Chapter 18-1: Reverse Peristalsis

[My natural instinct had always been to put my back to a wall, but now there was nowhere to hide.]

The zebra camp had moved since I’d last been here, and the atmosphere was noticeably different. An air of resentment stuck cloyingly in my lungs as I waited at the perimeter for Cept to return with Atesh.

Yeah yeah yeah, I mirrored the glares of the tribespeople each time they glanced up from their tasks. I don’t trust any of you either.

The old zebra appeared from behind a row of tents, walking in fast, but measured, steps. He and Cept were whispering rapidly, and it didn’t seem like he was happy.

Our eyes met and there was a brief flash of mutual frustration. I didn’t want to be here, and he certainly didn’t want me here. Still, he did not falter and came to stand before me. “Red Ice, do you have any idea of what you have cost us with your crusade?”

A bottle cap, casually flipped, dropped in the dust at his hooves. “That should about cover it. Are you done?”

Both stallions let out a long, angry, nasal sigh. Cept was more expressive, as his sigh, combined with the sunken look in his eyes, conveyed not just his disapproval but also his unease.

If you’re that worried about Naiara, stop yanking my chain and go find her, or better yet let me do it.

Atesh’s elder-statescolt calm gave less away, though he would have to be some kind of bastard to not be on edge concerning the missing filly. Evidently it wasn’t going to be discussed here, as he pressed on: “This is not the time for flippancy, Snowflake. The further you travel down this Raider path you are on, the more you disrupt our efforts, and the less value you hold to us.”

Cept jumped in immediately, as the edges of my vision began to fill with purple smoke. “That was not a threat, Snowflake. Please do not take it as such. We are all merely… less than pleased at our current situation. You have to understand that it is not easy for us to stay here like this, not with such a large group. As much as you might think otherwise, we are not ponies.”

Squeezing my eyes shut for a moment, I opened them again to find my vision clearing. “And here I was thinking that the stripes were just to look cool. No shit you’re not ponies, Cept, what’s your point?”

Gathering his robes around him, Atesh dropped into a relaxed sit. “His point, Red Ice, is that we are not here to make a home in Equestria. We have, or perhaps I must now say had, a plan to enact. When you emerged from your Stable not two months ago, you came across Naiara, and helped her to take possession of something important to those plans, which you now know to be-”

“Sombra’s horn.” I interrupted, focusing on the slight weight on the inner pocket of my Sprinkles armour.

“Indeed. A long-dead king who built his empire from the ground up. Literally, in fact, as he nurtured the ground to form the precious gems which gave his land its name. Sombra’s crystal magic was unmatched, and even Equestria’s greatest could not do what he did.” He paused for a moment, tiredly ruffling a hoof through his beard. “Tell me, what do you know about the war between your kind and mine?”

I tch’d. “I know people are still talking about it, for all the good that’ll do.”

His anger wasn’t particularly animated, but it clearly showed on the old zebra’s face. “It should be talked about. There are lessons to learn from the past, adolescent, and you are perhaps more in need of them than most. However, I am talking about the reasons behind the war that ravaged two nations. It was, as always, about greed. We zebras had coal, and needed precious gems. You ponies had precious gems, yet needed coal.”

“But what about the stars and-”

He held up a hoof, with a mirthless smile crinkling his face. “A fine story for foals, but hardly enough to drive both countries to this outcome.” He nodded in the direction of the Wasteland.

Flopping onto my back, I was surprised to receive an upside down view of some returning zebra warriors. The ones who had stayed behind to drive away McCoy and his Monsters. Some were bloody, others were limping, and a few were both. Not one paid me any attention at all, merely giving a respectful bow to Atesh before moving into the camp.

Still lying on the ground, I spoke to the air. It was up to Atesh to hear it if he wanted to continue the conversation. “I already know that both sides wouldn’t share, Atesh. I really hope there’s a point to all this.”

A sturdy hoof slammed down an inch from my rapidly widening eyes. Cept stood over me, golden eyes hard.

“Get. Up.” Without waiting for me to respond, he reached down and physically wrenched me upright.

“Hey! Get your damn hooves off me right now!”

“SHOW DUE RESPECT!” He roared back. Still dragging me, he turned us both to face Atesh. “Your attitude has caused us no end of problems, Snowflake, but I will not allow you to act this way in front of my clan leader! You will listen!”

I disagreed. “Get off me, Cept! I’m not taking this from you!” Battering at him with my hooves didn’t seem to have any effect on his grip, which remained solid.

I was a few seconds from icing him up with my magic when Atesh’s soft speech did what my struggles couldn’t. “Let her go, Cept. She won’t cause problems until I have explained myself. Isn’t that right, Snowflake?”

Tearing my limb away from Cept’s now slackened grip, I just nodded grumpily.

“Excellent. Now then, as to why we are here at all. I’m sure you can guess, but I’ll explain anyway. We want to help the zebra nation recover from the lack of gemstones that it has suffered in the past 200 years. To do this, we worked together with the one you seem to have so much disdain for.”

I bared my teeth. “Latvi.” He’ll pay for trying to take my Raiders from me.

Nodding, Atesh shifted slightly, enough to catch my eye and bring my attention back to him. “Latvi. Even before you met Naiara, we had been in talks with the scientist. His memory magic seems to be exactly what we need to gain access to Sombra’s spells.”

Shoulders bunching under his red and gold cloak, Atesh’s anger returned. “But then you drove him from Lethbridle, and set him on this foalish Raider enterprise. Both of you are equally misguided in this. He wanted revenge, and you? Well, I wouldn’t even hazard a guess as to what your goals were in this. It doesn’t matter, really. All that matters is that we need Latvi alive, along with Sombra’s horn, for our goals to be reached.”

Still smarting from being yanked around by Cept, I was less than courteous in my response. “You’re not putting your plan’s failures on me, Atesh. Latvi was always looking to get rich. I may have worked the Raider angle, but he’d have gone his own way regardless. Your plan was always doomed to fail!”

With a final stroke of his beard, Atesh fixed his expressionless eyes on me. “We shall see. What is important now, though, is to keep Latvi alive-”

“Not interested.”

“Hush. We do not need you for that. What we do need you for is the horn. We know you took it from Latvi, but we do not know what happened to it after that.”

This was it, the moment of truth. If Atesh called my bluff and had Cept or the others try to take the horn from me physically I’d probably end up dead. I didn’t think I could take the entire tribe in a fight, magic or not. Still, the fact that they didn’t know that I had it on me was interesting. It meant that they weren’t always watching. Cept lied to me earlier. It seems to be a pattern with this tribe.

“It’s in a safe place, Atesh. If you want it, then you better have something to offer me in return.”

Rolling his eyes, he rose to his hooves again. “I suspected as much. No doubt you want ‘your’ Raiders back?” He put extra emphasis on the ‘your’, which had me scowling. “That works for our goals too, so we will help with that, at least for getting Latvi away from the Raiders. We won’t help you to take control again, that is your problem.”

“Of course you’d say that. Getting Latvi away from the Raiders is just one part. Your boys will also help me track down some items that have been taken from me. You get Latvi and the Horn, I get the Raiders and my things. Deal?” No matter how well they’d hidden my Pipbuck and Memory Orb, I didn’t see Wings and Cassie being able to keep an entire tribe of zebra from finding them. I’m not telling you who has them, Atesh. That’s for me. You just need to find the gear.

Atesh was slow to answer, giving me a long, judging look. “I do not know what schemes you are hatching behind those spell-marred eyes, Red Ice, but we will not stand for any sabotage to our goals. Remember that.”

I’m so gonna kill Latvi the first chance I get. “Do we have a deal or not, Atesh? I’ve got things to do.”

Instead of answering directly, he laid a hoof on Cept’s shoulder. “Go with her, svara, until Latvi is ours.”

Cept just nodded, immediately setting off.

“Come.” He commanded as he drew level with me.

Though perturbed, I nevertheless fell in beside him. “Be nice to me, jackhole. You need me to get your precious horn.”

“I work with you for the sake of my tribe.” Was the terse reply. “Once our business is concluded, I will go find Naiara. She has been missing since she completed her task at the Raider conference.”

I didn’t respond to that right away. I might have been better at hiding it, but I was just as concerned with Naiara’s disappearance as Cept was. She was one of my best friends, and she’d gotten Undertow to safety. I owed her for that at least, and I wanted to see her again. I mean, it’s not like she chose these guys for a tribe. I can’t blame her for their mistakes. Wouldn’t want to either.

In the end, I decided to be nice just this once. “Naiara will be fine, Cept. She’s a natural survivor.”

He said nothing, just continued walking while rigidly looking ahead.

“Besides, you know that she’s close with Breeze, right? You getting Naiara back to her safe and sound will net you major plus points. Easily enough for a kiss.”

He’d locked up again at my mention of Breeze, but couldn’t keep the corners of his lips from tugging up as he daydreamed. “That… would be nice. Aqua Breeze and I talked through her communicator several times while Naiara recovered after Whitepony. She is such a fascinating mare.”

I stifled a chuckle, smirking to myself. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?” Though hell if I know what you see in her, you damn idiot.

~~~~~~

“...and it was totally gonna work!”

“...Your plan?”

“Yeah.”

“You had a plan to escape Neighlway when we first met, without my assistance?”

“It was a good one too!”

“I am doubtful that it would have succeeded.”

“No, see, here’s what I was gonna do. Firs-”

I had to break off as the sound of the explosion reached us. It was soft, dulled by the distance, but unmistakable. As were the other explosions that followed it.

Cept regarded the horizon in grim focus before beckoning to me. “Follow. I will get us there undetected.” I followed with only the slightest grunt of discontent.

We crossed the remaining ground in silence, focusing on keeping our eyes alert and our ears open. It was hard to notice much sound over the ever-louder explosions, though they were soon joined by the sound of gunfire, and then by other sounds of battle.

As we gradually climbed a hill, Cept in the lead and keeping us at a crawl, the noise told us that the battle was raging fiercely on the other side.

Apparently my side trip to Gull Gulf, with Latvi following, had meant that the Raiders weren’t interested in moving on until he came back.

Pretty good bet that they’re fighting with Neighlway’s Rangers again. Wonder how many of each side are dead since I left?

Flat on his belly, I shimmied forward at Cept’s signal, just enough so that I could join him in peeking over the crest of the hill.

I gulped as I looked over the situation. It was very different than the last battle I’d been in. Back then, my Raiders had pinned a trio of Rangers against a hill similar to the one we were on, eventually swarming the three armoured ponies.

The situation was not nearly so advantageous this time.

The full Raider force was massed on one side, looking bigger than I remembered. We’re not so far from Whinniepeg. Maybe Caber Toss called in the rest of his boys?

The Raiders were putting the appropriated Ranger and Plottawan weaponry to good use, keeping up a relentless stream of fire at their opponents.

Said opponents were no mere scouting party, however. There were easily two dozen rangers on the other side, a much stronger fighting force. They were well organised too, formed up and working to cover each other as they answered the Raiders’ fire with heavy artillery of their own. Great clots of dirt were being kicked up all over the battlefield as both sides slung grenades and heavy ballistics at each other.

The ground between the two was littered with Raiders bodies, as well as the occasional motionless metal armour shell. The ponies inside were clearly dead, or would be before the battle was over. With all the chaos and fire in the air, neither side could afford to gather their wounded.

Despite the number difference, the battle seemed to be a stalemate. The Raiders couldn’t rush the Rangers without being victimised by heavy ordnance, while the Rangers couldn’t advance without risking another swarming, or being picked off by the griffons swooping overhead. Guess Latvi brought some friends home to play.

Neither side was backing down, but they’d be there for a while. Nudging my shoulder, Cept nodded in the Raiders’ direction, leaning in close to talk over the clatter. “You know their forces better than I. Where will we find Latvi?”

“Latvi?” I snorted derisively. “That jackhole’ll be at the back, safe and sound. He’ll stay right there until the fight’s over.”

Cept accepted this without reacting. “Then we must move around the Raider forces, and surprise Latvi. If an alarm is raised, we will be unable to retrieve him.”

“And what a shame that’d be.” I muttered to myself. “Come on then, let’s go.”

He tossed me some fabric. “Put that on. It will help you avoid Latvi knowing you until we are close.” Unlike Naiara, who chose to masquerade as a pony with makeup to hide her heritage, Cept just put a barrier between it and the outside world.

I slipped the cloak over my barding. “Whatever, now come on. I want to get this over with.”

Skirting a generous line around the Raider forces, we managed to get by with just one scare, when one of McCoy’s Monsters briefly wandered a little too close for comfort. Luckily, the griffon seemed to be uninterested in taking on ponies who weren’t in Power Armour, and soon diverted back to the main battle. After waiting for a minute or two, Cept had us keep moving.

Just as I predicted, Latvi was right at the rear of the Raider force, overseeing the battle from a high rise. What I hadn’t predicted, however, was that he would have some serious protection nearby.

Two Monsters flanked him, though thankfully neither of them were McCoy, Wicker or Eitom, who were most likely to recognise me quickly. Still, they were armed and wore body armour, which was bad news given that neither Cept nor I carried guns.

Hunkered down in a shallow basin not far from Latvi’s position, we pondered our next move.

“Now what? Are we gonna kill those two or something? McCoy’ll be pissed at me if we do, even more than he is now.”

“I find it quite impressive that you have drawn the attention of so many influential figures in your short time in the Wasteland.” Though his whispered tone wasn’t any different than usual, his inference was clear.

...Dick. “How about this? I think I can take out their guns with my magic, if I’m careful anyway. Can you take them out if I do?”

He gave the pair another glance, sizing them up. “Possibly. It depends on how well trained they are.”

I grimaced. “Not gonna lie, they probably won’t be pushovers. Still, taking their guns out will distract them, and they’ll be stuck by sticking with Latvi. They won’t go against orders like that. He can’t fight worth a damn either, so you don’t need to worry about that. I’ll try to back you up as much as I can after dealing with their guns.”

The shadows under his hood did little to hide his displeasure. “...I do not like it, but they must be dealt with if we are to take Latvi. They will raise an alarm otherwise. I do not see another way.” He slapped at the dirt in frustration. “If we do this, it must be quick. You cannot hesitate, and you cannot fail. Do you understand?”

The look I sent him was not positive. Course I understand. I’m Red Ice. “Watch this.”

My horn lit up, and twin trails of ice began to slither silently along the ground towards the griffons. Neither they, nor their unicorn protectee, gave any indication that they saw them, not even when I parked my Cryo Serpents between the paws and claws of the two griffons.

I couldn’t help but grin smugly in Cept’s general direction. I think I can afford a little dramatic flair here.

Crude mouths formed at the ends of the Serpent trails, jumping up to bite at the weapons before hardening in place.

The reactions of the Monsters was hilarious. “What the fuck?!”

“My good-luck rifle!”

Latvi’s reaction was less so. Infuriatingly less so. Without preamble, he left forward straight away, heading for the main Raider force. “She’s here! McCOY! CABER TOSS! BALLBUSTER!”

“Binn tusaa!” We chorused.

We took off running. “I got Latvi, take those two!”

“Red Ice, wait!” When he received no answer, I heard him growl angrily before he thudded towards the two griffons.

Cept engaged them in a flurry of hooves and claws as I charged past. The situation was bad, but at least one small part of me was glad to finally be able to get some payback on Latvi. You’re not getting away from me this time, bastard. No more bargains, no more tricks, just you and me. Imma get you!

Though he had a headstart, a natural sprinter he was not. Latvi stumbled and half-fell his way down the incline, with me in pursuit. “Stay and play, Latvi!” My call was laced with laughter. I was pretty sure I could catch him before he got to the safety of the Raider horde. Hell, I can probably catch you after you reach ‘em too. Not like they’re guaranteed to get in my way.

My heartbeat thudded in my ears as I closed the distance. A dozen metres. Half a dozen.

Three.

Two.

One.

“Jackhole!” I tackled Latvi mid-stride. We rolled down the hill, bucking and punching, me laughing, him shrieking. Slamming down at the bottom, we rolled apart. I popped up first and dove at him again, but he scrambled away just in time. He only got two steps this time before I dove onto his back. Only adrenaline let him carry my weight and keep on running.

He dropped like a stone when I whacked him in the temple though.

Cowering on the ground, he threw his hooves up in front of his face. “N-now calm down, Snowflake. It doesn’t have to be like this!”

“Too la-ate!” I sing-sang with a crooked smile. “Now you’re all mi-ine! I’ve been waiting for this.” Glacier-blue light blazed from my horn. “I’m gonna shatter you like glass, LATVI!”

“No! no wait, you can’t!” His pathetic snivelling was music to my ears, and I laughed aloud again.

“I totally can, you know.” My voice dropped from joyous to tranquil fury. “Let me show you.”

That was when the griffon slammed into me flank-first.

“Dammit Cept, is it too much to ask that you take care of two griffons with no weapons?!” I punched the griffon as hard as I could in the face, but he didn’t react.

Oh. Probably because he’s dead. Heaving the body off me, I cast about for Latvi, who was up and running clear in the other direction. “Son… of… a… WHORE! Why won’t you die?!”

“That was not our agreement, Red Ice!” Off to the side, limping over the body of the other griffon, was my current ‘ally’.

Nostrils flaring, I stomped towards him. “Oh fuck you, Cept. You had one job. One damn j-”

“I did my job!” He fired back. “I took care of the griffons, but I do not see Latvi here! Perhaps you shou-”

“AAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!!!” We shared the briefest of confused glances before Latvi flew straight past us at full gallop.

Then a wall of gunfire tore into the right flank of the Raider forces, courtesy of the Plottawan soldiers charging their lines in a vicious sneak attack.

...Really?

The Steel Rangers swiftly took advantage of the ensuing distraction to fire indiscriminately into the mixing Raider/slaver throng, tossing Plottawan and Raider bodies to and fro, quickly devolving the two-on-one skirmish into a free-for-all.

I turned away and started jogging in the other direction. “Fuck this, I’m out. I’ll get Latvi another time.”

“By ‘get’, do you mean-”

“Not now, Cept! We have to leave, or else somebody here is gonna kill us.”

“And what about Latvi? Shall we leave him to die?”

I all but spat. “Tch, I should be so lucky. McCoy’s monsters will get him out of here, if only to make sure they get paid. You go after him if you want, Cept, but I’m done.”

“I-”

“HEY, THERE’S RED ICE!”

“GET HER!”

“Is that a zebra?”

“Get him too!”

The shouts were accompanied by gunfire as the Plottawans charged out position.

“COME ON!” I yelled to Cept, bolting in the direction Latvi had headed. Cept followed.

As we ran, I looked around for Latvi, but saw no sign of him. Tch, I only need to be lucky once, Latvi.

We ran into the chaos that was the mixed battle of the three armies. I dodged around Raiders, jumped over slavers, and almost got trampled by a Steel Ranger with one of each on its back.

“This is madness.” His voice was in my ear, but I reasoned Cept was talking to himself.

“Yeah, kinda.”

Wherever our pursuers were in the mess, they weren’t shooting at us directly. Nobody was. Everybody was packed too closely together. Knives slashed at us as we ran, drawing bloody lines in our coats. I hissed every time but didn’t stop.

Finally we burst through to the other side of the throng, and almost immediately had to skid to a halt as two griffons slammed down in front of us.

Still not McCoy, Wicker or Eitom. How many Monsters are there?

The two mercs brought their guns up. “End of the line, Red I-” His head exploded as a bullet ripped through it. Cept and I dove for cover as the remaining griffon fired wildly at the unseen assailant. I willed a spike of ice up from the ground, sending his rifle flying. He dove after it, but two more shots sounded, and he dropped to the ground.

Somebody grabbed at me and dragged me to my hooves, pushing me forwards. We ran. We ran, and didn’t stop. We moved in the direction of ‘away’ for as long as my burning lungs would let me, and then even further.

I was near blinded by the spots in my eyes when we finally did halt. Collapsing on the ground, I rolled over slightly to see Cept, also doubled over. “*Huff* *Wheeze* Good… shooting. Where’d you… get the gun?”

“*Puff* I… thought that you were the shooter?”

My breath caught in my throat. Aw hell.

“You’re welcome, you two.”

Shaking my head to clear my vision, I rolled towards the speaker. Casually loading bullets into twin revolvers, our protector was watching the way we’d come for pursuit.

The shock and exertion made the need to breathe more prevalent than ever. It took several deep breaths before I could finally blurt out a single word. “Wings?!”

Her sapphire eyes were still watching our escape route. “Hey Snow, busy day today.”

I was still gaping. “What… what are you doing here?”

“Was tracking the Plottawans. It’s not often you see that many of them out at once. Didn’t know they were coming after you and your Raiders. You must’ve really pissed ‘em off.”

I couldn’t tell if that was a compliment or not.

Cept recovered before I did, regarding Wings with suspicion. “Are you one of McCoy’s griffons?”

Blue fire blazed in her eyes. “Fuck no. Don’t lump me in with them. I’m nice.”

“You just shot two griffons in the face.”

The chocolate-and-cream griffon didn’t blink, instead giving a casual shrug. “...I’m mostly nice. Breeze says hi, by the way.”

He started. “She does?”

She shrugged. “Eh, probably. You’re Cept, right? Only met you once.”

“Yes, I am Cept. It is nice to see you again.”

“Then she says hi. See? Nice.”

“I… see.” He joined her in watching our path. “Are we still being followed?”

Wings flapped up a few metres for a better view, descending with a shake of her head. “Can’t see anybody. Musta got distracted by somebody back in the big rumble. Lucky us.” She slipped her revolvers back into their holsters. “So I know why Snow was with the Raiders, but what about you? I kinda doubt you’re looking for that life.”

Cept locked eyes with me before responding. “Snowflake and my clan have an arrangement, though it seems neither of us will achieve our goals.”

My breathing was back under control now, so I rolled myself upright. “Speak for yourself, Cept.”

“Still you persist?” Revulsion, and some pity, mired his face. “I must speak with my clan, to discuss our next move. Please excuse me, Wings.”

Confused, she just grunted. “Sure, no problem.” One claw came up, pointing away from the direction of the Raiders. “Head that way for a while before you go your real direction. Snow and I’ll head in another direction, see if we can confuse them if they come following our tracks later.”

Nodding respectfully, he said nothing more. He left, moving at a rapid jog.

Yeah, go pout. No Breeze kiss for you.

We watched him go for a little while, then Wings turned back to me. “Sounds like we have some catching up to do, Snow. I talked to Schwarzwald,” Of course you did. “and I want to hear your side.”

“My side of what?” I challenged.

“Whatever all this is.”

“That’s not an answer.”

She huffed a little. “Fine, you wanna do it like that? Let’s get some more distance first, so they can’t find us by following the yelling.”

~~~~~~

The sounds of the three-way battle stayed with us for longer than I remembered as we moved away from the action. It was a long time before Wings was satisfied that we were clear.

She glid down after one last check of the horizon. “Yeah, we’re good. Must be crazy over there.” She landed a few metres from me, a wry grin on her face. “Guess you’re getting out just in time, huh?”

“I’m not getting out.”

The grin vanished. “What?”

Shrugging, I started walking around her in a slow circle… for warmth. Mostly. “I’m gonna let my boys have their fun with the Plottawans and Rangers, then when the fight’s over I’ll be heading back there to get my Raiders back.”

‘Flabbergasted’ was too weak a term for how Wings looked. “You… you can’t be serious. Snow, you can’t go back there. They’ll kill you if you do.”

I just rolled my eyes. “They’ll try.”

“Snow!” She chirped sharply. “This isn’t a game. Think about what’s happening back there. Even without the Plottawans and Steel Rangers, one person can’t control all that!”

“I can! I did all the work, and I’m gonna be damned if I let somebody else get all the rewards!”

Her brisk step forward halted my motion. “Snow, listen to yourself! Why does all of this nonsense matter so much to you?”

Bristling, I glared back at her. "You're calling it nonsense?"

"Well, what would you call it?"

“I call it MINE! I was the one who dared to do it, I went to every different Raider hideout with nothing but a few friends as backup, I kept it going even after Four Fields died, and I didn’t allow Latvi to win! It was my mission, my responsibility, and my proof that I’m not just a joke!” Seething, I had to take a deep breath before I was calm enough to continue. “I did it all. I made it all work. Nobody, not even my friends, thought I could do it. They… you did nothing except lie to me, steal from me, ignore and look down on me! Well not this time! It. Is. Mine!”

The blue fire had dulled in her eyes as I railed at her, but it hadn’t gone out just yet. “Even after all this time, after all that’s happened, you never once thought that we might have had a good reason to do that? Cassie and I didn’t attack you for laughs, Snow! We thought-”

“‘We thought’ is the problem! You thought you knew better than me! You thought I was dumb and useless and an easy target! Well I haven’t been blindingly running all over the Wasteland in a panic ever since, you know, I’ve been working to get my stuff back. I didn’t sit and cry about it, I made deals and arrangements with groups like the zebras so that we both win. The deal now is that they get that bastard Latvi, and I get my Raiders AND my Pipbuck AND my Memory Orb back!”

Her claw twitched towards her holster. Wings’ normally brash, confident voice came out hollow. “You… you sent hunters after your things? That could put the others in danger, Snow! What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that if I still had my fucking gear then maybe this wouldn’t have been necessary, would it, Blue Fire?!”

“Don’t you try to turn this around on me, Red Ice. I just saved your sorry flank from your own fuckup!”

“I’ll put it on you all I like, considering this all started with you!” My eyes were burning as we glared at each other. “Why did you do it? Really? Why did you get up that morning and decide to strand me in the fucking Wasteland by taking away the only two things that could tie me to my home?”

Wings was scrutinising my eyes in silence, feathers bunched and tense. “Since when could your eyes do that?”

Dammit, Sombra! Stay dead why don’t you! “Nevermind my eyes, and don’t change the subject. Why did you and Cassie attack me in Whinniepeg? Why did YOU attack me at all? Why…” The burning increased, and a line of wetness ran down my cheek. “...have you never once said you were sorry?”

She was looking into my eyes now, rather than at them. Still, attentiveness wasn’t what I wanted from the chocolate-and-cream griffon.

She seemed to know that too. “Snowflake, I’ve never said it because I still don’t know if what I did was wrong or not. Listen, you’re a Stable pony. A very kind Stable pony. You hadn’t yet learned the truth of the Wasteland.”

“And you wanted to teach me, is that it?”

“Let me finish. Your Pipbuck is no joke. Gear as good as that doesn’t come around often nowadays, especially not out in this region. It’s valuable, and obviously irreplaceable to everybody except you, since you know where to get more.”

It’s irreplaceable to me too. I won’t be going back to the Stable again.

Wings wasn’t done. “You were nice, and you didn’t know the Wasteland yet. You didn’t know the people out here, so what was to stop you from giving it, and your Stable, over to the Steel Rangers if they convinced you that they were the good guys? Worse still, what about Plottawa, or the Raiders, or even this Latvi guy I keep hearing about? If you were alone and they offered to ‘help’, would you say no? Even if you did, your magic sucks and you can’t shoot worth a damn. Even letting them know that your Pipbuck was out there would be too much of a risk in the long run, because of what they could do with it. Schwarzwald, Bosco, Naiara and the rest would be in too much danger if that happened. Cassie and I had to make the call.”

“...What.”

Wings’ confusion prevented her from answering, but her feathers began bunching as she took notice of the storm brewing.

“You ‘had to make the call’? That’s what you’re gonna say to me? Because there was ‘too much danger’?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???” Wings had gone too far on this one.

“What? Snow-”

“SHUT UP! You are seriously gonna stand there and tell me that it was to keep our friends out of danger? Seriously? If you wanna talk about putting our friends in danger, why don’t we talk about the little deal you made with a couple of Monsters, huh, Blue Fire? Eitom and Wicker sure seemed to get a good price in your deal, didn’t they? What else did you offer them besides the volumes of personal info you already coughed up? You’re lecturing me on trusting the right people, but you were an informant for a mercenary outfit in the employ of an immoral weasel like Latvi! How are our friends going to like the fact that YOU have put them in guaranteed danger, unlike the fiction you and Cassie dreamed up for me?”

There was still some fight in Wings, however. “You know as well as I do that griffons don’t break their word, Snow! The deal I made with those two took that into consideration, since I’m not stupid! The only ‘danger’ that MY actions would have caused to our friends is the same danger they face everyday anyway: The Wasteland. Schwarzwald, Bosco, and the twins have been dealing with that danger every day of their lives for years. They know the risks, and they have each other to back them up. Nothing I did at Gull Gulf was gonna change that, especially since, oh yeah, I went there with Breeze! Do you really think she was gonna let me put her sister in danger? I knew what I was doing, and she was there as backup. We hammered out a deal with Wicker and Eitom, and we did it in a way that won’t let them turn it around on us without breaking contract. Griffons don’t do that!”

I exploded, stomping at the ground, and unconsciously throwing up icicles all around me. “YOU DO! You’ve admitted that you’ve broken contract in the past. You’re a griffon, and you lie, you cheat, and you steal! How can I trust any deal you’ve made? Even if Breeze, who’s not such a saint herself, was with you, I’ve got no guarantee that you haven’t screwed me and my friends over. You’re a liar and a thief, Wings, you go back on your word, you won’t even tell me your real name, AND YOU STILL HAVEN’T APOLO-”

FHUUP THUDTHUD!

The impact stopped my words cold, and sent me stumbling back a dozen steps. When I finally got my hooves back under me, I noticed Wings’ wide eyes. She didn’t meet my gaze this time, instead her vision was locked on my body.

What’s she looking at? And why is everything so heavy? Finally looking down, I saw the damage.

Twin rivulets of crimson blood ran out of inch-wide holes in my barding, and the flesh underneath. I could barely lift my hoof to see the one that’d gone through my ankle.

Kinda more worried about this one in my chest though. Can’t seem to take deep breaths. I guess the Rangers or Plottawans or Latvi and McCoy caught up with us.

Heh, they actually did follow the yelling. There’ll be no living with her now.

I raised my head again to ask Wings if she had any healing potions, or tried to at least. All I managed was to fall forwards rather than sideways.

~~~~~~