Chapter 14-1: What Is Deserved

[Who are you, that you do not know your history?]

“More tea, anypony?”

“I’d take some tea, if you offered.”

“Ah, my apologies, Wings. Can I pour you a cup?”

“Nah, stuff’s vile.”

What the hell is going on here?

As I sat, bleary-eyed from sleep that was both insufficient and of poor quality, in the bar of a two-hundred-years-abandoned brothel, which had remarkably received countless awards for employment standards and practices, I couldn’t help but feel that the situation was bizarre.

My guests, more housemates now, were spread out throughout the bar’s booths. Cassie and Breeze sat together, while Wings and Schwarzwald had a table to themselves. I remained at the bar counter.

“Can’t we just get going already?” I groused, not caring about tea right now. I just wanted to head to Whinniepeg and rescue Undertow and Bosco. There was no telling how long they would be okay while held by the demonic gold fog creatures.

If I didn’t need your help to get them back, none of you, except maybe Schwarzwald, would even know where this place was, and you certainly wouldn’t be welcome here.

None of the four made any attempt to eat faster. “It’s best if you eat up, Snowflake. We will need our strength today.” Cassie accompanied her words with another dainty bite of her toast.

I’d already rushed through the meal put before me. Now, I impatiently waited for them to finish so we could head off. It would take hours to reach Whinniepeg from here, hours which Undertow and Bosco might not have, especially since their safety hinged upon the word of a creature that I didn’t even understand.

“Ease up a little, Snow. You’re too tense. We owe ya for the rooms, and promised we’d help you get ‘em back, so that’s what we’ll do.” Wings, while at odds with much of griffon culture, always made sure to collect on, and pay out, favours due.

“Listen to them, dahling. The golden fog will wait. They obviously want the Memory Orbs too much to risk injuring the little ones.”

My focus fell on Schwarzwald. Her conversation in the snow last night was a huge contributor to my mostly-sleepless night.

How do you and Watcher know each other, Schwarzwald? What does it mean that you do? Are you the real reason he approached me after my first trip to Neighlway?

Until last night, neither had given any indication that they knew the other. I’d spent hours last night, after rushing back inside to avoid being caught eavesdropping, going over all that I could remember of every single conversation that I’d had with either Schwarzwald OR Watcher, searching for any clues that would indicate that connection.

I couldn’t think of a damn thing.

Well, I suppose both of them did want me to be friendly with others. I told Watcher that I sent my friends away, and he said to go after them, and Schwarzwald pushed me to make peace with Wings, Cassie, and Breeze. I always thought that was just Schwarzwald looking to keep her fun going, but maybe they were swapping notes?

This begged the question as to what Schwarzwald’s motivations really were. Even after her midnight meeting, she’d been acting exactly the same as she always had. Whatever agenda it was that they’d been talking about hadn’t changed. They’d mentioned a ‘her’, who they’d apparently been discussing for weeks.

My eyes wandered over to Wings. Was she the ‘her’? Did Wings know about Watcher? If she didn’t, why hadn’t Schwarzwald told her? Wings hadn’t met Amber either, so what was Schwarzwald trying to hide?

One thing’s for certain. After we get Undertow and Bosco back, I need to have a talk with one of those two. Maybe before.

Yeah, why wait? I might not get another chance after.

“Hey, uh…” I had to stop again. Which one should I talk to? Talking to Schwarzwald directly might get me more answers, but it also might make things worse. If the secret was dangerous, she might turn against me, or do something drastic.

Wings, on the other hoof, might not even know anything at all. It might be a waste of time talking with her… she probably won’t kill me for asking though.

“Uh… Wings, can I talk to you in private for a second?” I tried to keep my voice and face neutral and natural as I spoke. I had no real way of gauging whether I was doing something unusual, as most of the four were naturally suspicious of me anyway.

Breeze, predictably, responded badly. “Why can’t you talk to her here? Got something to hide?”

“You’ve tried to kill me in the past!” I snapped back. “Just get ready to go. We won’t be long.”

“Bitch.”

I rolled my eyes, leaving Breeze to be chastised for her language. The clack of claws on the hard floor let me know that Wings was following me.

Stepping out into the brisk morning air, a slight breeze helped to further wake me up. The morning sky was, as always, overcast, but there was no snow falling, resulting in a fairly pleasant start.

Flapping her wings to keep her paws and claws above the cold snow, Wings still shivered slightly. “What’s up, Snow?”

Good question. “Um… about Schwarzwald…”

“Yeah?”

“You said that… you’d never spoken to Amber before, right? Even though she’s hired Schwarzwald plenty of times?”

She nodded as she clapped her claws together for warmth, breath misting out of her beak. “Yeah, what about it?”

I still didn’t even know how to broach the topic, and whether or not there was a problem at all. Schwarzwald had warned me that there were lots of different types of people in the Wasteland, and not all of them pleasant. “I just… wanted to see how you were doing with that.”

Even as the chilly winds increased, Wings’ shivering stilled slightly as she considered the situation, a far off look in her brilliant blue eyes. “Well I trust Schwarzwald, I mean, she’s never really given me any reason not to, and she’s done plenty to show me that she’s on my side when it counts.” She seemed to feel the cold again, as a full-body quiver ran up her. “Listen, her business is her business, and I’m sure she’s got plenty of contacts I don’t know about. I’ve got some she doesn’t know about… Listen, can we do this inside? It’s freezing out here!”

“One last question. About those contacts…” I hesitated. It was now or never. Did I trust Wings with this? I trusted Bosco, and Naiara, and Undertow on this, and most everything. They were easy to trust.

But Wings? For the most part, I still trusted Schwarzwald, although this Watcher business had thrown me for a loop. Schwarzwald vouched for Wings, sort of. She’d avoided saying that she outright trusted Wings, but I think that was more to mess with me than anything else. Wings herself had fought with me against the gold fog, and those Raiders, and hadn’t tried to take advantage of a naïve Stable pony, even though she and Schwarz could have easily beaten me and Bosco. Instead, she decided to put herself in my debt, just like that.

Wings knew about the Raider business, and still agreed to help me out. Sure she’d done some questionable things, like killing Four Fields, and stealing my Pi-

Wow, they were right. I really don’t think of that at first, when I think about Wings, do I?

I guess I did. “…About these contacts, did she ever mention one called Wa-“

“Hey, what the f…” I was interrupted by Breeze’s startled yell from within Hoofshine, accompanied by violent crashing.

“More of these things?!”

“Look out, dahlings!”

“GET ‘EM!”

Locking eyes with Wings, our conversation was instantly forgotten as we rushed to the door. Wings got there first, laying a claw on the handle, just in time for the door to slam open from the other side, ramming her back into me. We went down in a heap, sliding across the snow, but I still kept one eye on the door.

Shining in the white snow, it was hard to make out what was emerging. Light seemed to play across their surfaces, but by squinting, I could just about make out what they were.

‘These things’ turned out to be fog creatures, though where the Whinniepeg creatures had been warm gold, these ghosts were cold silver.

Pinned under Wings, I could only struggle to rise as the creatures briefly grouped just outside the door. “What are you? What do you want?”

A pair of solid red, featureless eyes formed briefly within one of the creatures, rippling in tandem with the rest of its mass. A harsh, raspy voice, barely a whisper really, emerged from the fog, even though no mouth could be seen. There was a familiarity to the voice, somehow. “We will not allow it! They shall not possess the memories!”

“Who are you?” Wings had freed herself from me, and was back in the air, her blue fire eyes glaring at the apparitions. “What do you want?” She echoed my earlier question.

Tremors ran through each fog. “We will not allow it!”

Three more fog ghosts emerged from the on-going chaos within Hoofshine Harlots, bearing a strange nucleus within their clouds.

“They have the Orbs!” Schwarzwald’s enraged shout was joined by the thunder of pursuing hooves.

Like a bomb had gone off in their midst, the herd of clouds exploded outwards in all directions, forcing Wings and I to reactively throw up our limbs to protect ourselves, though the Silver Fog just flowed over and around us.

A split second later, three ponies crowded into the doorway, dishevelled. Breeze’s eyes were wide. “They took the damn Orbs!”

My heart stopped. “What?”

Schwarzwald’s hoof shot out, tracking one of the escaping miasmas. “There, that one!” Without another word, she sprinted off after it, closely followed by Breeze.

Cassie made to follow, but abruptly changed direction. “I see another!” She too took wing.

Wheeling about, Wings and I were the only ones left, and there was still one Orb unaccounted for. I frantically scanned the trees, looking for any sign of our target. “Do you see it?”

Her grim silence was not comforting, and before I could say anything more, she shot upwards, above the tree line. Casting about this way and that, she finally fixed on a direction opposite to that travelled by Schwarzwald and Breeze.

With a mighty flap of her wings, she shot off, while I gave chase on the ground. “Wings! Where are they?”

She glanced down for the briefest of moments, just long enough to extend a talon. “Dead ahead! Up high!”

Following her outthrust talon, I raised my head off the forest floor. Ascending through the trees, into the open air above, was a solitary silver cloud, bearing a small sphere at its heart.

“GIVE THAT BACK! WE HAD A DEAL!” Silver or gold, it didn’t matter right now. These things had the same powers as those in Whinniepeg, and they were trying to go back on the deal we’d made.

I wouldn’t allow it, not with Bosco and Undertow’s wellbeing at stake.

As the orb-bearing Silver Fog burst through the tree canopy, Wings caught up, slashing with a hawkish cry. Her claws did nothing to the fog itself, but clipped the Memory Orb, sending it plummeting to the snow below.

A second fog beast rushed in from the side, morphing as it charged, until a silver Pegasus ghost slammed into Wings from the side. Slashing and kicking, the two fliers tumbled away.

The first Fog dove after the Memory Orb, trying to reach the fallen Memory before I did.

It was faster than me, and closer, but my horn was already glowing, with a dome of ice beginning to form over the Orb. As Undertow’s water shield had proven, whatever these things were, they couldn’t get through a magic barrier. All I had to do was complete the spell before it reached.

Apparently the Silver cloud realised this too, and shifted mid-dive. Where before it had been a shapeless mass, it reformed into an ever-elongating needle, driving downwards with increased speed and force. It struck the half-formed shield, shattering it on impact.

“NO!” My horn blazed as I attempted the spell again. However, the cloud had already engulfed the Orb, and was rising again. There wasn’t time for more ice, not while the Orb was moving and rising like that, so I did the only thing I could think of.

I dove straight into the centre of the silver fog, hooves reaching for the Orb.

Immediately, an unending buzzing invaded my skull, reverberating behind my eyes. A great sense of wrongness washed over me.

“OUT!” I heard in my mind. “Get away!”

Nausea ran through me, and I almost turned away there, just to make it stop. However, the glinting Memory Orb was so close…

I reached for it, fighting through what felt like tar, but it jerked to the side as my hoof grabbed at it, making me flail madly. Each time I went for it, it moved just enough that I couldn’t get a good grip.

“RRRAAAAGH!” I screamed in furious protest, the roar rippling through cloud, even as silver fog drifted onto my tongue. Lunging forward desperately, my teeth clacked shut on either side of the Orb.

“NOOOO!!!” Bellowed the voice in my head, but I didn’t care. I had the Orb now, and I wasn’t letting it go.

I was at point blank range, and very angry. I didn’t need control here. I just let the rage fuel whatever spell my horn would cast, firing it off into the fog creature. The rippling cloud shuddered and wavered as the spell continued, until finally the fog lost all cohesion, devolving into mere wisps.

With nothing to hold me up, I dropped to the ground, teeth still grasped tightly around the Orb. When I landed, my jaw popped agonisingly, but I willed my molars to hold tight. I couldn’t afford to lose the Orb now that I’d gotten it back.

The Silver Fog reformed a short distance away, and the red eyes reformed. “Give us the memories!”

“Have this instead!” Shooting downwards, Wings braked in mid-air, slingshotting the silver Pegasus she’d been battling straight into the cloud. As the two silver creatures jostled within each other, her revolvers were out, and she unloaded all twelve shots into the mess.

There was no blood, but they still withdrew, uttering a wordless howl of frustration as they went.

Guns empty, Wings landed beside me, caution and worry on her face. “Snow, did you get it?”

I spat out the Orb at her feet, before turning my head away and trying to puke out whatever silver fog I’d inadvertently swallowed.

Wings, having protectively scooped up the Orb, waited patiently until I was finished, constantly scanning the surroundings for more trouble, though none came. After I’d stopped retching, she couldn’t seem to help herself.

“’Least you missed my claw this time.”

It started in my chest, then spread to my shoulders, before tugging at the corners of my lips, and soon enough, the burgeoning smile turned into a full on laugh. I couldn’t help myself. Relief and exhaustion, and a little humour, combined into one, and for now, Wings’ little joke was the height of high comedy. I laughed and laughed and laughed, only halting when the dregs of my breakfast threatened to choke me if I didn’t stop.

Wings had been chuckling along at first, though had stopped long before I did, resulting in an awkward wait as she let me keep laughing. When I was done, she put a vomit-free claw around my shoulders, and steered me back towards the distant Hoofshine Harlots, taking a moment to find it, in the snow that had begun to fall while we fought.

~~~~~~

Slumping into a chair, I concentrated on getting my breathing under control. What was that back there? More of them? And what’s the idea of trying to steal the Orbs? We’re already bringing them back to Whinniepeg today anyway!

Wings was faring better, though still seemed shaken by the fight. “This is getting ridiculous now. First gold, and now silver? I mean what the fuck?”

“I’unno.” I exhaled. “I guess the big one in Whinniepeg changed its mind, decided to just take the Orbs instead. Maybe all it needed us for was to show it where they were.”

Her scepticism remained. “I don’t know about that. I get the feeling that there’s more going on. Why did these ones look different? And did you hear what they said? ‘They shall not possess the memories’.”

My head lolled over to look at her. “What are you saying?”

She shrugged, though her eyes remained guarded. “I think this new attack might not have come from Whinniepeg. These silver pricks aren’t on the same side as the goldies in the basement.”

“…If that’s true, then we can’t let them get this Orb, or the others.”

Wings winked, to my annoyance. “I wouldn’t worry about that last part. I’m sure the others’ll get the Memory Orbs back. They’re plenty strong enough to take on a few clouds.”

“And if you’re wrong?”

“Then we go get the Orbs back. End of discussion.” I felt momentarily buoyed by her confidence, but it soon faded back into worry. I wouldn’t be at ease until the others showed up with the remaining two Orbs, and even then, Undertow and Bosco had to go free before I’d relax.

Plus I have to be sure that Naiara will recover. The list just keeps getting longer.

I jumped as the front door handle turned. Wings and I were on alert immediately, magic and weapons ready. We breathed a sigh of relief as a mop of red and black mane came into view first. “Cassie!”

She, in turn, showed joy at our success. “Ah, you prevailed as well. I am glad to see you two unharmed.” Tucked under her wing was the second Orb. She glanced around swiftly. “The others?”

We shook our heads. “No sign of ‘em yet. Just gotta wait.”

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Cassie’s face became resolved. “As you say. In the meantime…” Using her wing, she flipped Orb into my lap, where it clinked against the one already there. “Please do not lose it this time.”

My hooves encircled the two spheres in my grasp. “No chance of that.”

Giving a satisfied nod, Cassie turned to Wings. “A word in private, please?”

Slothfully rising, Wings mock-scowled. “Everybody wants a chat today.” She followed the Pegasus further down the corridor, until they were out of hearing range.

I took the opportunity to drag myself down into the basement suite, taking the time to bury the Memory Orbs as deep into my belongings as I could. That particular bag wasn’t going to leave my side until we reached Whinniepeg. Try and steal from me again, you bastards!

Returning to the bar, I stretched out in one of the booths. I couldn’t see the door, but at least I could hear it, and I was plenty comfortable.

Breeze and Schwarzwald announced their return with a noisy clatter. “Cassie? You back yet?”

I raised my head just enough that I could see over the backrest with one eye. Breeze and Schwarzwald were standing in the foyer. Schwarzwald seemed deep in thought, while Breeze was fluttering her wings agitatedly.

Her sister’s response echoed down the hallway. “In my room, Breeze.”

“Stay there, we’ll be right in. Gotta talk about something!” She immediately set off down the corridor.

Schwarzwald didn’t. She’s spotted my reclining form, and held up the third and final Orb.

She got it back! A warm rush filled my heart.

Smirking, the mercenary mare rolled the Orb along the wooden floor towards me. I twisted my body to snag it as it rolled past my booth, quickly depositing it with the others.

When I looked back, Schwarzwald had disappeared, though I could hear her hoof steps fading down the hallway.

I made no move to rise and follow, deciding to take a quick rest here, safe in the knowledge that I had the Orbs back, before getting the others set to go. There was little to keep us here right now, so they could have their little chat while I took a few minutes respite.

Kinda wish I had someone to talk to, though. What would Naiara say in this situation? Or Bosco? A numb loneliness struck me, as I realised just how much I missed them right now. I trusted Wings, was on relatively good terms with Schwarzwald, and tolerated the twins, but Bosco, Naiara, and Undertow were true friends, and I would give anything to get them back.

~~~~~~

As soon as their conversation had finished, I’d insisted that we double-time it to Whinniepeg. No more waiting, no more resting, and definitely no more chances to have something I needed stolen from me. I was going to get my friends back today, and I wouldn’t brook any argument on that front.

We were on edge the entire time, and there was no chance that we’d be caught off guard. The three fliers kept a triangular formation above Schwarzwald and I, who stuck together in the centre. It was virtually impossible for me to be blindsided, and the fog creatures, silver OR gold, seemed to understand that. No attempt was made, and we reached Whinniepeg not long after noon.

We wasted no time in heading for the tallest structure in town, the only one still fully standing after the bombs dropped.

Inside, we experienced a rather different trip than either of the other times I’d been here. Descending each floor was much easier than before, too. Last time, coming across a blockage in our path had forced hours of backtracking as we searched for another path to travel.

This time, if we came to a bad blockage that barred our passage downwards, within moments it would melt away into just so much golden fog, leaving an empty corridor.

“Oh, you bastards.” We’d said that in unison the first time we saw this. After the third instance of this, we didn’t even slow down, merely walking through the suddenly incorporeal rubble and debris as it swirled around our ankles.

Somehow, the fog creatures never chose to get out of way before we reached the blockage, which seemed rather mocking to me. Still, it hardly mattered since our progress went relatively unheeded.

As we descended the long, straight staircase that led to the grand cube where we’d met the golden Alicorn, we took no chances; Cassie was loading her rifle and checking the condition, Breeze was adjusting the hidden gadgetry within her greaves and Cassie’s bracers, Wings was spinning and cleaning her revolvers, Schwarzwald was testing the revs on her gatling gun, along with the other heavy guns fitted to her battle saddle. I had no gun, and so merely concentrated on keeping my magic ready, using what Undertow had taught me to get some last minute practice and arcane warm-up.

Whatever happened down there, all seven of us would be leaving. There would be no compromise on that point, Alicorn be damned.

Apparently satisfied with the condition of her battle saddle, Schwarzwald nudged my shoulder. “Be sure to remain calm, Snowflake.” She stopped, and an impish grin came on. “At least until we have the little ones back. After that, I would not necessarily decry some activity, dahling.”

“We get them, and we get out. That’s the only priority right now.” As much as I wanted to revenge myself upon the giant demon, I wanted my friends back more. “We’ll deal with these things another time.” Preferably with a few dozen megaspells.

“Get ‘em back, and get gone.” Wings agreed. I was relying on the others to make sure that I didn’t trade escape for revenge. I didn’t really trust myself not to mess things up like that.

“Buuut, if you get the chance…” I left my wish unsaid. Everyone present knew what it was.

Undertow and Bosco take priority, but if somebody gets a free shot then they should take it.

Stepping down onto the floor of the cube room, we spread out into the same formation as last time: Cassie and Breeze on the left, Wings and I on the right, with Schwarzwald back and in the middle as cover.

It was dark, like it had been before, but we all knew better than to strain our eyes, since the light would be coming soon.

It did. It wasn’t nearly as blinding this time, instead growing steadily from a low glow to full brightness.

When the light had reached its peak, the Gold Fog seemed to coalesce out of thin air. It remained in its amorphous state for a moment, before again transitioning to the Alicorn.

Damn, it’s still scary.

It gazed impassively down at us, and the multi-voice rumbled around the confines of the room. “You return. Have you brought what we demand?”

I purposefully ignored the question for the moment. “Where are Undertow and Bosco? Show them to me.”

The Alicorn frowned. “Show us the Memory Orbs, and you shall see your friends.”

Wings stepped up. “Hell no. All five of us have seen this scam before. You get nothing until we see that they’re safe and sound.”

The frown became a snarl, and just like last time, the facial shift seemed unnatural, more like flickering frames on a video. “Griffon, do not presume to talk so freely with us.” Green flames licked out of the Alicorn’s nostrils.

Breeze took up the challenge next. “Hey monster, don’t think you can scare us so easily. We know how badly you want this, so make with the ponies already!”

Seriously, does she have to taunt the giant demon?

Said giant demon reared both massive hooves and slammed them down again, shaking the entire room and unbalancing the two of us that couldn’t take flight. Flames licked out of its pseudo-mouth, and were dragged up to circle its horn.

Wordlessly, we stared at it, and it back at us, unsure of what was going to happen next. Wings’ claws were twitching, just millimetres away from her holsters, while behind me, I could hear Cassie and Schwarzwald tapping their hooves against the metal of their guns.

A ripple of some unfathomable emotion crossed the Alicorn’s face, and the flames orbiting its horn grew more intense, finally resulting in a flash. Having lived through that once, we all had our eyes averted and shielded, so as not to be robbed of our sight.

Peaking around my hoof, I saw that the door at the back of the room had reappeared, and was swinging open ponderously. Beyond, there was nothing, just total blackness. I stared at it expectantly.

A far-off hoof sounded from within the blackness. Then came another, and soon there was a weak, slow, arrhythmic procession.

Leaning forward, nearly on the tips of my hooves, my eyes strained to make out anything from the void. “Un… Undertow? Bosco?”

Ten agonising, muscle-clenching seconds passed before a watery voice responded from the gloom. “…Lady Snow?”

The tiniest of laughs escaped me. “Undertow!”

My laugh died as soon as the shape of my two friends formed out of the dark.

Tottering slowly forward, the two blinked within the sudden light. Undertow’s waterlogged mane looked more ragged than usual, and there were bags visible even under her dark goggles. Her steps were shaky and uneven, and slight tremors ran along her body as she moved.

Bosco was even worse. The sickly sweat from yesterday remained, and his charcoal coat was filthy and uneven. His mane stuck both to his forehead, and outwards at odd angles. He seemed to be just on the right side of nauseous at all times, swallowing often, and breathing through his mouth. Most telling of all, though, was the way he leaned onto Undertow, barely making any effort to steady his legs.

He can’t even stand up! “Bosco! What happened to you?”

An eyelid cracked open, revealing a tired, bloodshot eye underneath. He took an age to focus on me. “S-Snow? I… I’m…” He sank to the floor, not even up to talking.

Undertow followed him down, keeping him from hurting himself in the fall. “Shh, do not speak, Bosco. Save your strength.”

This wasn’t usual behaviour from either of them. Neither looked like they had slept since Whitepony. “Undertow, what happened?”

She was cut off from answering by the golden Alicorn, evidently having grown tired of waiting. “Enough! Here are your ponies. Do you have the Orbs?”

My eyes were still locked on the two struggling ponies, and not on the giant demon between me and them. Still, it was between me and them, and the easiest way to get to them was to give it what it wanted. I began to dig through my bag, trying to reach the Orbs at the bottom.

I had just laid hoof on one of them magic spheres when a dry, pain-filled gasp reached my ears, barely more than a whisper. “Don’t do it.”

Surprised, I looked back at the colt. He was lying against Undertow as she tried to soothe him, but one grey eye was fixed on me, not blinking. “Don’t… give them… my Orbs, Snow.”

Green flame shot over their heads, causing Undertow to duck, and cover Bosco with her hooves. “BE SILENT!”

The charcoal colt ignored the monstrosity, still watching my rummaging hoof. “I… won’t give up my Memory Orbs. Not… not to…” He broke off as a hacking fit racked his body.

“Bosco!” What does he mean?

“Shit, he’s in a bad way.” Breeze and the others seemed unsure of what to do next. Resistance from Bosco was not something we’d expected.

Cassie was looking between all present. “We cannot just leave him in such a wretched condition! He will not survive.”

Wings and Schwarzwald had their guns drawn and trained on the starry eyes of the Alicorn. “What have you done to them, monster?”

“We have showed them the truth of the matter. Their weakness is no fault of ours. Now, the Memory Orbs.” The fiend’s eyes, such as they were, clearly showed that they would bear no disagreement, and severe malice was implied.

“Nnnnnooo.” Was all Bosco managed to whimper, before keeling over.

“Bosco!” Undertow was right there to catch him, gently shaking him for revival. “Please, Bosco, Lady Snow and the others are here. You will be fine, but you must hold on a little while longer.” Wrapping her hooves around him, she gingerly moved his head to her lap, and stroked his cheek.

“Undertow-dahling, is he…”

Worry poured off her, but she still summoned a firm voice as she responded. “He is unconscious, but you must get us out of here, and soon. Bosco is… he… this place is bad for him!”

What happened to you, Bosco? “Alright, I understand.” I turned to my allies. “There’s no time for this, I’m giving up the Orbs.”

None of them looked happy about it, but nobody disagreed either.

I’m sorry Bosco, but I just can’t risk it when you’re in that bad state. I gathered the Orbs in my hooves, holding them up for the Alicorn to see. “Here! Here they are! Just take them, and let Bosco and Undertow go!”

The snarl on the behemoth’s face shimmer-shifted into a smirk. “Very well. Leave the Orbs on the floor. Once we have them, you may ‘make with the ponies’.”

Grimacing, I rolled the Orbs along the floor towards it. They came to rest halfway to it. Raising a colossal hoof, thin golden tendrils emerged from the flat, and meandered towards the Orbs.

When the probing appendages were mere inches from the Orbs, they drew back slightly, before making a swift grab at the spheres, as if to prevent our trying to take them back at the last moment.

They were half-right. At the last possible moment, each Orb rolled away from the tendril trying to snare it. “What?”

The Alicorn tried again, but the Orbs seemed to have a mind of their own, always avoiding its reach by the smallest of margins. Fury erupted across its face. “WHAT IS THIS?”

None of us had any answer either. My heart had gone cold as I realised that something was amiss. The consequences to Bosco and Undertow could be dire.

Whatever veneer of composure that the Gold Fog goliath had been affected was rapidly eroding, as its attempts to retrieve the Orbs became more angry and stilted. “WE SHALL NOT BE DENIED!” More and more golden tendrils burst from its hoof, swarming in to ensnare the roving Memory Orbs. Once it looked like all avenues of retreat had been cut off, the tendril masses moved in as one.

The Memory Orbs moved again in response, but this was no slight dodge. They shot straight up in the air, clearing the probes half a dozen yards.

Then they exploded.

“What?!”
“What?!”

There was no fire in the explosion, however, but a familiar silver fog. Where before there had been three Orbs, now there were three small silver clouds.

Flames re-emerged from the Alicorn’s mouth. “YOU DARE!” Bellowing wordlessly, it released a stream at the mists, who dodged, and shot up again, until they were almost touching the ceiling.

An answering cry was given to the Alicorn’s furious cry, as more and more silver fog began to pour in from the stairs where we had come from, joining up with the three smaller clouds.

We watched, open mouthed, as within seconds there was a silver swarm that was nearly the size of golden pony idol.

Our jaws dropped a little further as it began to morph, just as the Gold Fog had done, after we defeated the Faux-lar Bears.

Even the Alicorn seemed shocked to see a shining silver Cerberus growling at it.

“What…
“…In…”
“…The…”
“…Hell…”
“…Is…”
“…Happening?!”

Instead of answering, the monstrous three-headed dog rumbled forward, snapping and biting at the Alicorn, who reared up and kicked in response. They collided in a thunderous slam, sending us all scrambling to avoid being crushed beneath their brawl.

Pressed up against the side of the room, I shook my head to get my bearings. As flashes between various legs, I caught sight of Undertow trying weakly to drag Bosco away from the titanic struggle.

“Get them out of there!” I ordered, jumping forward, only to be bowled back by the swinging Cerberus tail.

As I slammed down to the ground, the others were already surging past me. Wings paused long enough to drag me upright, before taking flight and darting up and attempting to avoid the snapping jaws, beating wings and slashing horn of the battling juggernauts.

Cassie, Breeze, and Wings had gone high, but the gusts being thrown by the golden alicorn’s feathers was driving them back. Schwarzwald and I had no more success on the ground, as the stomping hooves and scrabbling paws made it impossible to keep our balance. In less than a minute, we were all breathing heavily from the exertion and adrenaline.

As we watched, the Alicorn drove its prominent horn straight up through the skull of the Cerberus’ middle head, spearing it from jaw to crown, and out again. Undeterred by this, the remaining two heads sank their fangs into the Alicorn’s wings, pulling and tearing, until finally, with a terrible yowl, the wings were torn off entirely.

Slamming to the ground, the wings did not bleed, nor flap their last. Instead, the Gold Fog abominations shifted, blurring and transforming, until the two golden Molar Bears reappeared instead.

This new development set us all back, but the two giants continued their struggle. Not even seeming to notice its missing wings, the Alicorn tugged and yanked, its horn dragging the central head this way and that, until finally it was torn clear off.

The silver Cerberus’ resilience was the equal of its opponent. The severed head burst into a cloud of silver, pulling away from the horn, and re-formed as a strange, wolf-like creature, that seemed to be made of twigs and leaves.

Their injuries catching up to them, the main bodies of the creatures began to break down faster, as the remaining two Cerberus heads broke off, reforming as lions with bat wings and snake tails. They resumed the fight against the two Molar Bears, while the Alicorn’s head became a golden Tarantubaa, which began a grotesque bout against the silver wood wolf.

The prominent remains of each colossus also lost cohesion, giving birth to a swarm of golden Hissyflits, and what looked almost like silver spritebots, but more organic.

It was a hell of a show.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” Cassie’s queasy complaint snapped us all out of our daze.

“We have to get through, keep trying!”

I lost track of the others almost immediately in the chaos, as fantastic creature copies bit and raked and clubbed at each other all around us. The din they created was almost deafening.

Worse of all, though, was that I still couldn’t get through. No matter what I tried, every angle, direction, or approach, was blocked, completely unintentionally, by the Fog creatures, creatures who I was absolutely sure had forgotten all about us.

“Dammit, let me through!” I was reduced to yelling at everything after a dozen fruitless attempts. If you don’t care enough to keep track of us, couldn’t you bastards at least take it somewhere else? I have to get to them!

I briefly wished that I was more capable with a gun at that moment. Surely the others were having more success by blasting their way through, while I was stuck trying to simply avoid trouble, and avoid getting swept up in the fray.

Something grabbed at my shoulder, and I kicked out blindly. Whatever it was let go, and I raced off to another point, trying to find a way to spot Undertow and Bosco, as I’d lost them in the brawl.

“Snowflake!” The hoof landed on my shoulder again. It was Breeze. “Come on! We got ‘em already!”

“Wait, what?”

Breeze jerked her head towards the stairs. “Yeah, Wings got to ‘em a minute ago. You’re the only one left. Come on!”

I hadn’t noticed anything close to that. “I… you mean it? She did?”

“Yeah, now stop fucking around down here! We gotta go!” She accompanied this with a strong tug at my front leg.

Confused, and feeling a whole host of other emotions at the same time, I followed the Pegasus back to the stairs. At the base, I could see one, two, three… FOUR and FIVE bodies further up.

Elated, I charged up the stairs after them, with Breeze struggling to keep up. They’re okay!

~~~~~~

Despite the poor condition of Undertow and Bosco, we were able to get out of the building, and out of Whinniepeg entirely, without incident. Carrying Bosco, and half-carrying half-dragging Undertow, we were able to keep up a pretty solid pace all the way to Hoofshine Harlots.

When we were safely inside, with all possible security and locks in place, we put Bosco to bed in his room. Undertow needed rest too.

After that, we could finally relax for a second. There was little to be done until they recovered. Schwarzwald and the twins had disappeared into their rooms the moment we set up the lockdown. I made sure that Bosco was comfortable, and safe, before venturing to the bar.

I didn’t really need a drink, but I’d poured one anyway. I passed the time by rediscovering one of the few abilities I’d had in the Stable: Making ice cubes. It didn’t take me much time at all to get the hang of it again. Thank you, Undertow.

Wings slid onto the barstool next to me. “You gonna drink that, or just play with it?”

The drink was passed over without preamble. I listened to the clinkclink of the ice cubes as she took a swig.

“Thanks… for getting them out.”

She set the glass down and wiped her beak. “Told ya we would.”

A non-committal grunt was my reply. Wings noticed. “What’s wrong with you? Thought you’d be smiling. We just fought off two giant bastards and got away clean.”

“Yeah.” I droned, idly creating another ice cube in her glass.

“…Are you worried about them? They’re gonna be fine, Snow. They’re safe here.”

Safe, despite being the only two people in this building who haven’t taken a shot at me. “…Bosco’s in bad shape.”

“He’ll pull through. We won, Snow. Crack a smile, will ya?” She tried to nudge me good-naturedly, but I flinched away, and hopped off the stool.

“’m gonna check on Undertow.” I muttered, stalking out of the bar without a backwards glance.

Undertow was dragging her blanket and pillow out of her room when I approached. She was heading for Bosco’s room. “Undertow, what are you doing?”

She paused to give me a brief nod in greeting, before resuming her efforts. “I am concerned for Bosco, Lady Snow. I wish to make sure that he will not be suffering after his ordeal. I shall sit in with him.”

“…Okay. What did happen to you two? Are you suffering at all?”

The blanket corner I’d been bending down to pick up was snatched away. “I… am fine, Lady Snow. I would rather not discuss it at the moment, though.”

Blinking at her actions, I tried to ignore the blanket thing. “Are you sure? Bosco should be fine for now. He’s just sleeping. It can’t have been easy for you to keep up your shield for so long and…”

“Please, Lady Ice, I feel that Bosco should take priority right now.” She gathered up the rest of her bedding and draped it over her shoulders. “Excuse me.” Without another word, she disappeared into Bosco’s room.

“…”

I returned to the bar with a melancholy air. Wings was nursing a second drink. “You’re rubbing off on her, I think.” She swirled the liquor in her glass. “Think I can get some help, Lady Ice?”

I jerked at that. “What? Oh, right… the drink. Sure.” My horn briefly glowed, and the clinkclink of ice sounded in her glass tumbler.

“Much better, thanks.”

I grunted again, grabbing the now empty first glass, and pouring myself another drink. Wings cheerily waited until I was seated before speaking up. “So what now?”

“Well I was expecting a little more excitement when she saw me again.” I replied, distractedly.

“What? Not that. I meant, what will happen next for you guys? It looks like those Silver Fog guys pulled a fast one with the Orbs. You gonna go looking for ‘em?”

You’ve just got all the answers, don’t you? “That’s Bosco’s choice. They’re his Memory Orbs.” There was also the matter of the Raider summit to attend, but I wasn’t about to tell Wings that, after what had happened with Four Fields. “Schwarzwald needs to get the info to Amber when Bosco wakes up, too.”

Wings took another sip of her drink, savouring the flavour as she mulled things over. “There is that. I think I’ll see if I can get Cassie and Breeze to come along for that, too. We can all meet Amber together.”

“You just love bringing ponies along, don’t you?” I mutter-grumbled under my breath.

She caught it, though. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” Can’t believe she got them out without me.

The stared at me for a long time, and I made sure to stare at my glass just as long. Finally she relented, taking another hard drag. “Whatever. Tell me about Undertow.”

“She’s fine, leave her alone!” I snapped, before covering my mouth with my hooves.

“The fuck, Snow?!” She drained the last of her drink angrily, and began to leave. “What’s your problem?”

“…Sorry.” I said to the empty bar.

~~~~~~