Chapter 9-2: All That Shines

Just before we crashed through the roof of the cabin, I briefly wondered if learning to swim would have been the better option.

It had started out sensible enough. Bosco would hold the rope on the ridge. Naiara would go down first and check if it was secure. I would follow, then Bosco would bring up the rear when he found somewhere to tie his end onto.

Naiara had crawled down the flaky, cracking rock with little issue, as we’d expected somebody with her abilities and training to do. She’d gotten her hooves safely on the roof of the cabin and given the rope two tugs, which we’d agreed would indicate it was safe for me to follow. In my current state, I hadn’t argued, preferring to trust in my friends, who actually knew what they were doing.

With Naiara holding the bottom steady and Bosco taking the strain at the top, I’d managed to get my shaking hooves all the way down and step onto the cabin roof with Naiara. After a cursory glance around to check we hadn’t been discovered, I gave the first of the two tugs.

The rope had gone slack immediately. Even worse, it began following me down.

I’d turned to Naiara, thinking that Bosco had lost his grip on the rope and wondering how we’d proceed from there.

She’d been looking up at the falling colt above us.

We’d managed a simultaneous “Binn tus-” before Bosco’s barding-covered flank struck.

The rusty, corroded metal of the cabin roof couldn’t hold up to extra weight of a fast-falling colt in addition to the two fillies it was already struggling to support. It gave way instantly and, mercifully, near-silently.

We landed on something ever-so-slightly softer than the floor. We were not even close to silent.

“My horn!”

“My flank!”

“MY BALLS!”

“Bosco, don’t shout!”

“Fuck you, it hurts!”

“Oh calm down, it can’t be that bad. Here, let me take a look.”

“What? No! Get away!”

We all froze as a new voice, liquid-smooth yet laced with irritation, joined the conversation. “Another challenge to my leadership? Fine. You’ve intruded into my territory, I won’t hold back.”

Sheets still draped over her, the unicorn mare, who could only be Undertow, watched from the shadowy alcove that was her bedroom. It was only through the aquamarine glow of her horn that we see anything at all.

Undertow was a mess. Damp locks of turquoise mane hung over her eyes in wet clumps. Her eyes themselves were hidden behind a pair of rubber and dark plastic goggles, obscuring any details. Hanging loosely on an elastic band around her neck was a strange, boxy device, whose function I could only guess at.

Her horn blazed brighter, which revealed an identical colouration for her coat. It also filled the moist air in the cabin with a strange, musty smell.

“Wet pony, just like he said.” Our prior conversation with Caber Toss popped into my head. As Naiara mentioned, he had commented on Undertow’s aroma.

An aroma that was getting stronger. The watery scent increased in intensity rapidly. Our noses were running by the time the aquakinetic mare’s spell revealed itself with a great torrent of irradiated lake water swooping in through the hole we’d made in the ceiling and darting towards me.

In my sleep deprived state, my reflexes, shoddy at the best of times, were nowhere near up to the task of dodging. The funnel of dirty, radiation-filled liquid slammed into my chest, throwing me back into a stained wooden chair, and then over it as it too gave way in the face of the magic assault.

As I crashed to the floor, the possessed stream turned towards Bosco. Still hobbled and bowlegged from the landing, he was not smooth in his motions, but still managed to dive aside at the last moment, scrabbling for his pistol.

Naiara, having recovered from the fall enough to ignore her bruised flank, charged towards the reclining Raider, intent on ending this before she drowned us all in filthy lake water.

Sensing the danger she was in, Undertow called the water back from harassing ponies to focus on driving off the zebra. Small tendrils burst from the main body of the amorphous mass, shooting at high speed towards Naiara.

At least towards where she had been milliseconds before. She was far too agile, and was making great use of her chosen fighting style’s strong points. Ricocheting around the cabin, yet always moving towards the bedroom, Naiara defied all anticipation attempts. Undertow’s eyes, and therefore her magic, simply couldn’t keep up.

When Naiara broke the plane of the bedroom, the Raider gave up all attempts to ensnare my svara and instead drew all the water back, forming a sphere around herself. Naiara’s diving hoofstrike was stopped cold as the hoof sunk slightly into the bubble, before abruptly reversing direction, having been flung back by the liquid barrier.

Bosco, his pistol out and ready, popped off a few shots. The first one was slowed by the water sphere, but still had enough velocity to break through and embed itself in the headboard two hoofwidths away from Undertow’s suddenly widening eye.

The remaining two bullets were swept up into the stream as the sphere began spinning rapidly, the current carrying any attempt to break through away on the tide.

Undertow hadn’t moved since the fight began, and her defence was formidable, but she couldn’t attack and defend against three of us at the same time. We were in a stalemate.

A stalemate that would be broken when her help arrived, while we had none coming.

“Any ideas?” My body was aching from the insomnia, the fall, and being thrown about like a soggy ragdoll. I was hardly at my best. Watching from behind her barrier, Undertow cocked her head to the side quizzically, and her lips moved, but no sound got through.

“I… don’t think she can hear us.” Naiara, who’d landed on her hooves after being repelled, was in far better condition. Only one part of her was wet, the hoof she’d tried to reach Undertow with.

“All the better for us,” the pistol slammed back to readiness as Bosco finished reloading, “because I’ve got an idea.”

The cacophonic noise of swirling water receded slightly. Undertow had magicked up a hole in her shield. “Don’t think you can keep secrets here. This is my territory.”

The earth colt rolled his eyes, a cocky grin on his lips. “I don’t need to say it out loud. My boss has already read my mind,” he turned towards me, smirk still in place, “isn’t that right, Red Ice?”

She reacted to the name, glaring and baring her teeth. “This is MY territory, Red Ice, and you won’t take it from me!” With that the hole in her defence closed.

I ignored her, wondering instead what Bosco had meant. I couldn’t read his mind.

“Naiara, buy us some time.” At the colt’s suggestion, she leapt forward, jabbing and retreating, searching for weak points.

Sure that she couldn’t hear us with her barrier in place, not to mention being thoroughly distracted by Naiara, I tried to make sense of his words.

I drew a blank. “What are you talking about, Bosco?”

Groaning in frustration, he spoke cryptically again, less willing than I was to talk openly, even if he didn’t think she could hear us. “Is the water affecting your brain, Red Ice? Don’t freeze up now!”

Why the hell is he talking like that? It’s like he’s getting stuck on certain words, and has to work harder to pronounce them. I mean, it’s not like they’re difficult. Two syllables, tops.

“Come on! My balls hurt too much for this crap. Red Ice… FREEZE THE FUCKING SHIELD!”

Bosco looked like he wanted to strangle me, at least when he could walk straight again. So did Naiara. So did Undertow, but she didn’t count.

I felt like doing it too. I am the dumbest filly in class.

My horn blazed as I charged towards the Raider, whose shield was completely occupied with defending against continuous zebra hoofstrikes, backed up with pistol shots.

I needed to be touching the shield for this to work. Luckily, my two friends provided me an opportunity. Bosco’s latest bullet was caught in the swirling sphere at Undertow’s eye level. The lead projectile’s speed within the circuit basically turned it into a blindfold. As I got within one step of the shield, its velocity dropped to nothing, slingshotting the bullet back out again, right through the gap between Naiara and I, which I would deal with later. Right now, I had a golden opportunity.

Dipping my horn into the sphere, as if to test the water in a bathtub, I fired off the cryo spell, not even making an attempt at forming the serpent or any other shape. I just let it spread across all the water it could. The moisture in the air grew crisper as more of the lake blob was consumed.

Within seconds the sphere was solid almost all the way around. Undertow shrieked soundlessly and bolted backwards, splashing through the last little window of liquid before it hardened after her.

Before she could even make her horn light up again, all three of us had her pinned, Bosco’s knife at her throat, and my horn glowing coldly.

“Hi,” I breathed out through my sniffling snout, wet and exhausted, “I’m Red Ice. Can we talk?”

~~~~~~

Under guard from Bosco’s pistol and Naiara’s… Naiara, Undertow obediently rolled the now-frozen water sphere out of the cabin and down to the lake. She did this by hoof, having been warned that any glow from her horn would trigger a swift, hoof-y, bullet-y reaction.

When the door closed behind the three, I collapsed against the damp bed, sucking in deep breaths and struggling to keep my eyes focused. Magic was taxing for me at the best of times, attempting a spell after two sleepless nights, not to mention a bad fall and a frantic battle, had left me feeling incredibly weary.

The one good point, that I clung to tighter than a tarantubaa cocoon, was that I hadn’t had to kill Undertow, or any of her Deep Divers.

None of them even showed up to see what the fuss was all about. Might be something we need to address…

...Later. Just gonna sit here for now. That sounds good.

I closed my eyes, but didn’t sleep. Still, the few minutes rest I managed to get brought my heart rate down and had me breathing a little easier. I didn’t even notice the door opening.

Naiara’s voice caught my attention. “Hey! Inside, now.”

Concerned, I opened my eyes to see a tense zebra and colt gesturing angrily at the mare outside. Undertow was meekly shaking her head in response. “I cannot. The cabin is not my territory anymore. I won’t intrude upon another’s territory.”

“Wa ah yuu tokin abow?” Talking around your gun was tricky, it seemed.

She understood the gist, at least. “Deep Diver law. You must be able to defend what your claim. I couldn’t defend my cabin when you intruded, so it belongs to the one who defeated me: Lady Ice.”

Unable to help herself, even as my eyes were rapidly widening, Naiara burst out laughing. “PWAHAHA! Lady Ice! That’s priceless.”

Using the bed to climb back to standing, I ignored the protests of my leaded limbs long enough to voice my surprise. “What do you mean it’s mine? And don’t call me Lady Ice.”

Subserviently lowering her head, she spoke again in her calm-like-water voice. “What would you prefer I call you, mistress?”

This time both my friends were laughing. It was probably still possible to hear my grinding teeth over the top, though. “Not. That. Ugh, fine, Lady Ice, whatever. Just get inside,” I glared at the chuckle brother and sister, “that means all of you.”

Her posture, non-aggressive as it was, still seemed to relax slightly. “I am invited?”

“That’s what I just said, now come inside.”

Bowing simply, the turquoise-and-blue, goggled mare moved through the door, still under my friends’ watch… even if they still hadn’t stopped laughing.

Arranging ourselves in a triangle, with Undertow in the centre, I wondered at the strange situation we found ourselves in. For some reason, the moment she lost the fight, this Raider seemed to have surrendered in every sense of the word.

She can’t really be just giving me her house, can she?”

“Undertow, what do you mean when you say this is my territory now?”

“It was mine, and now it is yours.”

Bosco and Naiara weren’t laughing anymore. Instead, they were listening closely. “But why?”

Nothing changed in her expression, what little of it we could see with those goggles covering her eyes. “It is the way of the Deep Divers, which I started.”

Oh yes, my friends were very serious now. “You? You started this Raider group?”

She faced the colt evenly as she responded. “Oh, they have taken to calling us Raiders? I see.”

Naiara, still within easy striking distance, instead sat back in confusion. “You’re not?”

She simply shrugged. “It is unimportant. I simply wanted to be left alone. I came upon this lake and felt… at peace here. My special talent revealed itself soon after.”

I glanced surreptitiously at Undertow’s haunches. Droplets splashing into ripples graced her flank. The show she’d put on before with her magic had been clue enough about her abilities with water, this just confirmed it.

“So you came to the lake… how did that lead to the Deep Divers?”

“My peace was short-lived. Others came, perhaps Raiders, perhaps not, either way, they wanted to claim my territory for themselves… to claim me. I killed them.”

She looked towards the lake, sighing. “Still more came. I killed them too, at first. When I had an entire lake as my weapon, I couldn’t be defeated… until today, at least. But soon came more agreeable companions, who wanted what I did: To be left alone to live the life we chose. I allowed them to live on the shores of my lake in exchange for their assistance when I explored its waters.”

“So it’s true,” we were all hanging on her words, “you really do go under the water. Why hasn’t the radiation in the lake killed you?”

“It has claimed many Deep Divers in the past. The water does not accept them as it has me.” She spread her hooves, indicating her body, “I was told, shortly before I left to find my peace, that as an infant, I had briefly been exposed to Taint-filled water. Since then, radiation in water has left me unaffected.”

At the mention of Taint, though it meant nothing to me, the others had leaned away slightly. “You’re immune to radiation?!”

“No, not entirely. However, when in contact with water, I do not absorb it. On land, I am as vulnerable as any other pony.” The pseudo-Raider paused to brush the possibly-eternally damp mane from before her goggles.

“What’s Taint?” I asked, confused by the reactions of the Wastelanders.

“Pre-war goop, cooked up by the Ministry of Magic,” it was somewhat ironic that Naiara, the only non-pony present, proved the most knowledgeable about this, “messes you up bad, even worse than radiation. It can’t be cured with Radaway or anything else either. Whatever it does to you, if it doesn’t just kill you, is permanent.”

“Are… are we in danger?”

“Fear not,” replied Undertow, “while I have lost my cabin, the lake and its surroundings, are still my territory. If there were Taint here, I would know it. There would be signs.”

Looking from one to the other, they offered no more insight on the new danger. “Oookay. Sorry for interrupting, Undertow, please continue.”

She bowed in thanks. “The Lady Ice is kind. As I was saying, my waterborne immunity to radiation allowed me to explore the depths of the lake and bring its treasures to the surface. Those who would later come to be called Deep Divers were permitted to stay here, so long as they assisted me. For years now, I have dived and retrieved, and they have gathered and repaired. Recently, we discovered and renovated pre-war equipment that would allow other ponies to join me in the water, though with nowhere near the efficiency of my natural immunity, combined with this.” Proudly, she flicked the boxy gadget around her neck.

“What is that?” First the gear at the ghoul facility, and now whatever this is. I should have brought Breeze on this Raider hunt. She’d love it.

Tapping it back and forth with her hooves, she smiled. “I do not know its official name, but I found it, along with my wonderful goggles, when I first entered the boathouse from the water. I lacked the strength to break the land-side lock by myself, the Deep Divers became who they are when they performed that task for me. Regardless, I call this device a Rebreather. It contains an air talisman, allowing me to breathe under the lake. This means, provided I have the strength, that I can stay under for as long as I wish.”

“Do you have more? You said that other ponies started diving with you.”

The thought was not a welcome one, as her face instantly darkened. “No, which is a growing problem. Their equipment is older, and not as durable. Still, their dive apparatuses do function well enough that they do not rely upon me as much to dive. This has led to my current situation. Do you recall the first thing I said to you?”

I was halfway through my ‘no’ when Bosco and Naiara replied in the affirmative. I chose not to finish. Sighing, Undertow expanded on her question. “I mistook you for Deep Divers, come to again challenge me for my territory. I fear that they are angered by my guidelines, and seek to get rid of me. It may even be these guidelines which have caused us to be considered Raiders.”

She is the least angry Raider ever. “What do you mean?”

“Every Deep Diver is welcome to claim, and defend, their territory. Not just welcome, but obligated to. If a pony is invited onto a Deep Diver’s territory, that Deep Diver maintains absolute authority over all within, but must not allow the invitee to come to harm, which is why I am glad to be invited into your cabin, Lady Ice.”

As I rolled my eyes, she continued undeterred. “Still, if a pony is not invited, but instead intrudes, the Deep Diver must either forgive them, and have them leave, or punish the transgression. The punishment must be enacted, even if the intruder has left the territory. Perhaps Deep Divers, out of their territory, have drawn ire through their punishing of other ponies. This behaviour might be misconstrued.”

“Tch, they’re still killing other ponies for a stupid reason.” Scoffed Bosco, unimpressed.

Undertow didn’t even bat an eyelid at his casual dismissal of her established rules. “So, now you know how the Deep Divers live, Lady Ice. I submit to your authority while within this cabin, your territory. You cannot allow me to come to harm, if the other Deep Divers make a new attempt on my life, even if we are fortunate enough that they have not heard the commotion you caused. What will you do now?”

“Uh…”

“Sn… Red Ice,” Bosco hissed, anxiety in his tone, “a word, please?”

“R-right.” I stared hard at the not-really-Raider, “Please get on the bed. I’ll be with you shortly.”

Flushing slightly beneath her goggles, the waterlogged mare rose, and daintily stepped past me. Naiara’s knowing smirk stayed fixed in place as we moved to the other end of the cabin, hopefully out of earshot.

“Umm… what now?”

Their faces betrayed the awkwardness of the situation. “Well… kinda looks like we won’t be bringing the Deep Divers to the table. At least, not with Undertow in charge.”

“Yeah, seems like she won’t be around for too long. We should probably get out of here before we get caught up in the trouble.”

Aghast, I sat open-mouthed at their callousness. “Guys! We can’t just let her die!”

“Haa…” supreme, yet unsurprised, frustration laced all of that exhalation. “Alright. Why not this time?”

I wish they wouldn’t be so flippant about this stuff. It shouldn’t be a chore to NOT want somebody to die. “She isn’t a Raider! She hasn’t done anything wrong. She just wants to be left alone.”

“But if we leave her here, she’ll die.” I couldn’t tell whether Bosco meant that as a warning, or if he was indicating that the problem would solve itself.

“Yeah, you kinda took her house... then invited her to bed.”

“Dammit Naiara, it’s not funny!”

“It’s pretty funny.”

“Bosco!”

“So what then, Snow?” He snapped back, “If we’re not leaving her here, on her own, are we gonna fight the rest of the Deep Divers? That would also not solve the problem. Then we’d have her but no group to bring. Plus she’s not so great away from water.”

“Why not ask her?” Naiara’s question instantly shamed me for ignoring the wishes of the pony who, regardless of what she said, still owned the house we were standing in.

“Thanks, Naiara. You’re right. Let’s ask her.”

Our conversation over, we turned back to the bedroom, to where Undertow was reclining on the sheets. She perked up as we approached. “Are you ready to begin, Lady Ice?”

“No.” I was going to make that clear from the get go.

She crossed her hooves in front of her, worried. “Am I not to your liking?”

Snickering erupted behind us, but I ignored it. “That’s not it, you look fine. But I wanted to talk to you about why we came here.”

“To the lake?” Sensing that things weren’t going to go the way she thought they would, at least not for now, she drew herself back into a sitting position and drew the covers around her.

“Yeah. See, we’re kinda on a mission to go round to the different Raider groups in the area, and try to get them to join into an alliance.”

“They even want to make her their queen.” Naiara’s contribution came out between giggles and gasps.

Undertow just nodded. “A wise choice. Lady Ice is strong.”

“Right, whatever.” I’m really not. “What I want to know is your thoughts on the matter, as leader of the Deep Divers.”

“I may not hold that title for much longer. With the new equipment and the theft of the diving lights, the others are not happy with my authority.”

A shared look with Naiara and Bosco confirmed that there was some new information there. “Wait, what diving lights?”

Blinking, she flushed again and lowered her head. “I thought I had mentioned this. I am sorry, Lady Ice, I did not wish to deceive you. Please forgive me, my thoughts were too much on my mortality.”

My heart skipped a beat. ‘Mortality’ conjured up the image of that dead ghoul, those first dead Raiders I’d fought with Bosco, Wings and Schwarzwald, the Molar Bear, and even the Hissyflit I’d crushed. Too many deaths. “What do you mean, your mortality?”

I don’t think I’d ever seen a more heartbroken pony as I saw her at that moment. “With this lake as my weapon, I thought myself unbeatable. So much water that leaps and dances and crushes and chokes at my command. No matter how many times the usurpers tried to topple me, the lake would always leave me victorious.”

She sighed. It was a deep, shuddering breath, heavy and melancholic. Without looking at me, she continued. “And then you came. Not to challenge me at all, but instead to offer a new path. Yet I followed the guidelines I have always followed, wielding all the power I have here, and still you bested me. If the Deep Divers discover this, they will not stop until I am dead.”

“She said ‘the Deep Divers’, not ‘the other Deep Divers’.” Naiara’s whispered observation made me double-take.

I don’t have the heart to tell her that it was Bosco’s idea to freeze the water. Not that he doesn’t deserve the credit, but if she found out that somebody as weak as I managed to win, it’d crush any hope she has left.

“So what now? What do you want, Undertow?”

“What I always have,” she spoke softly, quietly, still looking at the floor, “to be left alone with my lake. But I do not think that will be possible anymore.”

My heart was breaking, and the pain was unbearable. I’d done it again, dragged another pony into my collapsing mess.

She just wanted to be left alone.

“Isn’t there anything we can do? The… the diving lights? What are they?” I was desperate, grasping at straws, anything to ease her suffering and get me away from her sooner.

“The diving lights are magic spheres. They give off such a penetrating light when active. It is not bright, but seems to pierce the murky depths. It lights the way when we dive. They are very strange magic. When activated, it is like I am not myself, but another pony entirely. The world inside the light is so very different from our own.”

She laughed, for the first time since I’d met her. Her laughter was beautiful, bubbly and soft, and it broke through her unhappiness for a moment. “I always enjoyed it within the lights. Such visions.”

That sounded familiar. Bosco seemed to have had the same idea. Reaching into his pack, he drew out three shiny balls. “Undertow, did they look like this?”

Gasping, she bounced off the bed and was before the charcoal colt in an instant. Her permanently damp mane slipped forward and slapped wetly against his forehead. “YES! Oh how did you find them? Did you see the thief? He is horrible, isn’t he?”

Perturbed, Bosco drew his head further back. “Sorry, Undertow, but these aren’t your diving lights. They’re called Memory Orbs. They store ponies’ memories from before the war. That was what you were seeing in your ‘diving lights’.”

“Memory Orbs? Then the ponies who I was, and saw… they were real?”

“A long time ago, yeah.”

She flushed bright scarlet. “Oh my.”

It was clear what kind of memories she’d seen in the Orbs. I hoped she’d come with us, at least so that there was another unicorn who could verify the memories inside. “What did the thief look like? Did you get a good look at him?”

Dejection flowed off her as she shook her head, briefly dislodging her mane from her goggles. “I did not. He invaded the boathouse, where the diving lights are stored, and made off with them. The guards that evening gave chase,” she brightened for a moment, “they did mention his accent was from a place called Lethbridle, and something about a ‘gool’. Does that mean anything to you, Lady Ice?”

Stepping forward, I put a hoof on her shoulder, like Naiara and Bosco had done to me the night before. “It does. Thanks to you, we have a place to start looking. If we help you get your Memory Orbs back, will that be enough to dissuade the Deep Divers?”

Timidly, she opened her mouth a few times, looking at each of us in turn, not managing to speak until she finally looked back to me. “Y-yes. It should suffice. I am the only pony here who can use the diving lights. If I return with them, they will not risk attacking me.”

“Great!” Sighing in relief, I gave her as genuine a smile as I’d felt in days, feeling like I was doing something worthwhile for a change. “Do you want to come with us to find the Orbs, I mean ‘diving lights’? Or stay here while we go?”

“I… I do not want to leave my lake, but it is not safe here for me.” She demurely sidled closer to me, “If I may come with you, out there, to your territory… will you protect me, Lady Ice?”

“BWAHAHAHAHA!”

“DAMMIT YOU TWO!” The chuckleheads were really getting their money’s worth with this trip.

Shocked by my sudden roar, Undertow had retreated from me. I gave her another hopefully-reassuring smile. “Yes, Undertow. I promise, by Deep Diver law, to protect you within my… territory.”

Beaming, the not-so-Raider begged my leave to gather a few supplies for the journey. As she did so, I silently fumed at the thoroughly amused colt and zebra.

~~~~~~

“Well hey there, Snowflake, ya got a bunch of friends with ya today.”

I smiled back easily. I loved it here in Sprinkles Supplies. Fedexi Lexi always seemed to lift my mood. “Hey boss, we’re not staying long. Just wanted to see if we can trade a few caps for some barding for Undertow.”

The frizzy maned purple unicorn winked at all of my friends in turn. Only Naiara returned it, having been here before. “Howdy Naiara, now which one o’ the other two’s Undertow?”

I stepped aside and allowed a better look at the Deep Diver, who’d stuck close to me the entire trip so far. “This is Undertow.” I turned to the pseudo-Raider, giving her a quick smile and a gentle nudge forward, “Come say hello to Fedexi Lexi. She runs Sprinkles Supplies. Maybe you can talk to her about all your salvage.”

Instantly the older unicorn was all ears. “Salvage?”

Undertow still seemed reticent, but took some strength from my encouragement. “H-hello, Lady Lexi.”

Sprinkles Supplies medic, and CEO, howled with laughter. “Lady Lexi? Kid, I ain’t been a lady fer years. Ain’t you a little sweetie though? Come on, we’ll get you all gussied up.”

“Um… Lady Ice-“

“She’ll be right here when ya get back, ain’t that right, Snowflake?”

“Absolutely, boss. I’ll be right here waiting. Don’t worry, Undertow, Lexi heals ponies, she won’t let anything happen to you here. I promise. This is her territory.”

The orange-mane medic draped a hoof over the shoulder of the goggled filly, leading her towards a back room. “I’ve got a few sets of gear here in the back that might suit you, but first tell me about this salvage…”

With one final look in my direction, the turquoise-topped water wielder vanished through a set of double doors.

My two remaining friends and I headed for the bar. Piling into a booth, Bosco went for drinks. As he exchanged a few words with the barkeep, Naiara looked around for a washroom, voicing her thoughts as she did. “You sure she’ll be okay? Undertow, I mean. She’s pretty sheltered.”

“She should be, so long as this doesn’t drag out. She does lead a group of ponies after all, even as they try to kill her.”

“...And are you sure you wanna take her back to all that?”

“Am I sure I wanna take her back? It’s her decision.”

A knowing look showed in Naiara’s jade eyes. “Yeah but you’ve plenty of influence with her already. You heard her; you beat her on her home turf-“

“WE beat her. Not just me.”

“Yeah but you’re the one she’s all kinds of taken with. I can’t decide whether she’s looking to have you as a marefriend or a big sister.”

“WHAT?!”

“Oh you can’t have missed it!” She scoffed and put on a rough approximation of Undertow’s liquid voice, “ ‘Am I not to your liking?’ ‘Lady Ice is strong.’ ‘Will you protect me, lady Ice?’”

“I… I…” What could I say to that? I never intended anything like that! “I just wanted her to be okay. She got swept up into another of my mess-ups. I should fix it for her.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time you tried this sort of thing.” Having retrieved the drinks, and apparently caught the tail end of the conversation, Bosco slid into the booth.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You find way too many ponies who need help; Vorbis, Contego, you wanted to help all Raiders in general at first, Naiara-“

“Not a pony there, Bosc.”

“Right, sorry. Ponies and zebras.” He tapped his chin, “Who else?”

The not-a-pony continued the list. “Breeze, probably her sister too, and now Undertow. You’ve got a thing for helping ponies... and zebras.”

“So I want people to be happy, and I help if I can. What’s your point? Would you rather I be out there killing more people?” I swallowed the gulp of suddenly-bitter drink.

Bosco took a swig of his own drink, fighting back a cheeky grin. “Nah, no real point. Just thinking that you’re basically as dumb as when I met you, is all.”

“Yeah, that.” Naiara took a long suck on her straw. She didn’t seem to like holding the glass in her hooves. “And what’s going on with this place? Fedexi Lexi another of your little lost ponies?”

I was glad of the follow up, it let me ignore the comments about my intelligence. I already knew I wasn’t clever. “Lexi? No no no. All I’ve done for her is show her Contego’s patch while she healed me up, after Cassie shot me through the hoof.”

Bubbles rocked Naiara’s drink as she choked on the straw. “When was this?”

“After Plottawa, when you guys went back to get the stuff. I came down south. Met Cassie and Breeze, we fought, I got away, but Cassie nailed me through the leg in the process. She did say sorry later.”

“Ah well, that makes it all better then… you dummy.”

“Yeah yeah, so after I washed up here and got healed up, I took on a supply run to Grindstone to look for you two, and the twins ended up on the same run. They were on my side that time, but took off hallway through. I came back here after Neighlway and told Lexi.”

My nose went a little higher into the air. “She appreciated my coming back even after getting taken by the Rangers. Offered me the twins’ share of the pay, but I just took mine. Figured she’d need it since the Rangers were getting more active, and with what happened at Grindstone…”

Naiara quieted, staring into her drink for a moment, “Yeah…”

A hoof clipped my horn painfully, before flicking Naiara’s ear harshly.

“OW! What the hell, Bosc?” Her ear was rubbed tenderly as she frowned at the suddenly violent charcoal colt.

He frowned right back. “I do it to Snow and I’ll do it to you. Don’t go getting into your own head too much. Never takes you anywhere good.”

If only you knew. I remembered the last few sleepless nights, when he wasn’t awake to tweak my horn. The Overmare’s silent disapproval… the battered ghoul…

Two limbs, one grey and the other striped, went for my horn this time, but I was still aware enough to pull back before they hit. “Nope, not again.”

“Well stay with us then, Snow.”

“Yeah, bodyguard’s orders, Red Ice.”

“DON’T… call me that, you two.” I tried to find the words to make them understand just how much I didn’t want that name right now.

“… Lady Ice?”

Oh come on! Quickly quashing that thought, I turned to the two returning unicorns.

Undertow was dressed in full guard gear, including some light padding inside the fabric for at least a little protection. Lexi mostly dealt with grey gear, but she’d managed to sort out a russet brown set for Undertow, which complimented her blue coat and turquoise mane quite nicely. It also hid her rebreather under the collar. “Hey, look at you. It suits you.”

She flushed a little. “Thank you, Lady Ice. Lady Lexi has been very kind.”

“Fer a good li’l girl like you? No problem. ‘Lady Ice’ is still payin’ though.”

I smiled and dumped the same caps she’d given me onto the table. “Sure thing, boss, take what I owe you, and enough for a drink for the two of you. You’ve got time, right?” I found myself quite hopeful that she did. Lexi was one of the few people in the Wasteland that I always wanted to see.

Counting out the caps, the orange and purple mare ushered Undertow into the booth next to me, then headed for the bar, already calling out for a whiskey and, “Something sweet fer the kid.”

As Undertow brightened next to me, Naiara spoke in a song-song voice. “Somepony has a new mo-mmy.”

“Knock it off, Naiara,” I chided, “I’m not anybody’s mommy.”

I swear, I thought her smile was going to tear out the sides of her face. “I didn’t say you were the mommy.”

~~~~~~