Chapter 16-1: Indenture

[There is nothing you can do to keep me from my sacred task of restoration!]

My body convulsed as I awoke, gasping. Between sucking in mouthfuls of air, I scrabbled to right myself, though somehow couldn’t get find my balance. I barely saw the world around me, though it was not the eternal blizzard I remembered walking into moments ago. Still, that thought hardly seemed important as I thrashed and flailed.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I gave up on trying to rise, at least until I got my breathing under control… and until my heart stopped trying to crack my ribs from the inside. Remaining as motionless as possible, my heaving chest gradually slowed its rhythm to normal levels.

Finally feeling out of whatever immediate danger I’d found myself in, I cracked open my eyes. I was lying on my back, staring at the cloud-strewn sky.

So I’m outside, at least. I must’ve been out, but nobody dragged me back to the Stable. “Hmph, figures.”

My words has a strange muffled quality to them. This brought the other sounds around to my attention. They too were muffled, and I couldn’t immediately decipher them, but at least they were something to focus on.

I opened my mouth, taking in one final breath before speaking. My ears popped at this, and the sounds became far more pronounced.

“...wish she’d just get up already!”

“Ah, wheesh, ya halfwit!”

“The pair o’ yeh can gi’ it a rest. Oi, Red Ice, on yer hooves right the noo!”

I sat up, baffled. “What in the hell?”

Across from me, the three Raider leaders were looking back in consternation. Caber Toss and Ballbuster were simply annoyed, but Latvi seemed to be shaking with rage. “Sooo glad to see you awake, Snowflake.” His words dripped with sarcasm.

My confusion shifted to anger which I was sure could match, and exceed, his. “What did you do, Latvi?!”

“I-”

“SHUT UP! What the hell is going on here?! How is this possible? What was that spell? How dare you do that to me!!!”

Still shaking, the stallion somehow managed to be smug as he slowly chose his words. “It seems you’ve had quite the experience, Red Ice.”

You have the gall to smirk at me, after springing that… whatever spell on me and- “UNDERTOW!”

Latvi opened his mouth to speak, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards.

“Shut up!” I cast about, trying to find her. “Undertow? Undertow, where are you? Naiara! One of you, answer me!”

Caber Toss and Ballbuster were quietly arguing amongst themselves, but I ignored them. Craning my neck around, I strained to find a glimpse of a stripe, or a goggle strap, or jade eyes, or a droplet-and-ripples Cutie Mark, anything that might show me my friends.

The Barnstormer camp left me disappointed. The same ramshackle structures, same dented soup cauldron, same rusted metal… but no zebra, no Deep Diver.

I was not happy, and not in the slightest bit interested in suffering in silence. Or suffering alone. I bared my teeth. “Latviiii…”

Locking eyes with the bastard, I vigorously pushed myself up onto my hooves. Too vigorously, as my legs went out from under me and I crashed back to the cold ground. Grunting with the slight impact, I ignored the pain and rose again. I only managed to take one step before I met the floor again.

By this time, the married couple were chuckling at me, while Latvi just watched with mirth in his eyes. “Something the matter, Snowflake?”

“I-” I slipped again. “Dammit! What have you done?”

Still shaking, he gave a small chuckle himself. “Well, I’d love to take credit for this, and I’d love to lend you a hoof, but…” He gave a slight tug at his leg, which clued me in on his situation.

It was annoyingly familiar.

While unconscious, I’d covered the place in ice. Not to the extreme of the Stable’s medical bay, there were no icicles, though a thick sheet of the stuff covered every surface in a radius of a dozen meters or so. This included the legs of the three ponies nearby, and the discarded soup ladle that’d tripped me.

Even in a situation such as this, I had to suppress a giggle at two burly Raiders trying in vain to unstick their hooves from the icy ground. Latvi was no better, but seemed to have come to the conclusion that struggling would be pointless. He wasn’t getting out until the ice melted.

The thought stopped me in my tracks.

“Now, hold on there Snowflake.” He was pretty far from smirking now. I wasn’t. Latvi seemed to be leaning back, as far from me as possible. “No need to do anything rash.”

“Oh?” Steadying myself, I pushed forward on the ice, gliding over to him. A hoof to his sternum halted my slide, drawing a pained ‘oof!’, as I smiled glassily into his face. “Now, Latvi, why ever would I do something rash to you?”

“Well...” Caber piped up from the side. “...f’r one thing, on account o’ that mad-mental hex he put on yeh?”

“Aye.” Ballbuster joined in. “Dunno what it was s’posed tae do, but it’s done a number on them eyes o’ yours, turnin’ ‘em green an’ the like. Does it hurt when they gi’ out that purple smoke?”

I hadn’t taken said eyes away from the staring contest I was having with the increasingly-nervous Latvi. “No, they don’t hurt. Though I am very interested in hearing just exactly how I came by these eyes. It’s one of many questions that I have at the moment. First and foremost, though…” All pretense of good cheer evaporated. “Where. Are. My Friends?”

“How should I know?”

I slugged him, as hard as I could. Right in the face. “Wrong answer, Latvi. One more time. Where are they?”

“Ow! What was that for?” Somehow, he managed to look slighted at that.

Seriously? I briefly entertained the question of just how my green-and-smoking eyes would convey the ‘are you an idiot?’ look I was going for. Turning to the others, I felt that I had to ask the question. “You thought it was a good idea to listen to this guy?”

“Only sometimes.” Was the sulky response.

“He’s a mite better at knowin’ where we might find good stuff than most o’ our lot. We’re no’ saying he woulda really been in charge or anythin’...”

“WHAT?!”

I slugged him again. “That was right in my ear, Latvi. I do not appreciate that.”

His cheek shifting from blue to black-and-blue, the scientist stallion tested some of his teeth with his tongue. “Well, I’m terribly sorry that you didn’t appreciate me voicing my disapproval of these two saying that I’m wasting my time, trying to help them get their hooves on treasures from the old world before anypony else! It’s somewhat hard to keep calm when I’m learning that, even though I spent all this time hunting down the last clue to the legacy of the most powerful unicorn who ever lived, just to help out in our arrangement, I’m still not going to get a say in how we go about it!”

I didn’t verbally respond, but immediately turned away from him and began a new search of the area. Where is it? If he gets hold of it again…

I looked all around Latvi, even peeking between the ice-shackles on his legs, which might have been awkward if I held even the slightest desire for him, but couldn’t spot Sombra’s horn. Muttering, I moved behind Latvi and began a wider search. It’s a horn. How far could it have gone?

Someone else found it before I did.

“Psst! Laddie! O’er there!”

Alarmed, I spun around just in time to see Sombra’s horn emerge from under the soup cauldron, held aloft in the navy haze of Latvi’s magic. It swiftly made its way towards him.

“NO!” I surged forward, horn lighting up on reflex.

“EEYARGH!”

The dead king’s horn thunked to the ground. Not questioning my good fortune, I tore after it, diving for the severed appendage. I got a painful scratch down my chest for my trouble, but I had a firm grip on the thing in my hooves.

Caber and Ballbuster groaned in disappointment.

Latvi was more vocal. “My horn!”

“No.” I responded, before turning to look at him. “Now it’s MY hor-oh, you didn’t mean this.”

The ice from my subconscious spell had fully encased Latvi’s natural horn, the cold being enough to throw off his concentration. From his face, I felt confident in assuming that it was deeply uncomfortable.

Slipping the relic into a secure pocket of my barding, I stood up again, consciously using my magic to dispel the ice beneath my hooves. Only beneath my hooves. I had no intention of freeing these ponies anytime soon. Upon reaching Latvi, I placed a hoof flat against his frozen horn.

“What are you-OW! OW! ARGH! STOP!”

I let off the pressure I’d been putting on his icebound horn. “I’m sure a scientist like yourself knows just how… brittle the cold can make something.” I gave another push, eliciting a pained hiss. “Now, for the final time. Where are they?” I began to press again.

“THEY’RE NOT HERE! I swear! After I put you two under, the zebra woke up, grabbed the other filly and bolted. We don’t know where they went after that! Please don’t snap my horn!” The double satisfaction, at his squirming and the knowledge that Naiara had gotten both herself AND Undertow away from here, was simply delicious, but I wasn’t done yet.

Caber Toss and Ballbuster were watching with a strange mix of anger and evaluation. I faced them evenly. “You two are idiots, signing on with this jackhole on any level. Those zebra who gave him the damn horn are too, but I’ll deal with them later. For now, I need a reason NOT to kill the three of you. I have several reasons to do it, not in the least of which is the fact that this whole thing has been a doublecross from the start!”

At least THEY can look a little shamefaced. Probably fake, but I don’t care right now. They should be ashamed!

Ballbuster wasn’t ready to be talked at just yet. “Well, wee lassie, afore yeh get it in yehr heed that yeh’ve got all the answers, ‘member that yeh need us to keep the Raiders in line, if yeh’re wantin’ tae keep goin’ wi’ the Raider alliance.”

“...” Damn. “And you’re saying you actually would listen to me, not like you were gonna do with this clown?”

“Hey!”

“Cold. Brittle. Snap.”

“...”

Sharing a glance with her husband, Sweet Lips took her time responding. “Aye, well… we’re no’ completely opposed tae the idea, but we’re no’ looking for the same thing you are. Yeh’re wantin’ us all peace-able an’ the like. The rest o’ the Raiders’ll no’ go fer that, no matter what we say. Find us something tae hit, and we’ll be in business.”
Perfect! “Not perfect, but I can work with that.” Caber Toss nodded agreement with his wife, so I turned to the final person present. “And you? You’ll need to be more convincing since this whole ruse was your idea. I put a lot of effort into this, and you were planning to sell me to Plottawa, and you tried to take my Pipbuck, AND you hit me because you can’t get a girlfriend!” My hoof was already reaching for his frozen horn again.

“TheMemoryOrb!” My hoof stopped, but didn’t move back, and he quickly continued. “Back when we first met, in the bar. You said you wanted a Memory Orb fixed. I can do that for you. Memory magic’s good for more than digging out secrets. I’ll fix your Memory Orb, uh… when you have it with you.”

Damn, he’s got a point too. “Well… I dunno, I’m sure there are others who can-”

“I’m also the only one who can call off McCoy! I already know he’s set on killing you after he finishes with…” Anger contorted his face, “...Dent. I can convince him otherwise.”

“...Alright, you can stay.” Without the horn, I’m sure I can take him, if nobody else.

“Can I have Somb-”

“No.”

“Can you unfreeze me at least?”

“...No.”

~~~~~~

Half a day later, I stood with Latvi atop the hill where Naiara, Bosco and I had first approached the Barnstormers, and their now-deceased leader Four Fields. Cassie had put an end to that particular Raider chief by blowing a hoof-sized hole in his chest with her sniper rifle, while I was dealing with the Deep Divers. His corpse had been dumped at Lethbridle’s gates, with a message to me, from Wings.

Looking down into the Barnstormer camp, I faced a very different reality than I had hours earlier. Where before I had been one of only four souls down there, now the place was filled with ponies.

The Raider army was gathered.

Not to say that everything was going swimmingly. Three separate groups were visible even from up here. The middle group, also the largest, was made up of Caber Toss’ Whinniepeg-based Haylanders and what was left of Four Fields’ Barnstormers, depleted through infighting after his death. Caber Toss had taken them over through force, and now the two seemed to be okay with working as one clan.

To one side stood a group that was comprised solely of mares and fillies. These were Ballbuster’s Woodpeckers, formed to protect themselves from male Raider… attention. They were fighters, even now they fought with each other, but seemed to be less eager to become one big happy Raider family.

On the other side was an even more extreme case. Not only standing apart from the other groups, the Deep Divers tried their best to stand apart from each other.

Still united enough to plot Undertow’s death, weren’t you? I’m not likely to forget that.

As I watched, Caber Toss and Sweet Lips emerged from the throng and began making their way up the hill. Besides me, Latvi sneered. I’d freed him from the ice last, after sending Caber and Ballbuster off one at a time, to gather the Raiders. The scientist stallion had been grouchy ever since.

As if I’m any happier being here with you rather than Undertow. I have the horn, and you’re a wuss. Even I can take you if you wanna try.

Kicking at the ground, he scoffed sarcastically. “Behold, the scourge of the Wasteland. A bunch of drunks, junkies and thugs.”

“Remember that this whole thing was YOUR idea, Mr. Ambition.” I was keeping half-an-eye on him at best, more intent on watching the returning pair, who were the real threat if violence erupted.

“This was not my idea! I was in charge with MY idea.” He seemed to barely be talking to me at all. “It was going to be a thing of sophistication… of beauty.”

I’d have been lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying the fool’s look of dejection at that point. He should’ve just gone to Plottawa and been a ‘bean counter’, like he said. “Maybe, not very flexible though. You had no idea what you were getting into.”

“And you did?” He shot back.

“No,” I conceded. “but now I do. I have a much clearer idea of how things are going to go, since you shot me with Sombra’s ancient voodoo.” My experience in the Stable had shown me just how I needed to play this. Reputation wasn’t enough anymore. Red Ice needed to prove her strength, first to the Raiders, and then to the Wasteland.

The words of an equally annoying stallion floated back to me from memory. “You’ve managed to fool lots of ponies since we met in Plottawa, Red Ice, and gained quite a reputation for yourself. Tonight, I just want to remind you that I’ve seen just how little you can do with my own eyes.”

I know just where to start showing what I can do.

Sweet Lips and Caber Toss crested the hill at last. “Ho there, doll. What’s the word? We on for go or no’?”

The two seemed happy enough, but I couldn’t let myself remember what had happened at the start of this little summit. I couldn’t relax here, not for a moment. Latvi still had a chance to mess things up, and the two Raider leaders were only willing to go along with my plans if it pleased them.

Nobody trusted anybody, but we still needed each other to make this work. I had to make a strong impression on them too.

Here goes. “Yeah, we’re on for go.”

~~~~~~

The forest east of Lethbridle rang out with the sounds of gunfire, screams, and explosions.

The Plottawan platoon, originally a score strong, was down to less than half of that now, but they were putting up a good fight, even against the heavy numbers advantage that the Raiders possessed. The slavers, all Earth ponies, had taken up a defensive position near some stones, and were using their superior weaponry and tactics to drive back the Raiders, who seemed to worship at the altar of the reckless charge.

Besides the dozen slaver corpses littering the snow, at least three times that many dead Raiders stained the landscape, caught by gunfire or the Plottawans’ rapidly dwindling number of grenades. As I watched, one of the uniformed Earth ponies let fly with another explosive. It detonated seconds later in the midst of a half-dozen Raiders, tossing them in all directions. Only one got up again, and she, a Woodpecker by the marks on her barding, was bleeding heavily and not likely to last long.

Still, there were just too many Raiders for the slavers, and both sides knew it. Two more slavers went down from the uncoordinated fire of the Raiders’ near-junked weapons.

I tch’d. “I really hope they remember that we need at least a few of them alive.”

Beside me, also removed from the action, Latvi glanced over. He seemed to be judging whether I was talking to him or myself. “You could always jump in yourself, just to make sure.”

“Oh, fuck you. You’d love to see me get a bullet to the brain, wouldn’t you?”

“Right now? More than anything in the world.”

“Really? More than Lithu? I’m touched.”

A cacophony of clanking forestalled any response he might have had, no doubt sarcastic, and brought both of our attentions back to the battle. Caber Toss was advancing close to the slavers’ position, shielded by a wall of Deep Divers in full diving gear.

Slow and ungainly though it was, the diving gear was sturdy and strong. Built to withstand the pressures and rigours of underwater salvage, it was proving far more effective at stopping the automatic fire from the Plottawans than the ragged leather excuses-for-clothing that the rest of the Raiders were sporting. With their faces and bodies obscured by the bulky apparatus, the Deep Divers looked like shambling golems as they steadily moved forward.

It was over not two minutes later. Once the Deep Diver wall got within five metres of the Plottawans, the slavers lost their nerve and began to bolt. Caber Toss and his Haylanders and Barnstormers boiled around the other Raiders and gave chase. The six remaining slavers became five.

Then three.

Then finally, two.

Dogpiled by four ponies apiece, the remaining two Plottawans found themselves utterly unable to move, and could only watch wide-eyed as I sauntered up, Latvi in tow. “Afternoon, gents.” I greeted them warmly.

“What do you want?” One pleaded in a weak, reedy voice. “Why did you attack us?”

A lot more than just the two pairs of slaver eyes were on me as I responded, so I had to make it good. “Well, for one thing, these boys and girls wanted some fun…” A small cheer broke out at that, “...and for another, I needed to get your attention.”

Quivering with fright, the other slaver spoke up. “O-our attention? For what?”

Giving him the slightest of glances, I pityingly shook my head. “No, not your attention. I want your boss to pay attention. He and I do not see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, and he doesn’t seem to be taking my calls. I have a very important message for him, and I need you to deliver it.” I turned to a random Raider, a Barnstormer perhaps? “Go get their guns.”

The Raider didn’t move, except to look towards Caber Toss, who said nothing.

So it’s gonna be like that, is it? My horn lit up, and a collar of ice wrapped around the Barnstormer’s neck. “Now.” I casually instructed, as if talking to a slow server.

Swallowing painfully, the Raider sped off, getting the message. Latvi, who’d been surveying the battlefield, turned back to Caber Toss and I. “Well, we killed eighteen of them to more than fifty of ours! Great ‘victory’, Red Ice.”

“Raiders die!” I snapped. “If they were smart enough to not do stupid stuff that gets them killed, we wouldn’t need to do this, now would we?”

A murmur spread through the collected masses at my insulting words, and I felt a not-so-slight twinge of regret. I… may have said too much.

Still, they hadn’t attacked me for it yet, and seemed to be waiting on Caber Toss’ reaction.

He didn’t give one. His wife did, though, as she approached with the ice-collar Raider. “Aye, the wee lassie’s no’ wrong. No’ ‘xactly geniuses here.” Her words caused a general lull in the murmuring, but she still shot me a look that was not friendly. The moment of doubt had passed, though. Latvi was wearing a calculating smile at the exchange.

Wordlessly, the Raider held out the guns of the slavers to me.

...No. I’ve got a better idea. This’ll show that smug bastard who’s in charge. “Latvi!”

He jerked, surprised at my call.

“Take out the clips.” I calmly demanded. Collar-colt turned uncertainly to Latvi, holding out the guns to the stallion, who regarded them disdainfully.

My voice dropped to a more menacing level. “Now, Latvi. And, if you’re thinking of trying anything stupid…” My horn lit up with a glacier-blue glow. “I’ll be watching closely.”

Snowflake wouldn’t have been so suicidally stupid as to provide her enemy, which Latvi most certainly still was, with a loaded weapon, especially not in the middle of a group of Raiders and slavers. Red Ice, on the other hoof, had to establish early on that she was in command here, even over other non-Raiders like Latvi. The masses had to see that, so I wouldn’t always be relying on Caber Toss and Sweet Lips, themselves hardly reliable in my position.

Snowflake talked the talk, now Red Ice has to walk the walk.

A navy glow enveloped the weapons, but they didn’t move into firing position. Latvi was surreptitiously glancing around at the gathered ponies. I hoped I was reading the atmosphere correctly, as it didn’t seem like anybody there was excited at the prospect of him turning the guns on me, which is what I was counting on. None of them knew him from me. The Raiders had no reason, beyond the word of Caber Toss or Sweet Lips, to back either one of us. If they saw me in charge now, they wouldn’t listen to him. Still, I held my magic ready, in case he tried something anyway.

After what seemed like an age, there was clunk, and two magazines dropped to the snowy ground. Looking supremely pissed, Latvi turned a glare on me, saying nothing, but obviously awaiting the next instruction.

I win.

Ignoring the feral smiles blossoming across the faces of Caber Toss and Ballbuster, I jerked my head towards the captives. “There should still be a bullet in the chamber, somebody told me that once. Shoot one of them. If not, then just hit him with it. Either way, kill one of them, but leave the other.”

Neither slaver reacted well to this.

“You can’t!” One cried out. The other just cried.

I wasn’t smiling, but I had to make it look good. “Sure I can. That’s the message. What happened here today. Whichever one of you lives, take the message to Peanut. Tell him Red Ice sent you.”

I made a dismissive ‘get on with it’ gesture without looking at the unicorn. “Latvi.”

“...” A gunshot rang out, and the Raiders piled on top of one slaver jumped aside as his head sank into the snow, already leaking red.

The other Plottawan’s crying instantly stopped. He was too scared for tears.

“Let him up, and give him the empty gun.” There was no hesitation this time. My order was followed instantly.

Dumbfounded, the slaver platoon’s sole survivor just stood there, grasping the empty weapon like a child’s stuffed animal.

After a minute of this, ponies began to shift their hooves awkwardly, and still he showed no sign of moving.

“Ah fer feck’s sake!” Caber Toss swatted the guy on the rear with the flat of his axe. “Off wi’ yeh!”

The slaver bolted.

I watched him go, then spoke aloud to Caber Toss and Sweet Lips. “Finish up here.”

“Aye aye.”

I nodded distractedly, already starting to walk away. “Then send out some searchers for the next patrol. I want to hit some more Plottawa troops while we still have some daylight.”

A whoop went up from the gathered Raiders.

I heard the grin in Caber Toss’ response. “Right yeh are, Red Ice.”

“And get somebody looking for the zebras, and have the Deep Divers look for Undertow. Just looking, mind you, if they touch her, then I’ll kill them. Got that?”

“Aye, doll, we heard yeh.”

“Good.” I said no more to them, and passed the sullen Latvi in silence. I needed to find a spot where I could be alone.

I did it! Now everybody in the Raiders will know that Red Ice, and not Latvi, is in charge! Pretty soon, that crybaby slaver will get back to Plottawa, and Peanut will know I’m coming for him, too.

All in all, a good first day.

I walked for a good twenty minutes, until I was absolutely sure that there were no Raiders around, double- and triple-checked the surroundings just in case, and then ducked down into the privacy of some tree roots for good measure.

I emptied my stomach onto the snowy soil. Half-digested Tarantubaa haggis splattered across the ground.

Then the shakes came.

Undertow, Naiara, I hope you’re far away from all this.

~~~~~~

Hours later, we were surveying the aftermath of our second hunt.

“Sooo…” Latvi looked around, making eye contact with as many of the gathered Raiders as he could, and raised his voice. “That’s another eighteen Plottawan troops dead, and nineteen more Raiders gone. Counting the fight earlier, we’ve lost fifty-five Raiders to thirty-seven slavers.” He gave me a pointed look. “Just running the numbers.”

Boy, I hate you. Some of the fighters were muttering amongst themselves at his words. I had to think of something, or else I might have more trouble on my hooves. “Yeah? Well… run… uh… oh! Run this number. Forty!”

“Forty what?”

“That is the number of guns we’ve taken today. Good condition, top-of-the-line guns, not these junkpiles our Raiders have been carrying up until now.”

The murmurs changed from negative to mixed. Not everybody was satisfied.

“We’re going up against an army.” I continued. “Peanut can call it whatever he wants, but that’s what it is. We’re gonna take losses since they have better equipment at first. We’ve got the numbers though, so the more we kill, the more good-quality weapons we get, and the more we’ll win, with fewer casualties.”

“Aye,” Caber Toss jumped in. “the lass is right. We’re getting better gear, an’ our lot get killed all the time. This way we get tae kill more o’ them than us!”

“Well, no, that’s not really the point I was trying to… and they’re cheering. Fine. Whatever.” I began to walk towards the battlefield, and the two remaining slavers, again held captive by four Raiders apiece.

“We’re not done.” Latvi growled, as I passed him.

“We are for now.” I shot back, not slowing.

Strolling past the gathered Raiders, I was somewhat glad to see that, of the two captive slavers, the mare was being held by four Woodpeckers, who all had new weapons. They were using those weapons to shoo away some of the male Raiders, who looked like they were getting a little excited about having a captive female.

We still have a lot of work to do, so I’m glad I don’t have to see ‘that’ yet. Not sure how I’d take seeing… ‘that’ up close.

I squatted down next to the girl, who had also been watching the stallion Raiders. “And who might you be?”

Decked out in Plottawa gear, it was hard to see much of the pony underneath, but she turned a dazzling pair of blue eyes on me. Around those eyes was a pretty, youthful white face, and the faintest wisps of golden hair poking out from under her headgear. “W-who wants to know?”

Sporting the biggest smile I could muster, I cheerily rolled over onto my back, so I was looking at her upside down. “Why, I do, sweetie. I’m sorry about the treatment, but it’s necessary. Now, why don’t you tell me a little about yourself, starting with your name?”

One of the Woodpeckers holding her down tightened their grip, and she winced in response. “Ngh, let’s start with YOURS.”

“Oh, very well. You can call me Red Ice.”

Those blue eyes shrank to pinpricks. “R-Red Ice? You’re Red Ice? S-stay away from me!”

Still upside down, I shook my head playfully. “Ah ah, can’t do that. I just wanna talk to you, that’s all. Of course, I can’t do that without you telling me your name. How else do I know who I’m talking to?”

“...I’m Hot Topic.”

I clapped my hooves together impishly. “Well it is just lovely to meet you, Hot Topic. I’m sure you have a lot of questions. Me too. In the interest of fairness, I’ll start off with one of yours. Go ahead. Ask me anything.” Crossing my hooves over my chin, I batted my eyelids expectantly.

She reacted by drawing back slightly. “Why are you doing this? Why have you attacked our patrols?”

“Well that’s two questions, but okay. I’m doing this because I need to send a message to your boss, Peanut. I’m attacking your patrols because I can’t exactly walk into Plottawa myself and talk to him, now can I? I already did that once and he kicked me. Several times! How mean is that?”

Hope crept into her eyes. “You could give me the message? I’m sure I could get it to Peanut. He wants any information about you he can get.”

Reeeally? Isn’t that interesting? “Aw, you’re gonna make me blush. He wants to know about li’l old me? Anyway, you’re very kind to offer, and I actually couldn’t deliver it without you, but I need to know a little bit more about you first.”

“Uh, okay?”

“Great! Now then, what’s a pretty thing like you doing working for slavers anyway? It’s not the most upstanding of jobs, is it?”

She’d heard the slightest sharpness that had crept into my voice. “I-I didn’t have a choice! M-my parents were attacked just after I was born, they got hurt bad from it. They died when I was young. I signed on with the Plottawans for safety. They took care of me, kept me going. I swear I don’t like the job, I’m just trying to survive like everypony else!”

I rubbed my chin as I pondered her answer. “Well, I suppose I can understand that, but don’t you think that’s lacking some ambition?”

From where he’d been silently glowering nearby, Latvi made an angry, choking sound.

Hot Topic just looked at me strangely. “What do you mean?”

I shrugged against the ground. “Well, why are you just trying to survive? Don’t you want to make a nice life for yourself? You said you don’t like the job, so why not try for what you really want to do?”

“I… I don’t understand. Everypony’s trying to survive! Everyone in Plottawa, Lethbridle, Vanchoofer, and all around is trying to make a living, and we do that as well as we can. I swear we don’t hurt the slaves! We take care of them until we sell them, even if they’re sick! We make them better!”

I absent-mindedly reached out and patted her on the head. “And that’s lovely, but you haven’t really answered my question. Why are you… why is anyone okay with just surviving? Look at me. I’m not okay with that. I’ve only been out in the Wasteland for a few weeks and I’ve already done so much. I’m trying to make a life for myself, rather than just keep breathing. I mean, I’ve got some good friends, some not so good friends, some enemies…” I leaned in conspiratorially. “Like the blue unicorn with the blond mane over there? It’s not really a secret, but you might not know. He really doesn’t like me too much because I took his horn.”

“But he still has his-”

“Not tha- nevermind. Anyway, back to my point. I’ve only been in the Wasteland for a little while and I’m already on my way to a real life, not just eking out another forgettable existence. I’m thinking bigger than that.” I waggled my eyebrows at her. “Red Ice has plans.”

I cupped her face in my hooves. “Don’t you want to get yourself a real life, Hot Topic? Do better than your parents did? Than Latvi’s doing? He’s the stallion over there, by the way.”

Said stallion muttered something under his breath.

That kind of language hardly seems suitable for the friendly conversation we’re having here, Latvi.

Hot Topic seemed thoroughly out of her depth by this point, and her eyes were constantly cycling between looking at my face, and looking at the hooves on her cheeks. “I don’t… I don’t know what you’re saying. I just want to back to Plottawa and give your message to Peanut.” Tears began to form in her eyes. “I just wanna go home.”

“Ah ah, dry those eyes. I’m trying to show you that there’s another way. You don’t need to be a slaver to be happy. Heck, you’re NOT happy as a slaver, but you don’t try anything different. I can help you find a better way. A nicer way. A way for Hot Topic to get what Hot Topic wants, I mean really wants. Slavering’s not a good life for a pretty thing like you.”

“I… I…”

I drew back, rolling over until I was sitting upright, a yard or so away from her. I spread my hooves wide. “Let me help you, Hot Topic. Let Red Ice help Hot Topic to really find her way in this crazy Wasteland. Do you want that?”

The tiniest of pleading smiles tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I… YES! Yes, I want that! Please help me!”

My grin grew even wider.

“Too bad.”

My horn shone.

Her smile turned rictus, then froze completely as the ice engulfed her from her face outwards. As it spread, the Woodpeckers jumped away before it got them too. Three of the four did, anyway. The fourth was shrieking as the cold crept up her immobile leg.

“Oh stop being a baby.” I concentrated, and the freeze receded from the limb. The Woodpecker immediately took off running.

I wasn’t paying attention. All trace of my smile gone, I turned hard eyes to the remaining captive, a stallion. He’d been watching the whole thing in nervous, now petrified, silence. “Run home to Peanut and tell him what happened here. All of it. That’s my message to him. There’ll be more to come.”

~~~~~~