Chapter 19-3: Group Rate

“So, which one o’ y’all went an’ plugged mah girl in the chest?”

As I passed, both sisters froze in panic as Lexi cornered them. At her glance, I whipped my head forwards and continued on regimentally. The last thing I saw was her slinging a hoof over a shoulder of each pegasus. “Le’s you an’ me have a li’l talk.”

Yeah, that’s right. I told my… boss on you!

Continuing through the corridors of Sprinkles Supplies, I spotted Wings and Bosco flanking Undertow as the three played poker against some of the off-duty guards. My sister’s quizzical expression as she intently studied her cards made me smile as I trotted along, nodding greetings the the occasional caravan runner going the other way.

I like being welcome here. It’s a nice change of pace. Another safe place to sleep, and no drama.

“You seem troubled, dahling.”

or not.

“Well, it’s just…”

Sidling up to the doorway where the voices were coming from, I eased myself up against the wall. Not getting involved, just gonna listen. That still counts as no drama, right?

“... Bosco isn’t smiling much. Is he okay?”

“No, he is not.”

Naiara and I both inhaled sharply at that.

“What happened?”

“Many things. Do not lose hope, though. I do not believe it is permanent.”

“You don’t? What can I do to help?”

Schwarzwald’s next words were full of genuine warmth. “Be you, pretty thing. Act as you always have around our friends. If it is not clear, you have been dearly missed. Your return has given them all a reason to smile. I certainly am, and Bosco will too.”

Strength returned to Naiara’s response. Even through the wall, I could see her smile. “That’s all you’ll give me, huh? Gotta find out for myself.”

I heard Schwarzwald’s battle saddle shift with her shrug. “It is not my place, dahling.”

“Well, at least now that Snow’s finally got a new sister, I can stop listening to her whining about her brothers.”

WHAT?!

“Indeed. She was beginning to repeat herself. Not at all interesting.”

Are you kidding me?! There was a pause, long enough for me to wonder if they were still there. As I inched forwards, about to glare around the doorframe, two mismatched hooves shot around the corner and hauled me through. I slipped and tumbled forwards in the process, ended up on my back.

Four green eyes, two jade and two forest, leaned over me, upside down. Naiara smirked down at me. “That was for your little act at La Buque, Snow. I was really upset, and you made me think I really had done something I couldn’t take back.”

“Also, you are not stealthy.” Schwarzwald chimed in. “At all.”

Naiara and I stared at each other for a few seconds, with neither us nor Schwarzwald speaking a word. Finally, I sighed, choosing to ignore Schwarzwald’s aside. “Yeah, okay. I shouldn’t have done that. Not to say that I’m not a little angry at you, as one of Atesh’s zebra, but I really did just want you, as my friend, back.”

I took each of their proffered hooves, letting them lift me from the dirt. The night air was cooling just past the point of comfort. Schwarzwald made sure I was upright, then turned to Naiara. “Go on now, dahling, off with you. Go find dear Bosco, and make him smile. I must speak with Snowflake alone for a moment. We will not be long.”

I shared a quick hug with Naiara, before letting her head back inside. Not two seconds after she disappeared inside, however, she poked her head back around the door. “Snow?”

“Yeah?”

She smiled her so-very-natural smile. “I’m really glad Undertow’s your sister now. She deserves you as a sister. Regardless of what else you are, or think you are, you most definitely are the right pony for that.”

I suddenly couldn’t speak for the lump in my throat. All I could do was give her an awkward return smile, as I hastily wiped my eyes.

Then she was gone. I was alone with Schwarzwald, who continued to stare at the doorway for a few more seconds.

Her next words set the hackles on the back of my neck rising, as did the heavy tone she delivered them in. “Finally… you are all gathered.”

“... Schwarzwald?”

She didn’t look at me. “It took longer than I thought it might, but the others are worth the delay.” Her gaze had moved from the door to the rest of the yard. As far as I could see, we were the only two around. She wasn’t satisfied, though, and pulled me towards the deeper shadows. “This way. We will need privacy.”

I wrenched my hoof out of her grip so hard that I slapped myself in the face. “Hey now, whoa. Just whoa. Listen, this whole ‘mistress’ thing was funny at first…”

The mercenary mare paid me little heed. “Snowflake, this is not the time for jokes. What you learn now cannot become known.”

I stood firm, not following. “What am I going to learn? What can’t become known?”

“The light they flung into the future.”

We both looked up, me in surprise, and Schwarzwald in seriousness. Hovering above us, barely visible in the darkness, was a sprite bot.

“Watcher.” About time you two came clean.

“Hello, Snowflake.” The floating robot turned to Schwarzwald. “Are you absolutely sure about this? Is now the time?”

Her reply was delayed. “...I cannot say that I am sure… but I believe it is.”

Seconds ticked by as Watcher processed that. “...Alright. I trust you, Schwarz. We’ll see how this turns out. I do have one question first.”

The attention settled back on me. “Snow, I have to know. Why do you have those eyes? What happened with Sombra?”

“Uh…” Do I really want you to know, Watcher? I glanced at Schwarzwald, who gave a single, curt nod. “...I’ll turn your own words back on you, Watcher. Nobody else finds out about this. I already have enemies who want it.”

“Who am I gonna tell?” He scoffed through the speaker. “Now what is ‘it’?”

“‘It’... is this.” Withdrawing the horn from the innards of my barding, I held it up.

“...There is something there, right? It’s pretty dark out.”

Tense atmosphere thoroughly shattered, I said nothing as I lit up my horn. The moment the glacial light caught the horn, Watcher reared back. “I don’t believe it. It’s still around after all this time?!”

“Yeah. Sombra’s horn still exists, even if he himself died at Cadance’s hooves.”

“And you’re sure about that last part?”

“The zebra are. That jackhole memory mage, Latvi, is.” I couldn’t help pulling a face, not only when thinking about Latvi, but also for Atesh.

“Then destroy it.” He was adamant.

“No.” So was I.

“Snowflake, I told you how powerful Sombra was. I can’t allow any possibility of his return.” When I made no move, he turned to Schwarzwald. “Schwarz, take it from her, and destroy it.”

She shook her head. “If I do that, we may lose everything.”

Noisily deflating, the sprite bot rotated back to me. “Why-hy-hy won’t you just get rid of it?” He whined.

“Because Naiara might need it.” My answer drew a less-than-satisfied silence, so I elaborated. “The war was fought over coal and gems, right? Naiara’s tribe seems to think that Sombra’s crystal powers can be harnessed to grow gems in the zebra homelands.”

“That’s not all there is to it, Snow! There’s an ideological aspect to this too!”

“Not for Atesh, the tribe leader. He’s not a believer.”

Even through the bot’s speakers, the sound of Watcher blowing air past his lips was clear. “Atheist zebra. Well this is just going swimmingly, isn’t it?”

Schwarzwald cut in sharply. “Then return to the matter at hoof, Watcher. The horn’s fate can be decided another day.”

“...Alright. Let’s start over. Where to begin…”

“A light in the future?” I prompted.

The metal insectile nodded. “Right. You remember the Ministry Mares?”

“Of course.” It was drilled into us every day in the Stable. The war and its catalysts, the leaders of Old Equestria.

His voice grew firm, proud even. “Well they were more than those mistakes. Those 6 ponies were worth more than the Ministries. More than anything. Those 6 ponies took it upon themselves to save Equestria time and again before the war. They did it by using something far more important, far more relevant than the Ministries: The Elements of Harmony.” He paused, for no reason that I could see beyond dramatic effect.

“...” Shooting Schwarzwald a worried glance, I was dismayed to receive a smile and nod in return. “And the Elements were…”

“Equestria’s strongest magic. Only to be used in times of great strife, when all other options had been exhausted. Six amulets, representing the traits that the six ponies embodied. They only worked together, and fed off each other. Weaponised friendship.” Pride oozed from his words.

“They sound like megaspells.” The observation was not a positive one.

Watcher didn’t lose steam. “Funny you should say that, actually. See, the Elements could only be used by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, the bearers, because they embodied those six traits, and so-”

“What traits?” I had to interrupt. The conversation was REALLY starting to spin out of control now.

“The six core tenets of friendship: Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, and Magic. Twilight had that last one, as you probably could’ve guessed, given that she ran the Ministry of Magic.”

“So the other five Ministry Mares had the others?”

“Why do you think they got the jobs?”

I sat back in the darkness, taking a moment to digest all of this. “But…” I said at last. “The Ministry Mares are all dead. You said the Elements wouldn’t work without their bearers.”

“I did.” He confirmed solemnly. “For the moment, the Elements remain unable to release their power. They can’t fulfill Twilight’s last wish.”

“Last wish?” I echoed helplessly, barely keeping up.

“The Elements ARE a megaspell, or at least they will be. Twilight sought to use them to end the war.”

“That’s… ominous.”

The floating speaker rocked in the air. “Not even remotely what I meant. The Elements weren’t a weapon, not really. That was a poor choice of words. Twilight wanted to use them to cure Equestria.”

“Cure it from what?”

Watcher panned in a slow circle. “This. The day the world ended wasn’t the first we knew of the radiation megaspells. Twilight knew what would happen if they all went off like this, and tried to turn the Elements of Harmony into a countermeasure. The Elements megaspell, which she named the Gardens of Equestria, will wipe out the radiation, and the Taint, and make Equestria fertile again. Gardens will bring Equestria back from the dead.”

I swallowed harshly, my throat dry. “How?”

“Ah, well, that’s the tricky part.”

“We do not know, dahling.” Schwarzwald had been quietly watching from the side, making note of how I’d been reacting to Watcher’s words. She hardly looked at Watcher at all, in fact. “This is old magic, beyond anything that exists now.”

With her rejoining the conversation, I was beginning to feel outnumbered. “But how are the Gardens of Equestria even going to activate? The Element bearers are all dead!”

“But the Elements themselves live on.” Watcher’s response was encased in conviction. “The Elements were not created for Twilight Sparkle and her friends, two hundred years ago. They… inherited them.”

“Inherited them? From who?”

Schwarzwald’s familiar chuckle came out now. “This will be fun to watch. The bearers, before Twilight-dahling and her friends, were the Princesses Celestia and Luna!”

I didn’t disappoint. Eye bugging, I reared back. “THE PRINCESSES?!”

“Sshh! Keep it down, Snow!” All three of us glanced, heads cocked, towards the open door back into the building.

After a full minute of inactivity, Watcher’s sprite bot wriggled in irritation. “Yes, Celestia and Luna bore them before the six. Others, who I don’t know, bore them before even the princesses.”

“And… others will inherit the Elements in this time.”

The full force of what they were saying began to hit me. “Who is going to inherit them? Do you know?”

“Not all of them. We think we’ve found at least one.” What HADN’T been said far outweighed what had.

“Who?” I fought against the lead weight settling in my stomach. “Do you mean… me?”

This got a full-on bark of laughter from Schwarzwald. “HAH! No, not you. The thought never even crossed our minds.”

“O-oh.” I whimpered, chastised. “Then who?”

Schwarzwald maintained her good cheer. “If the answer cannot be found in Red Ice, then…”

“...Blue Fire. Wings? You think Wings is an Element bearer?”

Watcher interjected before Schwarzwald could answer. “We’re considering it as a possibility. You have to understand that this has been a long process.” He broke off for a moment, floating over to Schwarzwald. “We’ve suffered from false hope.” The gentleness of his words was surprising, but not as much as the hoof Schwarzwald wrapped around him. “More than once.”

“What’s wrong, you two?”

Smiling playfully. “After what happened twenty years ago, I was at last able to get Watcher to stop fixing on just one soul per Element.”

Dread fascination pushed me forward. “What… happened twenty years ago?”

Schwarzwald’s smile morphed paradoxically. It was pregnant with meaning, but airy and weightless at the same time. “Twenty years ago… I lost my chance to be a bearer.”

“You?” I gasped.

“Me.” She deadpanned. “I had another group of friends, so much like the ones you have now. We travelled the Wasteland, saw many things, met all kinds of souls, and accomplished great things together. And then… we didn’t.”

“What… what happened?” I couldn’t tear myself away from her face. Her scars seemed to draw the eye more and more, until I could barely see the face underneath.

“They died, dahling. It is the way of the Wasteland.” The off-hoofedness of the statement drilled into me as hard as the words themselves. Schwarz… twenty years? You’ve been holding on to that secret for two decades? How can you look so unaffected?

Mercifully, Watcher took over. “It… was no longer possible for Schwarzwald to be a bearer after that. Friendship is an important part of awakening the bearers, and… well…” The sprite bot sank, then rose. “Still, Schwarzwald is strong. She’s been working with me ever since. I couldn’t have done this without her. We WILL find the bearers, and Wings is the current possibility.”

Schwarzwald still took up most of my attention, so my reply was somewhat stilted. “Wings. She’s not your only choice, is she?”

“No,” he conceded thoughtfully. “There are others; A shrimpy unicorn filly down south, one cocky bastard of a pegasus with oversized wings, a pious gardener, and a few others. Nothing is set in stone until the Elements awaken. It could be all of them for all I know. There are six Elements to awaken.”

“But why Wings?”

Schwarzwald’s unfathomable ease continued with the simplicity of her next words. I really struggled to find the heartache that she had to be feeling, no matter how much time had dulled the hurt. “Because she is honest.”

“...What.” That’s a bad joke, Schwarzwald. If this whole damn thing has been one giant excuse to fuck with me-

“Wings lies, and cheats, and steals. This is true.” Schwarzwald stepped forward forcefully. “But these are just surface traits. In all the time that I have known her, I have never seen Wings be anything but honest with herself.”

“There is a certain level of interpretation in the choice, sure,” Watcher conceded, “but Fluttershy was not always kind. Rarity was not always generous. Pinkie Pie knew when to stop laughing. What they all had in common, was that they never changed their core selves. Who they were in relation to their Element. That never faltered within them.”

Schwarzwald nodded. “Wings is the same. She has fought everything, including her race, society, and YOU, to remain true to herself. A blue fire burns pure, Snowflake.”

“I…” My head was swimming. “Why are you telling this to me, instead of her?”

“Because YOU are the Red Ice. While Wings has stayed true to herself, you have changed into someone else. That has brought you allies, and enemies, and brought the two of you to each other. For Wings to realise her Element, she will need you, and the chaos you bring.”

“...didn’t mean to.” I mumbled sheepishly.

They ignored me. “You can help her reach her goal, without her falling victim to false hope. That will be our burden. She cannot know.” Schwarzwald stepped back, spreading her hooves openly. “Snowflake, there is no place in the Gardens for you or I, but we can plant the seeds so they may grow.”

~~~~~~

“So… we’re whores now?”

“I believe Bosco would be referred to as a ‘gigolo’...”

“Undertow…”

“...or perhaps he would be the pimp?”

“Undertow!”

“Please stop.”

“Says ‘Harlots’ right there above the door.”

“Breeze, you’re not helping!”

“WOULD SOMEPONY JUST OPEN THE DAMN DOOR??”

“...shouts like a pimp, too.”

“AAAAARGHHH!!!”

Cassie silently walked past a near-catatonic-with-laughter Schwarzwald, and keyed in the passcode for Hoofshine Harlots. “Naiara, we are not offering any services here. It is surprisingly well-stocked, well-hidden, and well-decorated. There is room enough for all of us, you included.”

The zebra’s face lit up. “I get my own room? What’s in it?”

Breeze half-smirked, half-smiled. “Pretty dresses.”

Dimples formed in Naiara’s cheeks as her grin erupted. “I get to wear a pretty dress?” Quick as a flash, she’d dragged Breeze and Undertow through the door and halfway through the lobby. “ComeoncomeoncomeonLET’SGO!”

“It might be good for Breeze to pick out something to wear herself,” Cassie mused, as she followed leisurely. “should she wish to catch the eye of Naiara’s clanmate.”

Having calmed down, Schwarzwald and Bosco were both yawning. Both headed straight to their rooms.

I hadn’t made a move to enter. After the revelations from Schwarzwald and Watcher at Sprinkles Supplies, my mind had been swimming in new information. Naiara’s return had easily drawn the focus of the others on the trip from Sprinkles to Hoofshine, leaving me vainly attempting to process it all. Even Undertow had been more interested in Naiara, leaving me completely free to quietly panic in piece.

“Snow, can we talk?”

Well, not completely free. Wings, the object of my panicked ponderings, had been shooting glances my way ever since she rejoined the group. She’d left, and returned, mid-trip, but hadn’t revealed where she’d been.

Avoiding giving away Schwarz-Watcher’s plan had been hell.

Steeling myself, I woodenly rotated to face her. “Y-yeah, Wings?”

It was a mistake. GAH! Those blues!

Said ‘blues’ were closely scrutinising me. “You okay? You’ve been going pale a lot during the walk. Did you get a little dose of Hissy venom or something?”

Don’t blow it. Just politely excuse yourself from the conversation. You totally did get Hissy-venomed. It’s perfect! Use it! “N-no, I don’t think so.” FUCKING DAMN IT! “I’m probably just tired.”

She didn’t believe me, but let it go regardless. Holding up an open claw, she gestured for me to enter before her. “Well, can we talk in your room for a sec? There’s something I’ve gotta tell you.”

My eyes shot wide. Oh, not again!

I couldn’t do anything, except stiffly lead her down into the subterranean area. Perching on the edge of the bed, I hugged a pillow to my breast as she poked at the booze stores. “What… what did you want to tell me?”

Having located suitable refreshment, she flapped over to the stairs, blocking any quick exit that I might have made. Reclining back against the stairs, the diminutive griffon took a rapid swig from the bottle in her claw, immediately followed by a second. Grimacing, she set the bottle down, and abandoned any pretense of relaxed ease by leaning forwards, resting her claws on her knees. “Snow…”

She’s gonna tell me that Schwarzwald doesn’t exist, and she’s just been humouring my crazy flank this entire time!

“...I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

Twisting her tail hairs around her claws, Wings heaved a sigh. “Whinniepeg. The first time, when Cassie and I…”

“Now?!” I interrupted. “You do this now?”

Mercifully, she mistook my meaning. “Yeah, I should have had more faith in you, and done this sooner. It just took me a while to see you for what you could really do.”

Any balance between my newfound knowledge of Wings’ importance, and my lingering emotions from our various issues was rapidly disappearing. “Didn’t you say you weren’t gonna apologise?” This came out in a rush, ostensibly to fill the silence.

Settling her chin across her intertwined claws, she nodded solemnly. “Yeah, and at the time I meant that, but stuff’s happened since then. I’ve seen you with your sister, and how you handled the twins, and Naiara.” Her talons disengaged, one moving to scratch ruefully at the back of her head. “It got me thinking, and… well I’ve been keeping this in case of emergency, and… y’know…”

Irritation born of awkwardness spread across her face. “Ah, just… here!”

The dim light glimmered on the surface of whatever it was that she’d just thrown at me. Still distracted, I tried reaching out to grab the thing with my non-existent telekinesis. I only barely registered that nothing was happening before the Memory Orb clocked my right between the eyes. “OW, JEEZ!” Sucking in air, I tried to soothe the space between snout and horn.

Wings, meanwhile was face-clawing at the entire situation. “Sorry again, thought you’d catch it.”

“So you threw it at my face? What is this thi-” The object resting in my hooves forestalled anything further. I just stared at it, and at Wings, slackjawed.

Her plumage fell across her sapphire eyes as she looked down. “Took me too long to get that back to you.”

“...My Memory Orb. I-I don’t know what to say, Wings. Why are you giving it back to me? I told you I didn’t need it anymore.”

“You also told me that you still wanted it back.” Her gaze turned reflective. “And you told Schwarzwald that you wouldn’t kill her, or the twins. Days after Cassie put a hole in your chest. Days. When I first took that Orb, I thought you would just give it over to anyone who you thought was nice. Now you know better, but you still stopped trying to kill Cassie because the girl who you gave a family to asked you to.”

She shook her head, chuckling. “I dunno what to make of you half the time, Snow, but I do know that you’re a better choice to hold onto that thing than the Stable pony who saved two strangers from a dozen Raiders… and then puked on my claw.”

I joined in her chuckling for a moment, before sobering, and locking eyes with her. “Wings, thank you. This won’t get me back to the Stable, but it started all of this. I… could use the perspective.”

She leaned forward again, intrigued. “You gonna dive in?”

I held it outstretched, eyeballing it suspiciously. “Hell no. It’s broken. Almost killed me when I looked in there by accident. It’s a paperweight.”

Holding a claw to her chest in mock-outrage, she laid it on thick. “Oh come on, Snow. Give me some credit. I wasn’t just holding onto it, y’know. I was getting it fixed. I met a scientist in Lethbridle, said she’d fix it ‘cause of a deal you two made.”

“...Esto. Is she okay? Last time I saw her, she was in the hospital.”

Wings waved me off. “She’s fine. Left the hospital as soon as she could walk. Said she wanted to make sure her friend was safe.”

I nodded sadly. “Lithu. McCoy killed her husband, on Latvi’s orders. Is she okay?”

“Esto didn’t know. Not sure she’d tell me if she knew. She’s not real fond of you.”

I shrugged helplessly. “No, I suppose she wouldn’t be.”

Wings’ clawtips caressed her revolver in its holster. “Can’t save ‘em all, Snow. You, of all people, know that.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“He’s on our list. We’ll get to him soon.” She pointed at the Memory Orb. “But right now, you’ve got a fixed Memory Orb to see. You can watch it in full for the first time.”

“Yeah…” I held it up to my eyes, utterly unenthused. “Supposed to be days long, this memory. Have I got the time?”

The bed creaked slightly as her weight landed next to me. Wings tapped the barrel of her weapon against the Orb as we leaned on each other.

“Go ahead. I got you covered.”

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.” A voice sounded in the darkness.

I remembered this. I’d woken up in the body of another pony, but I hadn’t known it at the time. Now I did, and I could pay more attention to what was being said. The cave we were in was the same as last time, with dark stone and dripping water.

“Oh don’t worry, my dear,” a sultry voice responded, a shrouded figure stepping into the vision of whoever this pony was who’s eyes I was sharing, “I can feel your protection spells from here, you and your husband went all out. I couldn’t touch you now if I wanted to.”

Still unsure on the husband thing, but this other pony seems to know me, or whoever I am right now.

“Then what do you want? I doubt you called me here just to catch up on old times.” I actually enjoyed the feeling of my host having wings this time around. It was a new experience. The other figure, still covered by heavy cloth, looked away for a few seconds before responding.

“There is something you must see. Follow.” Without even a backwards glance, she set off down the tunnel, and we followed.

After a long, silent walk, we finally reached the point where everything went to hell last time. Now or never.

Wings, if you didn’t get this thing fixed, I am going to be EXTREMELY upset with you.

We rounded the corner again, and everything went white.

FUCKING DAMMIT WINGS!!!

Inside the body of this other mare, I braced for the overwhelming pain to start again, but it never did. After a moment, the white began to fade. It receded until shapes and other colours began to reassert themselves. A huge cavern began to melt out of the white, with a gathering of hooded figures around what resolved to be the sources of the light: One half-sunken sphere, a score of metres across, and several orbiting cages, formed of ethereal bonds wrapped around the creatures within. I couldn’t make out what the creatures were from this distance, but they obviously weren’t there by choice.

My host and her companion moved towards the central recess, where the sphere lay. As we walked, we passed by one of the floating cages, and there was the briefest moment of eye contact between my host and the creature inside, though it wasn’t like anything I’d seen before. Whatever it was, it had a profound effect on my host, as she had to stop and hold her head in her hoof for a moment. “Ugh, what…”

Our sultry-voiced companion stopped too, looking back at us. There was a glint of smirking fangs from under her cowl. “I suspected that you would react to them, princess.” She mocked. “Especially given who you are.”

Princess? There was a Pegasus princess in the past? Nobody ever mentioned that.

My host was still staring at the cages. “They’re… I don’t know. I just feel…” Without another word, she spread her wings and soared up into the air. She took up station directly in the middle of the orbiting cages.

“Majesty?” One of the other hooded figures hissed out.

“Watch her,” the first, apparently royal, pony commanded. “until she comes down. If anything happens, summon me immediately.”

My host was barely paying attention. In every cage, a set of glowing eyes were looking at us. Slowly rotating in place, a few loose strands of mane fell across her eyes.

Loose, multi-shade pink strands. ...Wait a minute.

My ‘Pegasus’ host dispelled any doubt as a powder-blue glow burst from just above our field of vision, with wisps floating out to all of the cages. The creatures inside, and my host, jerked as each one connected.

“Cadence!” The hooded pony called up from below. “Do not lose yourself. I did not call you here for them.”

If I had eyes of my own, they’d be wide open. I KNEW IT! I’m Princess Cadence! She really was in the Stable! Watcher’s gonna be thrilled!

Cadence ignored the warning, ignored everything but the creatures in the cages, non-descript though they were. Hour after hour, she simply floated there, experiencing sensations that didn’t transfer through the Memory Orb connection.

It was beautiful, in a way. However, from my limited viewpoint, it soon grew very tedious.

I hope she snaps out of it soon. I don’t wanna be here all day.

~~~~~~

“So, you spent an entire day with them.”

Damn it.

“What was it like?”

Cadence had a large audience. Besides the original hooded pony, there were scores of others listening in from around the room. I noticed that the royal pony, their ‘majesty’, towered over the others.

Pacing back and forth, Cadence was uncomfortably energetic. “Those things, what are they? There was so much love there! It runs through their very beings!” Her sweet, soft voice spoke as if this was somehow a sad thing. “And yet… they don’t seem to notice it. Almost as if it doesn’t register to them at all. All that love, and they are blind to it.”

“That is true in one sense, but also false in another.” Raising a covered hoof, she pointed at the floating prisons. “They know the love they bear in their bodies, in the sense that it tips the scale.”

Cadence stopped pacing. “What scale?”

“The scale of nature, pony. These creatures, these Windigos…”

Windigos? What are Windigos? Those things?

“...must obey the same nature as all living things. They must maintain the balance between ‘love’, and ‘hate’.”

Cadence jerked in surprise at the royal’s words. I would have reacted the same if I could. “What do you mean, balance? Why would anybody want to lose love or gain hate?”

Letting out a deep chuckle, the royal shook her head, dislodging her hood. “You of all ponies, Crystal Princess, should know how destructive unchecked love can be.”

Ouch, close to home.

Cadence didn’t react as her cloak fell to the floor, but I certainly did.

What. The Hell. Is She? She’s no pony!

Under the hood, the royal creature bore fangs at the corner of her mouth. Like Alicorns, she had both wings and a horn, but her extremities were far removed from any seen on the princesses. The horn was gnarled, and misshapen, yet still jutting out proudly from her forehead. Her wings held no feathers, nor bone, but rather were translucent, gossamer things, like an insect. Both horns and wings were beautiful in their own way, but utterly alien. Her body too, was not that of a pony. Though riddled with holes, she was encased in a carapace of black chiten, the colour broken only by wicked green scales covering the thorax, and an equally be-holed mane, lying gracefully down her spine and shoulders.

The monarch, another princess?, continued her speech. “Everything in existence, be they…”

She pointed her jagged hoof at Cadence. “Pony,”

Then at the floating cages. “Windigo,”

And finally at herself. “Or Changeling, or anything else, must maintain their own unique balance of love and hate.”

A ‘changeling’? I’ve never heard of those. Why didn’t Watcher tell me about them?

The Changeling royal flapped her wings, beating out a thrumming vibrato. “Windigos are creatures of love, through and through, which drives their hunt for hatred. They feed upon it, to maintain their balance. It is what makes them our natural enemies. We Changelings are creatures of hate, which is why we seek out love to survive. We too have a balance to maintain. Even you ponies do, though you fall far closer to the centre than we two extremes.”

Cadence was as stumped as I was, it seemed, but recovered far faster. Taking a step forward, she spread her wings to counter the Changeling’s stance. “Tell me, Chrysalis, why have you brought me here?”

“Queen Chrysalis,” She snapped, finally giving me a title to go with the name. “and I have brought you here to inform you ponies, our far less troublesome food source, of the danger we all face. All thanks to the actions of you and those pathetic zebra.”

Cadence blinked. It was a strange experience to see from behind the eyes. “Our actions? Do you mean the war?”

Rolling her eyes, Chrysalis gave her a pointed look. “Of course I am speaking of your meaningless war. Every day that goes by, every death and setback that you incur, fosters more and more hatred. You fools are drawing the Windigos to Equestria from beyond the northern mountains, and starving the only creatures capable of driving them back!”

Cadence reared back, shocked. “You Changelings have been… protecting Equestria?”

Chrysalis exhaled dismissively. “To the same extent that any farmer might protect their crops. Understand this, Cadence. If your war does not end soon, the Windigos will end it for you. They will sweep down upon pony and zebra alike, feeding upon your petty squabbles until none, not even my subjects and I, could stop them. Your war is dooming not only Equestria, but the entire world.”

“I had no idea.” Me neither. “So what would you have us do?”

Chrysalis’ poise returned to that of a stately ruler. “Ideally, Equestria would return to how it was, during your wedding. I told you then that there is more love here, than anywhere else we have hunted. However, I do not expect this to happen, given your enemy. So I must take more direct action. Observe.”

She, followed by her Changelings, and Cadence, moved to an empty patch of cave. Chrysalis’ horn glowed, but she spoke before casting whatever spell she was preparing. “Remain completely still. Make no movement, nor sound, and under no circumstances are you to use magic. This will be a short demonstration, but dangerous.”

Rising above our heads, Chrysalis’ ignited her spell. Green fire sprang up around her body, utterly encasing her form. When the fire faded, there was no sign of the Queen. In her place was… snow?

The Queen-turned-squall grew in size, swirling around us, faster and faster, until the entire group was completely encased in a miniature blizzard.

Abruptly, one of the magical cages vanished, freeing the trapped Windigo within. I marvelled at the sight. Part cloud and part equine, the creature bayed echoingly around the chamber. Running on nothing, it swept around the cavern, riding the Changeling-blizzard at times. Its head swung back and forth, searching for something, but it always turned away again, regardless of how close it came to the blizzard.

When it was on the far side of the chamber, green fire burned through the blizzard again, and suddenly the Queen was back, and the snow was gone. Firing from her disjointed horn, she snapped another cage around the Windigo before it could react. The magic prison floated back to its position among the others, the ghostly beast helpless within.

Cadence stared on, in awe, as the Queen descended to stand before her. “What did you do?”

“I took the form of a magical blizzard. It can shield others from the Windigos’ senses. It is our first defence, and how we hunt them.”

“I have to ask this again. After what you just showed, why have you brought me here?”

Chrysalis bit out the words like they were knives on her tongue. “Because, though I am without equal amongst you ponies, as I proved when I effortlessly defeated Celestia,” She paused for a moment, content to let the comment sink in with a smug expression.

Wait, when she effortlessly WHAT?!

“I will say again that the Windigos will smarm to Equestria over the northern mountains. Mountains. Plural. Even I cannot hide an entire nation with my magic…” She locked eyes with Cadence, gritting her teeth further. “...not without help.”

“So you called the mare whose wedding you invaded. Literally invaded.”

The irony was lost on precisely no-one. “You are the Princess of Love. You wield the Crystal Heart, which can focus that love. You are nothing but a battery for my greatness.”

Cadence wasn’t going to let her off that easily. “So you need my help?”

“It will be an undertaking that will dwarf anything you ponies have ever done!”

“So you need my help?”

“...I should have left you under Canterlot.”

“But you didn’t, so let me help.”

~~~~~~

The next few days passed in a blur, as evidently there were still flaws in the Memory Orb. Cadence left the cave to consult with a pony I would come to understand was her husband, Shining Armour, and to fly to the very northern edge of Equestria, to see the mountains for herself.

Why didn’t anybody ever tell me that Equestria used to be so beautiful? How could we ever have thought to use the Megaspells, when the cost was losing all of this?

Finally, Cadence returned to the Changelings’ cave again. “The preparations are in place.” She informed the waiting Queen. “You understand what this will mean, for them?” My carrier’s voice had changed. Gone was the hard edge, now it was strained, conflicted. The mistrust was still there but it was battling with empathy.

“I do. That’s why I brought you here. I want your promise that you’ll do what you can for them while I handle this. Don’t let them fall.” Chrysalis’ voice was breathy. Finally, it cracked. “Please?”

The Crystal Princess of Love swallowed, a lump forming in her throat. “I……I won’t. You have my word.”

Satisfied, the unicorn nodded. “Then they will be in good hooves, though I’d prefer neither Celestia nor Luna hear of this. They…would not be so kind.”

“You have my word. This will be my secret, and mine alone.”

As I watched, a tiny sparkle fell from the darkness of the unicorn’s hood, then another. She was crying. “Thank you. Now, can I ask one more favour from you, before we begin? It is a small one, I promise.”

Cadence nodded in response. “Of course, what do you need?”

“Could you teach me that song that the little filly espoused when I first met her? How did it start? ‘Sunshine, sunshine…’”

I jerked awake, simultaneously gasping and groaning as three days of inactivity caught up with me. Holding my head, I staggered into a fall from the bed. I barely even felt the floor beneath me, as I tried to push myself up on papery hooves.

“Whzzat?” I familiar voice called out from the bed. “Oh! Snow, you’re back!” Springing from the sheets, Wings grabbed my leg in her claw, sending electric fireworks up and down my circulation-deprived limbs.

When she finally got me standing, I could do nothing but stare at her, too disturbed to even blink.

Her sapphire eyes shone with worry as she held me up, gently. “Snow? Talk to me, what’s wrong?”

I opened my mouth, trying to talk, but no words came out.

“BHLEURGH!” Something else did, though. All over her claw.

“...Again?!”

~~~~~~

Level Up!

Perks gained: Those Who Fail Harmony. - Snow receives an Endurance boost when Schwarzwald or Wings are in the party.

~~~~~~

Author's Notes:

So, did anypony recognise Watcher’s other prospects?

As always, a big thank you to KKat, Y1, Auramane, Cascadejackal (he did the original cover art, which is still on the Fallout Equestria wiki), Void Heart (he did the new cover art), Shunketsunoponi and you, the readers. Please read and comment, and pass the word along if you like the story. Finally, because I find it a really funny coincidence to have another fic with a Stable 61 that’s set in Equestrian Canada, go read Fallout Equestria: Pure Hearts.

That’s all for now, folks. Please keep reading, commenting, and spreading the word on Old Souls. I really appreciate your feedback.