1
Snow Storm woke up an hour before midnight. She shimmied out of bed, worming her way out of Figaro’s tight, cuddling grasp. He mumbled quietly as she slipped away, rolling over and covering his face with a paw.
Stay asleep, pup, the mare thought, giving him one last looks before slinking to her dresser. Silver moonlight flooded her room, amplified by an even layer of snow, giving her ample sight in the dark. She pulled a drawer open silently, stuffing her Mare do Well suit into a saddlebag. Pausing for a moment, the gears in her mind turning, she added the smoke bombs given to her by Pick Pocket.
I make my move tonight, she thought, feeling a ball of lead build up in her belly. If what Pick had said was true, then everything would come to a head at wherever Abacus was sending her. It was going to be the first step in Abacus' betrayal of the Red Hoof. And here I am in the crossfire. No, she was more than that. She was probably the deciding factor of who would win the upcoming civil war.
Me. I’ll win. She slipped into a reasonably warm coat and snuck across the room, careful to not let the door shut too loudly as she slipped out and down the stairs, where the rest of the manor was just as dark and cold.
It was, however, not empty.
“Deorsa?” she called out in something that was barely above a whisper. “Are you here?”
“Yes ma'am,” Deorsa said quietly, appearing from the main room. “What do you need?”
“I need you to take care of the place. I don’t know if I'm coming back from this one.”
The Fulake offered her a smile. "We both know you will."
"I'm scared," she admitted, biting her lip. "Everything changes tonight, for better or worse. What if I screw up? What if it all goes wrong?"
“You probably asked the same when you fought Bloodshot, right? But against all odds you did it anyway… and you weren’t alone. That night it was as if the whole city was on your side… as Snow Storm you can be defeated. But as the Mare do Well, as what she represents? You can’t. Now get out there and teach that scumbag and his cronies who’s boss!”
“...Swear to me you’ll make sure Figaro is safe, Deorsa. Leave the city if you have to. Enough people have suffered because of my actions…”
Deorsa nodded solemnly. “I swear on my life, no harm will come to Figaro… good luck out there.”
“Luck won’t have anything to do with it,” she muttered gravely, walking towards the main door.
2
Primrose stood outside Bolt Bucks apartment, hoof hanging in the air, torn between knocking and simply running away. She had just enough money left to take a train to Appleloosa and start over, and the temptation had been at the back of her mind for the last few months. After all, I’ve burnt all my bridges here. Maybe I could start over…
But the mare knew that there were still things she needed to do before she could indulge her cowardice. She gulped, and finally summoned the nerve to knock.
“B-Buck?” she said quietly, secretly hoping he wouldn’t answer. “It’s me.”
The door opened a crack, and Bolt Buck peeked out. “What is it?” he asked, eyeing her warily. “What’re you doing back here?”
“I need to tell her I’m sorry, and I don’t think she’ll even speak to me unless you’re around. She trusts you, after all…”
Bolt Buck looked at her for a moment, sighed, then unlatched his door. “Come in,” he said, swinging the door open for Primrose. “Make it quick. I was just on my way to her, myself.”
“All of this is my fault, Buck. I know that. I just… if I hadn’t done something, you’d be dead by now. And don’t tell me that would be better, like you don’t matter. You’ve become valuable to her as an ally, and you’ve worked so hard to turn things around… tell me I’m selfish or stupid, but don’t tell me you don’t matter.”
“I could have handled myself, even against the Red Hoof. Maybe you thought she could, too. But that doesn’t excuse what you did. You sold her down the river for a two-bit chump!”
“If I’d lost you…” Prim sighed sadly. “It doesn’t matter now. I just need to give her my apology, say my goodbyes and get out of your lives forever. Will you please help me one last time?”
“Tomorrow, I will.” Bolt Buck clasped his saddlebags shut. “Tonight would be too dangerous.”
“...Huh?” she raised an eyebrow, “ What’s going on tonight?”
“If I’m right, it’s the beginning of the end of the Red Hoof.”
“Wait… Snowy’s going out there to end the Red Hoof?!” Prim gasped, eyes widening at the thought. “Buck, if I don’t apologize tonight I might not get another chance! She’s about to go up against the biggest crimelord in the city. Alone!”
“I have no idea what will happen,” Bolt Buck said, shrugging his saddlebags into a better position. “But I know she won’t be alone. I’ll be there with her, for good or ill.”
“Buck, I have to go out there. Even if she won’t accept my apology, I need to give it while I can… what if she dies tonight? It’ll be all my fault. The city’s one hope, dead because of me…”
“No,” he said shortly. “Maybe think before you act for once. It’d get you - and others - into a lot less trouble.”
“Buck…” she began before stopping herself. “Fine. I can wait one more night… it’s not like they have another Bloodshot out there, anyway.”
Prim turned, heading towards the door before pausing for a moment.
“I never wanted to hurt her, or you. I did what I did because I loved you... and I still do. Goodbye, Bolt Buck.”
“I’m asking you for your sake - don’t follow me.”
Prim sighed, walking away without a response.
Guess I’ll have to let you down again, Bolt Buck…
3
Flyntt stared in the mirror, his expression grim. His armour glinted in the moonlight, as if beckoning him. Wonder if she ever looks at her armor like it’s calling to her… he mused with a small grin. He shook his head, trying to focus on the task at hand. For some reason the night ahead held a deep sense of foreboding for the Fulake, though he couldn’t quite explain why.
“Sorry that I’m late,” he muttered quietly as he approached the barracks, Aella pacing around outside looking frustrated.
“I’m surprised you’re even here,” she muttered grumpily.
“Oh? Why’s that?” Flyntt frowned. It was the conversation he had been waiting to hear for months, though mercifully not from the mare in front of him.
“Every single night you seem less and less interested in being here.”
“Spite, Aella. I’m still here to spite that pathetic loser I once called my partner, and that equally pathetic unicorn that’s acting all high and mighty no matter how many times I apologize. They expect me to give up, because to them that’s all I ever do- fail and give in,” he spat, “But not tonight. Not when the Mare do Well is about to put everything on the line for a city that doesn’t even trust her anymore. That’s why.”
“So you really believe what Pelleas told Amber?”
“What I believe is that Pel has gone nuts, and that he was probably trying to get her out there alone so he could rough her up with a few new friends of his… he’s fallen even farther than I thought. If I catch him out here tonight, I’m given him the whoopin’ his daddy shoulda done a long time ago,protocol be damned.”
“You know we have to be careful. We can’t just rush in.”
“I’m not planning to. I plan on following orders just long enough so that when I catch that little punk alone I’ll get a mild reprimand at best… you really think she could bring him down tonight?”
“If he’s even there. It could all be a setup by Pel.”
“Oh, it’s a setup alright, but he could never pull the strings. Kid was always just talk… anyway, we should head out there. If we arrive early enough Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass won’t have any reason to call me out,” he grinned at her.
“You know, one of these days I’m going to get you both in the same room and see what happens.”
Flyntt’s grinned widened, “You just wanna see if we start making out.” To his amusement that actually managed to get a small smile out of her.
“-Lieutenants, the Captain is requesting you head to the site of the meeting as soon as possible,” one of the cadets interrupted.
“Thank you, Cadet,” Aella said. “Carry on.”
4
Snow Storm sat on the bench, huddling to herself to stay warm. I bet she’s making me wait on purpose, she thought, looking up at the midnight sky. The moon could barely be seen behind a layer of clouds. Bitch is going to make me freeze to death.
“You are to head to the warehouse by the docks,” Abacus’ cold voice could be heard from behind her. “That is all.”
Snow Storm bit her cheek to keep her teeth from chattering - she wouldn’t afford Abacus even that victory. “S-so nice of you to s-s-show up,” she said. “Thought I was going to wait here forever.”
“Are you talking back to me?” Abacus’ voice took on a new type of instability. “Because if you are I’ll cut the tongue from your mouth. Don’t you ever forget who you’re talking to, Snow Storm. Or I just might forget about my orders not to harm your parents…”
She looked quickly at Abacus after that remark, and fought valiantly to suppress a tight grin when she noticed a terrible swelling on the pegasus’ face. “Ohh, nice black eye you’ve got there. It suits you,” she said. Are you crazy!? Don’t provoke her! “Did the big guy give it to you?”
Abacus walked over to her, her face uncomfortably close, her good eye twitching. She slapped her with surprising force, snarling. “You dare talk back to your better? I should ask you which Orange you’d want me to gut first... and then do it in front of your eyes. You talk back again, and I will.”
“Did he give it to you,” she said, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, “because of what happened the other night?” This time she couldn’t help but grin. “Or because you wouldn’t bend down and suck his-”
Before she knew what was happening, Snow Storm felt a numbness in the same hoof she had taken an arrow to just months before, the cold steel of a dagger pressing into her still-recovering flesh. “You asked for this,” Abacus hissed.
Snow Storm gritted her teeth against the new pain, but refused to make a sound. “If you’re... going to do something, then do it,” she demanded, glaring at Abacus and trying hard not to give in to the agony. “Because I’m done with your games. I’ll go along this one last time, and then I’m coming for you.”
Abacus scowled at her, any lingering trace of her deeply psychotic glee now gone. “You come for me, and your family dies, Mare do Well.” She turned away, disappearing in a flash of light.
Snow Storm bit her lip for a moment longer, pawed and clutched at the wound, and cried out as the pain settled into her again, almost swooning her into a faint. She staggered to the nearest alleyway - a place of privacy where she could slip into the Mare do Well suit unnoticed. The magic of the suit would dull her pain, not to mention warm her up.
“Snowy!”
Bolt Buck rushed over to her, Prim not far behind, wincing as he looked at the wound. “It’s shallow, but… aww hell, this is your bad leg, isn’t it?”
“What… is she doing here?” she asked Bolt Buck directly, limping towards the mouth of the alley. She took a bad step and stumbled, and was spared a fall only by Bolt Buck’s immediate catch.
“She wanted to tag along… we need to get that leg elevated. The only way you’ll be able to fight tonight is if you can move through the pain, and that’ll mean…” he went quiet. After a moment he rummaged through his backpack, taking out a small vial of a liquid Snow Storm recognized immediately.
“I know it’s a bad solution, but desperate times call for desperate measures,” he began, noting her expression, “and if they’re gonna cheat, so should you. This isn’t the time to let your heroics get in the way of doing what needs to be done.”
“No,” she growled, eyeing the vial with utter contempt. “All I need is to get into the suit.”
“...Okay. But you take it with you just in case, okay? She’s gonna sic em’ all on you at once tonight. If you get overwhelmed, take it.”
She leaned against the brick wall, dumping out the contents of her own saddlebags and grabbing the Mare do Well suit. She looked over at Bolt Buck awkwardly, blushing a bit. “Do you mind?” she asked a little more forcefully than she intended. “I need to change.”
Bolt Buck blushed, turning away and giving her some privacy.
“That’s better,” she said after a moment, slipping the mask down over her face. The magical effects were immediate - she warmed up comfortably, and an ethereal tingling on her left shoulder told her the suit’s self-repairing spell was working itself on her wound. “Alicorn magic is the best thing,” she said, flexing her leg. It was still stiff and sore, but it was becoming functional again. That was all she needed.
“We’ll follow you at a distance. Should we meet up on the roof?”
“Yes,” she said, giving it a moment’s thought. “It’d give them a nice surprise, wouldn’t it? But are you sure it’s a good idea bringing her along?”
“She wants to apologize,” Bolt Buck shrugged. “After this, she’ll leave the city if you want.”
“Fine,” Snow Storm said coldly. “But make sure she stays out of the way.”
Bolt Buck turned to Primrose as Snow Storm took off into the night. “You don’t need to do this, you know. She’d be just as happy if you just skipped town forever.”
“No,” Primrose said. “I need to make everything right. No matter what it takes.”
“ Make everything right? You’ll never do that, Prim. She won’t forgive you, either. Some mistakes are just too big…”
“Well she sure as hell seems to have forgiven you!” Primrose snapped, turning and storming off.
5
“Ladies and Gentlecolts, we have ourselves a situation.” Captain Leaf paced around the meeting room, chewing on his lip. The Nightguard Lieutenants, as well as Murdoc and Amber Shield, listened intently. “It has been brought to my attention that an ex-comrade of ours has solicited the help of a Guard. Unofficially. This is significant, not only because one of our own has given us a black mark, but also because it has to do with, as I understand it, an attack on the Red Hoof himself.”
Flyntt squirmed nervously from the back of the group, almost instinctively knowing exactly who the traitor was. Not like it’s a shock or anything. Who else could it be? Pel, you idiot…
“The Cadet in question,” Leaf continued, “has risked much by exposing this information. Therefore, it is imperative that we not reveal ourselves until absolutely necessary. We all know how the Red Hoof feels about us. That means that only a small force will be allowed in on this operation.”
At this, Flyntt stepped forward. “Permission to volunteer, Sir?”
Captain Leaf raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you won’t be at a conflict of interest? I don’t believe it’s any secret who the traitor is.” There was a murmur at this.
“Be that as it may, Sir, I’m at least partially responsible for the Cadet being approached by this traitor. If they had chosen to simply go along with his request there’s a good chance it would have ended in tragedy… please. Allow me a chance to clean up this mess.”
“Fine” Leaf conceded. “But Lieutenant Boreas will be accompanying you. As well as Murdoc; it’s his cadet who’s acting as the bait, after all. If she so chooses?” The Captain turned to Amber, locking eyes with her. “Understand that you do not have to do this. We could simply storm the target site, as risky as it would be.”
Amber shook her head. “This is my fight too. I have a personal stake in this myself, and I’d like to be a part of this mission. I won’t let you down.”
“Very well. Cadet Shield will give some sort of signal when you think it’s appropriate, and Lieutenant Flyntt’s squad will do the rest. Lieutenants, prepare yourselves. The rest of you are dismissed. And gentlecolts? Good luck out there. I want a full report of a successful mission tomorrow.”
6
“Sir, are you sure this is our fight? Surely the Night Guard could handle whatever ambush Pelleas has planned…” Amber asked her superior officer, seeming more reluctant to take part in the raid than usual.
“I have to be here,” Murdoc said. “You’re my cadet, after all. I can’t let you go into traps without help.”
“What if it isn’t a trap? What if he really wants to take down the Red Hoof as badly as we do?” Amber asked, not even believing the words herself.
“If he does, why did he lie about the Mare do Well?”
“We have no proof that she isn’t working for him, Sir. In fact, recent reports have stated that she’s been avoiding guards and attacking criminals without provocation... “ Amber’s voiced trailed off. Who can I trust here? Oh, Pel… could you really be this big an idiot?
“Whatever she does, she has her reasons,” Murdoc said curtly. His vehement defending of the Mare do Well had begun to take its toll on him - but he knew she was the right way to go. Stay out of trouble, kid, he thought with some affection.
Amber gulped as they approached the warehouse Captain Leaf and the others had spoken of. The other guards were already hidden out of sight, and she turned to Murdoc silently, unsure of where they were supposed to hide themselves.
“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to you. Just make sure Pelleas doesn’t suspect a thing. As far as he knows, you came alone.”
Amber nodded solemnly, taking a deep breath to compose herself before heading towards the warehouse.
7
The warehouse Abacus indicated loomed overhead. It stood as monument to everything that’s happened so far - the apex of the city, even. She felt an electricity in the air. Everything was going to change as soon as she set foot in that building, no matter what. The question was where she was going to stand when it did.
They could be in there, you know. Abacus is so unpredictable, she could have them dangling over a vat of acid or something… you know she’d do it just to watch you squirm. Sis, just remember… they’re first priority. Beating the stuffing out of that monster comes second.
It was hard to tell whether the voice of reason in her head was her brother or her own, but the sentiment was the same. The overwhelming urge to break that cold blooded bitch and leaving her outside the warehouse as a message to the Red Hoof was almost overpowering to her. To give into such a primal urge would be gratifying.
It’s way too quiet, her other voice told her. It was her tactical voice, the one she had honed as she learned to fight. It identified strengths and weaknesses, exploits she could use. It saw everything in a cold, calculating way. And as far as it could tell, there was nopony patrolling the outside of the warehouse. It’s not right. Something’s… off, it told her, ringing a warning bell in the back of her head. That other facility had been protected, even if it was light. But that had been a simple building which sought not to bring attention to itself. This, on the other hoof, was a warehouse full of valuable goods. Nopony would find it suspicious if even an army sat outside of it.
But there was no army. There was no one at all out there. And that made Snow Storm very uncomfortable.
You know what this is, Sis. But that’s never stopped you before.
She cracked a side door open, expecting an alarm to start blaring. The warehouse was pitch black, and quiet as the night. Every hoofstep echoed across the room, sending a slight chill down the mare’s spine. The silence was so complete that when the sound of tentative hoofsteps could be heard from the other side of the building, it was almost a relief. Almost.
Snow Storm turned, squinting through the dark. She could make out the silhouette of a mare attempting to slip into the place as though she belonged there. Just the one? And she seems like she doesn’t want to be here…
Friend? Or foe? She would have to find out sooner or later. Best to make it sooner.
Without another thought, she approached the mare, hoof raised to strike, pinning her to the wall with a quick, quiet motion.
“Hey! Get offa me!”
“...Huh? What’s Murdoc’s new partner doing out here?” Snow Storm whispered in a confused hiss, letting the mare go. “You’re in way over your head if you think you know what’s about to go down here.”
“I’m not alone, Mare do Well. And what, were you planning on slipping by her guards and breaking her neck?” Amber Shield snorted in response. “Even you couldn’t take them all. There’s a hundred thugs in here if there’s one… and we have reason to believe they’re armed, too.”
“Strange,” Snow Storm muttered quietly. “I haven’t seen a single one yet.”
“...That was the point,” a cold voice sliced through the silence from above them. The sound of several dozen stallions working their way in through both doors to the building, blocking off all hope of escape for the mares. Abacus looked down at the two. Bright spotlights came on, shining down on Amber Shield and the Mare do Well, revealing two rows of crossbows nocked and ready to fire.
Abacus leered down from the second floor, applauding them slowly, the sick grin on her face widening with every second.
8
Lieutenant Murdoc stood next to Flyntt, suppressing the urge to shiver in the cold night. He was staring straight ahead, as though he had been turned to stone. An overwhelming sense of deja vu pounded in the back of his head; he wondered vaguely if Flyntt felt the same way.
“It’s almost like back then,” he said quietly, breaking the still winter night.
“...You weren’t there,” Flyntt replied coldly. “Daddy wouldn’t let you go. He threw a couple bats out into the firing line instead.”
“It wasn’t my shift,” Murdoc said defensively, not daring to believe that it had all been more than a horrific mistake. Father wouldn’t go that far...
“...It wasn’t Cyrus’ either. But I suppose he never told you that, did he? You know how much he loved getting out into the field. Took every bit of overtime he could get...”
“Then why were you with him?” Murdoc asked, his tone almost accusing.
“I was told to go. It was just me and him… I was hardly complaining. But when I asked for additional backup your old man said two guards were plenty.”
“My father may have been a bigot but he would never purposely endanger the life of another Guard!” Bullshit. You know it’s bullshit. He hated the bats. He hated how you hung out with them.
Flyntt shrugged, turning to him at last. “I can’t tell you whether he really believed that or not. Maybe if I had been able to do my goddamn job properly he would’ve been right. Fact is, I failed. All I have left are my regrets.”
“Are you two ladies going to kiss and make up yet?” Lieutenant Boreas asked, a wicked lopsided grin on his face. “Because I forgot my camera.”
Flyntt turned to Boreas, started. “Huh, didn’t see you. Any of your guys spot any movement to or from the warehouse?” he asked, nodding towards a pair of Fulake that circled the building from far above, almost invisible to anyone with less impressive night vision than another Fulake.
“Not a thing,” he replied. “For all we know, it’s abandoned.”
“It’s too dark and quiet…” Murdoc muttered, more to himself than the Fulake next to him. “We should have heard something by now. I should’ve gone in with her.”
“...Take it from me. It’s better to regret the things you did do than the things you didn’t.”
“Look, the lights!” Murdoc pointed. His heart began to race. “It seems as good a sign as any. Wouldn’t you agree, Lieutenant?”
Flyntt put a hoof on Murdoc’s shoulder for a moment. “If I fail again, at least I was trying this time… seeya,” he said, before rushing into the building in his usual reckless way.
“Guards, move in!” Murdoc commanded, dropping all subtlety as he led the charge behind Flyntt’s wake.
9
“... Who is that!?” Abacus asked, her voice rising dangerously as she spotted the figure next to the Mare do Well. “Is that a Guard!? I said no Guards!” A smack echoed across the warehouse; Amber squinted through the lights, seeing Pelleas recoil from Abacus’ slap.
“Was this your doing, bat!?” Abacus snarled, bearing down on the Fulake.
“N-no! I don’t even know her, there must have been a guard working undercover somewhere in your ranks…”
“That’s a lie!” Amber shouted, blinking the last of the spots away from her eyes. Finally everything was coming into focus… too much, in fact. “He told me to come here!”
“You… worthless... ungrateful… traitor!” Abacus screamed, smacking him after each word. Pelleas winced, shaking his head as he was knocked back towards the railings over which they stood. He took a hard swing, the frustration of the past few months channeled in his blow, hitting her squarely on the face and breaking her nose. Abacus shrieked in pain and fury, grabbing Pelleas and throwing him over the banister, his wings the only thing keeping him from breaking his neck on the cold stone floor below.
“Pel…” Amber shook her head, refusing to let the tears come. She turned to the Mare do Well, snarling. “Let’s end them, here and now!”
“Congratulations,” Abacus growled. Her nostrils flared unevenly, gushing blood as she glared down at the group. “My night is officially ruined! Kill all three of them. I don’t care anymore.”
There was an echo of clicks as Abacus’ goons settled their crossbows. Amber gritted her teeth, her horn glowing brightly as she dug her hooves into the ground, a bubble enveloping herself, the Mare do Well, and Pelleas as the first volley of bolts came their way. “This won’t hold for long, I hope one of you has a plan!”
10
“Sounds like trouble down there,” Bolt Buck said, wishing this damned place had a skylight he could see through.
Prim looked away from Buck, staring out across the city. “It’s so beautiful at night. I bet it’s nothing special to a pegasus, though.” she laughed weakly.
“Buck, do you ever wish things had been different?” she asked suddenly.
“Of course I do,” he said. “Maybe if I’d’ve been able to talk Facade out of trying to impress the Red Hoof, things would’ve been different.”
“We’d never have met. But then, maybe that’d be for the best…” she sighed, staring out at the stars.
“We’ve all changed so much. You and Snowy for the better, but me? I guess I lost a lot more than her trust that night…”
Prim turned towards him at last. “I was going to ask you, y’know. Had a ring ready and everything. Just… just so you know it was special to me,” she smiled weakly at him, wiping away a tear.
“Maybe there’s a chance we can still work something out,” Bolt Buck said, trying to sort through the multiple emotions running through him at that moment. “After all of this is over. But you’d have to swear to never do what you did again, no matter how bad any situation looks.”
Prim smiled at him. “I promise. Now let’s say our goodbyes and get out of this dump.”
11
The Mare do Well fumbled through her belongings, smiling as she found the smoke bombs, pulling the pin on one and turning away, “Hold your breath, both of you!”
Within seconds a thick plume of smoke snaked it’s way around the three, quickly filling the bottom floor of the warehouse. The smoke rose slowly as hundreds of bolts missed their mark, the others bouncing off of Amber’s shield.
The flurry of bolts stopped as the large shipping door blew open, flooding the warehouse with armored Fulake.
“Amber!?” Murdoc called out, searching quickly around the floor. A thick wall of smoke was expanding out from the center of the room. Circling it was dozens of ponies, all armed with crossbows. “Amber?! Where are you!?”
“Sir!” Amber’s voice rose above the commotion, the dull hum of her shield just barely audible through the chaos. “I can’t hold out for much longer… the Mare do Well is upstairs, and Pelleas is with her- please, go to them!”
“I’m the one who gives the orders, Cadet!” he said, ducking between crates and making his way towards her. His horn glowed, and he supplemented her shield with his own. Mass confusion ensued as Fulake all tackled into the various thugs, pinning them down and removing their weapons. “You said Pelleas is upstairs?”
“Yes sir… he really did betray us all,” Amber frowned, closing her eyes and focusing on her shield, “Flyntt headed up there as soon as I told him…”
“What about the Red Hoof?” Murdoc flinched as a bolt came his way, but it simply splintered as soon as it hit his barrier. “Was he ever here?”
“I never saw him, but his second in command is upstairs, I think they headed to the roof… she’s a pegasus Sir. If we don’t stop her here and now she’ll be gone by the time this is over...”
“Don’t worry,” he told her. She noticed he was shaking slightly. “The Mare do Well can handle her.”
* * *
As Snow Storm ascended the steps to the roof, the cold white moon hung lazily in the sky above them, painting a gentle spotlight in the scene below. At long last, the mare that had given her the worst week of her life was within her grasp, her strings cast aside. There was nothing left to do but get her answers… and her justice.
“You really think you’ve won, don’t you?” Abacus grinned, her eyes now full of unbridled madness as she rose a crossbow, aiming it squarely at the mare. “You think you’ll get me to tell you where they are, and rescue them. Have yourself a happy ending after all your struggles? How adorable.”
“Maybe not,” Snow Storm said, her voice as cold as the night. “But I’m going to enjoy running my hoof into your twisted face. I might not even hold back.”
"Is that so, Mare do Well? Well if you aren’t going to hold back, then neither shall I!” The crossbow fired, sending its deadly bolt straight at Snow Storm..
For an instant, time seemed to slow down, almost stop entirely. From far away, Primrose screamed and threw herself in the way of the projectile. She could feel it sink its fatal head into her side, spreading its poison throughout her system. She crumpled into a heap, groaning weakly and gasping for air that began to burn her lungs.
“Snowy… I’m sorry…” Primrose whispered weakly, blood pooling in her mouth.
“Primrose!” Snow Storm blurted out, aghast. Her eyes shot up at Abacus, and before the pegasus knew it, the Mare do Well was charging straight at her.
Abacus took the sky, cackling madly. “Oh this is simply beautiful! I’m almost glad I missed! I’ve hurt you deeper than I thought I could, haven’t I? Remember this night, Mare do- no. Snow Storm. Remember the night your traitor friend finally did something right!”
“Get down here!” Snow Storm roared, stomping her feet and snorting. Just a little lower, you bitch.
“What’s the matter? Can’t catch me? Too bad those rags can’t make you fly, huh? Don’t worry, you’ll see me again. Until next time, my dear. Ta-ta for now!” She turned and flew off into the night, laughing herself into hysterics.
Snow Storm grabbed the crossbow, notching a bolt almost automatically, the blood pounding in her ears as she slowly took aim. The voices that had guided her up until this point were silent. She knew this had to be her choice alone.
But as she had the mare in her sights, her forehoof on the trigger, she hesitated for just a fraction of a second. I can’t do it, she thought before she let her rage override her conscience, sending a bolt flying out into the darkness. The gloating pegasus screamed, but did not fall, staggering somewhat in midair as she continued her now-shaky flight away from them.
Snow Storm gradually turned to the pair behind her, the red mist fading as she began to regain her composure. Prim lay in a sad little heap, her eyes closed forever. Without even realizing it, tears began to fall, making it hard to see through the mask.
Buck turned to her, tears in his eyes as well. “Snowy… I can’t… let’s… let’s just take her somewhere else. She needs a decent burial, at least…” Buck began before breaking down entirely, sobbing loudly. “I can’t…oh Prim...”
Snow Storm knelt beside Primrose’s lifeless body as several Guards came out onto the rooftop to secure the scene. “You were such a fool,” she muttered affectionately. “You were way in over your head, girl. I… forgive you. Hey, we’ve got wounded here!” She waved the Guard over, stepping back as they took care of the dirty business.
And though the roof was full of guards clearing out the situation, she felt completely alone. For the first time since she had taken up the cape and cowl, Snow Storm felt a distant echo of that painful night from so long ago. Once again the Red Hoof had proven just how powerless she really was.
No more.
“Did you say something?” Bolt Buck asked, sidling up to the Mare do Well as she gazed blankly out over the sea.
“I said no more. No more bloodshed, no more being weak. I’ll scour this entire city, and I’ll find the Red Hoof. And then I’ll… I’ll ki… Look at me, I can’t even say it.”
“...I’ll kill him. I’ll tear him limb from goddamn limb and put his head on a fucking spike!”
“And throw away the second chance I helped you get? I couldn’t let you.”
“But... but Prim…” He let out a sob, stomping the ground. “I… I can’t. It hurts… I want to do something!”
“You let me handle the heavy lifting,” she said, patting him on the shoulder while the Guard took Primrose away. “Whatever happens, he’ll be finished.”
Buck slowly picked himself up, walking down from the roof. Snowy wondered to herself if he had felt what she had, all those years ago, but it was a fleeting thought. All she wanted was to go home and forget that night.
But I know, she stared up at the moon, pale in the sky. The things we want to forget the most are the things we never do.