Chapter 11-1: Portion Or Helping?

[Now, a lesser person might want that kind of overwhelming force on their side, but you know - where's the challenge in that?]

“Well… this doesn’t help.” Bosco had a knack for summation.

Angrily, I tossed the communicator back to Naiara, who stashed it away. “No. It doesn’t.”

That damn DJ’s got some nerve, trying to paint me as the bad guy just because I’m trying to help some ponies he doesn’t like. I get it, Raiders are trouble, have been for a long time, but all those layabouts don’t even try to change that. At least I’m trying! They sit around, perfectly content to talk about me like they know me, yet do nothing to change the situation!

Pushing myself off the bed, I found I couldn’t stay still as my anger built. Pacing around the cabin, my thoughts turned vocal as they continued outside of my head. “And who’s this jackhole in Lethbridle who says I’m building an army? That’s not what I’m doing, I’m just trying to get the Raiders to stop killing ponies so much! That’s a good thing!”

“Well, at least you’re not taking this jackhole’s words badly.” Naiara’s droll paraphrasing was pretty far from what I wanted to hear right now.

“Don’t even start! I am NOT raising an army of Raiders! I just want to show that they’re not all monsters. I mean, look at Undertow!”

Surprised at having my hoof pointed at her face from inches away, the goggled unicorn, drew her head back slightly. “Lady Snow… perhaps it would be best to simply ignore the DJ’s ramblings? We all know that he is… misinformed, in this instance.” She looked to the others for support.

“He’s hundreds of miles away, in Tenpony Tower, working on second-hoof information. He knows nothing.” Bosco had a point. This DJ only had what someone else, who also didn’t know the full story, had told him. ’Reliable source’ my flank!

“Look,” Naiara began, still wearing the grim frown she’d had since kicking the cabin door open, “You know that we’re not one hundred percent sold on this whole Raider alliance idea. It came from a Raider in the first place, and a Raider crazy enough to stand in front of a Lethbridle gate, in full view of half the guard force, unarmed. Four Fields was even worse. Frankly I’m not even sure YOU are totally on board anymore.”

It was hard to argue that point, but I still felt that abandoning the idea was not the way to go. However, before I could vocalise this, Naiara carried on. “But, Four Fields is dead, and I still think that Caber Toss and his Raiders will riot if we call the whole thing off. Most of all, though, is the biggest plus so far from this whole thing, and why I think we should keep going.”

“And what’s that?”

Another hoof was pointed inches away from Undertow’s face. “Her. Our dear little Undertow here, supposedly a Raider, is about as far from the stereotype as you can get. She’s the perfect poster child for what you’re trying to do here. Would you be willing to write her off as just another savage, Snow?”

“NO!” I blurted out instantly, horrified at the idea. Already blushing from Naiara’s praise, the red in the Deep Diver’s cheeks deepened as I voiced my absolute rejection of her hypothetical wickedness.

She was pure scarlet after Bosco weighed in. “She is a very convincing argument for not killing Raiders, at least not without checking them out first.”

Naiara just couldn’t help herself when set up like that. “Have you been checking Undertow out, Bosco?”

And just like that, there were now two blushing ponies, along with one grinning zebra. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Huffing, he fell silent.

“So you two are saying we should keep going, even with Four Fields dead, and probably more to come if Breeze keeps this up?” I purposefully brought up Breeze, and the memory of her strong words before leaving. We had to be sure that we were willing to go against her, at least in this, and that we were willing to face the consequences of that.

I don’t think Bosco really cares much either way, he only knew Breeze for a day or so. After what happened in the boathouse, I think Undertow’s perfectly okay with going against her. The real issue is Naiara. She’s the only one of us who is a true friend to Breeze, and vice versa, given what she said over the communicator. Still, how long will it take for the anger between them to go away if we do this?

On a side note, this is hardly going to make getting my Pipbuck and Memory Orb back easier. For all I know, Breeze might just break them both.

Bosco was the first to respond. “I’m in. Wings has been killing Raiders since before this anyway, Schwarzwald too, and that’s not gonna change any time soon. Even if we get these four Raider groups together, there’re others. You saw the group back in La Buque. They had no idea who you are,”

“Yeah, I meant to ask, were you relieved or insulted at that?” Naiara’s tongue-in-cheek question was thoroughly ignored,

“…Uniting four groups of Raiders isn’t going to change the entire Wasteland, not even close, but it might save some lives, and it might repair your reputation if we get results. I really like having Hoofshine Harlots as a place to stay, but I still want all of us; Red Ice, zebra, sorta Raider, to be welcome in Lethbridle. There’s really not much else around here for fun.”

I didn’t really know how to take that. “So this whole thing is pointless?”

“No,” he clarified, “not pointless at all. Just not the same point you want to make. It’s clear from this trip that there are tons of different types of Raiders. You can’t change them all with something like this.”

“He’s right,” Naiara chipped in, “and you also can’t change what everypony thinks of Raiders just from these four gangs. The best we can hope for here, is that Lethbridle and Sprinkles Supplies and the other towns around here get a little bit of a break from Raider attacks. We can make this area a little safer, by lowering the Raider threat, but we’re not gonna stop it altogether. You’re still thinking like a Stable pony, Snowflake.”

“I am a Stable pony!”

Naiara and Bosco shared a strange look at this, but I couldn’t decipher the meaning.

“So I’ll ask again, do you two still wanna carry on? Even going against Breeze?”

One nod. “Breeze is my friend, but that doesn’t mean I agree with her on everything. We’re weird like that. If you recall, the first thing I did when I met her was beat the hell out of her.”

We all gave her funny looks as she beamed at this.

Two nods. “I actually think carrying on will make it easier to talk to Breeze, and Wings, and Schwarzwald, and Cassie. We’ll see them more often. They can get angry at us all they like, but it’s not like they’ve never done anything we disagree with.”

My distracted rubbing of the patch of fur where my Pipbuck had been made me realise something. I couldn’t tell exactly where it was anymore. It didn’t look any different than the rest of my fur. The covered area had been lighter and finer before I lost the piece of Stable tech. “Yeah… you’re right.”

Which brings us to the last member of our little committee.

Having stayed silent up until now, Undertow now found herself under the attention of three pairs of eyes.

It was time to ask the question that I had been silently dreading for days. “Undertow?”

She straightened, having been following our conversation but not previously involved. “Yes, Lady Snow?”

I didn’t really want to ask this question. I had to treat Undertow as the boss of a Raider group again, just for a little while, and it turned my stomach to do so. I felt nauseous just getting the words out. “As leader of the Deep Divers, I, Red Ice, offer you and your followers the chance to join an alliance with other Raider groups, for mutual benefit. Do you want to come to the meeting, or do you want to stay here, at your lake?”

There, I said it. The ball’s in your court now, Undertow.

Please, please say yes.

The question’s effect was profound and instantaneous. Even with her eyes hidden by her goggles, the utter heartbreak that washed across her was emotionally devastating. Quivering lips opened and shut soundlessly, and soon the tremble spread to her shoulders, and her damp turquoise mane, and finally across her entire aquamarine frame.

The filly was shaking all over, and I did not know why. The others apparently did, as they moved as one to wrap the girl in a hug. This was nothing new for Naiara, but Bosco’s willing participation was a surprise.

As was the accusing glare he sent my way. “What is wrong with you?”

Confused, I could only stare blankly back. “Huh?”

Naiara was no happier. With her hooves wrapped tight around the quaking unicorn, she alternated between speaking angrily at me, and softly to Undertow. “Seriously, svara, that’s not cool. It’s okay, Undertow, she didn’t mean it. I mean, come on, Snow, what were you thinking? She’s really sorry, Undertow, not thinking straight right now.”

Ice shards stabbed through my heart as I realised that they thought that I had caused this reaction in Undertow. “What did I do?”

Even while wrapped in a warm cocoon of friendly limbs, still shaking, and with her head buried in Naiara’s shoulder, Undertow’s words still came through soul-twistingly clear. “You promised to protect me, lady Ice.” The words, though clear, were quiet, emerging in a soft sob.

They hurt.

So much.

I told her to stay here, while I went away, even after promising to protect her.

What IS wrong with me?

I crossed the distance between us in a blink, the colt and zebra opening their holds so that I could get in close, and wrapped Undertow up as tightly as possible, with the others’ hooves closing back up around us.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” I kept repeating, tears streaming into her mane as she transferred her face from Naiara’s shoulder to my chest, “I didn’t mean it like that, I swear. Please forgive me. I didn’t mean it. Stay with me where I can protect you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

A small nod, and noise of agreement, gave me her answer.

Overjoyed, I clung tighter.

~~~~~~

After our emotional embrace, Undertow had departed, to inform the Deep Divers of her decision, and to charge the diving lights before she left. According to Breeze, they would last a week without needing another charge, so that was our informal deadline for the Raider chief meeting.

When I was sure that Undertow was safely away, I turned to Naiara and Bosco, my jaw set firm. “I need your help. It’s important.”

Still less than impressed with my recent decision-making, they were sceptical. “What is it?”

“Knock me out.”

Seconds ticked by. The silent was imposing.

“…What?” They chorused this.

“Knock me out.” I repeated simply.

“…Why?” Their symmetry was impressive.

I took a deep breath, and began from the beginning. “Since I killed that ghoul, at the nitrate facility, I haven’t been sleeping. Like, at all. I’m not sure if you guys noticed.”

“…” From their faces I could tell the effort they were making not to be sarcastic here.

Pressing on, I pointed emphatically towards the open cabin door. “I can’t help but think that this might be partly responsible for my making decisions like that one just then. Partly.”

“Partly.” They agreed.

“I can’t have that anymore. Not after what I promised Undertow, and not after what happened with Breeze and Four Fields. I need to be stronger, and quicker, and smarter, and basically better. I need rest.”

“But every time you try you just end up sitting there all night.”

I nodded. “I know. I can’t sleep, because my mind won’t let me. My body still needs rest, though, so I want you two to put me out, get around the blocks my mind is using, and let me get some rest. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Alright.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Now, I know this is a little weird, but I think it’s the right thing t-… excuse me?”

“I’m game.” Bosco was popping his neck.

“Oh, I will totally do this.” Naiara was loosening up her shoulders.

“Hey,” Bosco rounded on her, “why do you get to do it? It should be me.”

“No way! I’m doing it.”

“You are not!”

“Guys?”

“I’m the hoof specialist!”

“That doesn’t matter here! Hit her with anything heavy enough and it’ll work, regardless.”

“Um… guys?”

“I should get to do it! I’ve been dragged into all sorts of stuff thanks to Snow!”

“I’ve been getting dragged around from the day she left the Stable!”

“If I could just…”

“I WANNA DO IT!”

“I WANNA DO IT!”

“If you two don’t knock it off, I’m gonna go get Undertow instead!”

Twin gasps, as my threat caught them aghast.

“Nooo, you asked us.” Bosco’s reply was quick, trying to outrun any chance of losing this opportunity.

“You saaaiiiid.” Whined Naiara.

“Get on with it then!” I snorted in frustration. This should not take this long.

“…Together?”

“Alright.”

“Hey wait a sec-”

~~~~~~

The slightest… something was happening. Like a far-off echo, my ears were driving my brain mad, as they struggled to make sense of what they were picking up. Too insubstantial to focus on, yet impossible to ignore, an indescribable noise was dipping in and out. It was low, and constant, and maddening in its familiar strangeness. It was almost like wearing ear protection.

But why would I be working in the Reactor core? That wasn’t my assignment this week.

I resolved to give my ears such a telling off for their treachery, complete with the scariest glare I could muster. But not here, down in the caves. There wasn’t enough light. This had to be a full sensory attack.

Flooding in past my eyelids, a dull, but comparatively shining, gloom pervaded. The lights must be dying again. A requisition would need to be put in for their replacement.

Whatever the light situation, it wasn’t good enough. I couldn’t give my ears a good talking to like this, I couldn’t make anything out! There was a blur covering everything, like Lo had pranked the cleaning staff’s solution with grease again, and everything ended up looking dirty and indistinct.

Oh damn, Mrs. Doublehorn’s gonna give me hell for this. I was supposed to be watching him.

She had, I realised, as the other horseshoe dropped. This WAS that time. I’m daydreaming.

Right, because that’s Buff, and Al, over there, already covered in gunk. So covered, that Al’s got stripes, and I can’t see Buff’s horns. Lo really went all out. I’m kinda proud.

What happened next?

I remembered trying to rise from where I was sitting, except my hooves wouldn’t stay under me long enough to get upright. After a few attempts, I gave it up for a bad job and just let myself fall. Fortunately, my head fell onto something soft, which would also get me a chewing out, because I shouldn’t have let the Reactor core get this cluttered with random objects.

I’d handle that in a minute or two. For now, I was just gonna enjoy the free headrest. Everything seemed pretty calm for the moment, a minute or two’s break wouldn’t be too bad. At least, if it weren’t for the weird noise.

Seriously, what is that?

My break would be ruined if it kept up. Was it the filters? The outflow valves? Cracks in the bulbs, which would also account for the bad lighting?

Coming back to the noise, it was strange that I couldn’t pin down how it had sounded before. It was still bothersome, but I had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t the same. There were gaps now, silences, and the loud parts were… changing, even as I was trying to listen.

Can the others hear it too?

“You hearing this, boys?” Whatever this soft thing I was lying on was, getting up was out of the question. I was happy to pay with my voice slurring in exchange. The question probably sounded more like “Yooweirienis, bus?”

They heard me, but they might’ve had their own cushions, as I’d never heard them sound like they did just then. Buff’s calm rumble was too flat, while Al’s heavy growl sounded downright feminine. I couldn’t help giggling, which set Al off, as I knew it would.

I still couldn’t make out what was being said, but there was more feeling in his voice.

“Stop complaining and help me get Lo cleaned up. He’ll be a mess.” I knew he would be because I’d been through this before. It took hours to get it all out of his fur.

And then he jumped in two more times for fun, the little monster.

His lazy brothers made no move to help though, even as covered as they were. It almost seemed to be getting worse, at that. The stripes were more pronounced, and Buff’s coat was losing its colour, shifting slowly more grey by the second.

On the plus side, whatever the noise was, it seemed to be dying down, and regular auditory service was resuming. Sort of. Buff was still speaking too flatly, while Naiara had calmed down and wasn’t looking this way anymore.

Rolling my eyes at them proved to be a mistake, as my vision swam the moment I did so, and I had to shut out the light again until the dizziness subsided. When I was confident that I wasn’t gonna topple over, I let some light back in.

“...Huh.”

The Reactor core was gone. So were my brothers. So was Stable 61. Instead, all I had to go on was the soft, warm something that I was lying against, and a veritable on-rush of startling clear sensations:

The gentle sound of the lake waves on the shore.

The rise and fall of my chest.

Bosco and Naiara talking in hushed tones.

Undertow’s soft breathing on my face.

Undertow?

As I accomplished the last step of my resurrection, opening my eyes, I took in the scene before me.

I was laying on the bed of the cabin, stretched out, with the warm around my shoulders, neck, and head due to being cradled in the crook of Undertow’s sleeping body. Taking a slow pan around the room with my eyes, I took in the perpetually cloudy sky through the still-unfixed hole in the cabin roof, to the open door and the cresting water beyond, and finally to my other two friends, sat at the table, eating a meal.

“Thanks.” I croaked out, only then realising how dry my throat was.

I’d get up, but this is really comfortable.

“Happy to help.” A jocular Naiara beamed down at me, flexing a muscle as she did. Bosco just smirked and continued eating, though he did seem to be making small shadow boxing moves with his free appendage.

I noticed he had a bandage wrapped around the hoof. “What happened to your leg?” I kept quiet, so as not to disturb my slumbering pillow.

The charcoal colt’s grey eyes flicked briefly to said pillow. “When she came back and found you out cold, she got a little… upset.”

Oh boy. I was hoping that I’d be awake again before she got back. “How long was I out?”

“A full day.”

“WH-… what?” Undertow stirred at my stifled shout, but didn’t wake. Her hoof moved though, searching around on the bed, and she quietly moaned when she found nothing, her sleeping features creasing up in concern.

I reached a hoof up to hers, and she grasped it tight, instantly calming. Within seconds her breathing was low and regular again.

“You needed the rest, Snow,” Naiara was more serious than usual, “you were awake for days.”

“…Fair enough. So, Bosco, what’d Undertow do to your leg.”

Throaty chuckles accompanied the answer. “She bit him.”

I goggled at her words. “Bosco, she bit you?”

He just shrugged and kept on eating, only talking after swallowing. “I said she was upset, and when she found out we were the ones who put you under, she, ah, didn’t take it well. Took a while for us to get her calmed down.”

I turned to Naiara. “Did she bite you too?”

Naiara raised her snout proudly. “Nope, couldn’t catch me.”

Still eating, Bosco cut her pride to shreds. “Tell Snow what she did instead.”

Her jade eyes glowered at him, before she sighed. “She put me through the door.”

The door? A second look made my eyes widen. What I’d originally thought to be the open cabin door proved, on closer inspection, to be the non-existent cabin door. Shards of wood littered the shore outside. “How?”

“I wasn’t expecting it, okay!” Her ego must’ve been hurt worse than her body, considering how Undertow couldn’t even touch her in their first fight.

The whole thing made me start to laugh. My little Undertow got so mad at my getting myself knocked out, that she bit Bosco and blasted Naiara straight through a wooden door.

“Mmm… Lady Snow?” My mirthful shaking had apparently been enough to wake Undertow, where a short shout had not.

“Hi.” My response was light, and cheery, and energetic. I’d accomplished what I wanted from my slumber. My body felt much lighter and capable. A few experimental jolts showed me that my magic came easier too.

None of that really helped when two hooves wrapped around my neck in a choking deathgrip of death. “YOU ARE AWAKE!”

“Ggghk!” I could only flail as her over-enthusiastic embrace threatened to send me back under.

“Undertow, she’s choking.” Naiara was nonchalant about the whole thing, but the hooves soon slackened.

“Ah! My apologies, Lady Snow.”

Rubbing my neck, I took a few long, slow breaths to equalise my breathing. “It’s fine, Undertow. Glad to be back. Have you been here the whole time?”

“Yup, she never left your side… except to bite me.”

“I really am very sorry, Bosco. And to you, Naiara. I just… I…” Her blush was back in force.

Neither of them looked to hold a grudge. “Don’t worry about it, Undertow. We know you were just worried about her.”

Undertow said nothing, just demurely clung to me. I was more than happy to reciprocate. “Try not to do that again, Undertow. Bosco and Naiara are friends, they usually have reasons for this kinda stuff.”

“I understand. I’m sorry, Lady Snow.”

“It’s fine. So what time is it?”

“Mid-morning, give or take.”

We were all gathered, and looked to be in good health. I saw no reason to stay any longer. “Wanna get going then?”

~~~~~~

The last of the water froze, causing the tiny ring to fall, giving off a pure crystal sound as it clattered down my horn.

“Hah, I did it!” My delighted exclamation was cut short, as I had to swiftly shake my head to dislodge the frozen band, “Eesh, that’s cold!”

Naiara and Bosco just smiled supportively, while Undertow clapped her hooves at my success. “I knew you could do it, Lady Snow. Shall we try further away?”

The same method Undertow had used before for teaching me magic, levitating a ring of water around my horn, was still what she and I used to practice. Before, I’d simply been able to find the water with my magic, even a half-inch from my horn. It had taken me an hour, and I hadn’t managed anything more than that.

Now that I was finally rested again, I’d managed to not only locate Undertow’s water, but also to freeze it.

Granted it still took me several minutes and was, as said, half an inch from my horn, but I’m still counting it. Woo, progress!

We’d tried greater distances, but after an hour of practice I’d only increased my range by a few feet. I was starting to feel dizzy, so we took a break.

I felt lighter, and happier, now that I wasn’t dragging a dead-on-its-hooves body around. I was practically bouncing as we strolled along, and my good mood seemed to be catching with the others. Naiara regularly broke into simple Stompeii Emboli routines as we went, and Undertow was starting to open up too, being engaged in a lively discussion with Bosco about Molar Bears.

“They move through the trees?”

“Almost as easily as you swim through water.”

“Amazing! I would not think that something of the size you describe would be able to move so easily.”

“I don’t think many ponies get the chance to find out. They can tear a stallion in half in seconds with those claws.”

That drew a shudder from the water-wielder. “Perhaps I should avoid the forest if possible.”

Chuckling, Bosco just shrugged. “I dunno, so long as Snow’s around you might be alright. According to her and Naiara, she’s survived five of the things.”

Whipping her head around, Undertow stared at me with awe. “Five?”

Molar Bears weren’t really something I wanted her underestimating, so I felt like I needed to set the record straight. “Don’t be fooled, Undertow, I had a lot of help. The first time I came across a Molar Bear, I’d have died if it hadn’t chased me into town at Cefar. Bosco and a bunch of others shot it to hell. When I came across the family of four, they seemed more confused than anything, and Naiara did… something,”

“Flashbang.” She called out, still listening even as she somersaulted and cartwheeled back and forth,

“Right, Naiara did a Flashbang, and we managed to get away. That’s what you need to do with Molar Bears. Don’t try to fight, just get away however you can.”

Undertow’s awe transferred to the colt and the zebra. “You two saved Lady Snow?”

All three of us burst out laughing. “ ’Tow, we’ve been saving her since she came to the Wasteland!”

“Got a list and everything.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I gruffed, “I’ll square up with you guys one day.”

“There’ll be interest.”

We all laughed at the joke.

“Get in on this, Undertow,” Naiara quipped, “I’m sure you’ve got a few saves to call in too.”

“I… do not have much need for money.” She was trying, but easy banter was not something she was accustomed to, and she struggled to keep up with the chatty Naiara, and snarky Bosco.

Heck, I still struggle to keep up with them sometimes.

“Why’s that? You rich?”

“Not wealthy, no. However, our lake salvage is intriguing for traders and researchers, and so we Deep Divers use it in exchange for food and other supplies. We tend to welcome more researchers than traders. They offer less disruption to our solitude.”

A thought struck me. “Since the Deep Divers want to be left alone, how are they gonna react to joining up with the other Raider groups?”

She didn’t immediately have an answer. None of us did, and we all lapsed into silence as we each pondered the question.

“Come to think of it,” Bosco mused, “each of the groups is pretty different from each other. I mean, Caber Toss’ lot… what were they called?”

“Haylanders.”

“Right, his Haylanders, seem quick to a fight, but they weren’t anywhere near as vicious as Four Fields and his Barnstormers. Mostly they just seemed rowdy.”

“That’s probably because Caber Toss was there, though. If he wasn’t, they’d probably be a lot more shooty.” I couldn’t really disagree with Naiara’s assessment. Caber Toss had been able to silence his entire group just by stomping his hoof. They definitely accepted his authority, but in general, they did seem to like getting wild.

“From what you have told me, these Haylanders, and Barnstormers, seem to take on the traits of their leaders. Caber Toss is a stallion who enjoys violence, and thus, so do his Haylanders. Four Fields, before his death, was a vicious pony who enforced his rule through fear. His Barnstormers will see that as the correct way to act.”

“Wonder what they’ll turn into now that he’s dead?” Bosco’s muttered response did bring up an important point. With Four Fields dead, would the Barnstormers still want this alliance? How would their new leader, whoever that turned out to be, act and shape their followers?

“How’s this alliance even going to work, anyway?” Naiara piped up, “I mean, Caber Toss was kinda skimping on the details, really. ‘Unite us’ is all well and good, but how?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, think about it. Instead of four groups with one boss each, now they’ll be one big group with four bosses, and presumably, Red Ice at the top.”

“I don’t wanna be on top.”

“We know you don’t, Snow, but that’s kinda the problem. They might all follow you out of respect, but if you don’t do the job, how do they decide which way to go between the four of them? Undertow’s got a voice there, but Caber Toss, Ballbuster, and whatever new guy shows up for the Barnstormers are gonna want to do things their way, too.”

“I’ll do my best to support Lady Snow in this!” She was adamant about sticking with me, even in this.

I studied her earnest face as I thought things over. Do I want her having to deal with this? Do I have a choice? She’s the non-Raider Raider, so I might NEED her to play a big part.

“Argh, bureaucracy is hard!” I rubbed my head in an effort to sort the problem. It didn’t really help.

I stomped a hoof. “One thing I’m damn sure not gonna do, though, is make the Raiders my army. No matter what some faceless DJ says!”

“Hear hear.” Was the deadpan chorus.

Still, I thought, as Naiara and Bosco began grilling Undertow on what those big fish in the lake, Poseidoceros was apparently the name, were like, and how they measured up to Molar Bears, what do I want this alliance to be in the end?

~~~~~~