memories of this place were here. Love you.” The Doublehorn’s door shut solidly. Glad to have taken the time, I started back the way Cassie, Cept, and I had come, back towards the Stable’s core. The further away from the rooms I got, the more the outrage built in me. Who boobytraps a bedroom, seriously?! Steel Rangers, more like Steel RAIDERS! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Cassie and I heard voices up ahead, the loud whispers of a large group talking quietly. It never occurred to anybody that so many talking together made them louder than one talking normally. I looked down at my companion. “What should we say?” “Shall we open with a joke?” She replied, her voice flat. “We shall have to just tell the truth, and hope that they believe us. At least enough to stay out of the way. We probably will not receive any help from them.” “Hmm.” I grunted, as I considered this. “Then we should not speak long. The others need us.” “Fine by me.” Cassie stopped before the final corner. The voices were just around the bend. Taking a deep breath, she smiled brightly, then stepped through into the main residential area. Following after her, the number of beings stuffed into this space surprised me. Even with the large, open atrium, the residents of Stable 61 were packed in tight. Buffalo, Diamond Dogs, donkeys, and ponies pressed together on one large bunch. Foals, pups, and calves were perched on backs to ease the crush. At the other end of the room, I saw through to what came after, rows and rows of open doors, living quarters and other residents within. Even the air within was full, with Pegasi and griffons flapping wherever they could stretch their wings. Two catwalks stretched from balcony to balcony, with zebra standing in a clump in the center of the far crossing. None of the present bodies paid us much attention. Most were absorbed with their families and associates, while the zebra all seemed to be looking away from us. Tilting her chin up, to carry her words further, Cassie opened her mouth to speak to the assembled creatures. “Excu-” She broke off almost immediately, grabbing at my shoulder. “Cept, look!” Crouching, my eyes darted around the room, searching the walkways, atrium, and connecting stairways. “What is it? Enemies?” She hunkered down too. “You will need to decide that.” Her face seemed tight when I looked at her. “I do not understand. What do you see?” She didn’t take her eyes off whatever sight she saw. “Cept, on the walkway with the other zebra. It’s Atesh.” “Dhu?” I exclaimed, slipping into my native tongue before correcting myself. “How did he get here? Is he working with Latvi and the others also?” She shook her head, black and red mane wafting into my face. “I do not know. He had the Overmare’s Pipbuck. He could find this place without their help.” Her eyes were better than mine. I still couldn’t see him through the activity around us. “I must know what he is doing. Can you see from here?” She slumped. “He’s talking, but I can’t tell what about. He’s not speaking Equestrian.” For the zebra ears only? What does it mean? “Follow me.” Slinking to the right, I began to move around the edges of the mob, towards the stairs up to the walkway. Cassie stayed behind me in the edge of my vision. None of the Stable dwellers would move, at first, just complaining and grunting as we tried to move through them. They only stepped aside when I growled back. Even buffalo did not want to fight an angry zebra, or perhaps it was because they did not know me. Either way, they made what room they could, allowing Cassie and I to slip through to the staircase. Hidden on the stairs themselves were more zebra, all listening to the former Elder’s words. Sliding past them, I stopped just out of sight of the walkway, and perked up my ears. In his calm, commanding tone, Atesh held court with the gathered zebra in our native tongue. “” My eyebrows shot up, and my entire body locked. I didn’t move an inch when Cassie pulled at my hoof. “Cept, what is it? What is he saying?” Red was rapidly overtaking my vision. “Wait here, Cassiopeia. Do not interfere.” She pulled harder. “Cept, tell me what he said. Is it about Naiara?” Rising, I ignored her as her hoof fell away. Everything fell away. All I saw was Atesh’s grinning face. Thundering up the last few steps, I launched myself straight at him. “ROGA INRISPA!!!” My hammering hoof barely missed his eye as he danced aside at the last moment, shock across his face. “Cept…” I rose again at once, wheeling on him, even as his audience headed for the walkways, taking Cassie with them. Atesh and I were left alone on the walkway. Snarling in zebra tongue, my hunched form had him stepping back. “” One hoof in front, Atesh gathered his Elder’s robes around him. “” “” I shot back, heart pounding in my heaving chest. “” “” Atesh held out a hoof, smiling paternally. “” There were no longer words for what I felt at that moment. My backhoof lifted Atesh into the air before I even realised I had moved. He barely managed to flip upright before landing, but I was on him the moment he touched back down. “” He twisted around my straight, but I threw him away on the backswing. “” “” He had the nerve to snap, even as he danced away from my bucking thrust. “” “CEPT!” Cassie called from three metres into the open air. “Don’t fight him angry, that’s what he wants! Calm down, then beat him!” “NAIARA IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU, ATESH!” I roared in Equestrian, before switching back to the zebra tongue. “” “” Astonishment and anger warred across his face. Anger won. He went on the offensive, twisting and slamming against me. “” I barely felt the hit. “” Elbowing him in the ribs, I tried to flip him but he kicked out at my front leg, breaking the hold. “” Seizing my roundhouse kick, he yanked my leg fully straight, then spun into a counterblow straight to my stomach. “” Gasping from the hit, I pushed up and away on my front hooves, putting some distance between us. “” Atesh’s neutral face fell into a scowl. “” He leaned back into a ready stance. “” I smirked around breaths. “” His scowl turned into a sneer as he threw off his robe. “” I didn’t blink at his threat, instead getting into my own stance. “” Cassie’s voice broke our stare down. She was addressing the now-retreating Stable dwellers. “Everyone, please, don’t panic. This is an internal matter. None of you will be harmed, I promise. Just stay in your rooms for the time being.” I looked over to her. Her back was to the walkway. Atesh moved towards her, winding back to throw. I sprinted in between them. “Cassie, be careful!” Too late, I realised Atesh’s plan. I blocked his view of Cassie, but put myself off-balance. Atesh planted a doublehoof strike into my face, and followed it up with vicious hook when I ricochet’d off the walkway’s railing. “” Catching his next attack, I slammed my body weight down on his knee. “” Howling with rage and pain, his teeth snapped shut just in front of my nose. “” We spun apart again, then charged. Meeting in the middle of the catwalk, his thrust glanced off my shoulder just as his hoof turned my punch aside. Both of us reared up onto our hind legs, kicking and hacking at each other with hoof and tooth. After a furious volley of back and forth blows, Atesh’s entire left side seemed to become totally boneless, whipping out and in and under my guard. Whatever the attack, it knocked my legs from under me, dumping me on my back. Rolling back, I just managed to avoid his follow up stomp. “” Though his breathing had gotten heavier, Atesh wasn’t yet tiring. “” He came at me again, strange movement on his right this time. Tensing, I took the attack, muscles screaming at the impact, but holding. While he was still in close, I rammed my forehead into his. Stars exploded in my eyes as he reeled, but I reared back and headbutted him again. I couldn’t hold on the second time, allowing him to stagger away while I shook out the cobwebs. He silently glared my last question back at me. It was my turn to smirk. “” Bloody spittle leaked from the corner of his mouth. “” I licked scarlet from one of my cuts. “” On shaky legs, Atesh attacked. I parried strike after strike, not countering, just continuously avoiding any damage. His breathing became more ragged as we danced like this, and he belched blood after a surging strike that seemed to begin from a mile behind him. I was content to simply step aside, and let him jolt his own limb when it connected with the railing. Clutching the limb, he glared daggers at me. “” “” I remarked, eyes low and drooping, “” “” Atesh hopped up, both hind legs scissoring for my head. I twisted under it, back leg spinning up to drive into the back of his neck. He crumpled as I straightened, face inert. “” Ignoring his glare, his twitching body lay unmoving beneath me as I stood tall. “” Cassie landed beside us, unfurling a cord from her bracer. I took it with a quick “thank you”, and began tying Atesh’s limbs. I wanted all listening to hear my next words, so I switched back to Equestrian. “A mare I love very much said these words, not long ago. They are still true now.” I pointed to Cassie, and then to myself. “We love Naiara, and she loved us too. We saw her worth. That makes her ours.” I finished cinching him tight, so he couldn’t move even when his muscle control returned. “You did not see the truth of Naiara. To you, she was a birth giver and nothing more. Because of this, Naiara was never yours. She was not one of yours, she was one of us. And we will not let you have her, even in memory.” Working together, Cassie and I pulled him upright. “You have lost this battle and you have lost your clan, former Elder Atesh. Be happy, though. You will see Roam again, to answer for your crimes.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “Any more surprises at the front door, Bernstein?” Mom had fallen into an easy rhythm here in the Monitor Room, efficiently juggling the different feeds, along with directing Al, Amber, and I. I liked watching her work. “Undertow!” Her snapped call brought me out of my reverie. “Yes, Mom?” “Ain’t got time fer yeh to daydream, babygirl. Ah need yeh ready t’fight. The Rangers’ll notice we’re in here sooner or later.” “Make that sooner!” Al hustled into the room, slamming the door behind him, and hammering the ‘lock’ button. “Got three Rangers coming up the corridor, and the one in front looks important.” “Important how?” Fedexi Lexi kept her attention evenly split between the buffalo and the monitors. Al was trying to wedge his metal shield against the door. “Well, he’s pretty old, and he’s got one of the others carrying his helmet for him.” Blowing air past her lips, Mom racked her shotgun telekinetically. “Must be Iron Sights. Old bastard never did wanna do any o’ his own work.” A hastily scribbled note bounced off Al’s horn. Unfurling it, he voiced Amber’s question. “‘What now? Trapped here.’ I dunno. That door’ll hold for a while, but the Rangers might have gotten override codes from Roc.” We all jumped as a heavily armoured hoof rapped against the other side of the door. The door’s intercom clicked, and a robotic voice blared out. “Attention, intruders. You are ordered to surrender immediately or face immediate termination.” Amber enlarged the feed from the corridor, fixing it in the center of the monitor bank. Al’s report had been accurate. Flanked by two helmeted and fully covered Paladins, both of whom had all firepower trained on the door, the leader of Neighlway’s Steel Ranger contingent stood waiting, impassive. Exhaling through her nose, Mom stalked over to the intercom. Before she keyed the mic, she looked back at us. “Figger sumthin’ out, you three. Ah’ll keep ‘im talkin’ as long as Ah can.” “Be careful, Mom.” I whispered, before throwing all of my attention at the screen, and the three armoured opponents it displayed. Three of them, all armed. I could probably fight one by myself, but the other two would get Al, Mom, and Bernstein before I could stop them. I need a way to stop them all. Clearing her throat, my mother began her distraction. “Iron Sights, y’all wanna point them guns someplace else? Ah got kids in here an’ yeh’re spookin’ them.” On the monitor, the Ranger elder’s head had snapped up on hearing the unicorn mare. Clearly not expecting it, he took a second to recover. “Fedexi Lexi? You are here?” His surprise faded into cold neutrality. “I suppose it should not come as a shock, what with your relationship to Red Ice.” “Ain’t got a relationship with Red Ice, Elder,” she shot back, just with a little filly called Snowflake.” Iron Sights tilted his head, mild amusement tugging his lips up. “You wish to discuss semantics? They are one in the same. She has herself told the Wasteland this. Or are you simply attempting to cover for one of your employees?” “They ain’t the same,” my heart swelled to hear Mom defend my sister, “an’ neither works fer me anyway. Snowflake did me a favour a little while back, an’ you tintops jumped ‘er in the process.” Iron Sights looked up at the camera, giving a wide smile. “Then I suppose I have you to thank for leading us here. Snowflake was very helpful in showing us the way to this place, albeit through others.” While he was speaking, I was searching him and his companions for weaknesses. They all have energy weapons. They won’t jam. “She wouldn’t do that.” “She gave us the first clue. While we treated her after the Hissyflit ambush, her report on our Memory Orbs was invaluable.” He reaches up and tapped the Steel Ranger symbol on his armour plating. “Of course, it was a true Ranger who paved the way for us. Paladin Sa-sorry, now Paladin-Commander Sassaflash, is still loyally serving the order even over a century after her death.” A hoof landed daintily on my shoulder. Turning, I saw Amber holding another scrap of paper in her mouth. What now? Levitating it, I unfolded its contents. There were only two words this time, but they still had the makings of a plan. Very clever, Bernstein. I lit up my horn, and went to work. Al muttered something to Mom, who relayed it through the mic. “The Stable wasn’t even open that long ago. How the hell’d a Ranger get inside a hunnerd years ago?” Iron Sights shrugged. “Well, she didn’t, not truly. She was the one who alerted her superiors to the traitorous actions of her husband, formerly Scribe Caramel, who was stripped of his rank for the crime of forsaking the codex, of desertion, and of simple cowardly incompetence. Where Sassaflash saw the majesty of our sacred duty, Caramel simply wanted to be near her. He was never truly committed to our cause, and attempted to flee to this Stable with their daughter. The daughter didn’t survive, and Caramel was exposed by Sassaflash herself for his crimes. She included details that allowed us to locate this place, where we found our new associate, Roc, eager to do business.” “Ah dunno about you folks, but Ah’m thinkin’ Caramel might’ve been the smarter one o’ the pair, all told.” Her magic ruffled my mane warmly. “A pony’ll do the right thing every time fer their child.” Iron Sights’ smile briefly turned into a frown, before his expression returned to neutral. “I’m sure that we can discuss the actions of our past heroes in greater detail at a later date, but for now I must ask again that you surrender.” Sprinkles Supplies’ boss ignored his demand. “Why’d yeh even come here, Iron Sights? Ain’t no way Stable 61’s gonna give up all its tech to you and your hoarders. Surprised they let yeh in the door at all, t’be honest.” Iron Sights waved the two Paladins forwards. “Your stalling grows tiresome, Fedexi Lexi. But, to answer your question, I convinced Roc that our goals were similar. ‘The restoration of Equestria’.” He chuckled. “Such an… imprecise and wide-ranging term. It can mean one thing to an individual, and something completely different to another. In time, Roc and the Stable will see that our way is the true path to that goal.” “So long as they give yeh all their stuff, an’ let yeh do whatever with it, y’mean?” Tight smile still in place, Iron Sights remained silent. The two other Rangers raised their weapons at the door, waiting for his signal. His hoof dropped, and the pair of Paladins fired their weapons. Or tried to, anyway. Sparks and haggard grinding sounded from within their weaponry, prompting all three Steel Rangers to stare at the malfunctioning devices. Wheeling around, Iron Sights raised his voice. “I gave you an order, Rangers. Get that door open!” “Sorry, sir,” One responded helplessly, “weapons are nonfunctional. There appears to be corrosion in the interior systems.” ‘Metal rusts’ indeed. Thank you, Lady Bernstein. Aquamarine horn-glow fading, I nodded my appreciation to the Earth mare, who had already taken cover behind a desk. “Al, get ready.” Lexi intoned, hoof hovering near the door panel. “Gotcha.” Backing up as far as the small-for-a-buffalo room would allow, he squared his shoulders and heaved his heavy iron shield in front of him. “Just say the word.” “RANGERS, GET THAT DOOR OPEN!” Iron Sights’ ire had the two Rangers wilting slightly, but they pulled themselves together and began to mirror Al’s preparations. The moment they had backed up enough, they began to charge. Lexi hit the panel in the same moment, shouting for Al as the door whooshed open. “GO GO GO!” At the Monitor Room’s threshold, Al again met a Ranger coming the other way, only this time it was the buffalo who was coming out, and carrying a few hundred kilos of solid steel with him. Even in their armour, the Rangers were half his size, and went straight backwards on impact. One managed to grab hold of Al’s shield, and drag it away as he fell. Al ignored it, and continued on after the other Ranger, diving his full bulk onto the rising pony, who was crushed back down into the floor. Mom and I boiled out of the Monitor Room after him, her shotgun barking away at the Elder, who threw his hooves up to shield his unarmoured face. I went for the last Ranger, the one who had grabbed the shield. Even with my horn, I couldn’t lift it, so I did the next best thing: I grabbed his corroded weapon and ripped it off his armour, then began beating him upside the head with it. Al had his opponent hooked on his horns, and was ramming him into the walls again and again. The Ranger, clearly not used to fighting an opponent larger and stronger than themselves, was doing their best to get free by raining down blows on the skull between the horns. It was a battle of attrition between Al’s body and the Ranger’s armour. My opponent had gotten the shield out of the way, and powered through my makeshift bludgeon, his hard shoulder plate ramming into my sternum. White hot pain exploded through me as the breath left my lungs. Something hard rammed into my gut, leaving me retching on the floor, even as I covered myself from the Ranger’s assault, the butt of his severed weapon striking every part of me. GET OFF! Forcing out some telekinesis, the unguided wave blasted the weapon out of their grip, sending it spiralling away. Undeterred, the Ranger raised a hoof to stomp on me instead. I was already scrambling out of the way, however, and managed to get myself upright in time to get some distance. Al’s showdown with the Ranger was over, with the Ranger unmoving on the floor, while Al was panting as he leaned against the wall. Our eyes locked for a moment, before he kicked out at the shield with his cloven hoof. “Jump!” I jumped. The sliding sheet metal scythed the legs from under the Ranger, dumping them to the ground like their ally. As they tried to get their hooves back under them, I grabbed their helmet in my horn’s grasp, and twisted. The snap of bone was audible, even through the armour, and the Ranger dropped like a stone. “ENOUGH!” Iron Sights’ bellow whipped both our heads around. The breath caught in my throat. MOM! One hoof, wrapped around her neck, the Neighlway Elder held Fedexi Lexi’s shotgun to her temple. “Not one move, or else I will blow her head clean off!” “Don’t hurt her!” My horn’s glow instantly faded. Al stayed leaning on the wall, chest heaving. “That’s better.” Iron Sights squeezed my mother’s neck tighter as she struggled, before looking over to the remaining Ranger. “Paladin, wake up this instant. That is an order!” Groggy, the Ranger pulled themselves upright. They saluted, before tottering over to their Elder’s side. “All this for one criminal filly, Fedexi Lexi?” Iron Sights waved the shotgun over Al and I. “I confess, it doesn’t make any sense to me. You had to know that you couldn’t beat my Rangers with just this small force.” “Sir,” the other Ranger had shaken off his daze, “permission to subdue the other two?” “Granted.” Iron Sights kept his grip on the shotgun, and its barrel pointed at us. The Ranger, now with a firm swagger in his step, walked right up to Al. “Not so tough now, are you, *lump*?” Then he raised an metal hoof, and cracked my brother across the jaw. Crying out, Al staggered back. The Ranger went after him, backhoofing him this time. “Al!” I tried to help him, but Iron Sights pressed the shotgun back into Mom’s temple. “Leave him alone!” Back to the wall, Al shielded his face with his hooves as the Ranger tortured him, taunting as he did. “How’s that feel, Wastelander? You dare to raise a hoof against our Elder?” Mom was still struggling in Iron Sights’ grip. “Real brave, beatin’ on a kid, Iron Sights!” The stallion shrugged. “It wouldn’t be this way if you hadn’t attacked this Stable, and our allies here.” He noticed what Al was wearing on his wrist. “Be careful not to damage his Pipbuck, Ranger.” “Yessir!” After one final smack, the Paladin began tugging Al’s Pipbuck off his leg. I was vibrating with adrenaline. There’s gotta be something I can do here! I was beaten to the punch. A paperweight shot out of the Monitor Room, beaning Iron Sights in the skull. As he “Unk!”ed and grimaced, the shotgun dropped, not pointing at anyone. Reaching out through the aether, twin aquamarine glows surrounded both the weapon and the hoof that held my mother, and fiercely ripped them in opposite directions. Mom scrambled away as Iron Sights’ limbed stretched further than the old pony could take. I levitated the shotgun over to her. “Mom, help Al! I’ll get the Elder.” Sending a silent thanks to Amber for her timely assist, I advanced on the limping stallion. Brandishing a hidden knife from within his armour, he slashed at me jerkily. With a far more potent excitation of the water around us than what I’d used to corrode their energy weapons, I rusted the knife blade to nothing in seconds. “You invade my brothers’ Stable...” Instead of the air, I started sucking water from another source. “You slander and attack my sister, Snowflake…” “Your sister?” Iron Sights gulped dryly. The water I was controlling was sent to his armour’s joints locking them in place. “You point a gun AT MY MOTHER?” Armour locked up, Iron Sights could only pant and cough hoarsely. “Perhaps you have forgotten, Steel Ranger, but I led a band of Raiders for years.” His helmet was positioned over his face, but not attached just yet. “Do you think it wise to anger a Raider chieftain?” Pushing my magic to its limits, I grimly sucked ever greater amounts of water from his body. Unable to sweat, or cry, or even bleed, Iron Sights choked and gargled as his throat cracked and his flesh split. What little mane he had left fell out, all the while unable to move because of his rusted-out armour. Shoving his helmet down onto his head, I sealed it with rust, then corroded the air valves until they were completely blocked. I flared into the visor, through to the trapped stallion underneath. Having disposed of the other Ranger, Mom joined me in facing Iron Sights’ form-fitting tomb. “By the by, when yeh asked if Snowflake was mah employee? She ain’t. She’s mah daughter, an’ so’s this one here. Prob’ly shouldn’ta threatened mah family, Iron Sights. Ah don’t take kindly to it. Yeh can consider our business arrangement over.” Reaching up with her shotgun, she pushed the armour over with a CLANG! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “Is… is it over?” A middle-aged pegasus with a glass-tumbler-and-fruit-wedge Cutie Mark eased herself into the atrium from the far corridor. “You’re not gonna off the rest of us, are ya?” Leaving Cept to hold Atesh, I hopped up to perch on the walkway railing. “No. Our business in the Stable is not with its residents. So long as you stay out of the way, and do not try to hinder us or assist the Rangers, we will leave you alone.” Emboldened by the news, but still staying close to the wall behind her, the amber pegasus floated up until she was at eye-height with me. “Then why’re you here? What do you Old Equestria-types want with our Stable?” I shared a blank look with my companion. Cept was as lost as I was, mouthing “Old Equestria?” to himself. I tried to wave her off. “It’s none of your concern. Please, go back to your room while we take Atesh away. We are not ‘Old Equestria-types’, and we do not desire anything from your Stable’s inhabitants, miss…?” Frowning, her eyes flicked back to the doorway she’d emerged from. “Name’s Whiskey Sour, an’ you didn’t answer my question. Why are you here? We shut ourselves away because we didn’t wanna deal with your war. Why’re you bringing it here?” “I merely wanted to take my people back to their home country.” Atesh quipped, but Cept nudged his shoulder forcefully. The younger zebra tried to placate the mare. “We do not want war. We are only here for one thing. Your Stable is not in danger.” Frown devolving into a glare, Whiskey Sour slammed the Pipbuck she wore on her wrist into the wall behind her. The collision let off a ringing. “Of course it’s in danger! First those damn metal Rangers show up, and now we’ve got strange zebra brawling in the bunks! Everything we were taught was right, Old Equestria is a violent, fool place, and so are the ones who live there.” Why is this bumpkin so angry? My patience rapidly depleting, I gave up the diplomatic approach. “Old Equestria is two-centuries-deceased, you foolish mare! Your little Stable is living in fear of a ghost. We don’t care about what you were taught. We just want to finish our work here, and then go back to our lives. You and the others back there in those rooms are not in the least bit important to us. Go back to your room, and stop wasting our time!” The situation did not improve. Whiskey Sour puffed herself up as big as she could manage. “You ain’t coming into my home and bossing me around. We’ve had nothing but grief ever since-” She visibly blocked herself from finishing. You don’t need to say it. We already know to what you are referring. “...since Snowflake?” I allowed myself to briefly enjoy her shocked expression. “Oh yes, we know about her. We know what happened here. Would you like to know something interesting?” Pupils half-shrunk, Whiskey Sour had dropped to the ground in front of the doorway. She said nothing as she watched us, unblinking. Perhaps this will get you out of our way? “She is here, with us. I am surprised your Overseer, Roc, did not make you aware of this fact. She has told us so much about this place.” Gaping, her back hoof slipped back into the corridor behind her. “Snowflake’s here? She’s alive? How?” Competent acquaintances, and not a small amount of sheer dumb luck. “You will have to ask her yourself.” I held out a hoof. “Shall I take you to her?” “Keep her away from me!” The amber pegasus bolted back through the doorway, and we heard several heavy locks slide into place further in. The two zebra had watched in silence, but now Cept spoke up. “You did not need to scare her. She does not know what we know.” Maybe not, but it’s done now. “It ended the conversation quickly, and made it less likely that any more of the Stable’s population will bother us. Sometimes cruelty is faster than kindness.” “A fair assessment,” Atesh piped up, “it is a pity you are not a zebra.” Cept slugged him in the stomach, doubling him over. “Be silent, Atesh. Your want of a wife has brought too much trouble already.” Yes… ‘a wife’. That is the level of relationship that Atesh wanted. “Cept, I cannot wait for you and Breeze to get some quiet time to… chat.” “While I am sure that would provide endless entertainment,” a voice sounded out in the stairway from which we had entered, sending a jolt up my spine. “I’m afraid he’ll be just too busy.” “Latvi!” I chorused with the two zebra, as we all whipped around. Flanked by Monsters, the blond unicorn stood bold-as-brass in the mouth of the corridor. His smirk stayed constant as the griffons around him pointed weapons at us. “I confess, I did not expect to see my former partner here. What brings you to Stable 61, Elder Atesh?” Even while bound, Atesh raised his chin before speaking. “It is private, Latvi.” We were surrounded now. The Monsters had taken to the air to cover us up, down, and all around. Latvi just smiled at Atesh’s reticence. “Very helpful, Atesh. Fortunately, I have other ways to gain the information I need.” He swiped a hoof at the three of us. “Hold them down!” Feathered felines crowded in immediately, powerful claws forcing us down to the floor. I tried to wrest myself free, but a razor-sharp talon ran itself across my eyebrow. On the other side of Atesh, Cept sported several small cuts on his pinched cheeks, but was as restrained as the zebra elder or I. “That’s better. Stay still, you two. I’ll get to you two in a moment. For now,” Latvi sauntered up to Atesh, and dipped his horn down to the crown of the old stallion’s head, “let’s retrace your steps, shall we?” Dark blue surrounded Latvi’s horn and, almost immediately, Atesh began writhing under the rope and claws that held him. Latvi didn’t seem to notice, or care. Humming to himself, his half-lidded gaze showed that he was directing his attention elsewhere. “Hmm… yes… oh! Atesh, you should have told me that you were having troubles with your followers. I could have helped, you know?” Spittle was building at the corners of Atesh’s mouth, as the unicorn poked and prodded in his mind. Blinking, Latvi returned to reality for a moment. His gaze centered on Cept. “Congratulations on your promotion, short-lived though it may be.” Cept’s golden eyes met his mockery with a cold stare. “Do not talk to me, monster. You will not be forgiven for Naiara.” “And I’m all torn up about, truly.” Latvi snarked, before returning to Atesh. “Let’s continue, my old ‘friend’.” He delved back into the zebra’s mind, none too gently, muttering at every new find. “Okay, so… you’re here to recruit more zebra… still want to return to Roam, I see, aaand… OHO! Here we go!” Latvi’s horn dimmed, and he smooshed Atesh’s face between his hooves. “You’ve still got designs on enslaving me! All to grow new crystals for your Roam.” Still gripping Atesh’s jaw, he began twisting. “What should I do about that, hmm, Atesh? What should I do to show you that trying to control me was not a good idea?” Cept growled from the side, renewing his struggle against the griffons weighing him down. “Do not touch him, Latvi. Atesh will face the justice of Roam, not your sick jokes!” Responding with a flat stare, the blond scientist was unmoved. “The more things change, the more they stay the same. Another zebra colt who thinks he can tell me what to do.” Latvi’s horn glowed in Cept’s direction. “I was going to do this after I was finished with Atesh anyway, but he’s not going anywhere. I can take my time with him, he’s alone. You all, though? I would rather like to know what your friends are up to, and where.” Golden eyes shining in the horn light, Cept faced it unblinkingly. “I will tell you nothing!” Calm down, Cept. We cannot tell him anything, but we must be patient until we have an opportunity to escape. Even though I worried about Cept’s provocation, I still felt myself agreeing with him. I haven’t forgotten my promise. Today, Latvi dies. Abruptly, Latvi’s magic faded again. “I believe you, Cept. And that’s why…” A wide grin blossomed on Latvi’s face, “...I’ll ask her.” The breath caught in my throat as he whipped around, horn aglow. Cept’s howl of protest was ignored. It was like a claw, dozens of times as large and sharp as those on my flesh, was squeezing my mind. GETITOUT! Get out of my head! Breath ragged, I could do nothing as the claw tore into my memories, sifting through my most private moments, private thoughts. The pleasure Latvi took in viewing these was perverse. “Well, that is impressive. A clean shot, straight through Ballbuster’s eye. I wondered what had happened to her.” “Fu… fuck… you!” Forcing out that much took an inordinate effort. “You’re not my type.” He deadpanned. “And you don’t seem to have a type. Or perhaps you do, and just don’t know what it is yet, because you spend all your time worrying about your sister?” No, Breeze! I couldn’t help it. Thoughts of her sprang to the forefront of my mind. Latvi noticed too. “There she is. Your Aqua Breeze.” With terrible certainty, his focus halted on a particular memory. Sighing contently, Latvi continued. “Ah. She’s not yours, is she? Not really.” “Stop this, Latvi!” Cept was near-roaring now, and two more griffons had piled on to hold him down. Latvi shrugged. “Relax, Cept, I’m not talking about you.” I hated him the most in that moment. “Please, no. Don’t.” Don’t you touch that memory! He was in his own little world of fun, though, and didn’t stop. “All this time, Cassiopeia Venatici. So many years, you have let her believe a lie.” “I had to!” I cursed, willing myself to push against his intrusion into my memories. “Breeze needs me!” Don’t judge me, you bastard! “Should I tell her?” He mused, more to himself than to me. “You will not go near Breeze, coward!” Even as one of the Monsters slammed his head back against the floor, he didn’t stop glaring at Latvi. “Actually, I think we’ll go now. We were going to find the Overseer’s Office anyway, so this can accomplish two things at once.” He gestured to the Monsters. “Take them. Aqua Breeze can watch them both die.” “NO!” Cept and I chorused, fighting harder to get free. Cept wasn’t done with just one word, though. He got his head away from the claws for a moment, long enough to scream out “SASA!!!” He got an elbow in the ribs for his troubles, courtesy of the closest Monster. “Quiet, Stri—” A thrown knife, burying itself in his jugular, cut off his bigotry mid-insult. The air all around us shimmered, exploding into action as stealth-cloaked zebra shed their disguises, too close for the griffons to bring their weapons to bear. Cept’s clan, waiting for their new Elder’s signal. Within moments, Cept, Atesh, and I were free of the Monsters’ hold as they tussled with the new arrivals. To their credit, the mercenaries didn’t panic at the ambush, and fought back with anything they could use; talons, beaks, foreheads, rifle butts. The zebra had the edge in numbers, but the griffons probably outmassed them. Both sides were firing weapons, slinging blades, and attacking with their martial arts. Cept, given an opening by his clanmates, dived into the fray. He crumpled a knee with a powerful kick, but took a thunderous hook to the jaw from the falling griffon. “Be careful, Cept!” It was hard to know if he heard me with all that was going on, but I was painfully aware of just how tired he must be, having fought Atesh by himself earlier. Where is Atesh? And where is Latvi?! The first question was answered as the old stallion fell into me, still tied up, as a Monster took potshots at us with an oversized pistol. The two of us scrambled away as the griffon’s shots ricochet’d around us. One glanced off my bracer, straight into Atesh’s thigh. He cried out, falling onto the ground as blood flew from the wound. Serves you right, selfish old coot. I didn’t care about his health, so long as he lived to face the justice that Cept was adamant he endure, but the wounded prey had drawn the full attention of the predatory griffon. Deploying my bracer’s whip mid-twirl, I lashed the pistol out of the griffon’s claw as he stood over Atesh. Snarling as he clutched at the flayed flesh of his talons, the Monster changed his target to me. Kicking Atesh in the face as he bounded over him, the was on me almost before I could blink. I just barely managed to get my hidden blade slashing in front of me in time to drive him back, though unbloodied. Those back steps brought him into the path of a wild ball of violence that was morphing and shifting between two Monsters, and three of the zebra clan. With a moment of relative calm, I refocused. WHERE IS LATVI? Even with my eyes, it was hard to see through the maelstrom of bullets, blades, and bodies. After a few seconds, I spotted a flash of blond on the main floor of the atrium, below. No! “CEPT,” I called out into the chaos, “LATVI’S RUNNING!” “FOLLOW HIM!” He called back from within the forest of feathers and stripes. “WE WILL FINISH HERE!” “DON’T DIE!” I yelled as I flipped off the walkway into the air, an agreement and a command. My wings pumped as I angled for the corridor, Latvi having already disappeared inside. I caught a glimpse of his wide-eyed face, taking the far turning at a dead run. You’re not getting away again! “THERE’S NO ESCAPE, LATVI!” I didn’t get an answer. He was putting all his energy into running. Side-on as I took the corner, hooves kicking against the wall, I spotted Latvi thirty metres ahead. My Rifle was in my hooves in seconds. The corridor was clear, and I had a clean shot. The round soared from the barrel before I even realised I’d pulled the trigger. I watched it plow straight through his temple… ...and spark against the wall ahead of him. Wha? “That was a clean hit! What happened?” Latvi turned another corner. Furious, I surged after him, twisting around the bend into another shot. “This time!” I hit him between the shoulder blades, I saw it with my own eyes. Yet, somehow, the unicorn continued running, heading up the stairs leading to the Stable entrance. WHY WON’T YOU DIE?! Angry tears began to blur my vision as I racked another round into the chamber. I didn’t miss. I can’t have missed! What’s going on? Up the stairs, running through the gap where the Stable door had been, I focused on Latvi’s retreating form. “It’s definitely you, you coward! I can see the fear in your eyes!” I went to pull the trigger, but stopped. I saw that. For the briefest of moments, Latvi’s body had flickered out of existence. Where he’d been running was empty space, and he’d jumped twenty metres ahead. He was back in the original spot a moment later. I understand. Rather than taking the shot, I followed him through the tunnel. He continued running out into the eternal blizzard. I stopped at the entrance. Even in this horrid weather, my eyes could track him for a few moments. I held the scope to my eye, and waited. Latvi’s desperate run continued down the mountain, kicking up loose snow as he sprinted. He flickered. I tightened my grip. “Not this time.” Swinging my rifle out, I sighted along the path the far flicker had taken. With a mighty CRACK, my rifle round blasted through his hip. The closer Latvi disappeared as the farther one fell, horn’s dark blue glow fading. The grim smirk crossing my face wouldn’t have stopped it if I wanted it to. Got you. I snuffed out the last of the magic’s traces with three more shots; pelvis, shoulders, spine. The snow around Latvi was already crimson and shiny, but he was still barely moving. “That was for Naiara.” The barrel of my rifle sizzled as it lowered into the snow. “Nobody is going to remember you.” I watched my friend’s murderer bleed out, alone in the crimson snow. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Buff’s expression shifted between grimace and glare as he heaved himself up the stairs to the Overseer’s Office, one at a time. “Why didn’t he just stay down?” “Slow down! I still have to finish cinching you up.” Esto did her best to tie off the makeshift splint, cobbled together from his shield and some bindings, around his front right leg. “If you move around too much, it won’t set right.” “And stop whining!” I groused, measuring the weight of my all-too-empty gear. “I had to use up most of my grenades on that guy. Only got, like, six left.” “Good thing we’re here, then.” Buff stood at the top of the stairs and, after taking a moment to gauge the weight on his splint, used his good hoof to key the door release. Predictably, it didn’t open. What it did trigger, however, was the P.A. system kicking in. Roc’s harried politeness sounded out, loud and strained. “Attention, Steel Rangers! Converge on the Overseer’s Office immediately. There are three intruders attempting to gain entry.” Great. Immediately, I fished out my grenades. The corridor behind us was empty, for now, but Roc’s announcement would bring more soon enough. “Get that door open, you two!” Great resounding thuds echoed around us as Buff hammered against the door. “Roc, open this door! This has to end!” “It will,” the griffon responded over the speakers, “just as soon as the other Rangers arrive. They will deal with you, and then your friends. You never should have come back, Al.” Esto was studiously contemplating the locking mechanism for the Over Office door, and didn’t look away at Roc’s words. “This one is not Al, ‘Overseer’.” Her horn glowed, but the door stubbornly remained closed. “And you should think carefully about what will happen in your partnership with the Steel Rangers. They are not known to play by any rules except their own.” Roc’s tone instantly shifted to haughty politeness. “And who might you be, madam? I don’t believe we have had the pleasure.” Esto matched his tone. “I am afraid that I only give out my name face-to-face. I’m sure you understand. If you could just open the door, I would be happy to introduce myself.” Roc chuckled. “You know that I won’t do that. A fair attempt, though.” Shrugging in a ‘worth a try’ manner, Esto tried the door again. Unfortunately, she had no more success than last time. Well, now what? We can’t waste all our time talking to this moro—wait, what’s that? Twisting and flicking my ears, I listened harder. Uh oh. The faint sound of hooves on metal began to grow louder. “Guys, we gotta get out of here. Somebody’s coming.” Buff wheeled around as fast as his injured leg would allow. “Rangers?” “If it is, they’re not in armour, but it could be their scribes.” Esto was helping Buff back down the stairs. She pointed across the corridor. “There’s an alcove.” Between us, we dragged Buff across the open space, then hunkered down. We didn’t have to wait long. Not even thirty seconds after we’d taken cover, a pegasus mare in Plottawan uniform clattered up the stairs to Roc’s office. Buff stiffened. “The Overmare!” He hauled himself upright, and ran-limped after Willow Wisp. That’s her? Esto and I followed, as the shouting started from within the Over Office. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” Demanded Roc. “IT’S MY OFFICE!” Willow Wisp shouted back. “It most certainly is not! You lost the election fair and square and, in addition, I EXILED YOU!” The griffon’s smooth voice cracked at the end. Esto and I caught up with Buff just inside the door. Current and former Overseer stood, claws and front hooves pressing down on either side of the desk, glaring at each other. Vehemently shaking her head, Willow Wisp didn’t back down. “That means nothing! Look what you’ve done to the Stable, MY Stable, in my absence. Steel Rangers?! Who told you that was a good idea?” A talon rose from the desk to point squarely between her eyes. “YOU would have had us sit behind the Stable door forever. There is an entire world out there, full of possibility, and you sealed us away, cowering in fear!” She batted the talon aside. “You’ve seen the files, ‘Overseer’. You know what Stable 61 was formed to do.” “Yes,” Roc mocked, “‘a total segregation from the conflict’. A pipe dream that left us stagnating, until we would have no choice but to turn on each other.” “Perhaps not for you, but I was able to juggle everybody just fine!” At my side, Buff rumbled in his chest. His face had set stonily, watching the argument stoically. Roc noticed us before Willow Wisp did. Instantly, his eyes sharpened. “Buff! I have an offer for you! Cease your intrusion into the Stable, restrain Willow Wisp, and assist our forces in driving out the other invaders. Do that, and I will allow you and your brothers to return to the Stable’s ranks.” Buff twitched in response, but said nothing. Willow Wisp, now aware of their audience, gave a counter-offer. “No, Buff. Help me to retake my Stable, and we will get our home back on the proper track.” “These two are very loud,” Esto whispered in my other ear, “and the office door is still open.” At her words, my eyes swivelled back to stare at the open entryway. “Good point.” Rangers, or whoever, could still be on their way. Spinning, I slammed my hoof into the door’s control panel. Squealing and grinding, it slammed shut behind us. The satisfying click of the lock was music to my ears. It seemed to stir Buff out of his reverie as well. Cienna shoulders hunching, he panned across the griffon and pegasus in turn. “‘Return’. ‘Retake’. Both of you saw fit to send people away. You,” he fixed Roc with a hard stare, “threw me and my brothers, not to mention your defeated opponent, out into a world we knew nothing about, as your first act in power.” Face contorting, Roc tried to backtrack. “Well, you see, that was merely—” Ignoring him, Buff wheeled on to the Overmare. “And you decided to throw Snowflake out of the Stable in the first place, no doubt giving Roc here the idea in the first place. Oh, and don’t either of you think for a moment that leaving Snowflake out of your speeches just now went unnoticed.” Willow Wisp fluttered her feathers timidly. “I-I didn’t mean—” Even with one limb crippled, Buff pulled himself up to his full, near-full-grown-bull Buffalo height. “Why should I believe, or help, either of you, when you both see fit to throw away things you have no use for, or those who are a distraction? How is that path going to help the Stable find its way?” He took two heavy steps towards the desk, causing it to creak when he leaned on it. “The Stable door is gone. My sister saw to that. My sister, Snowflake, who has seen and done more in mere weeks in the Wasteland, than both of you two have done in your combined times behind this desk. You can’t ignore Snowflake any more, either of you. So, I’ll ask the two of you a simple question: If I help you, what will you do in regards to Snowflake and her friends?” Silence descended the moment he had finished. It was awesome. You’ve got nothing, either of you. All you’re both thinking about is this office and the chair behind the desk. Not a clue as to what you’d do the next time somebody from outside makes their way here. Maybe got you both thinking a little harder about the endgame of having Steel Rangers here, yeah? I almost burst out laughing when I noticed the two of them give each other, staunch opponents mere moments ago, a worried glance. “That’s what I thought.” Buff drawled. Seeing no help coming from the buffalo, the past and present Overseers turned to Esto and I. Roc looked to me. “We spoke at the Stable entrance, you and I. I can offer you complete access to ALL the Stable’s technology, free of charge, for as long as you need.” Guffawing, I waved him off. “Good for you, champ. You do that.” It took Willow Wisp slightly longer to field an offer, having never met Esto before. “Peanut has resources, much more than this place. You could have whatever you want; caps, weapons, stallions… mares?” Esto rolled her eyes. “Peanut’s empire lies in ruins. Plottawa is a wreck, his army is trapped in Lethbridle, and he is forced to ally himself with ponies such as Latvi and yourself. I will not forgive that last part.” Shield-splint clanging with every step, Buff began to walk around to the griffon’s side of the desk. “Get out of that chair, Roc.” “Never!” Reaching under the desk, Roc hit something with his left claw. His other came up wielding a heavy pistol as the wall and floor behind the desk began to slide open. “You won’t take me in my own office!” We all, Willow Wisp included, dove for cover as he wildly unloaded every bullet around the room. This guy’s gonna kill us! And it’s gonna be a fluke! Thankfully, the bark of his weapon fell silent without any of his untrained shots biting into me. Nobody else had cried out either, not even the Overmare. Still, I refrained from rising too hastily. “Anybody hit? Buff? Esto?” “‘m okay.” Buff grunted from halfway around the desk. “No injuries.” Esto confirmed from the corner. Well, that’s a reli— “I too, am—” “NOBODY CARES!” My interruption shut Willow Wisp up. “Where’s Roc?” Buff had gotten up, and was exploring the now-bare wall behind the desk. “Looks like some sort of escape hatch.” He banged against it thrice. “Can’t get it open.” “Perhaps he jammed it shut during his escape?” Esto made her way around the desk to join him. Oh, wonderful. Without even looking, my greave swung up and in front of the Overmare’s jaw, my Shock Lock javelin deployed and crackling. As her eyes widened, I keyed the communicator. “Heads up, guys. We’re in the Overseer’s office, but Roc got away. Got the old Overmare here, though, so that’s something at least.” Fedexi Lexi’s rural timbre came through right away. “Awright, un’erstood. Jus’ get into the system, an’ see what y’can do to help the others out. We’ll keep an eye out fer Roc.” “Roger that.” I clicked the communicator off. “So close to getting him, too.” “Like you said,” Esto turned away from the wall through which Roc had made his escape, and sat herself down in the Overseer’s chair, “we have the old Overseer.” Esto began tapping away at the keyboard. She spoke to Willow Wisp without looking up. “If you have a way to gain access to this system, now would be the time to speak.” The pegasus’ eyes hardened almost immediately. “You’re in my chair. If you want my help, move aside.” “Nobody wants your help, and this is not your office any longer. You gave up that right when you forsook the ideals of this place.” Buff moved away from the wall, planting himself in front of her and looming. “You threw my sister out of her home, then allied yourself with a slaver for power. You can prove your worth, or my friend here,” he indicated me and my still-sparking spear, “can knock you out so we can work in peace. Which will it be?” She held his stare long enough that my hoof began to tire of holding up the greave. She’s actually gonna make me do it, isn’t she? Let it go, lady! Instead, she cocked her head to the side, somehow sprouting a small smile. “Easy, isn’t it? To talk down to those you hold influence over? You’re not so pure yourself, Buff. Your sister’s influence, no doubt.” Ignoring his gaping, she shoo’d him out of the way with her wings, moving over to stand by Esto. “Start with the main directory. I doubt Roc will have changed too much in his short time here. Now, what you want to do is…” Retracting my Shock spear, I kicked the buffalo in the shin, just hard enough to break his thousand-yard-stare. “Don’t worry about it, big guy. She’s just being a bitch.” “R-right.” He looked like he wanted to say something further, but gave up and went to stand guard near the staircase door. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “LOOK OUT!” Lo threw himself in front of Facemask, getting his shield up just as the rocket hit. Schwarzwald and I managed to dive aside, but the impact lifted the buffalo off his hooves, spinning back to crash into the wall at the far end of the atrium. “Lo! Facemask, how is he?” Where’d that shot come from? I ducked behind a pillar, listening and looking for the shooter. The grizzled medic had tumbled back with the youngest Doublehorn. He poked his head around Lo’s bulk, lips curled down. An angry red streak ran down his face face under his faded mane. “He’s out, and there’s some shrapnel in him. I gotta dig it free and patch things up.” Across from me, behind another pillar, Schwarzwald called back to the old stallion. “You are bleeding too, dahling. Take care of the little one, and of yourself. We will deal with this.” We will? “Did you see where that came from?” She nodded back at me, revving up her minigun. “Three Rangers near the far wall. They have cover.” To accentuate her point, she leaned out for just long enough to fire one short burst, then immediately had to wrench her head back to avoid the massive return volley. Once the enemy fire subsided, I raised my voice to address the room as a whole. “What do you want? We’re trying to get through. We have no quarrel with you.” Tittering laughter was the response. A labcoat-wearing teal unicorn, armed with a wicked-looking laser rifle and flanked by two fully armed and armoured Paladins, sauntered casually into view. “Oh come now, my dear colt, we both know that’s not true.” I know that guy. Seeing that none of the Rangers were actively aiming their weapons at us, I poked my head out enough to speak to him. “You were in Neighlway. Why are you here?” He rolled his eyes. “‘You were in Neighlway’. That’s all I get? I even introduced myself then. The least you could do is remember my name.” Schwarzwald leaned out to see, too. “It was ‘Happy Pills’, yes, dahling?” He clapped his hooves together, suddenly smiling. “There we go, one of you was paying attention. And I love the ‘dahling’. Keep that up.” I was a little preoccupied in Neighlway, ‘Happy Pills’. “What do you want, Happy Pills?” His expression shifted to contemplative. “What, personally? I mean, we Steel Rangers are here to protect the Stable and all its wonderful toys,” No mention of the people, I notice. “But as for me? I’m kinda hoping that I can finally see the little princess again.” Reaching back, he patted one of the side of one of the hulking Paladins. The larger one. “Like I said back in Neighlway, the wife here was so disappointed that she didn’t get the chance to finally meet Princess. Breaks my heart, so it does.” Both Schwarzwald and I raised an eyebrow as Happy Pills’ ‘wife’ grunted, the sound anything but feminine. The other Paladin grunted too, but with an undercurrent of frustration. Happy Pills shrugged. “Of course, this one here… Go on, introduce yourself.” Even with a helmet on, the look the Ranger gave him was telling. “...Paladin Sticky Buns.” Pinballing between the two, Happy Pills never stopped smiling. “Sticky Buns here just wants to kill her. Something about monitor duty weeks back. Not important. Anywho, imagine the wife and I’s luck when it turns out that this Stable happens to be where Princess grew up. I’ve already visited her room and left her a flashy gift. Y’know, to be neighbourly.” Schwarzwald chuckled into her hoof. “Why would you think we would give up our ‘Princess’?” The head of the ‘wife’ snapped up straight, fixating on Schwarzwald. Happy Pills noticed and, momentarily, looked worried. Sticky Buns was less stoic. He stomped a heavy metal hoof. “You don’t have a choice. On the orders of Elder Iron Sights, Snowflake will die at my hooves.” The wife’s head turned on a swivel, staring down the other Paladin. Happy Pills jumped in between the two. “Now now, dearies, have to play nice. I have a compromise. If we cause enough ruckus with these fine folks here, I’m sure Princess will come running. We can secure her, the wife and I can have our fun, and THEN Sticky Buns can kill her.” It was my turn to roll my eyes when Schwarzwald whispered ‘If only you weren’t an enemy’. Gimme a break, Schwarz. This guy’s just nuts. “That being said,” Happy Pills hefted his giant blaster in his magic, “weapons ready. Dear heart, why don’t you take care of the griffon?” Griffon? Shit, is Wings here? Whipping my head around, I laid eyes on the black and white tiercel. Nope, not Wings. Caught out in the open, mid-flap, Eitom clearly hadn’t been expecting to find three Steel Rangers pointing weapons at him, nor the undoubtedly gobsmacked look he was getting from me. “...Um.” Well, not even close to my favourite griffon, but this could work. I forced cheer into my voice. “Glad you’re here, buddy. Lend us a claw with these guys, will ya?” He blinked. Once. “What? I don’t—” Sticky Buns did. “Confirmed as hostile. Open fire!” Immediately, the air was filled with lasers. “OH COME ON!” Wheeling and twisting, Eitom dropped down to crouch behind the same cover I was hiding behind. “This is all your fault!” Suck it up, prick. “Yep. And neither you nor us can take three Rangers alone. We’ll have to work together. We can kill each other after that.” Bloodshot eyes stood out in stark contrast to his white feathers, but he didn’t disagree. Good enough. I nodded to Schwarzwald, and we readied our weapons. “We’ll give you cover. Fly to the upper level. We’ll have them taking fire from two angles.” Even as he nodded, he hiss-growled at me, plumage hackled. “If this is a trick—” “SCHWARZ, NOW!” Snapping off two shots at Happy Pills, forcing his wife to step in front of him as a shield, I didn’t wait to see if I’d done any damage, instead turning my attention to the other Paladin, Sticky Buns. Schwarzwald’s gatling battered at his helmet’s visor. Throwing up a hoof to shield his eyes, the Ranger was firing blind. Beside me, Eitom took flight, surging up past the firing arc of the Rangers. His back paws clattered on the upper mezzanine, and soon his automatic rifle began kicking out fire too. Happy Pills had retreated to cover, and Sticky Buns was at least acknowledging our efforts. The wife, however, simply began to stalk across the gap between our respective covers, not even flinching at the bullets rattling against her armour. Her energy weapon, a triple-barreled monstrosity that was a full third her size, superheated the metal walls around us when it struck. Even her voice was unflinching. “Bring me the Princess! Where is she?” Schwarzwald tried for a shot at her flank as she got close, but laserfire from Happy Pills slashed across her back, dropping her to the floor, even as the wife was almost on her. “Schwarz!” Without thinking, I leapt out of cover, between the two mares. Green fire enveloped me, and I was a very different pony when I landed. “You want the Princess?” Snowflake’s voice flew from my lips. “Here I am. Come get me!” From above, Eitom’s voice cut in. All the anger had been replaced with bewilderment. “What the fuck?” The other two Rangers had stopped firing. The unicorn in the labcoat was gawking, while the helmeted Sticky Buns simply stared. Long as they’re not shooting at us. Dancing around the wife, I poked and prodded at her as I circled. “Follow the Princess, wifey! Come on, I’m right here.” Dumbly, she tried to track me, but was too big, too slow, and too lost. I kept up my capering until she was fully turned around, away from Schwarzwald and my other friends, facing back towards her husband and fellow Paladin. Now would be good, guys. Eitom fired at the same time Sticky Buns did. The griffon’s bullet hit Happy Pills between the eyes. He dropped without a word. The Ranger’s lasers struck the black and white griffon dead center in his chest. He barely had time to gasp before he burned away to ash. Two simultaneous roars sounded. The wife raised both front hooves up, slamming them down where I’d been just a moment before. On the mezzanine, a straw-coloured griffon scooped up Eitom’s rifle, twinning it with one in his other claw, and unloaded both straight at Sticky Buns, screaming all the while. Juking as I fled from the wife-turned-widow’s wrath, I had no time for anything fancy. It took all I had to keep ahead of her crushing stampede. One stomp hit close enough to throw me off my hooves, bouncing me off a support pillar, and straight to the floor under her raised hoof. There were no words for the sight of that colossal armoured hoof, bigger than my head, blotting out the light above me. Schwarzwald’s gatling roared, shot after shot slamming into the forgotten triple laser strapped to the wife’s side. The damage discharged the battery, unbalancing but not toppling the wife. When Lo slammed into her from the other side, she finally did fall. For a half second at least, and then she was up again, clashing with the buffalo who outmassed her but didn’t apparently didn’t outmuscle her. It bought me time to take stock, however, and with it a welcome sight. The straw griffon, still dual-wielding his fallen friend’s weapon, was actually on fire from Sticky Buns’ lasers, though he’d managed to avoid getting ashed like Eitom. He didn’t seem to feel the flames, and aimed a constant stream of lead at the remaining Ranger. What was more welcome, however, was the presence of the third griffon beside him. Wings, revolvers out, worked in tandem with the tiercel. They, along with Schwarzwald, provided no opening for Sticky Buns to set his aim, and his shots missed over and over. Without taking her eyes off the Paladin, Wings flicked her tail from me to Happy Pills’ corpse. “Get it, Bosco!” Get what? I looked. Oh. OH! Diving under the bellies of the dueling giants, I laid hooves on my target: Happy Pills’ laser weapon. Point blank, I jammed it under Sticky Buns’ chin, then pulled the trigger. And kept pulling it, over and over, until the charge ran dry. Jerking and spasming, the Paladin tumbled over. A hoof-sized hole had been chewed through his chin plate, and wispy smoke curled out from within. Both griffons had already switched targets, and were pouring everything they had into the wife, now pinned beneath Lo’s bulk. She was still fighting, but couldn’t break free. Finally, the bullets penetrated her armour, and her struggles gradually subsided. When it was over, Facemask began treating Schwarzwald’s back burns. Lo helped. Wings landed beside me. “Hey, Bosco. Nice work.” “Um, yeah, you too.” I looked up at the mezzanine, where the straw griffon, whose name I finally remembered was Wicker, sifted through the ashes of his friend. “What’re you doing with him?” Her beak clicked as she shrugged, cream feathers rustling. “Hired him. He’s gonna help us clear the Stable.” You… hired him? I couldn’t hide my disbelief. “How? What are you paying him, and why would he agree?” Her sapphire eyes twinkled. “Latvi’s dead, Cassie got him. The Monsters are out the contract, and their pay.” Some of the tension drained immediately. “She got him? That’s great. Fucking bastard deserved it for what he did.” She nodded, eyes still smouldering. “Yeah. So I talked Wicker into a new deal.” Can we trust him, though? Or any of them? “What’re they getting in return?” She looked away, up at the straw-coloured Monster, and his pile of ash. “Something they wouldn’t get otherwise.” “What’s that mean?” Turning back to me, she shook her head. “Not now. Later. Still work to be done.” She put both claws on my shoulders. “Where are the others, Bosco? Where’s Snow?” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All of this seems… hauntingly familiar. The geothermal units groaned and croaked as they worked, harnessing the natural energy from far below the surface. To the side, exactly where they’d been weeks earlier, lay the old components, the workers of that fateful having apparently never gotten around to shifting them down to recycling after I’d grabbed the Memory Orb. Sloppy. I get taken to the Medbay, they get to take time off. The ledge was the same, too, as was the dark expanse beyond it. I stood where I was for now, not quite ready to head over there yet, even though I would have to eventually. Here’s where I found the Orb, and where else in the Stable could an Alicorn princess and a Changeling queen hide? The Orb was still tucked into my barding, in a pocket over my heart. It felt heavier, there in that place, than it had at any time since I first grabbed it in my magic. “So then,” I spoke to the machinery and darkness, “shall we get started?” “Get started with what?” I jumped. That’s new. Looking up, I saw a shadowy figure raise itself up from where it was nestled between some gargantuan piping. I know that voice. “Roc? What are you doing down here?” HOW did you even get down here? “Didn’t I fire you?” His claws kicked up sparks as he raked them down the metal pipes. “That means nothing, Snowflake! No matter what manner of calamity you bring to my Stable, I will never bow to your commands!” Is that so? “So you waited down here to tell me that, or is there another reason you’re not in the Overseer’s Office right now?” More like three reasons, and one of them’s my big ‘lump’ of a little brother. He only gave a flicker of uncertainty before coughing into his claw. “Well, I could hardly leave a… disruptive element, such as yourself, to wreak havoc in MY Stable’s inner workings. The protection of Stable 61, its equipment and residents both, is one of my most important duties as its Overseer—” “Not the Overseer anymore,” I interrupted in a sing-song voice, with an intentionally goofy grin, “...‘cause I fired you!” It probably wasn’t the time, but I felt I owed him for all the grief he’d caused me. “What are YOU doing here, exile?” He bleated, launching himself into the air, before jabbing a talon at me. “What do you think is down here, in this dark corner of the Stable? What do you think you know of this place that I, the Overseer, do not?” I burst out laughing. Where do I start? “Oh, just so many things, Roc. I’m not even sure I’ve got the time to list them all.” He cawed back a harsh laugh. “Is that why you spent all your time stuck on Monitor Duty, you census-line? Because you knew so much more than those of us who actually could navigate the Stable’s environment? The Stable didn’t need you, Snowflake. It needed me, and those like me, to determine the path to New Equestria.” Bingo. “And there it is.” I smirked up at him. “Roc, since you are so needed for New Equestria, I’m sure you’ll be able to tell a poor naïve outsider like me the answer to this question. See, it’s been bugging me for a while now, and no matter how I wrack my brains about the Stable’s teachings, I just can’t ever remember any details on this.” Landing at the edge of the darkness, Roc smoothed down his feathers, then looked down his beak at me. “Ask away.” “What was so bad about Old Equestria?” He waited for me to continue for a few seconds, then scoffed. “That’s it? That’s the question you don’t have an answer to. Well, clearly you paid less attention than even I thought.” Perfect contentment on his face, he spoke in his smoothest tone, eyes closed. “Pay attention now, little Snowflake. Old Equestria went to war, my dear. They forsook peaceful cooperation, and took up weapons against their fellow equines. That was their failure. We of Stable 61 have a duty to not make their mistakes all over again.” “Then what would you change?” I asked, plainly. “Hmm?” One of his eyes opened. I pressed onwards. “What would you change, Roc? Old Equestria went to war, we all know this. What led to them making that decision? What wouldn’t you do that Old Equestria did?” “I—” Butting in, I didn’t let up. “What would you do that they didn’t? How about the parts that they did, which you’d also do but differently? How differently?” I lifted my hoof to pan across the cavern, its equipment, the dark expanse, and the two of us. “Name the parts of Old Equestria which caused the problems? Tell me your plan to prevent the problems happening again. Tell me how your New Equestria would be different from the Old.” “Well, obviously we wouldn’t consider warfare as an option.” “Who wouldn’t? Plenty of folks out there with guns, Roc. They’ve used them too. But that’s in the Wasteland. You haven’t answered my question: What parts of Old Equestria were wrong, to bring about its own end, that your New Equestria wouldn’t be?” He held up a single talon. “Well, I would say… um, it would be the… you see, the crux of the matter was…” The talon lowered, and he frowned at me. Hah! “Not so easy is it, to pass judgement over an entire nation, especially when you’ve sat apart from it, hiding in metal walls for two hundred years?” His frown deepened. “And you would know better?” Two talons came up. “You’ve barely been out of the Stable for two months, if that, and suddenly you believe you can solve the problems of the past two centuries?” “Not all at once, no,” I shrugged at him, ignoring the glare this brought on, “but I’ve got a working theory. See, I’ve seen Equestria. Every Equestria. As it was, and as it is now. Memory Orbs are useful that way. But anyway, I think I have a notion as to Equestria’s failing, both past and present.” He sniffed in derision. “Oh, do enlighten me. I could use a laugh after the events of today.” I smiled. Not the malicious smirk that I’d sent his way before, but a beatific smile that wasn’t aimed at him. “Balance.” “‘Balance’.” He echoed, claws crossed. “Balance.” I confirmed. “See, Old Equestria was full of love. The people, the land, the Princesses. There was so much love in Equestria, they didn’t know anything else. Trouble is, when you know nothing but love, you lose perspective on the rest.” Roc cocked an eyebrow. “‘The rest’?” “Hate.” I clarified, pointing at my smoking eyes. You won’t get it, but these are what I’m talking about. “Hate arises when there are problems between people. To recognise hate is to recognise that the problem exists. If you can’t hate, you can’t perceive problems before they become too big to ignore. That was Old Equestria’s failing. Because they only knew love, they couldn’t stop the war before it was too late. Problems can’t be solved without love, but they can’t be discovered without hate. There needs to be a balance, within ourselves and within Equestria.” And we can’t achieve it with just ponies. We’ll need the others, too. “Hate will sharpen your eyes when you need them, and love will soften them again afterwards. Love and hate need to be in balance. We need to accept both to bring about harmony.” We need them both to make the Gardens grow. “That’s my answer to the riddle of New Equestria. We need to find the balance. Unless we can find acceptance of all sides to ourselves, we won’t succeed, and history will repeat itself.” “And how will you do that?” He asked pointedly. Well, I have been told that ‘acceptance’ is my core virtue, but… “I won’t, though I do know who will.” “And who might that be?” Blazing sapphire eyes ghosted across my mind. I touched my breast, over my heart, still smiling gently. “No, that one’s for me.” Shaking my head, I tried to wave him aside. “If I told you, it might throw off the balance. You’re not ready to be a part of this yet, Roc. Let me take care of it for now.” Both wings shot out to bar my path. “Excuse me, Snowflake, but poetic speeches do not give you the right to walk about my Stable as you please.” I facehoofed. “Are we really doing this again?” A voice from behind me forestalled any response Roc might have had. “I concur with the lady. It would be best for you to leave, Overseer.” I had about-faced before the third word was out of Peanut’s lips, horn glowing and stance lowered. “Roc, you should leave.” “I am not going—” “ROC!” No attempt was made at niceties anymore. “If you stay, either he or I will kill you. Get out of here!” Peanut was poised with his mouth just an inch away from his holster. The hoofcannon that had given me my latest scar lay within. “I would listen to her if I were you, Roc. Not that your life means anything to me, but noncombatants are just so… distracting.” Roc, stymied, hovered at my shoulder as Peanut and I stared each other down. “Snowflake, you have no weapon. He has a gun.” Glacier-blue light glowed brighter. “Got this right here.” I sucked in some air through my nostrils as Peanut’s mouth twitched towards his shooter. “Roc, I don’t much care if you live either, but you’ll have one chance to get away. Listen closely.” He leaned in, beak to my ear. “What is th—” Then I cracked him across the jaw with my ice-covered hoof. DAMN, that was satisfying! He dropped off the side, in a boneless heap. Taking two long strides away from the unconscious griffon, with Peanut following my movements all the way, I squared up again. “Now then.” He spoke without moving his neck. “Indeed. Quite the nice speech you gave, I must say. ‘A balance between love and hate’. Very evocative.” “Glad you liked it.” I deadpanned. “Oh, I did!” He smirked. “My favourite part was—” His hoofcannon was between his lips before the next breath, snapping off two shots. I blocked both, one hitting the ice I’d conjured up in front of me, and the other chipping off the barrier I’d erected around Roc. “Mm. Clever girl.” Then he moved. Cartwheeling to the left, he snapped off another three shots mid-flip. All three hit exactly where his first shot had struck. The second and third splintered the ice, and the fourth shattered it. I’d already thrown myself to the side before the shield broke, and slammed a hoof into the ground as I landed. Four Cryo Serpents shot out from where my hoof had landed, surging for Peanut. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Four more shots, and each ice trail faded out. I tried to will another spell into play, but Peanut crossed the distance between us in the blink of an eye, driving an elbow into my stomach. The impact lifted me off my hooves, and forced all the air from my lungs. I flew out over the black expanse. On instinct, my horn fired off, a thin ice ledge shooting out from the edge to break my fall. It was still ice, though, and thin, meaning I was left gripping at it with every part of me, teeth included. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Peanut reloading. “What is this now, Red Ice, our… fourth go-around? I mean, you have been called insane before but, as you can probably guess, that was from ponies who don’t much like you.” I got one hoof wrapped tightly around the ice, and hauled myself upright. “This isn’t the same as before.” “Why?” He tossed his flighty golden locks. “Because of that crooked new horn? Fast work, by the way, but it won’t be enough.” I set my new horn glowing. “We’ll see, Peanut Gallery. A lot’s changed since then.” Brilliant white teeth shone with his smile, as he reached inside his Plottawa uniform. “I know. You’re not the only one who picked up a new horn.” He withdrew a string from under his collar. On the end dangled my old horn, still cracked and jagged, but a perfect match for my coat. Well that’s… macabre. “I’m gonna want that back.” His perverse trophy was quickly tucked back inside his clothing. “Come take it. You couldn’t beat me with it, and you won’t beat me without.” He pointed at my forehead. “Maybe I’ll take your new one, too. First pony in history to take the same unicorn’s horn, twice.” “And what,” I groused, “gonna give it to Red Eye when you turn and present your plot to him? Maybe stuff ‘em both inside first?” He rumbled in his throat, smile fading. “Don’t be so crass, Snowflake. Red Eye is doing more for Equestria than you, or your ‘balance’, could ever do.” Ooh, did I hit a nerve? “He’s just another slaver, Peanut, like you. Neither of you will get what you want in the end. You’re both destined to fail, because Equestria doesn’t need people like the two of you.” Drawing in a long breath with his eyes closed, Peanut popped his neck. “Okay, that’s enough.” What happened next was all in one lightning quick motion. His eyes opened, focused and predatory, and he fired at me and my ice ledge. I was in motion too. I’d reformed the ledge to catapult me into the air, and as I spun over him, I left another body in my wake. When I landed, now with him between me and the edge, I was rewarded with the sight of him flipping aside, to avoid the spinning scissor-kick of Naiara. Well, almost Naiara. My friend couldn’t truly be revived, but I could picture her clear as day in my mind, and bring that forth as living ice. Even as Peanut’s eyebrows shot up, Ice-Naiara fell into a zebra combat stance between us, one I’d seen so many times in the past from the graceful filly. Peanut had stopped blinking for the moment, regarding the summon warily. “Well, this certainly isn’t the same as before, I will grant you that. Still, this seems a little out of character for you, Snowflake.” “Every time we’ve fought, I’ve been a different person, Peanut. You don’t know what my character is.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Perhaps not, but what I do know is this: This one,” he nodded at Ice-Naiara, who stared back blankly, “couldn’t beat me either. I put her into the wall when she and I fought. How is this pale imitation going to save you?” Without waiting for an answer, he charged. Naiar-ice rushed to block, kicking out with her Stompeii Emboli moves I remembered so well. Peanut twisted, letting the blow glance off his hip to little effect, and countered with a powerful Fallen Caesar thrust that shattered her throat, with the rest of her following. The breath caught in my chest. Naiara… Even as a summoned ice-golem, seeing her fall again tore open the scabs of her death. I only barely got my hoof-sole ice-skate spell, and a weak ice wall, in place before Peanut’s hoofcannon triple-tap sent me sliding back into the hard rock wall. More shots came, but they were intercepted by a pair of new arrivals. “Will wonders never cease?” The Plottawan leader exclaimed, an edge of irritation creeping into his voice. “Who might these two be?” Shaking the stars away, I glared past my reinforcements to him. “See, that’s the problem with your whole ‘slavery’ approach. It’s so impersonal. Let me introduce you Vorbis and Contego. They were guests of the Plottawan hospitality system for a time, and then you and Willow Wisp dragged them to Lethbridle to die as your meatshields!” Comprehension dawned. “Oh, I do remember those two. That’s right. I offered to let Fedexi Lexi buy them back, but she apparently couldn’t spare the caps.” “Don’t try to turn this around on my mother!” You already know our relationship, and I’d tell you proudly even if you didn’t! “You don’t get to dictate terms when you’re snatching people from their business and spiriting them away to your gulag!” He barely reacted to my anger, quietly musing over my words. “Perhaps I should test the depth of your mother’s pockets. Even if she didn’t pay up for these two, she can’t ignore it if I dangle her daughter in front of her. Either of her daughters.” Red began to mix with the purpose smoke around the edges of my vision. “That was a mistake. You won’t get near my family again. Let me show you what happens if you try.” A third frost figure coalesced. This one was a young filly who, in life, had been pure white with a bright gold mane. “Remember her, Peanut? Not a slave this time. She was one of your slavers.” My voice dropped down deep. “I froze her solid to make a point. To get you to come out and play. You never did.” There wasn’t even a flicker of recognition in his eyes for his fallen soldier. “I already know you’ve done some questionable things, Snowflake.” I winked without smile or cheer. “Oh, you just bring out the worst in me, dear heart. Hell, Red Ice was basically born in your office, so you’re kinda the closest thing she has to a father.” He pulled his head away slightly. “Wait, so are you saying that you’re Red Ice’s mother… and Red Ice? That’s… disturbingly incestuous.” “Like I said, you bring out the worst in me. And now my worst is going to kill you.” Hot Topice, Vorbice, and Frostego charged. I followed on their heels. Peanut batted Vorbis aside, then jammed his hoofcannon under Contego’s chin and pulled the trigger. Hot Topic reached him before he could reset his stance, and took them both down in a heap. The ice-filly rained down chilly blows as she straddled him. Blocking with his front legs, Peanut got his back legs under her, just in time to buck her straight into me. Her head caught the bullet meant for mine, but chips of her frozen face nipped at my eyes. Blinded, I scrubbed at my eyes to get the frost splinters out. A bullet, one that felt like it was the size of my hoof, blasted my back knee out from under me. Howling, I thrashed on the ground as I tried to reach the wound. For my trouble, I got kick to the face for my trouble, cartilage breaking in my nose from the blow. Through the pain haze, the purple smoke, and the ice shards in my vision, I could barely see Peanut line up another shot. I felt it though, as my other back knee shattered. Reduced to whimpering, I couldn’t do anything as the smoking barrel of his gun was pressed into my unscarred cheek. It sizzled as he held it there. “I told you, Red Ice. No matter what you have on your head, no matter what ghosts you summon to your aid, you can’t beat me. You aren’t strong enough.” “Red Ice isn’t,” I muttered under my breath, He leaned in closer, pressing the burning metal harder into my face, until it was flat against the teeth under the flesh. “What was that? Speak up now.” Red Ice isn’t… “...but Snowflake is!” Gnarled ice teeth sank into Peanut’s arm. The slaver boss howled as Inbox clung tightly. Both of them shook and struggled against each other, until a massive cloven hoof sent them both flying. Inbox couldn’t hang on in the air, leaving Peanut free to flip himself into a four-point landing. He came up glaring at me, as I lay atop the frozen visage of Chief Rockhaunch. Even as he cast about for his fallen weapon, I spoke down at him from on high. “Red Ice can’t kill you, Peanut. She doesn’t have enough people on her side. Neither do you. You’re alone. Like Red Ice, all you have is your sins.” I followed his gaze as he found his hoofcannon. He made no move to grab it, as Hot Topic stood with one hoof on it. As he watched, she sank into the ground, encasing the weapon in a perfect, inaccessible hemisphere of crystal ice. Openly glaring now, Peanut remained defiant, even as the leg that Inbox’s teeth had savaged shook and threatened to crumple. “You haven’t won, Red Ice. I just have to sit here and let you bleed out.” I didn’t glare back, instead just stared with level eyes. “You won’t get the chance.” Inbox, Contego, Vorbis, and Hot Topic swarmed, grabbing at the stallion from all sides. He tried to dive away, but his gamey leg slowed him too much. In moments, he was struggling against unmoving statues, trapping his limbs even as they rooted themselves in the cavern floor. With slow, deliberate steps, Naiara moved to stand in front of him. Peanut ignored her, continuing to try to incinerate me with his eyes, even as she reached inside his collar and withdrew my old horn. “I won’t die down here, Red Ice, not in this backwater Stable at the end of the world!” She half turned, tossing it to me. I caught it in my mouth. The hoof that had thrown it, still raised as if in triumph, morphed into a single, wicked spike. Hanging my old horn’s thread from my new horn, I took a moment to take in the scene. “Stay down here, Peanut Gallery, with Red Ice and all your mistakes. Equestria’s more balanced without you.” Naiara, ever graceful, pirouetted. Her ice spike sank deep into Peanut’s chest, and stayed there. I watched impassively. “This isn’t the end of the world, slaver. Be thankful you’ll never see what’s beyond this place.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Sure arms lifted me gently up to a sitting position. “Easy there, Snow. I gotcha.” “W-Wings?” But I was just… Bolting upright, and immediately regretting it my body screamingly protested, I found myself staring into a pair of blazing blues. “How long was I out?” “Not long, dahling, dear Peanut hasn’t stopped bleeding yet.” Over by my grotesque, self-created sculpture of ice and blood, Schwarzwald was admiring my hoofiwork. “You fought him alone?” “Didn’t mean to, he just showed up. I-AAARGH!” Sobbing as my legs erupted into fresh pain, I fell back into Wings’ grasp. “Easy, Snow. When we found you, your legs were all messed up, and there was only half a health potion on Peanut. You’re gonna be taking it easy until we can get your mom down here to heal you up fully.” Still leaning into her, I gingerly tried my legs again. They felt weak, hot and papery and hollow, but I could move them. It hurt like hell, though. That wasn’t the biggest question on my mind, however. “Wings, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be outside, with the bots.” She smiled back, with the easy confidence I knew so well. “It’s taken care of, Snow. Don’t worry about it.” Too late. “The others?” She waved back up and at the Stable. “Around. Had some close calls, but no mention of anybody dying. Things are starting to calm down, especially now with Peanut and Latvi dead.” “Latvi’s dead?” This got me standing, pain be damned. “Who killed him?” “That sniper-chick of yours.” Wicker cut in from out of my sight. “LOOK OUT!” If Wings hadn’t caught me, I’d have toppled over from the shock. My horn glowed as I finally found him, leaning against the rock wall. “Get the fuck away!” Claws tightened slightly on my shoulder. “Whoa! Easy there, Snow. He’s with us, sorta… for now.” WHAT? “How long was I out?” Schwarzwald trotted up and took my weight from Wings, freeing the griffon up to step between Wicker and I. “Look, Latvi’s gone. The Monsters aren’t getting paid, so their contract’s null and void. Wicker agreed to take on a new contract with me, to help clear out the last of the Steel Rangers.” None of this did anything to diminish the glare I was shooting the tiercel, who just stared back stoically. “Wings, you don’t have those kind of caps. How are you gonna pay for this?” She hesitated, looking down and away. “That’s not import—” Wicker cut her off, grunting into his chest. “Gonna let us take ‘er back to her fam down south.” Lead settled in my stomach. I looked to the griffon girl, hoping for some denial. When she finally met my gaze, she shrugged. I choked on what little spit I could conjure. “Wings, you can’t! You,” I struggled in Schwarzwald’s grip, “you still have things to take care of. You can’t let him take you! You can’t just...surrender!” “Deal’s done, pony.” Wicker still leaned against the wall, rifle propped next to him, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. “Contract’s agreed. Gonna finish my boss’ last deal, Eitom’s last deal, and take her home.” “THAT’S NOT HER HOME!” My cry echoed around the chamber. “We are! I am!” Wings jolted at that, looking at me with those glimmering sapphires. “Snow, I just… it’s to finish what we’re doing here. You know how important this all is.” “I know how important this is,” I shot back, stumbling forwards to bury my face in her plumage, “but this isn’t the end, not for you.” Her claws came up to encircle me. “Snow, what are you—” NOW! With as much strength as I could muster, I shoved her aside. My glowing horn, obscured by her feathers and fur, unleashed on Wicker. I had no specific spell in mind. I simply poured cold into the mercenary. His brief look of shock was flash-frozen onto his face. The rest of him was stuck mid-jerk too. I didn’t feel any satisfaction at it, but a tremendous amount of relief. Now, we can finish. Sharp talons cut into my side, twisting me around to face the wide-eyed, red-faced griffon. “Snow, what the hell! I had a deal with him! He wasn’t gonna hurt anyone!” This time, I was the one who couldn’t look at her. “Yes, he was,” I mumbled, “he was gonna take you away.” “I agreed to that!” She yelled into my face as she shook me. “I was gonna be okay.” “I wasn’t.” I replied glumly. “You didn’t want to go back. I know you didn’t.” “So what?” She let go and spread her claws, incredulous. “Doesn’t mean it wasn’t the thing to do to help you and this place! Dammit, Snow, if this is about that stupid bit about being ‘your prey’...” Without her holding me, I sank to the floor. “Not my prey,” I mumbled, “you’re the one who’s gonna kill me.” Her bluster evaporated in an instant, as she locked up. “What?” I looked up at her with a mirthless smile. “I got it wrong, back then. I thought Red Ice had to win to be credible, but that’s not right. Red Ice has to lose, in the end. Blue Fire has to be the one to beat her, too. Sorry about that.” Shakily, I rose and pulled out my old horn. I held it out to her. “Here’s the proof. Red Ice came down here, to destroy this Stable… or whatever, details aren’t important. Red Ice was being bad, Blue Fire stopped her. They fought, Blue Fire won, Red Ice died. That’s the way it has to be.” Wings was very gradually unclenching, but still looked lost. She glanced over at a silent Schwarzwald, who didn’t react. Then, pale under her cream feathers, she turned back to me. “...why?” I pointed at the dead Plottawan leader. “Because I’m never going to NOT be Red Ice, thanks to him. And, let’s face it, because of me. He pretended to be Chief Rockhaunch, and put the kill order out on me. They’re both dead, it can’t be called off. After all I’ve done as Red Ice, after Lethbridle, and Whinniepeg, and here, Red Ice can’t be allowed to walk out of here. Even if she did, Snowflake would never stop being hunted.” She still hadn’t made a move to take the horn, staring at it in horror. “I-I can’t… kill you, Snow.” Wrapping my own hooves around her, I slipped the horn into her pocket. “I’m not asking you to, not for real, but the Wasteland has to think you have. You have to be Blue Fire for that, just a little while longer.” Looking over her shoulder, I locked gazes with Schwarzwald. “You’ll get her the rest of the way?” She’s still got a place in the Gardens. Lips tight, the older mare nodded in silence. “What are you talking about?” Wings pulled away from me to face Schwarzwald. “What is she—” She never got to finish her question, as I clubbed her around the back of the head with the revolver I’d lifted from her holster when I put the horn in her pocket. Schwarzwald moved forward to catch her before she hit the ground. When Wings was safely laid down, She rose and, conifer eyes soft and tired, smiled her familiar smile. “She will not forgive you for that, dahling.” I placed the revolver back into its holster. “Yeah, but I won’t be here for her to yell at.” She sucked in a harsh breath. “That’s not funny.” Brushing some feathers away from Wings’ face, I nodded. “I know. Sorry.” Schwarzwald’s jaw trembled slightly. “This was not how it should happen. Not Naiara. Not you.” One hoof came up to cover her wet eyes. “I was the one who should fall. My time was twenty years ago. You are all… just so young.” I ignored my own tears, and pressed my cheek against hers. “Just a little while longer, Schwarzwald. You just need to help her make the Gardens grow. Then you can rest. Actually rest, not die. You still have a life left to live.” “You can still be there to see it.” She tried, though we both knew it was vain. “We can find a way.” “This is the way.” Pulling my face from her damp coat, I knelt beside Wings. “You know, I think I figured out why you chose her. Why she’s a hero.” Her hoof falling from her eyes, Schwarzwald stared at me morosely. I gave her a bright smile in return. Don’t be sad, Schwarzwald. This is what had to happen. “She never needed a reason. The rest of us all had agendas. You wanted the Gardens, I wanted revenge, Undertow wanted a family, Naiara and Cept had their clan, Bosco missed his memories, and the twins wanted the Raiders gone. Not her, though. She never had a reason…” I paused to watch the griffon’s chest rise and fall for a moment, “...she just helped.” It was easy to smile at Wings as she lay peacefully. “I think that’s why I love her so much.” Finally, I got a chuckle from Schwarzwald. “I like that reason. It is...fitting.” Soft giggles found their way out of my mouth, too. “I thought the Element of Laughter might approve.” A flicker of a smile graced her scarred lips. “Good guess.” I rolled my eyes. “Well, which other one were you gonna be, really?” She mock-pouted. “...I can be kind.” “Hah!” I guffawed. “See? Got me laughing again already.” The two of us enjoyed the sound of our laughter for a few seconds, before a squeal of static caused us to jump. “Babygirl, yeh pick up this microphone right now, yeh hear me? I know yeh can hear me, ‘cause I just heard every damn thing y’just said!” Oops, busted. I fished the communicator out of Wings’ barding. She’d left it running the entire time. “Hi, Mom.” “Don’t you ‘hi, mom’ me, missy!” Lexi’s warm drawl had given way to faltering tightness. “What’s this Ah’m hearin’ about dyin’, huh?” Despite everything, I wilted at her disapproval. Be strong, Snow. Don’t give in. “I… have to go do something, Mom. Might take a while.” “An’ what exactly is gonna take a while? Yeh never got ‘round t’mentionin’ that part.” Tread carefully. Don’t be tricked by her loving, Momly ways. “It’s, uh, it’s like this: The Changeling Queen’s down here,” “Where’s ‘here’?” Nope, not falling for that. “She’s down here, and she’s needed to make Changeling babies safely. We need the Changelings to stop the Windigoes. So, I’m gonna get her out.” Her tone was still wary, but lightened somewhat. “Well, that ain’t too bad. Ah don’t see what all the fuss’ about.” “But,” I continued, feeling more nauseous with every word. “She’s the one making the blizzard that’s keeping the Windigoes out of the Wasteland.” If it were possible for a communicator to look conflicted, this one did. “So yeh’re sayin’...” Deep breath. This is the hard part. “I’m saying that, besides Chrysalis, there’s only one person who knows how to make a blizzard that can drive them off.” More silence. Schwarzwald and I waited in palpable discomfort, for my mother to give me permission to take a one-way trip. When she finally spoke again, her voice had shifted into a businessmare’s sharp inflection. “So… yeh ain’t gonna stop, are yeh?” I was rapidly losing my stuff upper lip. “I can’t, Momma... I just can’t.” A shuddering breath sounded from the speaker. “Awright. Ah get that. Ah hate it, Ah hate it so much, babygirl, but Ah get it.” Her wonderful warmth returned to her words. “‘M proud o’ you.” That did it. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Why?” I wailed. “I keep messing up! I wouldn’t have to be here if I didn’t! I’m a bad daughter. I let Vorbis and Contego die and never told you. Naiara’s dead because of me! Undertow’s been through so much because I kept screwing up, Momma! I’m so sorry!” “Baby, stop.” She cut through my hysterics with practised ease. “Yeh’re not a bad daughter. Yeh’re mah firstborn. Ah couldn’t be prouder of yeh for what yeh’re doin’. Don’t fer one second think Ah ain’t so glad that Ah got a daughter like you. Ah love you so much, babygirl, an’ so does yer sister. Yer brothers too. We all love you so very, very much. Yer our Snowflake, sweetheart.” Burying my face in my hooves, I sobbed out the one thing that filled my mind. “Please, I know I’m being selfish, Momma, and cruel, but please…” Blubbering now, I all but screamed the words. “Even if I go away, please don’t stop being my mother!” Even as she cried, there was no sound in the world sweeter than my mother’s voice at that moment. “Never, babygirl. Yer always gonna be mah daughter. An’ that’s the reason why I gotta do what comes next.” Elated, but confused, I held the communicator close. “Momma?” “Ah know y’can’t stop now, sweetheart. But that don’t mean Ah gotta sit here an’ let mah baby go. Forgive me, Snowflake, but a mother’s gotta keep her daughter outta harm. Ah’m sendin’ the others after yeh now, darlin’. They’ll stop yeh. An’ if they can’t? Well, Ah’ll be sure to keep yer room ready.” I blinked, dislodging a stray tear from my cheek. “Why? I’ll be gone.” She didn’t care. “So yeh can find yer way home, o’ course.” Warmth blossomed in my chest. Thank you! Thank you so much, Mom! “I understand. Good luck, Momma.” I closed the channel, then placed the communicator in Wings’ claw. Looking up, Schwarzwald was still standing there, twin streaks running down her cheeks. “Gonna try to stop me, too, Schwarz?” The nickname, which Wings was so fond of using, seemed to shock her out of her reverie. She hastily wiped her cheeks. “No, mistress. I could not stop you now if I tried.” She turned to face the entrance, speaking over her shoulder. “Go now. I will hold them back.” Nodding, I bent down to place a kiss on Wings’ forehead. “Sorry about all this, Wings. I had to do it. You couldn’t go with them, because you’re gonna save the world.” Reluctantly breaking away from the griffon, I moved towards the darkness below. Then, I stopped. Or, rather, my body stopped me. “What the?” “What is it, dahling?” My whole body shook in place, and tingled all over. “I… I can’t move.” I heard her turn around, but couldn’t see anything but what was in front of me. “Did Peanut hit your spine when you fought?” “No, just my legs, and Wings fixed those up.” What is happening right now? “Lemme see if I can do something with my magic.” Focusing my magic inwards, on my own body, I searched for the solution. It didn’t take long, as I was immediately flooded with sensations. Ah. “It’s Undertow.” Gravel crunched as Schwarzwald moved. “Where?” I couldn’t even shake my head. “Not here. She’s somewhere in the Stable. I’m feeling her through our link. She’s… wow, she’s in my blood.” “Your blood?!” Little sister, you are amazing. I sent nothing but praise and apology back through the link to her. She reacted so strongly that I could almost hear her begging me to wait. “Sorry, Undertow. I can’t let you stop me now.” “What will you do, dear Snowflake?” “This.” Using Undertow’s magical presence as a guide, and feeling profoundly guilty about doing so, I sent my magic through my veins. Just a moment, every drop of blood in my body froze. The sensation of Undertow’s tingling was immediately replaced by pain. Pain so intense, I went blind for a few seconds, even as my lifeblood melted back to liquid. Through the link, I could feel Undertow’s reaction to the manoeuvre. She was barely coherent. “Sorry, Undertow. You’re the strongest unicorn in the world, but you can’t stop me now.” I am so sorry. I repeated that message over and over through our arcane connection. Nothing but love was transferred. I had to make her last memory of our link a good one. Schwarzwald made a circuit around me, and nodded when I was able to follow her. “Dear Undertow was not hurt, I hope? Good. You said she was the strongest, but how were you able to overpower her?” I began to work out the sudden stiffness that Undertow’s attempt had caused in my muscles. “Well, Undertow’s the best Unicorn ever, but she can’t stop an Alicorn.” Schwarzwald snorted. “You think that dead king’s horn makes you an Alicorn?” Wryly, I smirked. “No, I’m an Alicorn because I started out a normal Unicorn…” She followed my gaze to the unconscious girl on the floor, “...and then I was blessed with Wings.” Shaking her head ruefully, she didn’t answer. Instead, she just took up her post watching the entrance again. Taking the hint, I started back towards the blackness. When I paused at the edge, Schwarzwald spoke up again. “I am very proud to know you too, dahling. Both of you.” Huh. I stepped away from the edge, walking back to stand beside her. “Has anybody told you that? How proud they are of you?” Startled, she looked over at me. I smiled, my profile still to her. “Because I am. You’ve been doing this for so long. Twenty years! I can’t imagine all you’ve done to make this happen.” I turned and held out a hoof. “I’m pretty damn proud to know a pony like you, Schwarzwald.” Gulping back the lump in her throat, she nodded. “Thank you, dah—… mis—… Snowflake.” “And,” affecting a grin that was a match for her most lecherous, I winked, “because I know Amber would kill the both of us if I didn’t, I’m gonna make sure you survive this.” She cocked her head to the side. “How? You know little Undertow will strike me down to save you if I block her way.” I winked again. Raising my voice, I yelled at the rock around us. “CHANGELINGS! I KNOW YOU’RE HERE! COME OUT NOW!” Nothing happened for several seconds. When the lack of activity became awkward, I stamped my hooves. “Don’t you mess me around now, Silver and Gold! I am in no mood! Get out here, or no queen for you!” That got a reaction. Gold and Silver fog veritably burst from the rocks surrounding us, coalescing into a swarm of dark green insectoids. “That’s better!” I barked. “Now then, two things: One, I’m gonna get your queen out of there for you, so be grateful.” My proclamation set the swarm abuzz, forcing me to shout the next part. “Two, I’m gonna need a little time, so if anybody comes down here trying to stop me, you stop them. Do. Not. Kill. Them. Just stop them. You understand?” “WE UNDERSTAND!” They echoed in the voice of their giant Alicorn form. “Good.” I pointed at Schwarzwald. “Knock her out too, don’t want the others getting mad at her.” “Oh, you spoilsport!” Was all she managed before being mobbed by a dozen gossamer-winged fliers. “That’s exactly what I am...” ...my friend. “Goodbye.” Behind me, the blackness awaited. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I stood before the core of Queen Chrysalis’ blizzard. Navigating my way down through the dark had been easier than expected, though still no cakewalk on my shaky limbs. Some forward thinking individual had hewn rough steps into the rock face, enough that I wasn’t having to hang from my front hooves with each descending step. The core itself was breathtaking. What I’d seen of her spell in the Memory Orb didn’t do it justice. A glowing, perfect sphere of shifting whites, running in rivers and crossing over and under each other, twisting the light around it in indescribable ways. On the far side of the sphere, great tendrils of snow and wind and ice climbed up, back into the blackness of the mountain. I hadn’t seen these streams as I descended the rock, so it must be leaving the mountain from some unknown opening, bleeding out into the border-reaching blizzard outside. It was hard not to feel inadequate, standing before this massive magical majesty. I slipped Buff’s Pipbuck, taken from Peanut’s corpse, from my foreleg. Setting it on the rock floor, I hesitantly took a few steps closer to the core. For all its size and activity, it was disturbingly quiet. Standing less than two metres from its perceivable edge, I still had to strain to hear the swirling winds. The better to hide, I guess. Still cool, though. Pebbles cascading down the rough steps sent me plunging involuntarily into the core itself. Once my horn made contact, my hooves left the floor. As the spell danced around me, I was pulled up into the center of the core. Oh, my. Even seeing the outside couldn’t prepare me for what it was like to be inside. The rivers and crossings were still there, but there was no white to be seen. Instead, every colour in existence, even some I couldn’t even recognise, lapped around me. “Who are you, little pony, to penetrate the Queen of the Changelings so brazenly?” The voice was coming from everywhere at once, resonating within my eyes, and body, and horn, and heart. “Um… shift change?” I tried, unsure of where to look while I spoke. “...Excuse me?” Chrysalis’ deep, reverberating timbre faltered for a moment, before hardening. “I don’t understand. Tell me what you are doing here this instant, little unicorn!” It’s been a long day. “My name’s Snowflake. I’m here to take over for you with the blizzard.” Chaos erupted within the core. Colours faded while others spiked, streams broke while rivers burst. “Do not be a fool, ‘Snowflake’. A pony such as you can’t possibly hope to match one who could topple your feeble princesses!” Okay, rude. “Can I take to Cadence instead, please?” Everything dimmed. “...No. She is… no longer with us.” My heart sank. “Well, that’s a problem. She would have helped a lot with what’s happening outside.” With sensations over words, the Queen of the Changelings radiated agreement. “Indeed. She gave everything she had to keep my blizzard strong, and more still within the Crystal Heart. Even then, it may not be enough. There will be much strife in the region from Red Ice’s actions today.” Double-taking, still with no clear directions to address, I spun in place. “How do you know about Red Ice?” “I AM the blizzard, Snowflake. You cannot hide what’s in your heart from me while within me. Not even with that disgusting creature’s horn on your head.” “You two met?” Watcher never mentioned this. “Do not be insulting. What worth is there in a kingdom devoid of love, and ruled by fear? Sombra was a fool who didn’t realise his disrupting the balance guaranteed his own defeat.” “Well, ruling by yourself’s hard!” It wasn’t really Sombra who I was defending with that one. She knew it, too. “Yes, your Raiders. Very entertaining.” Switching topics, I dragged the discussion back to the important parts. “Speaking of subjects. Yours need you now. Without you, they’re dying out.” “As I knew they would,” she replied sadly, “but I cannot simply abandon my blizzard. Only it keeps Equestria from Windigo eyes.” “For how long?” I challenged, though not maliciously. “One’s already got through. I killed that one, but I saw its mind. They know we’re here. It won’t be long before the rest come. We need your Changelings to beat them, and they need you.” “What would you have me do, Raider Queen? If I drop the blizzard, they will come anyway.” “That’s where I come in.” If you can see into my heart, you know what I mean. “I learned the blizzard spell, and I’ve seen it block a Windigo’s sight. I can hold the blizzard here, while you work with your Changelings to bring love back to Equestria. The Wasteland’s hate is a buffet for them right now, but there’s a way to bring back the love. If you help to make that happen, the balance will tip in your favour.” Intrigue laced her words, though with an undercurrent of scepticism. “That horn does not grant you power equal to mine, nor even to Cadence’s. Certainly not equal to both of our powers combined, as they were.” “You’re right.” I laid my cards on the table. “I couldn’t do what you and Cadence did. I couldn’t keep the blizzard up for two hundred years even if I was gonna live that long. I might not even be able to keep it up for a tenth of that. What I can do though, with this dead king’s horn, is keep it up long enough for the Gardens to grow.” “The Gardens, yes…” I almost felt her poking around in my heart. “With that, much of Equestria’s hate would give way to love. The Windigoes would lose much of their interest, and their food source. My Changelings and I could gorge ourselves as well.” “Will you let me try?” I pressed. “You know that you can’t keep this up forever, and you lose Changelings with each passing generation. Every moment in here makes you and subjects weaker. If I take over, you’ve got a chance to be strong again. A chance for the Changelings to rejoin the world.” “And in exchange?” She demanded. “There’s a mare named Schwarzwald. Ask her to take you to the Watcher. He will explain what it is you need to do next. The Gardens will help the Changelings too, not just the ponies. It’s time for you to join Equestria, not just feed from it. You have a place within the spectrum of love and hate, just as we ponies do, and a responsibility to maintain its balance.” “How do you know so much of the balance, Snowflake? Most ponies don’t.” Thoughts of a slate-grey colt with a charcoal mane flooded my mind. “I have the right friends.” Something stirred in the blizzard. An aura, separate from Chrysalis’ presence, touched at my magic. The Queen’s tone shifted to thoughtful. “Perhaps you do. The Crystal Heart is responding to you. Perhaps it is time for me to rejoin the world.” “I promise not to break anything while you’re gone.” She laughed, low and throaty, but still attractive. Before long, though, she sobered. “It will not be easy, Snowflake. You cannot let up, not even for a moment. Rest will be fitful, never enough to satisfy. You must always remember what and who you are doing this for. If you forget, the Crystal Heart may forsake you.” Please don’t, Crystal Heart. I mean, I’ve got a little bit of both of your former masters in me. Sombra’s horn is on my head, and Cadence’s memories and touch started all of this. That’s enough, yeah? Thankfully, though I couldn’t see it, I felt the Crystal Heart’s influence leaching into me. The physical pains of my tired body faded away, leaving me sensing with my horn alone. It was different than any link I’d attempted before. “I understand. Not gonna be a problem. I’m not short on loved ones.” Appreciation rolled through from her to me. “No, you are not. I could feel that the moment you entered. Perhaps you can do this.” “Gonna try either way. Since you’re about to leave, lemme give you the rundown: Find Schwarzwald and Watcher, like I said.” If I could still feel my chin, I’d have tapped it. “Oh! I left a Pipbuck, a small computer, outside. Fits on your hoof. It’s got some messages for my friends and family. Could you take it to them, please?” “Just this once, Snowflake. The Queen of the Changelings is nopony’s courier.” I ignored her royal obstinance. “Thanks. Last thing, and this is the big one.” I’m not kidding. “You have to work with the others this time around. Don’t just feed off them. The Changelings aren’t enemies of Equestria any longer. Please, for all our sakes, be better than you were. Ponies need to be, as do zebra, and griffons, buffalo, and now you Changelings. We have to accept each other, or else New Equestria, the real New Equestria, can’t be born. If everyone wants it, there’s a place for them. Though, I think you already know this.” Haughtiness blossomed almost immediately. “Of course I know, Snowflake. I am the Queen. This entire enterprise was my doing, not Cadence’s or any pony. I know what is at stake. I trust you will remember, too.” “Well, I’m a Raider Queen,” I joked, “so yeah, I got it. Go on now, go back to your Changelings. I got this.” I was trying very hard not to show her how scared I still was. If she knew, which she almost certainly did, she gave no sign. “Good luck, my little pony.” I let my horn do the rest. Filtered and amplified through the Crystal Heart, with a touch or two from the departing Chrysalis, my magic and conscience reached up. Above the cavern chamber, above Stable 61, above all the northern mountains of Equestria. The magic of Snowflake stretched from one end of the world to the other, a single shield to guard against the demons of the north wind. With love in my heart, and loved ones on my mind... ...I watched over a world of white. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The End. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Author’s note: See what I did there, with the bookends? Totally never been done before with a Fallout: Equestria story. BTW, there’s still an epilogue, guys. As always, a big thank you to Kkat, Kyts, Y1, Auramane, CascadeJackal (he did the original cover art, which is still on the Fallout Equestria wiki), and you, the readers. Please read and comment, and pass the word along if you liked the story. At time of writing, this chapter (sans the author’s note section, which I don’t believe counts towards the word count) puts us at eighty-nine words short of half a million, with the Epilogue still to come. So yeah, I can claim to have written a five hundred THOUSAND word story, and it only took me three and a half years. Go me. Seriously, you guys, thank you so much for reading. It’s been an honour to tell this tale to you.