Chapter 3-2: 100 In Three Darts

The south side of Lethbridle was actually quite lovely. The sun was going down as we arrived but the shopkeepers hadn’t started packing up yet. We unloaded the Raider gear we’d collected for caps which both lightened our loads and increased our coffers. I left Bosco haggling over the meat from the Molar Bear that I’d killed and walked down the main concourse.

Despite the snow outside it was actually pretty warm from the day’s shoppers. This must have been common as there were green-leaved trees growing in the middle of the street. I stopped under one for a little while to catch my breath and take stock of what I had left as well as avoid the glare of the setting sun.

I still had most of my original supplies, though I had swapped my pistol for some charges to go in my Power Hoofs when Bosco wasn’t looking. If he kicked up a fuss I’d gift him the bullets since they’d fit his gun. I was just no good with a firearm I was hesitant to use and saw no point keeping it if I could find another way to fight.

I still had the pristine rifle that we had no ammo for and I took it out to examine as Bosco joined me and began packing away his purchases. Thanks to our little hideaway outside of town we were set for food and medical gear. Bosco had used his caps to get some reinforced armour to wear under his tough Molar hide cloak. By the shine on it he’d also had his knife treated. He seemed satisfied and packed his gear away.

I was still examining the rifle when a hooded blur cannoned between us, knocking us both to the ground and swiping my rifle out of the air. The thief took off running down the street. “HEY! THAT’S MINE!” We took off after the hidden figure but I quickly outstripped Bosco as he struggled to maintain his balance with the new weight.

The thief was quick and knew what they were doing, dodging between shops and swerving around corners. I’d have lost them if not for my Pipbuck showing the bright red ‘hostile’ marker wherever they went.

Heh. Not always something to run AWAY from.

Finally the sneak reached a block-off road and cast around for a second or two before diverting down an alley. By this point Bosco had caught up and we’d both gained ground in the seconds of indecision. We charged in after the criminal, trapping them in the dead-end. “That’s mine! Give it back now!”

The thief’s hood moved back and forth, looking for a way out but there was nowhere to go. Eventually they turned back to us and a raspy voice emerged. “It’s mine. Why are you chasing me, smoothcoat?”

My Power Hoof buzzed to life and cracked a paving cobble as I stamped my hoof. Bosco made a show of drawing his shiny new knife. “Don’t lie to us again, punk. You’ve got nowhere to go except through us and we’ll end you if you try.”

Bosco’s words made the hooded figure uncertain but it seemed determined to put on a front. “You’ve got no proof! You’re just a wet-behind-the-ears colt trying to act tough by picking on a ghoul!”

I jumped in here, unveiling my Pipbuck confidently. “No proof? How about an inventory list with an exact match to that gun? A gun which is missing from my packs right now. That’d be mighty suspicious now, wouldn’t it?”

A haggard chuckle came from inside the hood. “Oh, I understand. Stable pony, eh?”

Bosco and I shared a glance. “How do you know?”

The chuckling continued. “Let’s just say I’ve been around a while.”

The pony pulled back their hoof and my eyes went wide. “B-Bosco...”

He glanced briefly in my direction while simultaneously trying to keep the...thing in his sights. “Stay calm now Snowflake, everything’s fi-”

“LOOK OUT! IT’S A MONSTER!” I cowered behind Bosco to keep the apparition away from me. It still had the very basic shape of a pony but that was where the resemblance ended. Blotchy, melted skin covered the creature’s head. It had even warped down and completely covered an eye. The other orb was discoloured and sunken. What little fur and mane were left were filthy and coated in grease. Yellowing teeth emerged from the remains of lips and bare bone ran up from the chin to the jaw below the stubs where the ears should have been.

The thief seemed to find my reaction hilarious. “Hehehe. Stable ponies are fun to mess with.” He drew himself up to full height and his voice became deeper and more menacing. “Out of my way or I’ll eat you!”

I shrieked and backed away but Bosco stepped forward brandishing the knife. “Unlucky you. She’s from a Stable. I’m not. You ghouls don’t frighten me. Now hand over the gun!”

Sensing that his ploy was in trouble, the thief swung the rifle up and pointed it at us. After a few seconds of him pulling the trigger and only empty clicks sounding from the barrel he became apprehensive. “Damn. What idiot Stable do you come from that they don’t stock their guns, filly?”

I was still frozen in fear of the ghoul’s hellish appearance but Bosco had had enough. He charged forward and slammed the ghoul into the wall, retrieving the gun in the process. “You’re really doing wonders for the whole ‘ghouls are just normal ponies’ idea, you know that?” You could have cut the sarcasm with a knife.

The ghoul criminal bristled at this. “Don’t you preach at me, smoothcoat! You have no right to say anyth-”

A rumbling bass voice cut him off. “What’s going on here?”

“Oh great, the bighorns are here.” Bosco muttered as he backed away from the ghoul.

Much as I hated to turn my back on the strange demon, I had to turn around to address these new arrivals. I turned...and was elated to see three mountains of fur and muscle blocking the mouth of the alley. The buffalo were decked out in body armour which barely covered their important bits. Each was full size and would have outsized my brothers by a dozen inches at least. Their fur colour ranged from beech to oak and their horns were prominent and looked extremely sharp.

All of this made no difference to me as I failed to register their glares as I skipped ecstatically towards them. To me, buffalo were infinitely safer than...whatever that thing back there was. The fact that I didn’t know them was of no consequence right now. I stopped in front of the leader and beamed. “It is so good to meet you! I’m Snowflake.”

The buffalo were apparently not expecting this reaction. The two behind the leader exchanged confused glances while the oak-furred leader himself seemed taken aback. “Umm...yes. Good to meet you too ma’am. I’m Chief Rockhaunch. We keep the peace around here. Can you tell me what’s going on?”

I was elated to be around buffalo again. I’d missed them. This was shaping up to be a really good day. This lovely city, a potential new zebra friend and now maybe a buffalo to add to the list! “Well, Chief Rockhaunch, we were just minding our own business in the shopping district when he barged into us and took off with my gun!”

The buffalo glanced up towards Bosco and the ghoul. “Is that so? You been causing trouble again, vagrant?”

The ghoul seethed at this. “You’re all the same. Acting like I’m a monster!”

Bosco wasn’t happy with where this was going. He held up the rifle for the buffalo to see. “Listen, Chief, we got our gun back and would rather not make trouble so how about we head on our way?”

Rockhaunch looked between the two for a moment. Then he grunted and turned back to me. “Can you prove that you are the owner of the weapon ma’am?”

I nodded happily. I unveiled my Pipbuck, ignoring the frantic look Bosco was giving me, and showed it to the chief. “Uh huh! If you check my inventory you’ll see an exact description of the gun. Yet somehow it’s not in my packs. What are the chances of there being two such pristine weapons in the vicinity?”

Rockhaunch remained sceptical. “That’s pretty circumstantial ma’am. Is there anything else you can say that’ll help us out?”

Before I could respond, Bosco jumped in. “No, no she can’t. We’re sorry to have wasted your time Chief.”

The ghoul began to protest but the other two buffalo stepped forward and he quieted. Rockhaunch looked at all three of us impassively before nodding his giant head. His bow narrowly missed catching me with his impressive horns. “Well we are at an impasse. I have seen no evidence that the weapon belongs to the ghoul BUT also no evidence of any wrongdoing on his part. So I will ‘advise’ you all to vacate the area immediately and drop the issue for good. Understand?”

Bosco looked relieved. The ghoul looked annoyed. I was simply happy to have my gun back. The ghoul slinked past us and stalked off up the street under the watchful eye of the guards.

As we were setting off, I forgot myself and reached up to grab Rockhaunch’s horns. I slammed my forehead against his before tottering off past the three buffalo and one colt who were all watching open-mouthed. Granted I was having a little trouble keeping my balance after the hard headbutt but I was still lucid enough to hear the two deputies burst out laughing.

~~~~~~

“So what was that back there?” Bosco had been holding his tongue until we got to Nightcap’s. Now that we’d settled down into a corner booth in the...let’s face it, the place was a dive. Dim lighting, lackluster cleaning, surly clientele and an owner/operator who didn’t ask personal questions. Now that we’d settled into a corner booth Bosco wanted answers.

“Which part?”

“The thing with the Chief? You headbutted him!”

I laughed, waving it off. “That? Buffalo gesture of good feelings. You can use it to say thanks, like I did.”

Bosco had his head cocked to the side. “First you speak zebra and now you act buffalo. What in the hell was your home like?”

My cocky smirk probably wasn’t helping. “I can dance griffon too if you’d like. And my home was lovely!”

“Yeah yeah sunshine and lollipops all round.”

“Well not so much sunshine. Obviously there was no sunshine inside but outside was...well I mean it got light and it got dark but there was always the blizzard going on outside. It was all around us.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. In all the time I lived in the Stable it never stopped. Ever.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Try being on monitor duty.”

“Eesh. No thanks.” We both chuckled at this. Bosco got up to go to the bar. “I’ll get us some drinks. What do you want?”

“Whatever cider they’ve got.”

He nodded and moved off. I took the opportunity to look around at the rest of the bar. It was getting crowded but the drinkers all sat huddled close around their own tables, ignoring the world around them. On the walls of the bar were some fading pictures of the owner with other ponies and on-one-occasion a griffon. Nightcap looked a lot younger then. He still had both eyes too. His eye patch would be hard to avoid staring at when I asked him about the zebra’s package.

Over in another corner of the bar near the crackling jukebox was a buffalo snoring gently. I recognised him as one of the deputies from the altercation a few hours before. His three Unicorn companions were ignoring him. In fact...

Are they looking at me?

Yes. Yes they were. As soon as I caught the eye of one all three got up and began making their way across the bar.

Where was Bosco? Still at the bar. I couldn’t really read their faces in the low light but three-against-one was never good odds. I surreptitiously began reaching for my Power Hoofs. I’d only got the left one on before they stopped at my table.

The three unicorns wore faded lab attire and eyeglasses. They all had bleach-blonde manes but their coats were one white, one darker blue and one grey-black. The grey-black mare was apparently the leader as she spoke up in a rolling low accent. “Good evening. Sorry to bother you but we had a report on your little spat with the ghoul earlier.”

I held the Power Hoof in a way that would make activation easy. “You did? Was he a friend of yours?”

She chuckled. “Oh no, nothing like that. I only mentioned him as a reference guide. In fact HE doesn’t interest us at all. No, what we wanted to talk to you about was the fascinating device on your foreleg.”

I didn’t make a move to reveal the Pipbuck to them. “Who are you and why would you be interested in that?”

She didn’t stop smiling but her companions’ faces became more drawn. “Ah, I apologise. My name is Esto and these are my colleagues Latvi and Lithu. We are researchers of magic and technology. We would like to talk to you about examining your device.”

I nodded warily. “You want to bargain then?”

Her face pinched slightly. “If that is necessary but I don’t think a look is worth much.”

I glanced around briefly and noticed Bosco returning. I tried to convey to him that everything was okay before addressing her. From the look on his face didn’t get the message or wasn’t convinced. “I might have something I wish to ask you too. Sit down Esto. Just Esto.”

Latvi and Lithu didn’t bother to hide their annoyance at that but Esto turned to placate them. “It’s fine. Latvi, Lithu, please go make sure that our friend isn’t bothered while he rests.”

Lithu perked up at this and she sauntered off. Latvi looked more surly if anything as he followed her. Esto turned back to me and gave a helpless little shrug. “Sorry about that. Lithu likes our buffalo friend. Latvi likes Lithu. Neither know about the feelings of the other. They will not bother us.”

Bosco only sat after Esto did. “Good. We don’t want a lot of company. It remains to be seen if we want ANY.”

Esto merely nodded. “Understandable. Let me make my interest clear then. I wish to examine the lady’s device. What can I offer to be allowed this opportunity?”

I thought back to what we had come to Lethbridle for. To get the Memory Orb fixed and examined. Bosco had Orbs too that he couldn’t view without a...

Ooh! There’s an idea!

“Tell me, Esto. Do you have access to a Recollector?”

She blinked in surprise. “A Recollector? For Memory Orbs? Yes we have one of those.”

I smiled. “Then that’s my price. You get to examine my tech and my friend here gets access to yours.”

Bosco looked at me in grateful astonishment. “Snowflake, I...thank you.”

I smiled back happily. “It’s the least I can do for your help, Bosco.” I turned back to the mare. “Do we have a deal?”

She held up a hoof. “One moment. You obviously have Memory Orbs of your own. Will we be allowed to view them at the same time as your friend here? The information carried inside could potentially be priceless. They are such fascinating things.”

Perfect.

I leaned forward. “So your research also studies Memory Orbs?”

She too learned forward. It was obvious she didn’t get much opportunity to talk about the work that clearly excited her. “Most definitely. Latvi knows the spell to create them.”

“Could you repair one?”

~~~~~~

“We’re taking on a lot of sudden extra responsibility. Are you sure you’re up to this?” Bosco was not terribly pleased at the current development as we strolled out of Lethbridle’s eastern gate.

“Doing it this way is a sure thing rather than travelling to another city to take a chance on some other Unicorn knowing their stuff.” Esto had agreed to repair the Orb and allow us access to her Recollector in exchange for a look at my Pipbuck and “another small task”.

“You do remember I told you to avoid Plottawa?” Not terribly pleased at all.

“I remember but we’re not going to go all the way there. We’re going to find out what happened to the supply caravan that they were waiting for and that’s it.” I didn’t hear Bosco’s muttered response but I think the words “got a bridge” were in there somewhere.

We stopped at the tree line and waited. It didn’t take long before a hooded figure strolled out of the woods. “You didn’t take as much time as I thought you would. Do you have my package?”

I nodded, happy that I could do this for her. I held out the package. “I have it right here. Since we were quick I certainly hope my bits are still with you.”

The zebra didn’t move. “Package first. Then you get your bits back.”

“Or maybe we could take a look inside and see what’s so important for ourselves...” Mused Bosco.

Immediately she started forward. “NO!”

“BOSCO!” I snapped at the charcoal colt. Turning, I tried to soothe her. “It’s alright, it’s alright. We’re not going to look. Don’t listen to him. Look here, I’m putting it down. Come and take it.” After putting the package down, I backed off and glared at Bosco.

The zebra flowed forward and gracefully grabbed the package, stashing it under her cloak. The relief in her eyes was obvious. I nudged Bosco in the side. “That was not nice, Bosco. Say you’re sorry.”

“What?!”

“Do it! She’s my friend and you don’t try to extort my friends!”

Bosco was split between abashed and annoyed, but he still turned to the zebra. “I’m sorry whoever-you-are. I shouldn’t have done that.”

She was examining the contents and didn’t reply beyond a grunt.

“Is it what you needed?” I asked in a gentle tone.

Her eyes glimmered as she looked back with a smile. “It’s all here. Thank you, svara.”

Beaming, I spread my hooves wide. “Shall we do the introductions again? I’m Snowflake, and this is Bosco.”

Packing her things away, she gave a cute little bow. “Iyanda tunyel roga, Snowflake, Bosco. Wiv pec Naiara.”

I mirrored the action. “Iyanda tunyel roga, Naiara.”

Bosco didn’t. “Yeah...yander tunnel rugged to you too, Naiara.”

She chuckled at this. “Nice try. Maybe Snowflake can give you some lessons.” This earned a scowl from the colt as Naiara and I shared a giggle. Hers was considerably more refined than mine.

“I’d love to talk with you some more, Naiara. Unfortunately we have to be going. We’ve got a bit of a trip ahead of us. Will you still be around in a few days?”

“Uh huh. I’ll try to get into Lethbridle through one of the other gates. One of the guards will want a bribe. Oh, speaking of which...” She held out a familiar bag. “Your bits.”

I walked up close and took them from her. “Thank you.”

“Well they ARE yours. Don’t need to thank me for that.” She rubbed her neck, embarrassed.

Still smiling, I shook my head. “I didn’t even have to ask. It means a lot to me that I met some one like you. Somebody who isn’t just always looking out for themselves at the expense of others. That’s what I’m thanking you for.”

Her grin was getting wider and wider. “Ah c’mon now. You’re gonna make me blush. Go on, get outta here.”

“Sure. Trig roga prefkam saabi, Naiara.”

“Roga bagata, svara.”

~~~~~~

“I still don’t get what she has against stars.”

“Let it go, Bosco.”

“You told her that you hoped she would escape the stars’ notice, right?”

I sensed he wasn’t going to let it go. “Zebra mythology doesn’t like the stars much. They consider them kinda...well...evil.”

“Evil stars.” He deadpanned.

“No worse than ‘evil’ zebras.” I warned.

No more was said on the matter. We just kept walking. It’d been a few hours since leaving Naiara and Lethbridle so the clouds were black. I marvelled at how quiet the night could be without the blizzard. It was calming. A much better end to the day than the last few. Perhaps things were looking up after all. Had I had my trial-by-fire with the first few days? Or was I just hopeful and trying to ignore what was still to come?

I shook my head. I didn’t want to deal with those questions right now. I just wanted to enjoy the night. It was the first time I’d really seen one outside of the Stable. Everything was clear and crisp. The cold didn’t seem to bother me as much either. Everything had just relaxed and let nature run its course. The noise of Lethbridle was behind us and all the little creatures had retired to their beds. It felt like walking through a dream. The cloud cover prevented the stars from appearing though.

Naiara would say that was a good thing.

Too bad. Going by what I’d seen of the world outside the Stable so far the history files and picture books in the Stable wouldn’t have done them justice. It was a little off-putting that the clouds still hadn’t shifted though.

I was about to ask Bosco what our chances of a starry sky were when the echo of a laugh sounded through the trees. We immediately drew closer to each other. I checked my Eyes Forward Sparkle. Yellow ‘neutrals’ were ahead.

“Is that the supply caravan?” I whispered to Bosco.

We moved forward cautiously as he answered. “Could be. They could just have been held up. Still I don’t want to take any chances.”

We kept silent as we inched towards the increasing noise. An orange glow began to emerge from between the trees. Something was on fire. As we got closer it became apparent what that something was.

We hid behind a snowdrift and peered out at the scene.

Broken crates were piled up to make a fire in the centre. Three ponies sat around it laughing and joking. They were enjoying the spoils of the destroyed caravan.

Bosco pulled us both back down out of sight. “They aren’t Raiders. My guess is that they’re from Plottawa.”

“Slavers?”

He nodded grimly. “I guess we know what happened to the caravan.”

“Then should we get out of here? We have what Esto wants.”

He shook his head. “Not good enough. We need some proof. Going back empty-hooved won’t get us our deal. We need something to show that we found the caravan ponies but I didn’t see any bodies around.”

“Then they might still be alive!”

He whipped his head back and glared at me for a number of seconds before responding.

“On no, Snowflake. We are NOT staging a rescue! We don’t know where those ponies are. Besides which, the slavers have us outnumbered!”

“No they don’t.”

“!”
“!” Bosco and I both jolted in surprise.

Naiara was standing on the snowdrift. “You two are louder than you think, y’know. Of course that made it easier for me to sneak up on these three. They were a few steps from shoving their guns up your-”

Bosco cut her off. “How did you kill them so quickly? I didn’t hear any gunshots.” He turned to me. “Did you hear any-why aren’t you surprised?”

I looked at Naiara sadly as I answered. She just stared back quizzically. “Zebras don’t need guns to kill. Which style?”

She cocked her head to the side and grinned. “You really have been around Zebras, haven’t you? Stompeii Emboli style.”

I looked around in shock. This really wasn’t the terrain for it. “Out here?”

Naiara snorted in amusement. “Like I needed the full show for these grunts. They were totally fixated on gutting you two. You’re welcome by the way.”

I flushed in admonishment. “Sorry. Unten, svara.”

She waved me off. “Ah you’re welcome. You want their stuff? I like to travel light.”

I nodded but didn’t move. I’d learned my lesson from last time. “Bosco?”

“I got it.” He moved over the snowdrift and let out a low whistle. “Not a scratch?! How the hell...”

“Zebra.” Naiara and I answered together.

As he moved to check the bodies, Naiara faced me. “I got the gist of what you guys were talking about while I was tracking you. You really should talk quieter and, y’know, less when in unknown territory. You need to find some supply caravan ponies for some guy back at Lethbridle, right?”

“Basically.”

Naiara crossed one leg daintily. “Well it is pretty dark and those guys back there are two mares and a stallion, soooo...”

I didn’t get it. “Soooo what?”

“She wants us to dress up in their clothes and sneak in. I’m all the way over here and I got it.”

Yes Bosco, rub it in. Snowflake isn’t always clever.

“Naiara, it’ll be dangerous. You’ve got no stake in this.”

She rubbed the back of her head. “Well, I wouldn’t say that.”

That was strange. “Are you sure? Is this even a good idea?”

Bosco dropped down besides us, newly burdened with gear, including three uniforms. “Course it’s not a good idea. However it’s what’ll happen. You two’ll go either way and I’ll feel bad if I didn’t go with you and you ended up dead. And we do need to get evidence for Esto.”

He’s got a point...jerk.

~~~~~~

“This is itchy!”

“Hmm…weren’t you saying something about talking less?”

“Shaddup Bosco!”

“Hehehe.”

“Both of you knock it off, we’re getting close to the gate.”

After donning the uniforms we’d begun following the hoof prints of the three slavers back to their base. It had not been a pleasant walk. Naiara had already voiced her displeasure and the mare who wore mine had apparently been skinnier in the hips than I was. The fabric rubbed in…places. Bosco hadn’t said a word after grumbling that he didn’t want to leave his Molar Bear cloak behind buried in snow.

We had no choice though. The manifest had been among the belongings still in the caravan and it didn’t list any pelts. We’d taken the record with us as a precaution. It’d listed the caravan ponies as two a merchant called Contego and a caravan guard by the name of Vorbis. Nothing else was said about them. It hadn’t mentioned what they looked like or their race.

What the manifest had mentioned was the caravan company name: Sprinkles Supplies. The company logo was an unfamiliar but unique symbol. It’d be easy to see.

We were approaching the gate to the slaver compound. It was all dark metal and stone. The gate looked solid and there were gun emplacements and ponies patrolling the walls.

30 feet from the gate several spotlights kicked in. We hastily covered our eyes. “WHO GOES THERE?” The unseen voice sounded from atop the formidable walls.

Bosco growled around the hoof covering his eyes. “Knock that light off will ya? We just got back from salvaging that supply caravan!”

“PROVE IT!”

Naiara held up the manifest. “Got the record right here. We brought back all the gear we could carry. The rest is piled up at the site. Happy?”

The light’s kicked off. The voice was much softer now. “Happy enough. Come on in out of the cold. Drop the gear inside at the sorting office. We’ll handle the rest. Just head on through to the auditorium. It’s a fun time tonight.”

We all found ourselves blinking at the sudden invitation. “Uh…sure. Sounds good. Come on guys.”

We headed through the gate after it rumbled open. The guards were all smiles and helpfulness as we passed. I was worried that Naiara’s ponifying makeup wouldn’t be good enough to fool the sentries but she was treated no differently than me or Bosco. We dropped the supplies off at the sorting office as instructed and then followed the signs towards the auditorium. As we got closer we heard music and noise growing louder.

“These guys seem remarkably well adjusted for slavers.” Naiara and I nodded at Bosco’s evaluation. I certainly hadn’t been expecting this. Everyone seemed so happy. I was picturing grim and scarred vagrants. Maybe an eye patch or two. This was…almost nice.

The confusion continued as we opened the doors to the auditorium and a wall of noise slammed into us. Everywhere we looked ponies were dancing and laughing and partying! Seriously, this was the most festivities I’d seen ever! There were more happy ponies here than there were residents of Stable 61 and they all seemed in good spirits.

I spotted a bar off to the side and nudged my two companions towards it. Getting through the crowd was difficult but each pony we jostled just smiled and mouthed an apology over the pumping music.

We finally managed to burst through to the bar. Well two of us did anyway. I felt lips on my ear as Naiara tried to make herself heard. “…ST BOSCO!”

“WHAT?”

“WE LOST BOSCO!”

“WHAT!?” I looked around but couldn’t spot the colt anywhere. Was he back at the door? A cursory glance told me that was a negative. I leaned further over the bar to look down its length. No Bosco there either. Naiara nudged me in the ribs and pointed. She had a MASSIVE smile on her face. I followed her hoof and grew a grin of my own.

On the raised platform in the centre of the room there was a line of dancing girls with their forelegs around each other’s shoulders. A line of dancing girls…with one charcoal-turned-scarlet colt in the centre trying in vain to keep his leg-kicks in time with the dancers. His eyes were screaming for help but Naiara and I just fell back against the bar at the hilarious sight.

The bartender dropped two drinks in front of us with an amicable smile. “Heard about your job. Nice work. Per the rules, free drinks all night for a successful haul.” He strolled off to attend to the other patrons.

Naiara and I grinned even wider and clinked glasses after we’d verified that we were drinking the same as everybody else. Bosco had escaped the kick-line but two of the dancing girls had followed him. He was looking increasingly uncomfortable as they draped themselves over him in a far booth. Neither my zebra friend nor myself was willing to make the trip through the sea of bodies to ‘rescue’ him.

Naiara wasn’t even looking in his direction. She was looking towards the raised platform again where the dancing girls had given way to some troops who looked to be making up their own moves. With a lopsided grin she vaulted onto the bar and began hopping from shoulder-to-shoulder across the crowd.

They protested at first but after one of the grooving ponies on the stage noticed her he beckoned and the throng began supporting her as she rushed towards the challenge. She powered past the stallion giving the bring-it-on gesture and took up position opposite him. Instantly the stage emptied so it was just the two of them.

It.
Was.
On.

The stallion moved first. He began with a simple stutter-step back-and-forth before passing it over. Naiara smirked and then moved. It was breathtaking. Her motion never stopped. Like a river she moved through her routine in one continuous flow. The crowd sat transfixed and silent as the zebra danced. I was no different. It was truly a sight to behold. Thunderous applause erupted as she finished and gestured for her opponent to continue. The stallion knew he was beat and began clapping. Myself and the audience soon followed suit. Other freestylers swarmed the stage but Naiara still held the centre.

As she continued to have her fun I was content to marvel from the bar. At least until the choice was taken from me. As I set down my empty second drink I found myself being lifted bodily off the ground and carried towards the dance floor. I was helpless wriggling my legs in the air as the crowd laughed around me. I couldn’t lay eyes on who was carrying me but whoever it was seemed strong as any of the Doublehorn boys. It really did not seem as if they were struggling. Only when we reached the open space and I was rapidly spun down and around did I come face to face with my assailant.

Oh, my.

Creamy hazel eyes and a flowing blond mane graced an Earth stallion face with a dazzling smile and silky oaken fur. After spinning me back right-side-up the mysterious slaver hadn’t released my hoof. It was warm. As was his voice. “Can you dance as well as your friends?”

“I…”

His smile widened. “Let’s find out!”

I didn’t even get to attempt a reply this time as his hoof began directing my body through a series of steps and twirls. I struggled to decide whether to try to complete the steps or pull away. It didn’t seem to matter as the jocular stallion always seemed to compensate and keep the rhythm. I knew for sure that I’d never come even close to dancing like this before.

The music seemed to perfectly match in the background. So much so that I only became aware of how it all came together after it ended. As soon as the lack of music registered in my eyes when the song ended I began searching around. When I looked back the stallion was on stage with a mic dropping down in front of him. “HOW’S EVERYPONY DOING TONIGHT?!”

The crowd gave a thunderously enthusiastic roar in response. The stallion pumped his hoof. “YEAH! That’s what I wanna hear! Now I know we’re all loving the dancing prowess of our colleagues who’ve returned in triumph so I’ll only take a little bit of your time.”

I finally learned my dance-partner’s name as the crowd chanted “Peanut! Peanut! Peanut!”

‘Peanut’ made a calming motion with his hooves. “Come on Plottawa. I’ll be up here all night at this rate. I just wanna say thanks for all your hard work and make sure to let me know if there’s anything wrong here and we’ll fix it. I couldn’t do this without you all. YOU PONIES ROCK!”

With the floor-shaking applause that followed I barely noticed Bosco tugging at the sleeve of my uniform at first. Finally he had to drag me away from the stage and out into the corridor. Naiara was waiting for us when we got out there. “Come on. This’ll be our best chance to find Contego and Vorbis. Unless you wanna dance with your coltfriend some more?”

I returned his amused smirk. “Knock it off, playboy. You were practically wearing those fillies.”

Naiara shushed us both. “Save it for counselling, you two. Let’s go!”

~~~~~~

It seemed that with the big party going on the place was operating with a skeleton crew. On our way to the slave pens we only happened across one group of ponies who were taking food to the guards on duty. We volunteered to ‘help’. Chatting with the provisions ponies on the way cemented the impression that we’d seen in the auditorium.

They loved it here.

These slavers were the happiest ponies I’d come across in the entire wasteland. They were well fed, provided for, safe and valued by their leader. Peanut was seemingly benevolent. He’d even set up a non-combatant wing further in for those too old or infirm to continue slaving raids. These ponies had jobs for life. They’d move to clerical or support positions when they couldn’t be frontline any more.

All it cost was the freedom of other sentient beings.

What are you, Peanut?

~~~~~~

When we reached the slave pens, we saw the other side of Plottawa. Even here there were signs that Peanut was kind. All the slaves were clothed, clean and nourished. No evidence of mistreatment was present.

What are you, Peanut?

“Snowflake!” Bosco’s hiss interrupted my thoughts. The colt nodded over to two ponies in a pen on the other side of the courtyard. Both bore the same symbol as the one on the Sprinkles Supplies caravan.

Nodding, I retrieved some food bags from the carts and followed him over. As we dumped the bags through the secure chutes Bosco leaned in to talk to the more muscular one while I quietly addressed who I guessed was Contego. “Contego? Esto sent us. Are you alright?”

The stallion raised his downcast eyes in confusion. “E-Esto?”

“Yeah. She asked us to find out what happened to you.”

He lowered his head again. “Well, here we are. Fat lot of good her knowing does. No way we’re getting out of here.”

“Don’t say that. We just have to-”

“Do nothing,” rumbled Vorbis from the side, “You try anything and you’ll be in here with us. Best bet is to get word to our company and they’ll get us out somehow. Contego, give her your badge. That’ll be proof we’re here.”

The smaller stallion sadly handed it over. “Right. We’ll just wait then.”

I tried to convey as much sympathy as possible. “I’m really sorry. If there was any other way...”

He just shook his head. “There isn’t. Don’t worry. They treat us okay here. Just not a whole lot to do unless we get sold.”

Our conversation was cut short as the provisions ponies trotted over. “Everything okay here?”

I turned with what I hoped was a convincing smile. “Oh yeah, just making small talk. No need to be mean, right?”

The smile was returned. “Exactly. This is just business. We don’t have anything against these ponies and hurting them hurts our profits. Come on now. We’re heading back. You’d best go fetch your friend.”

I moved off with them for a moment before I registered what he’d said. “My friend?”

“Yeah. The mare you two were with. She saw Peanut heading to his office and went after him.” He gave a dry chuckle. “Probably a love confession. Colt gets them a couple times a day. Hasn’t said yes once though. Least he’s nice about it.”

Bosco and I looked around. Sure enough Naiara was nowhere in sight. We looked at each other and set off without another word.

~~~~~~

After lots of helpful directions from the happy kidnappers we arrived at Peanut’s office and opened the door just in time to see him lever Naiara into the wall.

“Let her go!”

His expression was still genial but his eyes were hard and he didn’t relax his grip. “She’s your friend. I understand. However she did attack me. I can’t allow that.”

My Power Hoofs hummed to life as I sprang at him. “I said LET HER GO!”

My wild swings never connected. Peanut’s easy dancing was no fluke. He always seemed to be in the place to avoid being struck. I wasn’t so light on my hooves. His backhoofed strike caught me under the chin and spun me end-over-end. I landed in a heap next to the now-fallen Naiara.

Dusting himself off, Peanut began walking towards us. “Now I’m not sure what this is about but I’d really like to know. Will you tell me yourselves or do I have to-”

He didn’t finish his thought as Bosco barged into him from the side. Peanut casually moved with the hit, turning Bosco’s momentum back on him as he slammed the colt face first into the desk.

Naiara and I had recovered by this point and moved back in before Peanut could press his attack. I charged in straight with my powered limbs while Naiara made use of one of the core tenets of Stompeii Emboli. Namely that attacks aren’t limited to ground-orientation. Quick as a flash she’d bounced up a bookcase and ricocheted off the ceiling.

Peanut’s eyes widened slightly at this unusual approach but his reflexes were equal to the task. He grabbed me around the wrists and swung me up into Naiara. This collision sent us both slamming into the high-backed desk chair and then to the floor. A barely conscious Bosco landed heavily on us a moment later. All three of us groaned in pain.

Peanut didn’t keep up the attack. He merely brushed himself off, righted his desk chair and sat down. He placed his hooves flat on the desk and continued his uninterrupted thought. “Now will you tell me what this is about please?”

The three of us struggled to our feet but neither answered nor attacked. What would be the point? Peanut wasn’t even breathing heavily while I had a splitting headache and struggled to see straight. Naiara had one swollen-shut eye and Bosco had a busted nose.

What are you, Peanut?

“No answer? Very well.” He sighed and made to rise.

“Wait!” I had a sudden idea but needed him right where he was.

He stopped mid-rise. Hooves still on the desk. “Yes?”

This better work or else we’re all gonna be in those pens.

I shut my eyes and concentrated. “You want to know who we are?”

His amusement was clear. “Oh yes. Most certainly. This is the most interesting event my office has seen in years.”

I was still straining with the effort it took to pull off my plan and had to bite out my words. “These...two...can...intro...duce...themselves. Me? I...am...”

My headache was growing worse from the exertion but I had to continue. This monster would kill us all otherwise. I thought back to the other monsters and other deaths. A thought came.

This’ll make the event even more ‘interesting’, Peanut!

“I...am...”

One last push. Come on, Snowflake!

I willed myself through the pain as my horn finally began to glow. “I...am...RED ICE!”

My horn blazed and the temperature in the office dropped instantly. A deafening crackle sounded as ice formed around Peanut’s hooves and fixed them to the desk. He regarded them in mild shock. “Well now...”

I lacked the strength to turn to my friends but I could move my head. I looked them in the eyes. “Guys...get us...out of here...”

Then the world went away as I keeled over.

~~~~~~

Level Up!

Perks gained:
Gotta Hoof It To You: Your prowess in unarmed and Power Hoof combat has increased.

Chill Factor - Your Frost Magic has increased.

~~~~~~

Author's Notes:

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.