Fallout Equestria: Old Souls

by Pillbug

Fallout Equestria: Old Souls - Chapter 26: The Balance Of Wants & Needs

Chapter 26: The Balance Of Wants & Needs

[Bring all your weapons, bring your convictions, your flag of the bull…]

Swooping in low, a few hundred yards out from Sprinkles Supplies, our sky carriage's wake bowled over Naiara as she ran beneath us.

As the flying machine rattled to a stop, Cept was first out of the door, bounding over to assist his fellow clan member. “Are you hurt?”

Gripping his offered hoof for support, the supple mare almost dragged the taller zebra down as she hauled herself upright. “Cept! I have so much to tell you!”

“You have found Bosco?”

She hid her blanch behind steadying her balance. “Uh...”

Naiara's hesitation made me pause in the process of unhooking Wings. The griffon and I sharing a look as she vocalised my thoughts. “They couldn't find him?”

“M-maybe he's inside?” I really hope you're inside, Bosco.

With a sad shake of her head, Naiara apologised to each of us in turn. “I haven't seen him. There's something else too...”

Golden eyes betraying his sadness, Cept looked around. “Where is Cassie?”

“...okay, SEVERAL 'somethings'.” She pointed to the main gate of the Sprinkles compound. “Let's get inside. I'll tell you what Cassie and me found out.”

Why is she looking at me?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“I KNOW THEY'RE GLOWING! Just... leave it alone!” Slapping a hoof over my eyes, I waved Undertow away and tried to focus on the conversation. I tried so hard to focus on ideas to help Bosco, but one image had taken root in the back of my mind and wouldn't be dislodged.

The smug, condescending sneer of the Overmare as I'd last seen her, in Latvi's Sombratic vision at the Raider summit.

And then I froze her solid. The thought did provide some solace, even as my glowing-eyes-inducing anger threatened to bubble over. Should've shattered her too. Fucking Overbitch.

Whapping myself upside the mind, I dragged myself back to the present. Bosco, dammit!

We all sat outside in the cooling afternoon air. Naiara and Cept jabbered rapidly in the zebra tongue, keeping their worries about Atesh and his actions to themselves. I wished they wouldn't, but Cept still had reservations about spreading clan matters to anyone not a part of it.

They know we'll help them, at least. As soon as they decide on what they want to do, we'll get on it.

My brothers, too far out of the loop to really contribute, still managed to help put me at ease, just by staying nearby. Amber Bernstein also attended, keeping close to Schwarzwald. The businessmare listened closely as the mercenary discussed our next steps with Undertow, Wings and I.

Wings was being extra careful with her words, constantly shooting glances at Bernstein and my Doublehorns. The effort had her feathers bunching up. “Even if we can find Bosco, and help him with his... problem, it still leaves the issue of what to do next. We can't go back to Neighlway, the... group we found at the agriculture facility scattered on us, and the forest never existed in the first place!”

Undertow scrunched up her nose. “What comes after isn't important right now, Wings. All that matters is making sure Bosco is okay, body AND soul. He's been through a lot, even before this.”

“Oh, and we haven't?”

“Not like this! His whole world has changed!” The downward curve of her lips, coupled with the slight tremour in her speech, showed how hard Undertow was fighting to stay calm. “You weren't there when he first got exposed to... them.” She all but spat the word. “He almost died!”

Schwarzwald remained sat between the two of them, wearing her wry smile. “Your loyalty to our little Boss Colt does you well, Undertow-dahling, but Wings is right. We have all been in mortal peril at one point or another.”

“And yet you say that with a smile.” I plopped down next to my sister. “I'm with Undertow. Let's just find Bosco first. Has anybody heard from Cassie in the last hour?”

Head shakes all around. Cept's frown was the deepest. “She is not answering her communicator.”

Wings flexed her talons. “If we don't hear from her in the next half hour, I'm heading to Hoofshine.”

I took in the condition of her plumage. “You sure you can make the trip? You dragged us and the sky carriage a long way, and then back again.”

Said plumage puffed up. “I said I'm going. And I'll be fine,” Narrow sapphire eyes squinted at Undertow. “ this time I won't be retaining water.”

My jaw dropped.

“AND JUST WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO—”

I heard all three of my brothers shuffle to their hooves. “Hey, someone's coming!”

Instantly, we were all ready for battle. Conversations forgotten, two zebras, a pair of unicorns, and a griffon whipped around to put themselves in a rough half-circle. The three buffalo crowded in with one earth mare, while all four were covered by a second Earth pony.

Too busy to concern myself with glowing eyes, I kept my horn alight and facing outwards. “Which way, Buff?” I called over my shoulder, not turning around.

“Up.” He yelled back.

“Up?” Every neck craned skywards, scanning the horizon.

“Is it Cassie?” Naiara's voice bled excitement.

“Or the Overmare?” Lo's didn't.

There's not a single pegasus in the Wasteland that I can truly say I like. That kinda sucks. “Let's hope it's Cassie, and that she's found Bosco.” Especially the second part.

It took a few seconds, but I finally noticed the blue pegasus outlined against the cloud cover. “It's Cassie.” I confirmed.

“Is she alone?” Wings strained to see.

“Yeah,” Naiara sighed, “Bosco can't fly. Damn.”

“She is coming down by the sky carriage.” Schwarzwald was already in motion to cross the two-hundred-metre gap. The pegasus disappeared behind it at ground level.

“I would be very interested to hear her perspective on the situation in Plottawa.” Amber gracefully trotted after her.

“At least we can cross off the places she visited as where Bosco isn't. That's something, I guess.” Undertow nudged my shoulder as I said this, seemingly appreciative of the effort.

Cept outpaced Schwarzwald on the way to the carriage, but drew up short as Cassie popped up onto the top of the vehicle. “Hold on a moment, Cept, and all of you.”

Skidding to a halt, Cept dithered unsuredly. “What is wrong, Cassie?”

The pegasus glanced behind her every other second. “Just... just hold on where you are. Don't come any closer, for a few more seconds.”

The heck? “What's back there?”

“Wait, I said!” She growled. “Can you not stay patient for even a moment, Red Ice?”

“And there it is. Didn't take you long, did it, Venatici?” I stuck my tongue out at her. “We don't time for this, let's see what you're hiding so we can get back to finding Bosco.” I took a step towards the carriage.

“NO!” Cassie slammed down before me, blades crossed in my path.

“What is the matter with you?” I challenged, horn lighting up.

Sweating, Cassie continued to glance back at the carriage. “It's not about you!”

Sliding one hoof forward deliberately, I looked her straight in the eye. “Then who-”

“Guys, please stop.” A young colt called out from behind the carriage.

I jumped back in surprise, just in time to see a green flash leak out from around the edge of the aircraft. Uneven hoofsteps followed it, with a charcoal colt gingerly poking his head around a second later.

I forgot all about Cassie at that point, and exclaimed with the others. “Bosco!”

Said colt soon found himself gang-rushed by a swarm of female equines, and one griffon hen.

“You're okay!” Undertow wrapped her hooves around his neck and held tight.

“What happened?” Naiara checked him up and down for injuries.

“Dahling!” Schwarzwald sported a bright, genuine smile.

“Where did you go?” I smooshed his face like I'd done so many times with my brothers.

“Don't you ever scare us like that again!” Wings damn-near took his head off with a worried-angry swipe.

“Ow!” Bosco covered his head with his hooves.

“Wings!”

“What?” She didn't lower her claw. “I'm glad he's okay, but running off like that was stupid! And dangerous! It meant we couldn't look after Bosco and keep him safe!”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“No, Snow, she's right. I shouldn't have run off. I'm sorry.” Still covering his head, Bosco nevertheless showed a small smile.

“That's better.” Wings' claw opened up and dropped to his shoulder. “Don't do it again, alright?” And she joined Undertow in hugging the daylights out of the colt.

Cassie bustled in and used her wings to shoo the others away. “Ladies, please. Give him some room. We don't want to overload him right now. Let's try and keep calm, yes?”

“Agreed,” Cept chimed in, “though it is good to see you well, Bosco.”

He got an obviously faux-laid back response from the charcoal colt. “You too, buddy. Totally.”

“Bosco, be serious for just a moment.” Undertow had physically backed off, but still pressed with her words. “Truly, are you... okay?”

Everybody quietened down to hear his answer. Looking across all of us, he tapped his hooves together a few times before responding. “I... think I will be, eventually. There's still a lot of thoughts rattling around in my head, but I'm not freaking out as hard as I was. Not gonna say I'm not gonna have bad days with this, but try to wait those out. I can't really say better than that right now.”

Studying him statue-still for a few moments longer, Undertow finally nodded and flashed a smile. “That's fine. Take as long as you need. I just wanted to know that you're okay.”

Leaning slightly into Cassie, Bosco held out a hoof for Undertow to bump. Which she did. Energetically.

A comfortable silence descended, and I took the time to look over the group. Not everybody was smiling, but nobody seemed too unhappy.

A forcible grunt sounded from behind me. Oh, right. “Bosco, Cept, I don't think you guys have met all of my brothers, have you?” I waved the three buffalo over.

Raising an eyebrow, Cept nodded towards Al. “I have met this one in battle.”

“Oh, damn, forgot about that.”

“I didn't.” Al groused. “I think I might still have bruises.”

Bosco raised a hoof at the other two. “And I met Buff and Lo in Lethbridle.”

“Well, that's convenient then.” I pointed Cept towards each of my brothers in turn. “That's Al who you fought, he's the middle one. The eldest is Buff here, and the baby over there is Lo. Boys, say hi.”

“Hi, Cept. Hi, Bosco.” They chanted dutifully.

“Buff, Al, and Lo?” Cept didn't seem to know whether or not to smile. “But that is—”

“We know.” The three Doublehorns chorused patiently.

“I am sorry, but it is unusu—”

“We know.” They repeated, impatiently this time.

“Cept,” I elbowed him in the ribs. “I know, but they got those names from their mother, who they love very much. Please let it go.”

His golden eyes twinkled as he grasped my meaning, “Of course.” He turned an apologetic gaze on the triplets.

They just waved him concern away, and extended hooves for he and Bosco to bump. Afterwards, we all headed back to the main gate of Sprinkles Supplies, with Bosco sticking close to Cassie the entire time.

Fedexi Lexi met us as the gate opened. “Quite the crowd y'got here. Ah hope yeh ain't expectin' to stay here fer free. Cassie excluded o' course, since she already paid up.”

Never change, boss. “Just tell us what we need to do to earn our beds, boss.”

She was practically salivating at all the free labour.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Stop worrying, Snow. He'll be fine.”

“Yeah, but... Cassie.” I rested my chin on top of the outer wall of the Sprinkles Supplies walkway, looking out into the brief illumination cast by the floodlights from the corner guard towers.

Beside me, Wings was checking her revolvers for blockages. Satisfied, she gave one a quick spin before slamming the cylinder back into place. “She brought him back, and he seems more comfortable with her. Maybe you should just let this one go.” The diffuse light was just bright enough to show the smirk sneaking up her face. “Unless you're just jealous that somebody else is playing the big sister for a change.”

“I am not!” My reply probably would have been strengthened by not being so sulky. I rolled my head until my cheek was taking the weight. “I just want Bosco to be safe.”

Emptying her lungs in mock-exasperation, Wings winked her sapphire eyes at me. “Totally not jealous Cassie jacked your 'big sister' role. Totally. He's in the medical bay, way in the heart of the compound, and the most dangerous thing he'll be doing is changing Breeze's bedpan. Your boss knows what she's doing by putting him with Breeze and Cass. They're all safe.”

“Don't care about Breeze or Cassie.” I grumbled.

“Yeah, that's not true. We're too long together for you not to, unless you're a complete bitch.” She waved a claw dismissively. “You might not be best buddies, but you'll still look out for each other. For Bosco's sake now, if nothing else.”

I turned away. “...'m not jealous.”

I can hear that laughing, Wings!

Lexi had made the most of her extra help for the evening. Wings and I were patrolling the walls, and she'd assigned Bosco as a caretaker for Breeze and Cassie. The others were scattered around the building on various tasks; Naiara and Cept were cleaning the stockrooms, wearing heavy overalls to cover their stripes. Amber had already been working while we'd been away, and now Schwarzwald joined her in filing. In Lexi's words, “an easy job for three big buffalo fellas” had my brothers helping to load wagons. That just left Undertow to wash dishes in the kitchens, though the girl had asked for a quiet word with Lexi before the evening was up.

My heart had sped up when she asked that, and I couldn't help but be worried. What if Lexi says no? Undertow'll be crushed. Come on, boss, you've gotta say yes!

Gah, I don't even know what I'd do if Lexi said no. I mean, would Undertow wanna stay here or go back to Hoofshine? I'd go with her if she did, but the others'll have to stay here until Breeze recovers. What would I do about my brothers, or Bosco, or Naiara and Cept, or Schwarzwald and—

A cream feather tried worming its way up my nostril. “Hey, calling all Snowflakes, you still in there?”

“Aachoo!” The offending quill shot out of my snout in a sticky mess, just barely missing the griffon who'd been tickling my nose.

“Heh, gross. Reminds me of the time we first met.”

Blushing, I shoved her away. “I really don't think those Raiders back then were interested in sticking things in my nose.”

Making jokes about Raider rape. Quite the then-and-now change.

Placing her claws on her hips, Wings sashayed back and forth. “Well look at you, little miss Raiders-wanna-bang-me. Bet they'd just love to get a hold of a Stable pony. Very clean.”

Huffing, I covered myself with my hooves, even though I was wearing full gear. “Well, some of us have to make do with 'clean'. We can't all have pretty blue eyes, you know.”

“...You think my eyes are pretty?”

Still checking myself for Raider leer, I started answering without looking. “Gorgeous. First thing I noticed about you. Can't really be a surprise to you, you've looked in a...” My words stuck on my tongue as I caught sight of her chocolate-and-cherry colouration. “...mirror.”

Heat rose in my own cheeks. Silence reigned as we both were stuck half-staring, half-avoiding each other's gaze.

Eventually, the quiet threatened to deafen me. Say something! ANYTHING! “Um... so, you... uh... your eyes are pretty.” Was all I could manage.

“Th-thanks.” Wings looked back towards the interior of the compound, and stiffened. Following her wide-eyed gaze, I saw why.

Two pairs of eyes, one big and surrounded by sienna fur, and the other covered by goggles, peeked at the two of us from the stairs. Four eyebrows were trying to jump off their faces.

“And what are you two loo-”

Undertow and Lo bolted mid-sentence. Wings and I could only stare dumbly as they scampered away, giggling.

The griffon found her voice first. “Well, that's just super.”

Determinedly, I rooted myself facing out into the Wasteland. Not turning around again until my shift's done. “Think there's any chance they didn't—”

“No.”

“...super.”

“Yyyep.”

“So,” I forcefully changed the subject, “what was the first thing you noticed about me back then?”

Letting out a single syllable laugh, Wings joined me in facing rigidly outward, at least as far as I could see from her shadow. “That's an easy one. You came back.”

She realised I was waiting for her to continue, and did. “I didn't really see you that well when you went flying past, just really heard you shout about the Raiders. I was glad of the heads up and everything, but I really started to pay attention when you came back. Ice magic, on a snowfield, during a Raider ambush? Not what I expected when I got up that day.”

“Not complaining, I hope?” A slight breeze tugged at my mane and her plumage.

“Not dead, am I?” Her elbow nudged mine. “Not many'd do what you did, Snow, not for strangers. Some wouldn't even do it for family. Count it as a good first impression... even if you're totally weird now.”

“Oh, I'm weird? Says the most un-griffon-y griffon ever.” I gently bopped her on the shoulder.

“Three. Buffalo. Brothers.”

“You spend all your time with ponies.”

“You adopted a Raider!”

“You adopted a Schwarzwald!”

“Raider-pony!”

“Pony-griffon!”

“Red Ice!”

“Blue Fire!”

We were literally face to face, nose and beak scrunched up as we sparred verbally. She noticed the situation at the same time I did, and we turned back to looking outwards. Still, I saw her smile out of the corner of my eye, which matched mine.

Nice night for it, Gigglewings.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” I scrambled up onto my big brother's back, goggles and rebreather bouncing as I climbed. “Do you think Snow—?”

Lo almost sent me flying as he nodded vigorously. “Totally! And also—”

“GET BACK HERE!”

The sound of thundering hooves followed the shout of my other two brothers. Lo and I looked around, just in time for Bosco to tear past, with Buff and Al hot on his heels.

What in the world?

“...I don't know what that means, though.”

“You leave him alone, you brutes!” Cassie chased after the three of them.

Bosco dodged around a stack of crates and turned back towards us. Cassie dropped down between him and the pursuing Doublehorns, forcing them to skid to a halt. “That's enough. You two should be ashamed of yourselves.”

With the colt peeking out from behind Lo, the three of us watched Cassie argue with Buff and Al. Buff ground at the floor in front of Cassie. “WE should be ashamed? What about him? He's the one sleeping with our sister in a whore house!”

Uh oh. I felt Lo tense up beneath me, and frantically started signalling for Bosco to start running.

“Sisters, plural!” Al added. “Snowflake was bad enough, but Undertow's even younger than us! He's gotta pay for besmirching their innocence.”

Cassie couldn't help herself, and laughed in his face. “Innocence? Them?”

My furry mount began rumbling, as Lo jerkily turned to face Bosco. “You slept with my sisters?”

Backpedaling, Bosco's ears flattened against his head. “Seriously, it was just sleeping. It was for safety after she overdid it in the bath.”

Oh no. My hooves shot down to cover Lo's eyes for a moment. “Run, you idiot!”

Not needing to be told twice, Bosco ran. Lo didn't waste any time either, by reaching up and plucking me from his head. He, and his two brothers, darted around Cassie and gave chase. The pegasus followed behind, threatening revenge if they hurt the colt.

I watched as the five of them disappeared around a corner. “Good luck, Bosco.” I was fairly sure that my brothers wouldn't badly hurt him, just try to scare him a little. I could live with that. It's not like I can truly be angry at them for defending their sisters' honour, even if they don't have to.

Making to get back to the kitchen, I ran into Fedexi Lexi coming the other way. Her orange mane was extra frizzy as she glared after the pursuit. “What's with all the yellin'? An' why ain't y'all at yer duties?”

Her anger did nothing to dampen my mood. “Heading back now, boss.” A thought brought me up short, however. “Um, actually, could we have that talk now?”

With one last glower at the others, she turned back to me with a kind smile. “Sure, sweetheart, we’ll go somewhere more private. Follow me.”

Dutifully, I traipsed after her, up to her office. The entire time had been spent thinking about what I was going to say, but nothing came to mind.

In the office, Lexi settled herself behind her desk, and gestured for me to sit down across from her. “What's on yer mind, babygirl?”

Barely hearing her over the thudding of my heart, it was all I could do to get any words out. My tongue felt papery, and sweat began to dampen my back. “Um, boss, uh... thanks so much for everything you've done for me, and Snowflake, and the others.”

“Y'welcome, but yer not gettin' outta dish duty.” She tried to smile, but stopped when she saw I wasn't joining her. “Undertow, what is it? Yer lookin' spooked.”

I wish Snowflake was here to help me do this. “Um. Well, the thing is, you've always treated me well, from the first time I met you. You gave me new clothes, and food, and got angry at me when I did anything silly...” I did end up smiling at that last one.

Lexi smiled too. “What about it? Ah like yeh, kiddo.”

My hoof twitched for my rebreather, to fall back into the safety of the air talisman, but I quenched the thought. Instead, I reached up, and lowered my goggles from my eyes. I can't hide right now. Have to do this right. “I like you too, boss, but what I meant was that you don't just help me out physically. You care, or at least I hope you do, about more than just how I'm doing. You keep working to make sure I act right, and stay a good person.”

“Undertow...” Lexi wasn't smiling now. She was leaning forward over the desk, purple eyes shining with concern. “...what're y'tryin' to say?”

Here it is. With a deep breath, my hoof extended out to her. “I'm trying to say that you always treat us so well, and look after me and my sister better than anybody else. You're not afraid to tell us we're doing wrong, because you always want us to do right, and do the best we can. I never want to disappoint you. I... I have to ask you something really important.”

Stepping around the desk, she took my chin in her hooves. “Jus' ask me, Undertow. Ah'm listenin'.”

The warmth in her hooves, and her words, was too much for me. Tears rolled down my cheeks, onto her hooves. “Boss... will you be our mom?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Yawning, and wishing that the early shift at Sprinkles Supplies didn't start so early, I meandered down a quiet corridor to the meeting room. We would decide over breakfast on our next move.

As I walked, I passed a few familiar faces who were also making their way there. “Hey, Cept.”

The stoic zebra stallion nodded politely as he overtook me.

“Morning, Buff, Al, Lo.”

The three Doublehorns all smiled as they hurried towards the increasingly fragrant aroma of food.

Another body moved into my peripheral vision, catching up and matching pace with me. Barely sparing them a glance through the sleep gunk I was attempting to rub away, I could only muster another token greeting. “Hey, Lo.”

His response was significantly cheerier. “Hey, 'flake. Good shift last night?”

“Eh, pretty quiet. Didn't finish until late, though.”

“Quiet eh? That's good, lots of peace and quiet. No one to bother you...”

The snickering tone drilled through my sleep-addled ears and hit straight at my brain. Memories of the previous night ran my drowsiness down and beat it into full consciousness. Ah... bugger. “Um... yeah, nice and quiet. Nothing to report.”

“Oh, really?” His tongue might as well have been dipped in sarcasm. “Then what about—?”

“Hold on,” I cut him off, fully awake brain moving past last night and into the morning. “how are you here right now?”

“Huh?” His not-at-all restrained glee morphed into confusion. “Whaddaya mean? We slept here last night too.”

“No, not that.” I looked further up the corridor. “You were just here a second ago, with Buff and Al.”

“Wha? No, I wasn't. I told them to go ahead while I made my bed.” He was looking up the corridor too, smile slipping a little.

“Lo, if you're trying to be funny then I don't get... hold on.” Ah, I know what's going on. “Stay here a sec, Lo.”

“Um... okay?”

Jogging up the corridor, I turned two corners, and found myself face-to-chin with 'Lo'. “Oh, hey there, 'little brother'.”

Grinning unevenly, the 'buffalo' scratched the back of his neck. “Hi... big sist-”

“Knock it off, Bosco, I know it's you.”

Frantically checking around for eavesdroppers, the buffalo disappeared in a burst of green flame, leaving a familiar colt standing in his place, frowning. “Snow, shh! You wanna give away what I am to everybody here?”

I poked him in the chest with a hoof. “What the heck were you doing pretending to be my brother?”

He shrugged glumly. “Just wanted to see if I could. Still got a lot to work out, but if I have to be... what I am, might as well try to be good at it.”

“But why Lo?”

He shrugged again. “I've been trying all morning. Seems easier when more I know the person I'm changing into. Watch.” In quick succession, three green flash fires turned him into Cassie, Naiara, and finally another Snowflake.

I could only watch, enraptured, as a mirror image stared back at me. That's... unnerving.

After second or two, 'I' doubled over, and green-burned back into Bosco. He was wheezing. “Guh, takes it outta ya.”

I put a hoof around his shoulders, and turned him towards the meeting room. “Well, leave it for now. Get some breakfast in you and rest up. Real impressive, though.”

“Yeah, thanks.” He panted, before heading on his way.

A colt could get himself into a lot of trouble doing that. New issues constantly barraged my thoughts as I headed back and fetched Lo. Whatever we do about this, we're gonna have to be VERY careful.

As Lo and I entered the meeting room, he spotted his brothers and moved to join them. I started to follow, but almost instantly found myself wrapped up in an aquamarine glow. Hoisted up, my hooves had to tuck in to avoid inadvertently kicking Naiara and Cept in the head as I was taxi'd across the room. Cassie, in a rare appearance away from the medical bay, sat with Bosco. The pegasus had pointedly placed herself between Bosco and my brothers, and next to Cept and Naiara. On Bosco's other side, Wings was speaking with Schwarzwald and Amber, but still smirked as I floated by. I stuck my tongue out at her to hide my blush. Damn your twinkling eyes, Blue Fire!

When the aqua glow let go of me, aqua hooves took its place. Wrapping me up in a tight hug, Undertow giggled into my chest.

“Mmm, now this is a nice way to start a meeting. How you doing, little sis?” Returning the hug, I nuzzled her ear, drawing another giggle.

“She said yes!” Undertow managed to whisper between giggles. “Mom said yes!”

My heart melted. “She did? That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you, Undertow.”

“I know there's a lot of things happening, but I can still smile right now, right? Nobody'll get mad?”

“If they do, they'll have to go through me.” I hugged her tighter. “You smile as bright as you can, little sister. As bright as you can. I love you so much.”

“Love you too, big sister.”

We shared one last loving squeeze before the door opened to admit Undertow's new mother. Lexi strode into the room at a brisk trot, taking note of all those in attendance.

Boys, would you swallow that food and pay attention?! I glowered at my three brothers until they got the message.

Lexi moved to take her place before the group. As she went, she locked eyes with her daughter, who was waving joyfully. The older unicorn's eyes lit up for a moment, before she continued on with a smile.

From the bottom of my heart, boss, thank you.

Lexi rapped a hoof on the wall. “Awright, boys an' girls, afore we get started, got a few latecomers needin' t'join too. Pretty sure you know 'em, or most o' yeh do anyways. If yeh don't, Ah don't care. They're joinin' anyway.”

Turning back to the doors, I was surprised to see a cloven hoof hold one open for a unicorn mare in a lab coat, who I recognised instantly.

“Esto?”

The scientist pony stared evenly back at me, before brushing some bleach-blonde mane from her glasses and panning her eyes around the room. “Good morning, everyone. I apologise for the interruption.”

“I don't.” The rest of him following his hoof through, Rockhaunch kicked the door shut behind him.

“Chief, is that you?” Buff and Lo stood up to approach him, but he waved for them to sit down again.

“At ease, boys. I'm sure everybody's in a hurry.” This didn't stop him from eyeballing my last brother. “You must be Al. You've got two fine brothers there, boy.”

“Uh... thanks?” Like myself, Al didn't seem to know what to make of the appearance of the newcomers.

“Weren't you leading the Lethbridle refugees, Chief Rockhaunch?” Wings' Blue Fire was showing as she surveyed the pair.

“And weren't you looking after Lithu, Esto?” Bosco piped up from the side.

Esto beat the stone-faced bull to the response. “Yes, to both. It is part of why we are here.” She caught my boss' frown, and quickly sat herself down next to Rockhaunch, who had joined my brothers. “But that can wait for later.”

“Very kind o' yeh.” Lexi deadpanned, before raising her chin to address the entire room. “Well, Ah've been hearing bits an' pieces o' all that's goin' on, but Ah figure it's high time you all get yerselves a real plan of action. Not that it ain't nice to save caps on labour costs, but there's a bunch o' mah wagons due back any time now, and Ah ain't got the room to put up all these extra bodies no more. So Ah need yeh to hammer out the details 'mong yerselves today.” Her purple eyes looked at each of us in turn. “Who's gonna start?”

Cassie flapped her wings the second Lexi finished. “I'm not going anywhere until my sister wakes up. That's not up for debate.”

“That's fine.” Lexi responded. “Already got yer payment fer mah services. Y'can stay til the job's done.”

Satisfied, the pegasus sat again, but nudged Bosco with her elbow as she did. The colt took strength from it, and spoke up in a clear voice. “I need to go to Whinniepeg.”

Undertow and I started, along with Cassie, Wings, Naiara, and Schwarzwald. I let go of Undertow so that she could lean forwards. “Whinniepeg, Bosco? Why do you need to go there?”

Turning his slate grey eyes on her, he held a hoof over his chest. “There are things I still need to find out, and I don't have anywhere else to look. The Barnstormer facility is an empty, burned out husk, the... forest moved, and I doubt we can get back to Neighlway again.”

“How in the hell does a forest move?” Rockhaunch groused, but went ignored.

Bosco chose his next words slowly, shooting aside glances at those present not in the know. “Now that... Silver is unavailable, that leaves me with Gold as the only option. I'm not happy about it, given how... Gold has treated us in the past,” Undertow grimaced at the apologetic expression he sent her way, “but the answers I need might be there. I have to find out.” Breathing out, he leaned back. Cassie reached over and rubbed his back softly. I did the same for Undertow, who was still watching Bosco.

“Does this have anything to do with your Memory Orbs, Bosco?” Esto peered at him over the top of her glasses, interest peaked by the mention of a mobile forest, and Bosco's cryptic words.

The charcoal colt bit on his bottom lip, but nodded.

Cept stood next, before Esto could press further. “I believe that my clan elder, Atesh, is growing more impatient with our work here in Equestria,”

“You mean what's left of it.” I muttered under my breath.

If he heard me, Cept gave no sign. “Naiara and I must travel to meet him, and work to keep our clan on the true path. Atesh is currently in control of Plottawa, but I cannot say for how much longer.”

“Ah, so he took my suggestion.” Amber mused, visibly calculating. “I wonder if I could still broker a mutually beneficial-”

“Nnnope.” Naiara shut her down with one word. “Ain't gonna happen. Leave this one alone, Bernstein. Atesh has already said that he's not bound by your arrangement anymore. He's also under siege by Willow Wisp and the Plottawan remnants.”

I choked on my spit. “The Overmare's at Plottawa? The Overmare's WITH Plottawa?”

Cassie grimaced. “Yes. She is also aware that you continue to live.”

“The fuck, Cassie?!”

“I didn't tell her, not directly. She inferred it while I attempted to take her Pipbuck from her. If it is any consolation, I do not believe she is yet aware that you and Red Ice are one in the same.”

“Oh, well, that makes it all better now, doesn't it?” I snarked.

The businessmare sighed unaffected by our squabble. “Unfortunate, but not unexpected.” She opened her hooves. “Still, I do have alternatives for my next move. I propose an expedition to Whitepony.”

“What for, dahling?” Schwarzwald looked as surprised as the rest of us.

Did 'dear Amber' keep something from you, Schwarz? I wasn't sure if I should be smug or worried about that.

“You and your team brought back very valuable intelligence in your last excursion, which enables Chief Rockhaunch and I to put our plan for Lethbridle into action.” Amber smoothed down the folds of her blouse. “As I was only interested in information pertaining to Lethbridle then, there may yet be untapped wealth within Whitepony's walls.”

“Your plan for Lethbridle didn't go so well, Bernstein. You broke my city, and ended up broke yourself.” The Chief glared at her from his spot, from where he hadn't yet moved since sitting down.

“Still,” Esto tried to keep the peace, “it was very generous of you, Lady Bernstein, to donate the funds for Lithu's treatment here at Sprinkles Supplies.”

“Lithu's here?” My eyes shot wide, and I looked over at Lexi.

She nodded back, and mouthed 'ten thousand caps' to me with a harsh grin.

Amber couldn't have known about this, but her reaction was much more muted. “Indeed?” She raised an eyebrow at the Chief, who didn't care, before smiling with dignity. “I value the scientific arts, Miss Esto, and I do hope your assistant can return to her full strength. If you could make some time after the meeting to discuss the matter further with me, I would appreciate it.”

“Certainly. Thank you again.”

“So... yeah,” Naiara grunted. “Cept 'n' me're gonna head to Plottawa. Sorry guys, but just us this time.” Both zebra were solemn to Cassie.

The pegasus wasn't happy, but didn't try to stop them. “Please be safe, you two. Breeze would never forgive any of us if you did not come back.”

“And, no, Amber. We're not going to Whitepony.” I snarked. “Your info's not worth facing killer robots again.”

“That is impossible to determine before we have the information to hoof, but I will broach the subject at a later date, given the numerous issues still to be resolved.” Amber exchanged a few whispered words with Schwarzwald, then fell silent.

“So what's next?” I ventured.

Clacking her beak together, Wings cleared her throat. “Rockhaunch mentioned Lethbridle, and how it played out. The slavers, most of them anyway, and the Raiders might be trapped in the city, but McCoy's Monsters got out.”

Damn, forgot about them. “Right. And they took Latvi too. Gotta deal with both of them. Too dangerous to leave them to their own devices. Latvi might not have the Raiders anymore, but he's not stupid.”

“No,” Esto mulled, quiet disdain in her words. “he certainly is not. I would like to see him answer for what he did to Lithu.”

“And the entire region.” Wings reminded. “Guy thought it was his own personal excavation site. Screwed a lot of people over in the process.”

Like me, the prick. I rolled my shoulders, loosening up my suddenly anger-tight muscles. “McCoy might be gone, but his lieutenants are still around, and they...” want to take Wings away “...have business with us. Their contract will keep them coming after me, at least. I'd kinda like that target off my back. We take out the rest of the Monsters, including Eitom and Wicker, and Latvi loses his muscle.”

Wings' sapphire eyes were boring into me as I spoke, but I tried to avoid staring. Too many people here who aren't on great terms with me.

One such person finally shifted closer to upright. Rockhaunch looked over to Amber. “You made the deal that got the Monsters out of the city, right? I don't suppose you set a specific place for them to go, did you?”

She shook her head. “Sadly, no. They wouldn't agree to that, only to vacate the city if Latvi was endangered. To push that point might have revealed my intentions too early.” Amber turned her attention to Esto. “You knew Latvi better than any here. Could you venture a suggestion as to where he might go?”

Using her magic, Esto cleaned her glasses on her lab coat. “Latvi never mentioned his... side project to either Lithu or myself. I doubt there is anything I could tell you that you don't already know.”

Amber wasn't finished. “I am told Lithu, after her change, was a confidant for Latvi. Perhaps she-”

“Absolutely not!” Esto rammed her glasses back on her face, ignoring that her haste had led to them being upside down. “Lithu is a victim in this, not a collaborator. I won't have her traumatised any more than she already has been. She is here for treatment, not interrogation!”

Looking between the two, I found myself torn. They've both got a point, really. Lithu could have useful info, but I don't feel great about the idea of putting her through more trouble. “So what do we do?”

It was Fedexi Lexi who answered. “It's Esto's call. She brought Lithu here fer treatment. She makes that decision.”

“A treatment funded by the Bernstein Conclave.” Amber's tone was sharp, but not yet unprofessional.

“Ah don't care where the money came from. Yeh been here fer days, Bernstein, an' it's only after Esto showed up that the money appeared. Whatever goes on between you two after y'leave here is your business. Right now, Esto gets final say. Don't like it, y'know where the main gate is.” The three mares; Esto, Lexi, and Amber, sat in an almost perfect triangle. Lexi might have spoken up for Esto, but she was keeping an eye on both the earth pony businessmare AND the unicorn scientist.

Tense silence descended, as we waited for this to play out. Lexi seemed content to wait for the other two to work things out. Neither seemed to have a first move to make, however.

Finally noticing her glasses, Esto righted them with her magic. “Lady Bernstein, I do appreciate your generosity in this matter, but Lithu is my closest friend, and she has been through so much because of Latvi. I do not want to be rude, but please could you allow my friend her treatment, first and foremost?”

Amber didn't immediately respond, except to sit up straighter. In the end, she put a hoof across her chest, and gave a half bow. “Of course. Forgive my coldness. Please convey my best wishes to Lithu.” She turned to Wings. “I tried, Blue Fire.”

Blinking at the unexpected involvement, Wings just stared. “Uh... right, yes. Good try. We'll figure something else out. Maybe try Gull Gulf again, or something.”

“You can't go back there!” I exclaimed.

“Why not?” Wings' expression was guarded.

“The place is full of griffons. They were this close to lynching you last time!” How are you even considering this, Wings? We didn't go to all that trouble to get you out just for you to go straight back.

“Well, yeah, but—”

“Anyone else got something they need to do?” I demanded, turning away from her to address the group.

The Chief lumbered to his hooves. “Guess I'm the last one.” Reaching into his gear, he produced another bag adorned with an interlocked black 'B' and silver 'C', the mark of the Bernstein Conclave, and dropped it in front of my boss. “Need to hire your best guards. Dangerous work, might not all come back, so I'm paying a lot, and in advance. Another ten grand.”

Schwarzwald had her hoof wrapped around Amber's neck, the latter wearing a pinched expression.

That's thirty thousand of our promised eighty accounted for. I wonder what he's gonna do with the rest. If it turns out he's just gonna head to Grindstone for a week long bender, I think Amber'll try to kill him. The thought of the prim and proper businessmare wildly assaulting the giant buffalo forced a chuckle from my lips. I zipped them again as Amber's eyes whipped across in my direction.

Lexi made no move to lift the bag, either by hoof or horn. Her orange frizz mane jostled as she leaned away from the offered caps. “Yeh're askin' me to send some o' my employees on a job that could kill 'em. That's a hard sell, buffalo.”

To his credit, the Chief didn't seem happy about the situation either. “I know, some of my guys'll be going too. Ordinarily, I wouldn't dream of involving civilians, but I just don't have the numbers right now. Most of my officers are tied up escorting refugee convoys. I'm here because I heard your guards can fight.”

“They can, but only when they have to. They know when to cut and run. There's always another delivery run.” Her horn lighting up, the bag rose so it was floating in the air between her and the Chief. “What's so important that you think it's worth my guards dyin'?”

The chief's oaken fur shifted as he smiled a mirthless smile. “Believe it or not, it's caravan guarding.”

Lexi's eyebrow rose, but she didn't say anything in response.

Rockhaunch continued. “The refugee caravans are being attacked. I need help to find the ones responsible.”

“Raiders?” I went to stand by my boss. “Did some of them get out of the city?”

Rockhaunch's lips set in a thin line. “Nah, not Raiders. They're all still locked in Lethbridle. The ones attacking the refugees are Crush and his gang.”

Al sucked in a gasp. “Crush? Why would he do that?”

The Chief rounded on Al. “You know Crush? How?”

Wilting under the taller bull's stern glower, Al looked around for support. “H-he helped me out after I got separated from Buff and Lo, not long after we left the Stable.”

Rockhaunch's voice dropped even lower than usual. As did his brow. “You ran with Crush's gang?”

Buff and Lo had to move between Al and the Chief as the latter took a step forwards. “I-I didn't know it was a gang. He just helped me to survive. Said he wanted the best for all Buffalo.”

“'The best for all buffalo' to Crush means killing every non-buffalo around. That's what I'm here for. Crush has been attacking as many refugee convoys as he can find EXCEPT buffalo convoys. He's no saviour of buffalo, he's just an angry punk who looks down on other races. Always has been. Hell, I left Grindstone to get away from bastards like him.”

“And you're gonna get away from my brother right now, if you know what's good for you, Chief.” My horn was glowing glacier-blue, and the air temperature was dropping around us.

Lexi tapped the back of Rockhaunch's head with the money bag. “An' what're yeh gonna do when y'find 'im? Kill 'im?”

The oak furred buffalo took a step back from the Doublehorns and collected himself. “If I have to, to keep the region safe. Don't like killing, but wouldn't be my first time.”

Pondering this, Lexi tapped the bag against Rockhaunch's head a few times more as she thought. He made no move to stop her. Eventually, she nodded to herself. “Ah'll ask my boys. If they wanna go with you, then they can. If they don't, then you leave anyway. Any who go get an equal share o' this. Ah ain't takin' one single cap of this blood money myself. It's on them. Ah still expect you to do all you can to bring them back safe, mind.”

He nodded in respect. “I'll do everything I can to bring them home safe.”

Clapping her hooves together, Schwarzwald walked to the centre of the room, grinning in a circle. “We have a long list, dears and dahlings. Shall we get started?”

I reached out a hoof to help Undertow stand. “So what's first?”

Rockhaunch tapped the floating bag with his horn. “I'm just here for my fighters. Once I have them, I'll be off.”

Al tapped the Chief on the shoulder. “I-I'm coming with you, Chief.”

My blood went cold. “WHAT? Al, no!”

“I have to, Snow.” He pleaded. “It's like you told me when we found each other. I've got responsibilities here, people I need to pay back.”

“Crush?!” You cannot be serious! He'll kill you!

“No, not Crush. The others following him, like I did. I don't want them to be hurt if I can help it.”

“But... it's too dangerous for you!” I was pulling on Al's fur, trying to tug him away, but he didn't budge.

“It's always dangerous out here, Snow. We've gotta get used to that.”

Buff and Lo stepped up next to Al. “Which is why we're going too.”

“You can't!” I was trying to reach out to all three of them with just two hooves.

Lo stepped forwards and nuzzled against my cheek. “We'll look after each other, Snow, just like you taught us.”

“But... this?!”

“It's how we can help you.” Buff replied, the simple response stunning me. “All this other stuff you're talking about, we can't help with that, but we can help to keep the peace.”

“Red Ice,” Rockhaunch stepped up in front of me. “I promise I won't let them fight. If they can convince Crush's followers to abandon him, that's good. Otherwise, I'll have them fall back.”

“Chief,” I growled through where I'd smushed my face into Lo's fur. “If anything happens to them, I will kill you.”

“Of course you will. You're Red Ice.”

Furious, but helpless in the face of my brothers' determination, all I could do was give a self-damning nod. Undertow gently walked me back to where I had been standing.

Cassie started back towards the door. “I wish you all luck, but I have to stay with Breeze.”

Esto went after her. “And I have to watch over Lithu.”

Amber made to join them. “I am no fighter, and my business proficiency doesn't appear to be of any use against these particular opponents. One will not listen, and the others know me. I will return to my filing.”

Bosco held up a hoof. “Hold on you three, I had an idea on that. A way to help keep us all safe. With the buffalo going one way, the zebra another, and probably more splitting up too, we need somebody looking out for all of us. If you three are willing, could you stay here and act as a sort of relay for all of us? Mission control, y'know?”

The three mares; one pegasus, one unicorn, and one earth pony, looked at each other with trepidation. However, in the end, Cassie nodded. “If it means I can keep Breeze safe, while still helping you all, I'll do it.”

“I shall assist.” Amber agreed.

“Me too.” And Esto made three.

“Great,” Bosco smiled boyishly. “So who's coming with me to Whinniepeg?”

“I am.” Undertow didn't hesitate.

“Any other day and I would not miss this, Boss Colt,” Schwarzwald licked her lips. “but I will be joining Naiara and Cept in Plottawa.”

Both striped heads snapped up. “What?”

“Schwarz, we said we were going alone!” Naiara stamped a hoof.

The mercenary barely blinked. “I will not interfere in your business with Atesh. My focus is actually on Snowflake's Overmare, this Willow Wisp. I have questions for her.”

Yeah, I'll bet you do. “Careful, Schwarz. The Overmare working with Plottawa can only be bad news.”

She smirked back at me. “Do not worry, mistress,” Amber twitched at that, “I will not kill her unless she forces me. I really do have questions for her. It will not be a wasted trip.”

Neither zebra seemed particularly at ease with the arrangement, but Schwarzwald wouldn't be denied. She strode confidently over to stand by them.

That left Wings and I. We looked at each other.

Wings winked. “Latvi can wait a little while longer. The Boss Colt needs some backup.”

I wasn't up to smiling, but I nodded back. “Yeah, that works.”

“Ah'll keep workin' on Breeze and Lithu while y'all are gone. Anythin' happens, we let each other know, yeah?” Lexi had walked into the middle of the group, with Schwarzwald. “That goes for all o' yeh.”

The Chief coughed into a hoof. “On that note, I should probably mention that there's a region-wide 'kill on sight' order for Red Ice.”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” I yelled, not in the mood after the events of the gathering.

“After that monster showed up in the city, everybody's convinced you summoned it. You're back to public enemy number one, Snowflake.”

“Oh, fan-fucking-tastic!” Shrugging off any attempt at physical comfort from my friends and family, I walked to the side of the room and paced.

Rockhaunch just shrugged. “Guess I'll be going then. Come on boys.”

“Bye, Snow.” Lo tried, meekly.

“Keep safe.” I commanded without looking away from my pacing. “I can't lose you boys.”

“We will.” The three of them departed with Rockhaunch.

Schwarzwald, Naiara and Cept left next, trading hugs and hoofbumps with Bosco and Cassie. Wings headed to the skycarriage, to ready it for lift-off. Cassie led Esto and Amber out of the room, the three discussing how they were gonna handle the duties assigned to them.

With a big kiss on the cheek, Undertow bid goodbye to her new mother, speeding out of the room on the lightest of hooves.

That left just Lexi and I, standing together in the formerly raucous meeting place. She nudged my shoulder with hers. “They'll all be okay, darlin'. They can't bear to leave you, an' vice versa.”

Alone with my boss, away from friend, family and acquaintance alike, I felt no need to pretend. “What if they're not?” I gasped out, my throat hoarse.

“They will be. They got someone special to come back to, babygirl.” A tingle ran through my cheeks as she magically cleaned the tears off.

“But I can't keep them safe. I'm their big sister. I have to be able to keep them safe.” I've already failed too many times. The Stable. The Raiders. Lethbridle. How am I supposed to keep them all safe if I've always gotta look over my shoulder for attacks?

Lexi turned me to face her, tapping her horn against mine. “Then ask for help. Nobody expects yeh to do all by yerself. Y'got friends too. They won't let yeh down. An' yeh can always come t'me.”

Her warm, soft words ran straight up her horn and down mine. Despite everything going on, I felt myself calming.

Brushing away the last of my tears with the back of my hoof, I gave her a small smile. “Thank you. I better catch up to the others.”

She returned the smile. “Come on back anytime, Snowflake. Always a place here for yeh.”

You have no idea how nice it is to hear that. “You're the best, boss.” Turning on my heel, I sped out after my sister.

Halfway down the corridor, one last word reached my ears.

“...'boss'?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Doing okay, Buff?”

“Just fine.” I called back.

Aside from that brief interlude, the Chief and I continued to tromp along in silence, as we had since leaving the compound, while the lively conversations of the Sprinkles guards ponies and my younger brothers played out behind us. We had been travelling for hours, and already the discussion had moved through such topics as caravaneer life, Stable life, caravan girls, Stable girls, and now it focused on certain girls.

“So she still moans about giving the wethead filly such a huge discount on her gear.” I frowned slightly at his casual insult of my sister’s sister.

“The girl's called Undertow, I think, and it's totally weird. Boss complains about the amount all the time, but she's always smiling when she does.”

“She seems really nice,” Lo piped up, “let us stay the night even though we didn't have any caps.”

“We had some spare bunks, and you helped out with the wagons. That'll cover it.”

“Still, it was nice of her.” Al replied. “And we got a free breakfast!”

They all chuckled at that, and I gave a smile. Lexi has been good to Snowflake, and now Undertow. I'll have to repay her somehow.

To my left, there was a grunt from Chief Rockhaunch as he shifted his massive, weapon-abundant battle saddle. “Glad you three are enjoying yourselves, but try to keep in mind that this is going to be dangerous. Especially since we've got ponies with us. Crush won't like that.”

Absorbing this, I nodded solemnly. “Why does Crush have so much anger towards ponies?”

Rockhaunch spat. “He's just a punk who blames all Grindstone's problems on an easy scapegoat.”

I hope we get to visit Grindstone at some point. Seeing how Wasteland buffalo live might help us to better understand the world outside of Stable 61. “What problems does Grindstone have?”

The Chief jostled his battle saddle again, low voice rumbling flatly. “Same as most places round these parts, at least before Lethbridle happened. Gotta keep the people fed, and clothed, and safe from attack. It's just a little tricky because of the location and, well, us.”

“Who are 'us'? And what do you mean by the location?”

“Neighlway's between Grindstone and Lethbridle. Steel Rangers really drive the property values down, and the caravan costs up. Nopony wants to tussle with those bastards if they can help it.” He tch'd. “As for 'us', I mean being buffalo. We get dirty looks sometimes, on account of being three times the size of your average pony, or 'puny' as Crush would call them. Ponies have been more wary of anything without a cutie mark ever since they and the zebras started killing each other two centuries ago. Ask a griffon in a bar sometime. He'll have some stories for you.”

Nonplussed, I slowed a step. “So it's ponies' fault?”

He shrugged in response. “Eh, it's everybody's fault, kid. I spent too much of my youth in Lethbridle to think all punies are bad people, or that all buffalo are saints.”

“And Crush?” If the Chief can be swayed, then we should be able to end this peacefully.

Rockhaunch spat again. “Crush is a punk who spends too much time with his head up his own buffalo backside. From what I hear, he's been pointing his guns at non-buffalo since he got big enough to hold 'em.”

The Chief raised his head, spotting something in the distance. “We're almost there.” He called back over his shoulder to the others. “There's Vanchoofer, people. We're on the job from this point on.”

“Aw,” one of the Sprinkles Supplies guards whined, “but Vanchoofer has really good food.”

He was promptly ignored.

Blinking, I looked in the direction the chief was facing. “Vanchoofer? Aren't we going to Grindstone?”

He nodded. “After this, Vanchoofer's where most of the Lethbridle evacuees were sent off to. So far, Crush has been attacking them en route, but I want to make sure the main group is safe. We'll head to Grindstone once I'm sure.”

“Hmm.” I fell back to pace my two twins. “Al, Lo, we should stay together. Remember, we're here to help, not to fight.”

Hefting his riot shield, Al shook his head. “Something tells me we aren't gonna be the ones making that choice, bro.” Lo matched his action.

As did I. “That doesn't mean we should go looking for trouble. Listen to Chief Rockhaunch. He'll get us back safely.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“This place is awesome!” Lo bounced around at the front of the group, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the town.

Even when packed with Lethbridlean refugees, or perhaps because of it, Vanchoofer's attractions worked hard to create a festive atmosphere. Street vendors enthusiastically peddled their wares, performers capered and pranced, and smiles were drawn out of even the most stoic of passersby.

Rockhaunch gathered us in tight. “Keep your eyes open, people. See a buffalo, or anything suspicious, point 'em out. Al, you've seen Crush and his gang, you're up front with me. Everybody else stay sharp. They might not even be here, but I wanna be absolutely sure before I leave these civilians alone again.”

We made room as a gulping Al hustled up to the front. There was no more banter now, as everyone was focused on the task at hoof. The crowd was dense before us, but still found room for four armed buffalo and half a dozen earth stallions.

The further through the crowd we went, the more it seems like Chief Rockhaunch was on the money about the relationships between ponies and non-ponies. Mothers gathered their foals up when we got close, shepherding them out of the way. Stallions and colts did the same for the mares and fillies.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a ramshackle outdoor bar with only griffons at the counter. While I watched, one of them swiveled around to take a look at the excitement. It was a short look. Did she just not care, or simply prefer the company of other griffons? “Chief, we are starting to draw attention.”

Pausing to allow a cart full of junk to go by, the Chief took a moment to answer. “Nothing we can do about it now. Bear with it until we finish our sweep.”

Al searched back and forth. “I don't see anything, Chief.”

The others called out similar sentiments.

Nonplussed, Rockhaunch pushed us onwards. We travelled in a wide arc, circling the centre of Vanchoofer, where the throng was thickest. Reaching a point around halfway across from the main gate, we stopped in a moment of relative calm. The press of bodies had eased somewhat.

A sudden blaring clued us in as to why, as well as nearly scaring me out of my fur. In the very centre of the town, surrounded by ponies, was a vast stage. Great metal beams crossed over above it, filled with floodlights, and huge curving walls ran along the outer edge. There were gaps to watch through, and the audience crowded around them.

A musician had just started up a raucous number, with all eyes turning in her direction. One by one, more players joined her, the music and crowd growing louder as each walked on stage.

“Got a buffalo!” I jerked out of my reverie at Lo's cry. I followed his pointing hoof. At the edge of the stage, a burly bovine figure was passing instruments to the band members as they headed out.

He could just be a stagehoof helping out. “Al, do you recognise him?”

Straining his eyes, Al tried a variety of angles to get a better look at the target. Eventually, he shook his head. “I can't say for sure. Too far away.”

“Hey,” one of the Sprinkles Supplies guards called out, “he's on the move.”

“And we're going after him!” Rockhaunch hucked his battle saddle further up, so the chin strap was mere centimetres away. “Doublehorns, with me. If he can lead us to Crush, I want to try it with just buffalo. The rest of you, find some Lethbridle guards. Blue uniforms, grey caps. Tell them that Rockhaunch wants them to keep the peace, but be ready to move if necessary.”

“Got it.” The caravan ponies sped off into the crowd.

My brothers and I waited with Rockhaunch. The Chief finished his preparations, and tapped Al's riot shield with his horn. “Keep these up and ready, all three of you. Al, still see the buffalo?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, then lead the way.”

Gulping some more, Al began to push his way through the crowd, after the departing buffalo. We constantly had to apologise to disgruntled music-lovers, too wrapped up in the tune to notice us coming through, but were able to keep the stagehoof in sight.

The mystery bull, covered head to toe in massive overalls, headed straight for the edge of the crowd. and beyond His destination seemed to be in Vanchoofer's ring of outer buildings. Sticking to the crowd, we followed. He didn't turn around. When he turned a corner, we sped up after him, catching a glimpse before he disappeared into a dark and degraded warehouse behind the first row of structures.

“Damn, can't see anything.” Rockhaunch made to head for the warehouse, but Lo spoke up before he could move.

“We're not going in there, are we?”

The Chief nodded without looking. “Yep. Hurry, before he gets away.”

Lo didn't move. “But we don't know what's in there!”

Now, Rockhaunch did look at him. His brow was low and stiff. “That's what we're here for, Lo. I don't see another way in, do you? If we waste time searching for one, we might lose this chance.”

Shrinking back, Lo shakily raised his shield. “O-okay.”

I don't feel much better than you do, Lo. “Chief...”

Exhaling through his nose, Rockhaunch blinked a few times. “Yeah, okay. Sorry, keep forgetting you boys don’t deal with this back in your Stable.” He tapped Lo's shield. “I'll go in first, and you three follow after me. Keep those shields up, and if I tell you to run, you run, okay?” he eyeballed Al and I. “That goes for all of you, got it? You're being real brave here, but you're not fighters, not against Crush and his goons.”

“But if we find Crush, you can't take them all on by yourself, Chief.” Al was looking at the weapons on the Chief's battle saddle.

Suddenly there don't seem to be as many.

Grinding his teeth, the Chief looked back at the warehouse entrance and shook his head. “Crush won't gun us down. He's too tied up in his 'biggest and strongest' schtick. He'll want a one-on-one fight, no weapons.”

Al's queasy look lightened a little. “Yeah, like when I fought Cept. Crush really wanted to make a point.”

The Chief's hoof bopped his shoulder. “Exactly. He wants to put on a show. He's not a killer, he's just a punk doing playground games. If I think he's gonna go the fight route, I'll get you boys out of there.”

With an air of finality, the Chief bit down on his saddle's mouthpiece, testing the empty chambers of his guns. “Now come on. We're going in.”

“Right.” I was hardly enthused, but would make good on our pledge to help.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Visibility dropped off to almost nothing the moment we entered the warehouse. All I could see in the black was a faint outline of the my two brothers and Rockhaunch, little more like a different shade of dark rather than a true shape.

“I don't like this.” Lo whispered from somewhere to my right. “It didn't seem this big from outside.”

“It might extend through some other buildings?” The shake in Al's voice wasn't very comforting.

“Quiet, boys.” I discovered that Rockhaunch had stopped when I headbutted his backside. He didn't move an inch, except to hush us again. “Buff, your Pipbuck, does it say anything?”

Oh... dear. “I, um, I don't have it anymore, Chief.”

Rustling in the gloom, then Rockhaunch's horn clak'd into mine, twisting my head to the side. “What do you mean you don't have it? You didn't sell it, did you? It's worth far more than caps!”

If only, Chief. I grimaced. “That slaver leader, Peanut, he attacked me back in the city, just before Snow and I got out. He took it.”

“FUCK!”

Panicking, I moved to quiet Al with my hoof, but accidentally slugged the Chief in the face. He grunted angrily.

Aah! “Sorry, Chief, I was trying to shush him, keep him quiet. I didn't mean to hit you!”

I heard the Chief spit. Something wet and rich hit the floor with a splat. “No harm done, Buff. Just watch that jab of yours.” He sighed. “So Peanut has a Pipbuck now? Just 'great'.”

“Chief!” Al hissed from behind us. “I still have mine. It's got some yellows ahead of us.”

Our horns contacted again as he turned in the direction of Al's voice. “How many?”

Al took a second to respond. “They're bunched up pretty close together, but doesn't look like that many. Four, maybe five?”

“Okay. Nice and quiet now, boys.”

We continued through the dark warehouse, Al keeping up on the right path. Around one hundred metres in, something slashed across my shoulder, causing me to cry out.

“WHO'S THERE?!”

Instantly, light flooded the warehouse, forcing us to throw hooves over our eyes.

A deep booming laugh sounded out from beyond the glare. “Well, well, well, if it ain't 'da Chief'. Come all the way out here for little ol' me? What an honour.”

Blinking away the stars in my eyes, I squinted until I saw the speaker. Almost as big as Rockhaunch, Crush looked like he was very familiar with his namesake activity. Two more grinning buffalo flanked him. All three bore battle saddles bristling with heavy ordinance.

“Crush, why are you here?” Rockhaunch's growl was heavy, sharp.

The Chief was still rubbing at his eyes. Crush spotted this, and boomed out another laugh. “Oh, don't get all weepy on me, Chief. Me and my guys here are just out for a fun time. This is the place for it, you know. All that nice music, and the happy crowds, and the food cooked in all that hot, flammable, oil.”

Rockhaunch hadn't stopped sneering at the younger bull. “What are you planning, Crush?”

Crush sneered right back. “I'm here to put on a show.”

He looked to the side, where the stagehoof buffalo entered. The new arrival had no battle saddle, instead had massive shotguns strapped to his wrists.

The Stagehoof nodded at Crush, turning the latter's sneer into a lopsided grin. “See, I don't much like that 'puny' music they're playing. I need something with more boom.” The burly buffalo slammed his hoof down on a button on the floor in front of him.

Four, five, six, dull thuds sounded from outside, followed by high-pitched, manic screaming.

The four of us were frozen, looking out into the Vanchoofer air as the screams intensified.

Al recovered first. Anguished, he turned back to the gang leader. “Why are you doing this, Crush?”

Canting his head to the side, Crush looked genuinely surprised to see my brother. “That you, Al? Boy, I never thought I'd see you again after the big rumble back then. Thought you were dead.”

Shaking, Al looked at all four of the bombers. “Did you even look for me? Look after your 'brother buffalo', like you claimed we all were?” Al slashed the air with his Pipbuck-laden limb. “How did you put it? 'Buffalo gotta look out for each other. If we don't then nobody will.' How does that line up with leaving me behind?”

“I didn't need you, punk. You couldn't even beat one zebra. What good were you to me against ponies if you were that soft? You'd never do what was necessary.” Mud-brown form shaking with psychotic glee, Crush threw back his head and roared. “TAKE THAT, YOU PUNIES!”

“HOW DOES THIS HELP BUFFALO, CRUSH?” Al roared back. “These people were innocent!”

“They're not buffalo, who cares what they are?” Crush stopped laughing, and waved Al off. “Gotta do what it takes to put buffalo on top, Al. That means tearing down the ponies. The griffons and zebra too, if I have to.”

Suddenly clicking his hoof against his horn, Crush snickered. “I got an idea! Since they didn't kill you back then, why don't we go get that zebra bastard who kept knockin' you down? Or how about that Red Ice unicorn who thought she could beat me! Let's go get her, Al!”

Another, louder, boom sounded out, followed by intensified cries. Crush squeed in delight. “And that's the stage! No more lousy racket played by punies.” He pointed past us, out of the warehouse doors. “Come on, boys. Let's go have some more fun. They'll all be running scared now! Can't wait for the rest of the bombs to go off.”

Stamping the concrete so hard that it cracked, Rockhaunch put himself between Crush's gang and the door. “You're not going anywhere, Crush!”

Snorting in derision, Crush rolled his eyes. “Oh give me a break, Rockhaunch. This ain't Lethbridle. You can't arrest me. You can't do SHIT to me!”

Rockhaunch turned and blasted every weapon in his battle saddle at the stagehoof. The buffalo was blown upright and over, crashing down on the cold floor. “You three, stop the other bombs.” His speech was barely audible over the burst of his guns, tearing into the second of Crush's goons as they stood dumbfounded.

“We can't leave you here!” Al made to move up, raising his shield.

“GO!” Rockhaunch bellowed, scrambling out of the way as the last of Crush's posse charged straight for him. He barely made it upright before Crush barreled into him. The two behemoths went down in a thunderous heap.

“What do we do?” Lo was gripping his shield as hard as he could.

“Give me your shield, Lo!” I commanded. With Rockhaunch tied up in fighting Crush, the last of his crew was pulling himself back to his hooves. “I'll back up Rockhaunch. You two find the others, tell the guards about the bombs. Tell everyone!”

“Are you sure, Buff?”

Lo hadn't let go of his shield, and the last enemy was turning back to the titanic combat between the Chief and the terrorist. Heart pounding, I wrenched the shield from Lo's grasp and secured it across from mine. “I'm sure. You two go now.”

Without another word, I charged forwards, slamming into the unnamed buffalo before he could bite down on his mouthpiece. I felt metal rend and fold, but didn't stop until I pushed him into the wall.

Twin shields up, I put everything I had into keeping him pinned. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Al dragging Lo back outside. Good job, Al. Keep going.

I might have been stronger than any pony or griffon, but my opponent was a full grown bull, while I was a teenager. Bovine muscles surged beneath the shields as he barged me backwards.

Hooking his horn, he tore one shield away, sending it spinning across the empty storehouse. I struck out at his face with the remaining shield, catching him on the chin.

He stumbled back, but shook it off and lowered his head. I braced the shield for his charge, but it wasn't enough. The force lifted my front hooves high, and the momentum left my back hooves scrambling for purchase as I went in reverse.

Pain exploded across my back as I hit the wall behind me. Twin spikes of pain stung my chest as his horns pierced the shield. Is this how Wastelanders fight? It's horrible.

“You're out of your league, pup.” He sneered, raking the points of his horns down my front. When he pulled away, blood came with him, as did the shield stuck to his horns.

Winded and bruised, I felt the blood from the gashes matting my fur. Before I could even raise my head, the shield slammed into my forehead. He... he didn't even take it off his horns. My assailant rammed it down onto my crown. My legs gave out, and I sank back down, only to meet another charge. I felt something pop in my side as I fell landing heavily on my shoulder.

Shield-first, he battered me around in a circle, moving my unmoving bulk through sheer power alone. “You're as weak as Al was. Even look like him too. You two brothers? Maybe you can at least manage to die right.”

Smirking, he chomped on his trigger. I froze. I... am I going to die? Someone help! Snow! Undertow! Anyone!

Raggedly clicking, his impacted weapons refused to fire. “Oh for fuck's sake.” Grumbling, he shucked off the entire battle saddle, and ripped the shield from his head. “Guess I'll do this oldschool.”

I tried to rise as he stalked towards me, but fear made my legs weak, and I only managed to get one knee under me before he smashed a hoof into my face. I tasted blood, and turned my head away to shield my face.

He didn't care, and punched me in the side of the head. The back. The top. Anywhere where his hooves could reach, he struck.

I couldn't see. I couldn't hear. I could only feel the pain, and my heart thudding in my chest. The remaining bombs meant nothing to me, nor Rockhaunch, or Crush, or the screams outside. I just wanted it to stop.

It did. With an ear-splitting volley, Rockhaunch launched everything he had into my assailant. “I told you to run. Get outta here, Doublehorn!”

I could barely comprehend what was happening, through the pain and blood. All I knew was that I wasn't being hit anymore, and the buffalo wasn't getting back up again.

I raised my head. Rockhaunch was already turning back to Crush, but he was moving so slowly. The Chief was bloody too, and panting. He shuffled an inch at a time, turning like driftwood in a weak current.

What did Crush do to him?

As if summoned by my thoughts, Crush surged in from Rockhaunch's right. The Chief kept turning to meet him head on, but he was too slow. Crush had no battle saddle and, unburdened, his horns stabbed deep into the flesh of the older buffalo's side. Howling, Crush kept pushing, until his forehead rested against the oaken fur of Lethbridle's champion.

Then, Crush twisted.

The unholy sounds drawn from Chief Rockhaunch as the wicked barbs rips chunks from his body blasted me back to full consciousness. Eyes wide, I could only watch as blood arced out of the wound, spraying the drab grey in a crimson burst.

Pupils unfocusing, the Chief fell. He fell, and did not rise.

“Heh... heh...” Crush tried to wipe some blood from his cheek. All it did was smear it across more of his ragged face. “Told ya you couldn't... do anything to me, old... bastard.”

“Ch-chief?” Using the discarded, punctured shield for a crutch, I managed to get upright.

Chest rising and falling, in ever decreasing frequency, Rockhaunch couldn't even raise his head. “Buff,” he croaked through bubbles of blood, “...go.”

“Still not dead?” Crush stomped manically across the floor. “I'll fix that.”

In one swift, terrible motion, he opened the Chief's throat from end to end.

I held Rockhaunch's gaze as it happened. My body didn't know how to respond. A thousand internal sensations began and ended before I could even determine what they were. Is is always this way, Snowflake? How many times have you gone through this, big sister?

Who did you see die first?

“One left.” Crush growled. “Just you and me, kid.” He took a shaking step towards me, then dropped to his knees, unable to take his own weight. “Argh, damn. Fucking Rockhaunch.”

He's gonna kill me! I hobbled towards the exit, as fast as my broken body could take me.

“Yeah, go ahead and try to run. More fun for me.” Shuffling around, Crush began tugging at the Chief's battle saddle. “Gotta be something on here to kill your punk ass. You, Al, and... the other one.”

Lo! Al! I have to get to them. We have to get away!

I cried out as a bullet sparked off a steel beam two metres to my right. Putting everything I had into moving, I wasted no more time looking back.

Crush's voice followed me out of the warehouse. “Urgh, damn thing's heavier than it looks. Whatever. Run all you want, Doublehorn. You won't leave Vanchoofer alive!”

Back out in the open air, the devastation was readily apparent. Bodies lay either bleeding or unmoving all around. Those on the ground moaned softly, or reached out for me as I passed. Others, crying or screaming or shouting, were pulling their loved ones from craters and collapses. More than once I saw somebody with a bloody stump where a limb should have been.

Smoke from over a dozen blazes burned around the outskirts of Vanchoofer, darkening the cloudy sky further, with more fire at the centre of the settlement. The misshapen, blackened remains of the stage were still standing, but the creaking of the fire-warped wood was audible even from this distance.

Staggering towards the stage, passed tangled and twisted bodies, I desperately hunted for my brothers, or the Sprinkles Supplies guards, or any Lethbridle uniform. There was a lot of people around, soot-covered and bloodstained, but nobody I recognised.

The best and worst of Wastelanders were on display as I limped through the town. Griffons fought to keep their meager possessions safe from pony looters taking advantage of the situation, even while hens stripped dead bodies of any valuables. Stallions and tiercels joined forces to lift rubble away from a doorframe, freeing those trapped within. Near the main gate, the Vanchoofer gate guards looked on, indifferent, as a pair of buffalo struggled to hold up a wall while others pulled foals to safety.

“Al. Lo.” Stumbling and dragging myself with hoof and shield, I reached them just as the wall they were supporting cracked down the middle.

“GET CLEAR!” Both dove aside as the wall dropped, throwing up choking dust.

By the time I'd spat out the foul powder that got into my mouth, Al and Lo were up and crowding me. “Buff! What happened to you?”

“Where's Rockhaunch?”

“Did you stop Crush?”

Snorting, I hocked out a mess of green, red, and grey. “Al, Lo, I'm sorry but Rockhaunch... he's dead.”

Colour drained from their faces. “D-dead?” Al crossed his hooves in front of him.

“But... what about Crush?” Lo wasn't blinking now. He was looking all everywhere at once.

“He's still alive.” Another twinge of pain ran through me. “We have to get help, stop him. Where are the Sprinkles guards?”

“They left, said the money wasn't worth their life.” Mournfully, Al looked to the openly-eavesdropping Vanchoofer guards, who turned away. “We should get out of here too, Buff. We can’t stop him without Rockhaunch.”

I would love to leave, but... “We can't. Crush won't stop. He might have more bombs, and he still has a gun. Everyone here is in danger. Don't you remember? He said he was going after Snowflake after this.”

Both jerking at the mention of our sister, they stalled. We all looked at each other, Al to Lo, Lo to me, me to Al. “What do we do?”

I honestly don't know which one of us said that.

“We could leave?”

“Come back with help, yeah!”

“I'm sure the guards will handle Crush.”

“Nope,” An anonymous guard called in from outside our stand-off. “busy now with all this shit going on.”

“Well, now what?”

“If Rockhaunch couldn't stop him, why should we even bother trying?”

“Because,” I was sure, at least for this one moment, that I was speaking, “our big sister raised us to be good.”

Silence descended, broken only by our sniffles. I was certain that Al and Lo were thinking the same thought that I was. A girl a quarter of our size, a tenth as strong... and a hundred times as bold as the three of us put together.

“Snow won't get mad at us for fighting, right?” Lo wiped at his tears. “She's scary when she's ticked.”

“So long as we make sure we come home, like we promised.” Al forced a smile. “She'd never forgive us for leaving her alone.”

“She's not alone,” I corrected. “she's with our other sister.”

“About time you came around.” Al's quip earned him a real smile from me.

“Yeah, sorry I took so long.”

“And not just Undertow!” Lo started excitedly, before stopping himself. “Nah, y'know what, I'll let Undertow tell you when we get back.”

I looked at Al. He looked back. We both shrugged. “Okay?”

A loud banging echoed around the town. Looking back, I spotted a burly form by the stage, striking a massive gun against the compromised structure. Bloodied but standing tall, Crush roared. “Doublehorns, come out to play-ay. Doublehorns, come out to play-ay. Doublehorns, COME OUT TO PLAY!”

The three of us stood, side by side by side.

“This is how we help.” I reminded them. “This is how we protect our sisters.”

Al hefted his shield. Lo procured another to replace the one I'd appropriated back in the warehouse.

“'ey,” A Vanchoofer gate guard strolled up and, without warning, jabbed a needle into my shoulder. “this'll help.”

“OW! What was that?!” I swung my horn-drilled shield around, but he ducked under my attack.

“Easy there, big guy. Just some Med-X. It'll take the edge off. I saw you movin' a little slow there.” He jerked his head to the other guards, who were tossing caps into a pile. “We're takin' bets. At least this way you can give us a good show, yeah?”

I do not like you. “Well, we wouldn't want to bore you and your gambling buddies now, would we?”

Lo didn't miss with his follow up swing, and sent the stallion sprawling. “Get away from my brother, ya leach!”

Worryingly, the stallion came up smiling. He turned to the other guards. “Ten caps says that one gets the last hit in.”

Al tch'd in disgust. “Friggin' ponies, bro.”

He's not wrong. “Let's just get this over with.” Despite my words, the sick feelings from the warehouse were resurfacing, multiplied to the power of three now that I had my two brothers to imagine dead.

“Oh, come on, guys.” Lo's fear-born optimism was relentless. If he stopped, he would probably break down. “They're just trying to make some caps off of a bad situation. Remember that this is Crush's fault.”

Al mulled that over for a second, before altering his statement. “Friggin' buffalo, bro.”

Okay, so he was wrong. “Yeah, friggin' buffalo.”

And then there was left to do but go face Crush, who was still ranting by the stage. Even from here, his movements were erratic and irregular.

Has he been using Med-X too?

As we neared the stage, he caught sight of us. “There you are, Doublehorns. Time to die.”

In a flash, his shotgun was up and firing, shot bouncing off of our shields.

It would have gone straight through mine if I hadn't already been in motion. Yep, he definitely gave himself something.

His weapon tracked me as I moved. Just as he fired, Lo barged into his shoulder, and the shot went wide.

Grinning and grunting, Crush twisted the gun up and over, slamming the butt into Lo's shield, which hammered both down onto Lo's face. Hooking his horns under the dazed buffalo's shield, he wrenched up and away. Lo went flying backwards, the wind blowing out of him as he crashed down.

Al rammed Crush from the other side, overbalancing him, but the drugged up giant caught him under the chin with a blind kick.

NOW! While Crush was down, I bounded in and leaped, bringing the shield down on the shotgun. There was a raucous CRACK, but it didn't break.

Rising, Crush yowled and rammed his forehead into mine. Thanks to the Med-X, I barely felt it. The two of us struggled against each other as our hooves gouged deep furrows in the ground for traction.

I struggled more, and the bigger buffalo surged forwards.

Digging my heels in did little, if anything, as I was steadily forced backwards. Crush and I blinked blood out of our eyes, mere inches from each other. His pupils were tiny, zeroed in on me.

Al rushed Crush from the left, battering his shoulder with a mighty impact. As he moved to push Al away, Lo caught him on the opposite thigh. He staggered, and we were apart for a moment.

I butted him back half a metre, and suddenly he was in the middle of a Doublehorn triangle. Any move he made to focus on one of us invited a dig by another. With horn, shoulder, hoof, teeth and elbow, we assaulted the reeling bomber.

Rockhaunch should have won, not you! As Lo twisted Crush around, I took a half-step back, for a bigger charge. I want you to feel this one, you lunatic!

That half-step was a mistake. Without me to carry on the cycle, Crush recovered enough to catch Al's thrust before it could connect. With a firm grip on my middle brother, Crush heaved.

Yelping in panic, Al's entire bulk was lifted off the ground. Crush suplexed him down right on top of me. Even through the Med-X, my popped rib sent white hot agony through my body.

I pushed Al off me with a snarl. The white hot agony was being devoured by a red haze as generations of buffalo battle instincts kicked in. It should have been you! I charged again, ignoring Crush's punch as it just missed taking my eye, I put my whole weight behind my horn.

The spur bit deep into his bicep. With a roar, Crush yanked backwards. My neck felt like it would snap, and his limb tore free.

Still unfeeling, Crush ignored the damage, swinging the perforated limb up and under Lo's chin. Continuing his motion, he clashed brows with Al, who was finally upright again.

“You can't do it, Doublehorns.” He growled. “You're just not strong enough.”

Like me, Al went backwards. Lo got a buck in at Crush's bruises hip. “Not alone, maybe, but we're not.”

My teeth sank into the hole in Crush's muscle. I grunted around the blood and sinew. “Cun beet ool fee ov uz, Clazj.”

For a second or two, it was Crush who was forced back again. Then his healthy, unhindered bicep flexed. The mind-numbing weight of another buffalo's bulk fell atop me, and my knees gave out. I hit the ground, chin first. I felt it burst open in the dirt.

“I'll... KILL YOU ALL!” Taken by the same bloodlust I was, Crush went shoulder to shoulder-and-shoulder with both Al AND Lo, and he was winning. “I'm the strongest around. The biggest and baddest. I don't lose...” Veins pulsed on his forehead. “I CRUSH!”

Forcing my way in between my brothers, stars exploded before my eyes as Crush and I clashed foreheads again. “You can't crush us all. You're alone. Even other buffalo don't like you. Buff, Al, and Lo definitely don't like you.”

“Like I care!” He roared back, spittle covering my face. “I'm still the strongest. I'll show everybody that buffalo should be on top, and I'm the top of the top.”

“Then why are you going backwards, Crush?” Al taunted.

“You bastards are ganging up on me!” He screamed with petulant, schoolyard bully logic. “None of you can take me one on one.”

“We don't need to, you moron!” Lo's cienna fur was caked in sweat, but he kept pushing. “We're not looking to be alone at the top. We want our family around us. The three of us, and our two sisters.”

“Two 'puny' pony sisters,” I interjected, just to see the shock spread across his face.

Yeah, ‘what the fuck?’ indeed. You can’t understand it, can you?

Crush's struggles became more and more disjointed as our wall of bodies pushed him up the ramp onto the stage itself.

I let a sneer run across my face. “You can't beat our family with strength, Crush. It's never going to be enough.”

“Says who!” Back literally against the wall, Crush dug deep. Planting his back hooves on the wall, and his forehooves against Al and Lo's chests, Crush extended as far and as fast as he body would allow.

Al and Lo were blown backwards, off the stage. It left Crush with no leverage, and I slammed him into the back wall of the stage. Still riding the adrenaline, Crush repeated his tactic, but put both hooves on me.

Flying isn't pleasant for a big-bodied creatures like buffalo, especially when you land on your brothers. The three of us groaned in a heap, in front of the stage.

Wheezing, Crush couldn't quite stand up on the stage. Still, he held his head high. “You see that? Three on one, and you still lost. I'm the best. The strongest. The alpha buffalo. Not you, or Rockhaunch, or anyone else. Me! Crush is the strongest one there is!” Stomping heavily around the stage, he challenged the entire town. “This bull won't lose. This bull won't die.” Falling onto his back, he raised his hooves to the sky. “This bull will CRUSH!”

Something answered him, but it wasn't the town or sky.

Damaged by bombs, fire, and a burly buffalo's bulky body battered into its back brace, the stage collapsed.

It collapsed under him, around him, and on top of him.

It was over in seconds, but they stretched out for eternity in our adrenaline high. First the stage floor gave way, and Crush's expression shifted to confusion.

Then cracks ran up the walls, chunks breaking off and falling. His confusion became disbelief.

Finally, the walls and supports themselves came free, tumbling down into the sinkhole.

At its centre, a disbelieving-turned-furious buffalo wouldn't be silenced. One long, continuous, defiant shout echoed off every twisting, turning, tumbling surface, in a crescendo of unbridled vehemence. It was so loud, Crush died before the echoes did.

Al threw up. Lo threw up. I threw up. Our bodies understood what had just happened, even if my mind was still catching up.

Lo managed to recover first, somehow, and keyed his Pipbuck. “Um... mission control. Sorry, forgot your names. We found Crush. Stopped him. Um… we're in Vanchoofer.” He finished lamely.

“Very good, you four.” Responded the cultured voice of the businessmare... Amble? “Allow me to speak to Chief Rockhaunch.”

I choked on the dregs of my vomit. Lo was just as helpless. “Uhh...”

“Hello? Are you still there?”

This shouldn't have happened. I leaned over and spoke into the Pipbuck. “I'm sorry, but Chief Rockhaunch is... he died.”

“They killed each other?”

“Not… exactly.”

“You three killed Crush?”

“We… did some of the damage.”

The mare on the other end of the line, whose family name I at least remembered as Bernstein. was as much at a loss for words as we were. “My congratulations… and condolences. It cannot have been easy to do that.” A pregnant pause was heard. Finally, she spoke again. “This is truly unfortunate but, given that this is the case, I must simply relay the information I have to you remaining three.”

Three wet-behind-the-ears Stable buffalo are hardly a good alternative. “Go ahead. We're listening. Whatever you needed from Chief Rockhaunch, we'll do our best to finish.” We owe him that much.

A hint of humour crept into her voice. “I'm sure you will. Here is the message: Snowflake has called in. She wishes for your group to meet her at Crystal Point, near Sombra's Shadow Lake.”

I heard Al's Pipbuck ping twice, in reaction to the two locations. “Okay, but why are we meeting her there?”

Stiffness returned to the businessmare's tone. “She did not give a reason, only asking that you hurry. I would advise that you do not keep her waiting, both for her sake and yours. She can help you through this more than I am able.”

“That’s not really what I want to hear about my big sister.” Al climbed to his hooves. “We'll go right now.”

Lo looked back towards the warehouse. “Should we… uh… find the Chief’s body?” He whimpered, shuddering as he did.

I groaned as the pain from my battles overcame the waning effects of the painkiller. “We’ll ask the guards. We have to get to Snow now. We can’t help Rockhaunch anymore. We’ll leave, just as soon as I can find a health potion.” Sorry, Chief.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Level Up!

Perks gained: Top Toppling – When faced with more than one opponent, the strongest enemy takes more damage when attacked by different party members sequentially.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Author's note: Well, that one wasn't as long as I thought it would be, but it's the shortest of the remaining chapters. We'll see how the rest go. I only have three more planned, plus an epilogue.