Siblings at the Edge

by Westphalian_Musketeer

Deeper Down the Dnieper

Katna stared up from her phone for a brief moment. Seeing Ivan looking down at her from up on the grassy hillside she immediately resumed scrolling through a guide on magical manipulation at microscopic scales.

What was there for him to be afraid of from flying? It was a part of him. They had both had so little in life, and now that they finally had something to help them get by, he didn’t want to use it! He'd plod along on the ground with her, and then come up with elaborate lies for anyone they met who would listen. What if the priest had kicked them out because Ivan lied? Did he think lying would get them what they needed? How can you get what you need if you don't talk to others truthfully?

And why did all the magic guides have such startling connections to her science books?

Katna pursed her lips and rolled her eyes as she set down the phone.

Ivan needed help, that much was clear to her. He lied, and was convinced it was always to help keep them safe. Many times it really was. But why he thought he had to do it all the time was another matter. He wouldn't try to fly either. He had two problems: lying, and not flying. He would likely never see a psychologist like the guides recommended, leaving herself to help him. The flying, she didn't even know why he wouldn't fly.

Was he scared of heights? No, unlikely. He had been quite willing to go up that tree in order to get the crab apples. That left… Katna's head sank, resting her chin against her chest. That was the only reason she could think of. There must have been some mental line Ivan was drawing between flight and merely being high-up. Maybe…

"Hey, Ivan… Remember those skyscrapers in the city with the massive television screens on the side?"

"Yeah, what about them?" replied Ivan.

"Well…” Katna stood and walked up to Ivan. “I was just thinking about how wonderful the view would be from up there if we climbed one of them.”

"I suppose, if we could get through without any troubles. The view would be nice, but we'd be spotted, and a security guard would take us." Ivan worked his jaw and looked downriver.

"Yeah, but…" Katna threw her hooves in the air. "What if we could? Looking down on the world from there, wouldn't it be nice?"

"Like I said, I suppose." Ivan returned to looking at Katna.

"And you… you could just step right off and fly there," said Katna.

Ivan shook his head. "I told you, I'm not going to fly."

"But why not?" Katna prodded Ivan's chest again. "What if I could fly with you?"

Ivan swiped Katna's hoof away from him. "Don't blame yourself for how you came out—"

"I don't." Katna's ears perked up. "I just want you to fly.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” growled Ivan.

“Well I do. So why don’t you want to fly?”

Ivan glared at Katna. “Drop it.”

“No! You’re a pegasus and I want you to be able to enjoy it!”

“It’s just flying Katna!” Ivan tossed his head and stomped a hoof to the ground.

“Then why are you so scared of it if it’s just flying!?” Katna’s brows arched down in a scowl.

“Scared of flying? I’m not!”

“Then why do you keep resisting and making excuses when I bring it up?! Just tell me what it is about flying that scares you!”

Ivan reared up and extended his wings. His hooves flailed inches from Katna’s face before stomping down to the ground. “It’s not the flying part that scares me!” He leaned over and growled. “It’s the leaving you behind!”

Katna shied away from the combined act of aggression and revelation, cowing her head towards Ivan before taking a deep breath. “You consider flying leaving me?”

“Yes!” Ivan sneered.

Katna pursed her lips. “But it’s not! I know you'd stick around."

"How?" growled Ivan.

"W-what do you mean?" Katna tilted her head, eyes wide.

"How do you know I'd stick around?" Ivan bent over slightly to place his eyes level with Katna's.

Katna stepped back, her head recoiling from Ivan as she let out a small gasp. "Because you're my brother! Isn't that obvious?”

Ivan leaned back, then rubbed the side of his head with a hoof. "I…” His brow creased again. “No. I’m not learning to fly.” He turned about and stomped away.

Inarticulate strangled noises escaped Katna’s lips as her mouth hung open. She stared as Ivan galloped off down to the bottom of the hill.

---

Ivan scowled down at the shore where Katna was helping Gleb pack the boat for another day of travel and deliveries. He wasn’t going to leave her, it didn’t matter what. He left her when he had taken that potion, and she nearly drowned in her own illness. He left her to fetch water at the house, and that dog had showed up. He left her to learn magic, and had missed… one of the most important moments of her life. No more. They were travelling, and he would stay on the ground with her. That was it! But she kept obsessing about it. Demanding he fly away.

Ivan grimaced and then winced at a nagging thought in the back of his mind. Katna was obsessing out of concern, that much was clear, but concern for what? He just didn’t want to be away from her, which was what he was going to be if he learned to fly!

But… she wasn’t happy with that. Why? What did she care about that? She wasn’t even a pegasus!

Ivan stared off into empty space at the wispy trails of clouds along the horizon. His wings fluttered, and he smacked his lips together. He was thirsty, he just needed to get some water. He groaned as he caught sight of his bags being lifted into the boat down below. He stood up, and then stood still.

Katna thought being able to fly would make him feel better. How would she know!? Yes, she had said being able to do magic had made her feel better. And he had magic too, just like her, it just did different things. Maybe...

Ivan turned his head from the river and resumed frowning. His sides heaved as his mind flailed inarticulate protests, until his frown faltered into a look of dejection.

“Oooouuuagh!” he moaned as he sagged to the ground. Why did he think he had to leave if he flew? There was the temptation to run, but, he was her brother. He could keep a perch on a cloud up above, keep an eye on her. If he could fly, he could look ahead for danger to avoid… “Ugh!” Ivan rolled onto his back, wings splayed out in the grass. “Why do I feel like I’ve been drinking raw sewage?” he questioned to the sky.

Finding no answer he tucked his hooves to his chest and gulped, ears folding forward. “I don’t want to leave her in danger if I fly… but… I guess I could keep her safe if I fly…” Ivan licked along his teeth, feeling the gummy and thick saliva. He was very thirsty. Ivan rolled back onto his stomach, folded his wings, stood up, shook the leaves from his feathers and mane and then walked down the hill with his head hung low to the ground.

At the shore Gleb lifted Katna into the boat, then turned to Ivan as the pegasus colt approached. “Hey there, perfect timing.” Gleb pursed his lips, scanning Ivan’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Well… alright.” Gleb held out his hand to act as a step for Ivan.

Taking the assistance Ivan clambered into the boat and sat next to Katna. The filly rested her chin on the side of the boat, eyes drifting left to right as Gleb pushed the boat back into the river and hauled himself into the boat with them.

“Katna, pass me a water bottle?” asked Ivan. Horn glowing Katna retrieved a bottle and passed it to Ivan. He took the bottle in his hooves as Gleb turned on the boat’s ignition and started down the river. He twisted open the bottle with his lips and then sipped at the water. It tasted almost sweet, and he swished it about inside his mouth before swallowing and taking in another gulp.

Replacing the cap on the bottle Ivan looked to Katna. “Uh… do you think you could find those guides on pegasus flight again?”

Katna’s head whirled to face Ivan. She blinked a few times.

Ivan nodded.

A massive grin split Katna’s face as she floated out her phone.

---

Ivan's eyes glazed over as he yawned, synaptic firings leading to a series of buzzwords in time with Katna's motions, her lips letting loose an incomprehensible slough of terms that barely stuck together. Euler equations, drag, thrust, weight, lift, magical aeronautic manipulation, gravitational and quantum locks. From what he gathered, a pegasus couldn't fly without magic, the wings were too small, but pegasus magic caused the air surrounding him to move and create the thrust and lift needed to fly. Was gravity involved? Or was that in the part she mentioned about ‘myths’? Or maybe that was when she talked about a few difficulties in translating the nuances of magic into human language. His wings were the controls of the magic—whatever the magic did—somehow.

Snapping his jaw shut, Ivan shook his head and placed a hoof on Katna's outstretched foreleg. "Katna, this is a bit much for me to absorb. How do my wings stop gravity?"

Katna rolled her eyes. "Your wings don't 'stop' gravity, they overcome it!"

Ivan stared at Katna, then looked over at Gleb. "Help me out here?"

"Hey, I learned all that stuff in highschool, then promptly forgot it," Gleb answered. "But we're reaching another house, and you two can go chew on some lawn."

Katna's stomach rumbled. "Eheh..." Katna put away the phone and coughed. "Lunch sounds great, Gleb."

With that Gleb steered the boat toward an inlet by their right, and kept it going as he looked back to the two foals. "This stop doesn't have a dock, so I'm going to have to carry you two to shore." He scrunched up his face, focusing on Ivan. "Lucky me, huh?"

Ivan drooped his head, ears wilting.

"Hey, it's fine. Rome wasn't built in a day." Gleb glanced forward, adjusted his steering, then looked back to Katna. "So, how's the magic coming along?"

"Well enough," answered Katna.

"Nice." Gleb killed the engine and the boat floated on for a few more feet. He walked to the back of the boat, grabbed the anchor with his one hand and lobbed it into the shallows before securing the rope on a steel loop sticking out of the boat's side. Tugging the rope he smiled as the line went taut. He reached over to a box of medicine and tucked it under his arm. "First things first," he said, swinging a leg over the edge of the boat and sitting on the edge.

He swung his other leg over and plunged into the water... past his head.

He came up, sputtering and swearing. "Agh! Waters too—The medicine!" He shouted, flailing towards the soggy cardboard a few meters away just as it sunk underneath the surface.

Katna's horn glowed and she reached out with her magic. She pulled her head back, eyes crossed. She shook it and looked over at Ivan. "I can't!" she yelled.

Ivan bit his lip, then jumped off the boat, diving head-first into the river. The frigid water smacked against his lips as the mud suspended in it stung his eyes. He flapped with his wings, pushing himself deeper as he groped around for the box.

His left fetlock caught a square edge, and his right hoof immediately homed in on another side of the box.

He flapped again, sending himself deeper. He froze. Which way was up? He turned about, searching the disturbed waters for any light from the sky. Laying still, he felt himself tugged upwards, his legs straining to keep a hold of the box. Carefully rotating his wings, Ivan adjusted his flaps and saw light filter down to him again. His back broke the surface, and he gasped.

"In my hooves!" he yelled. Something snaked under his belly and tugged the box from him, and he bobbed up to the surface completely, his legs dangling beneath him.

Looking to his right he saw Gleb bobbing next to him, pushing the box along the side of the boat and back in. He pulled himself up, and his arm flailed wildly. "Oh please let the meds..."

Gleb's mouth shut, and he gulped. "I-It's ruined."

"What!?" shouted Katna. Her green mane bobbed into Ivan's view before diving out of sight beside Gleb.

Ivan looked at his sides, eyes widening as water beaded off of him. He flapped his wings a few times, then frowned. The initial shock of the cold water was gone. He kicked his back legs a bit.

"The water seeped into the syringes, the pills are half-dissolved in muddy water..." Gleb threw his arm in the air. "Dammit!"

His hand swung downwards producing a loud slap. Ivan snapped out of his preoccupation with his position in the water and shook his head.

"Dammit! This... this was supposed to be sealed tight... but..." Gleb sat down, his hand wiping at his chest. "Hard to smuggle stuff in full packaging." He tossed his hand up in the air again, letting it strike the boat hull.

Katna poked her head over the edge of the boat, eyes widening as they set on Ivan.

"Anything to get it out, then just toss it back in. You know?" Gleb coughed, then turned around to look at Ivan. "You tried, you really did, but..." Gleb bit his lip, then reached over and scratched the back of his neck. "Man... you're floating in the water like a duck, aren't y-you freezing?"

Ivan stretched out his wings, shaking his head. "I... no... the water just slid off when I got to the surface."

Gleb pointed to the anchor rope. "Could you grab that and tug the boat a little closer to shore?" He tucked his arm against his chest and rubbed.

Ivan did so, grasping the yellow nylon cord in his mouth and diving down, wings working as paddles to drag the boat until he felt his hooves scrape against the sandy bottom.

Hopping out of the boat Gleb chattered his teeth as he tested the depth, nodding his head. "Th-that's pretty g-good."

Katna pushed a fresh box towards the edge of the boat, which Gleb grabbed. She then wrapped her hooves around Gleb's neck, and he walked to the shore.

Ivan kicked with his hooves, also pushing himself onto the shore, the water dripping off of him. Standing next to Katna his skin twinged again, coaxing him into a shiver, then a full-bodied shake.

"Hey!" Katna rolled away from him, hooves flailing at her coat where water spattered against her.

"Sorry," said Ivan, sinking to lie down in the grass. "What happened there?" he asked.

"Reaching into the water... I wasn't expecting it to feel like that..." Katna's ears wilted. "It felt really heavy too." She sat down, looking at Ivan. "I'm sorry," she said.

Gleb stretched out, placing a balled fist in the small of his back and leaned into it. "N-no, you t-tried. T-that's t-the important t-thing. Whew!" Gleb shook and picked up the box again. He nodded to the road. "I've g-gotta g-get this to the house. You two eat..." He shivered again. "I might b-be a while. I need t-to dry off... Keep an eye on t-the boat. Alright?" He started walking to the road, his legs shaking and moving at a jilted staccato pace as he did so.

Ivan and Katna set about grazing, picking between the dead leaves and twigs lying amidst the grass.

"I was worried about you when you dived into the river like that," said Katna.

"I know." Ivan pulled up a tuft of grass and chewed it a few times.

"I... I didn't want to say anything, but... you looked ridiculous floating in the water like that. Like an oversized duck… just like Gleb said." Katna grinned then giggled. "Could you imagine if someone saw us from a distance? Just this giant duck pulling a boat. Like Thumbelina!"

"Heh, I'm sure we'd be a sight for most people no matter what we did." Ivan extended a wing over Katna again.

"We'll probably fit right in once we get to Nova... I really feel like this is going to go right. Since the church... things have been falling into place." She leaned into Ivan and hummed. Her eyes widened. "Do you think mom would have become a pegasus?"

"W-what!?" Ivan sputtered. "Uh, if mom and dad were alive I don't think things would have gone quite this way."

"Well..." Katna's eyes wandered. "I'm... I kinda like it when you hug me like this... but... I'd like it if mom was around to do it to... T-tell me what she was like again?"

Ivan bent over and bit off another mouthful of grass. He chewed, eyeing Katna as he did so, then swallowed.

"She was... caring," said Ivan. "She tried helping me in school, learning things. Like you. She had your..." he stared at Katna's bulbous light-blue eyes. "Uh... she had what your eyes used to look like, and... she was blonde." Ivan coughed. "U-uh. She used to tuck me into bed. And she'd always kiss me above the left eye on my forehead, and I would try turning my head at the last moment so she'd kiss the other side by accident..." He chuckled. "One time I held my hands over the left side of my face, and she started tickling me until I removed my hands."

Ivan blinked back a few tears and gulped.

"She..." he stared off, sides expanding and contracting with each breath. "Whenever I had a headache, she'd give me a head massage, just... rub away the pain." Ivan sniffed, then turned away from Katna. "I... was there..."

Katna repositioned herself and leaned against Ivan. "Do you think Gleb and Father Nazar were right, that there'd be a family to take us both in?"

Ivan lay his neck over Katna's. "I don't know, but... I hope so."

Katna's breath warmed up a patch of his coat. She moved her head up to look at him. "What do you think our cutie marks will be like?"

Smirking Ivan looked down at his sister. "Yours? I'm guessing a giant booger!" He raised a hoof and used it to tousle Katna's mane as she backed away.

"Stop it!" she giggled. She turned and trotted away.

"Oh, I think you should try and make me!" he shouted, chasing after her.

They bounded around on the hillside for a long time, laughing as they rolled in the grass and had their fill of it.

---

Ivan rolled onto his back, sweat beading on his brow. "Haha! I... that felt good." He smiled up at the overcast skies. "I... it felt like back when I dreamed, when I first took that potion."

"Yeah... you were running with a herd... right?" Katna gasped out.

"Yes." Ivan sniffed. "What was your dream again?"

"I was in some fancy tent," answered Katna. "Were there any buildings in your dream?"

"No." Ivan shook his head. "Weird. Do you think it meant anything?"

"I don't think so," said Katna, rolling back onto her hooves. "The guide says that the dreams can vary a lot, but it's mostly a time for the brain to make the connections needed for walking and stuff."

Ivan twisted around to look at Katna, eyebrows raised. "Potion does that? I thought it was just because... well, because walking on all fours is like crawling?"

Katna walked in place. "Fair enough, but not exactly."

"Does the potion do anything else?" asked Ivan. "To the brain, that is."

Katna bit her lip and looked away. “It varies a bit, depends on the person. People react to being a pony differently. If you can suddenly fly, that would change anybody’s personality I guess. Potion cures mental illness as well.”

Ivan nodded. “Okay… Uh, Katna, I’ve noticed you’ve been looking at me funny on the boat more often. Are you alright with these changes? You’re not regretting it are you?” He crawled over to her, keeping his head low.

Katna’s face curled up in confusion and then she sighed as Ivan settled beside her. "Ivan, do you know that it's bad to lie?" she asked.

Ivan felt something warm and moist against his coat. "Uhh... where did this come from?"

Katna pursed her lips, bit them, then sighed. "You lied to Father Nazar, and you even lied to Gleb about where we're from."

Guffawing, Ivan stood. "What makes you think I lied to them?"

"You told Father Nazar our parents abandoned us, and you told Gleb we were from Pavlohrad," answered Katna. "We've never been to Pavlohrad, and you told me our parents died in a car crash!" Katna pulled away from Ivan's hug. "I'm worried about you!"

"Katna, I do that to keep us safe!" Ivan backstepped and stomped his hooves. Wasn't this obvious to her? Did she have some sort of block in her head preventing her from seeing the truth?

"How!? How is lying about those things keeping us safe!?" she cried back. "People who are willing to help us, and you don't even tell them who we are!" Katna pointed a hoof towards the road.

Ivan backed away. Wasn't it obvious? Of course he couldn’t tell! If the priest knew who they were, he could tell the... If anyone found out about them... "Argh! What is it you want from me, Katna!?"

"I want you to know you don't have to lie all the time! That you can be truthful! That… that it isn’t the world against us! Start by telling Gleb the truth, and please, please, please don't lie to anyone who wants to keep us safe!" Katna set her hoof back down and stared at Ivan, tears flowing from her eyes, her sides moving in and out with her breaths.

Ivan blinked a few times, his jaw flexing. His wings fluttered as he turned from Katna. Could he risk it? Could he just… tell the truth?

He heard a rock skittering across the road at the same time Katna's gaze twitched up into its direction. Turning Ivan saw Gleb running down the hill. "Wh-what is it!? I heard shouting!" He slowed his pace and stopped in front of the two foals, setting his hand on his knee and gasping for air. He looked at Katna and Ivan. "Well... what happened?"

---

Katna listened to Ivan go over the last month of their journey as the three of them walked to the next delivery spot, the medicine tucked underneath Gleb's arm. She nodded intermittently as he went over each point of particular importance.

"So that was when I found out that the man who shot the officer was a drug dealer," said Ivan.

Gleb scrunched up his face. "Woah, that's tough. That could have gone a lot worse for both of you." He swallowed. "You know I wouldn't do that, right?"

Ivan looked out to the river for a few moments, then nodded. "Yes."

Biting his lip Gleb looked down at the gravel road.. "I uh... if you want... I can tell you what I've been holding back about my past... There was one detail I left out."

Ivan shrugged. "If you want to."

"Yeah... my boss, Miss Turkowitz, the one who stabbed me? She..." Gleb's lips slid over his teeth, and he winced. "Her first name was Anna, and... we were close... like... really close… at first."

Katna tilted her head. They were friends? Why did Gleb say that they were close like it was something strange then?

"She ended up tracking me down when I started this, didn't appreciate me using old contacts," Gleb drummed his fingers on the medicine box.

"How did you convince her to leave you alone?" asked Katna.

"I didn't," Gleb answered. "I made her."

Katna flinched back, mind reeling as she connected the word 'made' to a much more disturbing equivalent.

Ivan coughed. "So... uh, Nova Kakhovka is where you're going to be dropping us off, right? Who are you going to be leaving us with?"

"A family of former doctors that ponified. They all took ‘Swift’ as a first name to get across that they’re related. Swift Stitch, Swift Stretcher, and Swift Salve.”

Katna's ears flicked about. "They changed their names to ones like those of native Equestrians?"

“Wait,” interrupted Ivan, “don’t ponies have their own language? How would that work?” He scrunched up his face, remembering the ‘Pewter Pot’ that nearly discovered him before he could acquire the potion.

Gleb nodded to Ivan. “Ponies translate their names according to who they’re talking to. They like conveying exactly what they see themselves as to others, so if that means using a different language, they take it.” He then looked to Katna. "As for the Swift’s, yes, they did change their names, or at least announce that they’d prefer to be called something else, even if legally their names are unchanged. Some people like choosing a new name to use when talking to strangers. Some want to keep their old name for the way things used to be, others like the idea of a literal name, others... others just want to be able to move on from what made them decide to become ponies in the first place." Gleb drummed his fingers against his leg. He shrugged.

"Are any of them pegasi?" asked Katna.

"Stretcher and Salve are pegasi, but not Stitch," answered Gleb. “She’s a unicorn.”

Katna glanced to Ivan. “I like the idea of being with them already.” A grin spread on her face. “Hey, Gleb, since ponies have… literal names, what do you think our names would be if we were native Equestrians?”

Gleb looked down at Katna and licked his lips. “Umm Pink Seaweed? Because you’re pink, and your mane does look like seaweed.”

Katna giggled. “Ah.. no, I don’t think it works. What about Ivan?”

“I don’t know.” Gleb glanced to Ivan. “Most pegasi names I know are related to the sky, so, let’s see… some sort of cloud? He’s certainly the right color for it.”

“Hmmm.” Katna inspected her brother. “Cumulus? Nimbus? No, they’re missing something.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” asked Ivan. “I think I’d prefer it if some other trait about me besides the fact that I’m grey and a pegasus went into my name.”

Katna scanned over her brother. Was there anything else that was rather telling about him? His eyes were a shade of amber that she’d never seen of a human’s eyes. But amber didn’t really go with anything cloud-based. Her eyes drifted to his mane. It was a pale grey, but with just the slightest hint of cyan that matched the sea-green of her mane, alternating in intensity to form a flecked and striped pattern.

“Well,” she started, “your mane has stripes. Something with ‘Stripes’?”

“Any kinds of clouds that start with an ‘S’ sound?” asked Ivan.

“Uhhh…” Katna squinted her eyes as she looked up. “Stratus, stratocumulus, cirrus, stratocirrus… There’s another but I can’t think of it.”

Ivan licked his lips. “Never mind. Uh, cirrus, what kinds of clouds are those?”

“They’re the wispy-looking ones that seem a bit like a tail.”

“So they look like stripes.”

Katna’s ears perked. “Yes.”

Ivan tilted his head. “How do you think Cirrus Stripes sounds as a pony name, Gleb?”

“Cirrus is an uncommon enough word in conversation, and it’s pretty direct you being a pegasus.” Gleb shrugged. “It would work. I don’t know if just a name would let you pass as a native Equestrian though.”

“Okay, so back to my name,” said Katna. “I don’t really have a cutie mark to work off of. So… Pink Glow? Pink Shine? Sunset Scarlet? Hmmm…”

“You don’t really have any red in your coat though, Katna,” said Ivan. “Scarlet wouldn’t really work.”

Katna glanced at her coat. “Hmmm, but I do like using my coat color. Just not pink.”

Gleb nodded. “Siblings and other close relations do tend to share a theme in their names.”

“So other names for pink...” Katna lifted a hoof to her chin, switching easily to a three-legged gait. “I can’t think of anything off the top of my head.” She floated out her phone and began searching. “Thulian, cerise, salmon… I don’t really look puce, do I?” She glanced at herself again. “No… puce is too drab… so is thulian…”

Ivan leaned over to Gleb and simply smiled, restraining an amused snort.

“Cerise is too vibrant, same with magenta… I guess I’m a sort of a deeper shade of salmon.” She looked to gleb. “Would a pony have salmon in their name? It is the name of a fish as well.”

Gleb looked out into the distance for a few moments. “Well, like your brother’s it is a fairly distinctive word that isn’t used too much in normal conversation.” Gleb leaned over to take in the phone, which displayed a wallpaper background of salmon pink. “And I suppose that is a fairly accurate color description if you’re not going to go with just ‘pink’. Though I don’t think you want to be called just ‘Salmon’.”

“Right.” Katna closed down her phone. “Salmon something… Maybe something to do with my mane? It doesn’t really look like seaweed, does it?”

“Well in darker lighting it does look like pictures of really pristine water in some mountains or seas. A bit like some kinds of seaweed in terms of color,” offered Gleb.

“Yeah, it’s just the color, the texture is way off,” said Ivan.

“Hmm, really good looking water. Salmon Sewer is right out.” Katna giggled. “Sea Salmon, that might make ponies think I’m into fishing or taking care of fish, which I’m not. Uh, how about…”

As Katna began rattling off bodies of water before finding them wanting, Gleb leaned over to Ivan. “She’s not using the phone this time, how does she know that?”

“Slough Salmon?” said Katna. “Blegh, no, slough is a kind of swampland, I wouldn’t want to be called that.” She crossed in front of her brother and Gleb, continuing her free stream of thought.

Ivan smiled to Gleb. “Like I said last night, Katna is the big reader between us. She holds onto this stuff like it’s going to be important some day.”

“Well, this is figuring out what she’d have been named if she was Equestrian. I guess it’s an interesting question, if not important.” Gleb stood up straight as Katna crossed their path again.

“Wait, you said mountain water? Like glacial meltwater or a mountain spring?” Katna’s ears perked up. Her sides shook. “Salmon Spring.” Her tongue moved around in her mouth, testing it as she inflected the combination a few times. “Salmon Spring, Salmon Spring, Salmon Spring… It can refer to a water source, jumping, or the season.” She wiggled as a smile spread across her face. “I like it! Think that would have been my name if I was born a pony?”

“I think you gave it a lot of thought, and it sounds good,” said Gleb.

Ivan nodded. “It has a very positive feel about it: pristine water, bouncing, flowers blooming. It suits you.”

Gleb looked to his right past a copse of trees by the side of the road. "Well, I won’t presume to know your sister that well but I think the name does—Oh shit!"

Katna looked over as a police cruiser pulled out from the road behind the trees and joined the road they were on. Gleb looked forward and kept walking, angling away from the street. Katna followed suit, looking straight ahead. The whine of sirens started briefly, and Katna winced as the vehicle rolled up beside them. Gleb stopped and Katna sat down with Ivan as the police cruiser door opened, then slammed shut.

The officer that walked out from the vehicle wore a tight-fitting uniform, a massive ceramic-insert set of body-armor covering his chest. His head bore an ushanka hat rolled up above his intensely staring brown eyes. His brows arched downward, but a wan smile spread on his features as his fingers tapped his holster.

"Good afternoon sir, ponies," he said, reaching up and rubbing his narrow nose and then his thin moustache. "Why are you walking a road this far away from..." He slapped his left thigh and laughed. "Well, to be perfectly honest, much anything of importance."

Gleb looked around, then settled his sights back down the road. "We were riding with a friend when his engine conked out. He's trying to get someone on his phone while we look for help."

"Is that a fact?" asked the officer. "You know, I could radio a tow-truck and give you a ride back to your friend," he said.

"Oh no," said Gleb. "We wouldn't want to impose, Mr..."

"Dopkil," the officer answered. "What's in the box?" He tilted his head to the side.

"Oh, this? Garbage, and we can use it to carry stuff back once we get it." Gleb hiked up the box into his armpit.

"Hmmm… Mind if I take a look inside?"

"As a matter of fact, I do; you don't really want to smell what week-old Funyun wrappers smell like when you've mixed it in with soda." Gleb inclined his head forward.

"I'm sure I could handle the smell," Officer Dopkil replied. "Mind setting it on the ground?"

Gleb grinded his teeth together then obliged, bending over and placing the box at his feet. Officer Dopkil motioned for Gleb to move away from it, prodded the box with his right foot then looked at Katna. "What's your name?"

“K...Uh!” Katna leaned back. Her brother had warned her many times about not talking to police officers. What should she do? She turned to Ivan, eyes wide with worry.

The officer’s lip pulled up. “Your name, little miss.”

“Salmon Spring!” interrupted Ivan. He coughed and took a step to the side. “My sister’s name is Salmon Spring! Please excuse her, she’s nervous around strangers. And I’m Cirrus Stripes.”

The muscles in Dopkil’s jaw clenched. His eyes flashed to look at Gleb. “And yourself?”

“Gleb Wargo.”

“Well Gleb...” Dopkil leaned over to the box and unholstered his pistol. “I very much appreciate your putting down the box.” He opened up the flap to look inside, nodded and stood back up. “Quatromas. Company that made this discontinued its distribution back in 2048. Mind telling me what you’re doing hauling that stuff?”

Gleb licked his lips and shrugged. “Found it.”

Inclining his head towards the cruiser’s back door, Dopkil reached into his left pocket as he pointed his gun at Gleb. Pulling out a key the officer unlocked it with a chirp of the car’s horn and a flash of its headlights. “For lying to a police officer and smuggling a corporate-controlled substance, I’m placing you, Gleb Wargo, under arrest. Get in the damn car.”

Gleb walked to the door, pulled the handle, and clambered inside.

Dopkil looked to the two foals and nodded to the door. “You two as well. Get in.”

Katna blinked a few times and looked at the cruiser door. Her brow twisted into a knot and she looked to Ivan.

“On what charges?” asked Ivan.

“I don’t see any travel papers on you. That means I can detain you for at least twenty-four hours.” Tilting his head Dopkil clicked his tongue. “Part of living in civilization, ponies. There are rules.” He waved his gun towards the vehicle’s still open back door. “Get in.”

Ivan and Katna stared at the officer, occasionally looking to the car.

“Now.”

Gulping, Katna walked to the car and climbed inside. Ivan followed after her. Dopkil walked to the door and slammed it shut before walking to the driver’s side door and getting in. He turned on the ignition and started down the road.

Officer Dopkil reached to his car’s dashboard and touched one of the floating orange icons near the steering wheel. “This is Officer Dopkil, 10-19 to Kherson headquarters to bring in three 10-15s southbound on T0403. Persons are adult white male 10-29 name ‘Gleb Wargo’ in 11377 of Quatromas; male blank flank grey pegasus youth 10-29 name ‘Cirrus Stripes’ and female blank flank pink unicorn infant 10-29 name ‘Salmon Spring’. Possible 207A of 10-91P. 10-98 out.”

Comments

[ferret]

i.imgur.com/B2l6OM2.jpg

[Westphalian_Musketeer]

4338579 Oh dear, it looks like you're very concerned about our two foals! Rest assured this story is not even close to being one eighth finished! As Eliza Kasaan would say: It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from here.

4291484 4291601 Most definitely, both of them have been through what must amount to hell for them; it's definitely led and may continue to lead them to do questionable things. It's something to which no living thing with a thinking mind is immune.

[Bast]

4338684 your doing a good job so far and I love it every time I see it updated. Also your avatar pic reminds m of armored core 2. God I miss when the armored Core series was good, hopefully th next one won't be to disappointing

[ferret]

4338684

You owe me a new kitchen window

[Westphalian_Musketeer]

4338939 I'll meet you half-way and have a new chapter by tomorrow evening.

4338818 I've never played an Armored Core game myself. Granted the idea behind it is something I absolutely am interested in, but nothing has ever really stuck out to me as "This is the idea, done right". I'm also glad to know you're enjoying each update.

[ferret]

4338969

[Ocean Breeze]

“This is Officer Dopkil, 10-19 to Kherson headquarters to bring in three 10-15s southbound on T0403. Persons are adult white male 10-29 name ‘Gleb Wargo’ in 11377 of Quatromas; male blank flank grey pegasus youth 10-29 name ‘Cirrus Stripes’ and female blank flank pink unicorn infant 10-29 name ‘Salmon Spring’. Possible 207A of 10-91P. 10-98 out.”

I.imgur.com/zjcaFRH.png

[Westphalian_Musketeer]

4341047 Ooh, I remember that full comic, but I can't find it anywhere! I don't suppose you have a link to the full thing, do you?

[Ocean Breeze]

4341310
I.imgur.com/x9gFYl1.png

[L0rd0f7hund3r]

This- cannot be good…