Chapter 20-2: Mirrors And Roses

The walk to the meeting point was tense. No sooner had we decided to move then the other seven zebra, my harasser included, had melted into the night. That left us with Cept and Naiara as the only two zebras… that we could see.

Nobody was happy about that last part. Wings, Cassie, and Breeze were keeping constant surveillance overhead, while Bosco, Undertow, and Schwarzwald refused to leave my side. Naiara kept pace with both our group and Cept, holding position between us and him.

As we walked, I found something kept nagging at my mind. After the third time I’d drifted into Undertow, she perturbedly shrugged me back into position. “You are not watching where you are walking, big sister. Are you worried?”

“Huh?” I blinked, startled. “Uh… no. I mean, yeah, I am, but that’s not… y’know, actually, forget it. It’s not important right now..”

Her goggled eyes twitched towards the two zebra for a moment, then turned back. “We have time, Snowflake. Please, tell me what is bothering you.”

Her open, earnest worry sailed straight through any resistance I might have had. I’m never going to be able to say no to you, am I? Ducking my head to hide my smile, I spoke quietly. “I was thinking about those buffalo.”

“What about them? Their anger is not your fault, Snowflake. It was not you who ordered the attacks on them.”

That wasn’t what I was worried about. “Yeah, I know, that was all Latvi. We’ll settle up with him later. It’s just…”

“Yes?” After I didn’t answer immediately, and she simply continued to wait, I had to finish my thought.

“It’s just… my brothers- sorry, our brothers are buffalo too.”

“In your Stable, yes?”

“Yeah.” Safe and sound. “I was just thinking, that with…” I gave a dirty glare all around, hoping against hope that none of the cloaked zebra were still within earshot. “...with all that we’ve learned from… my ‘little trip’, I was wondering whether I would need to go back to the Stable.”

She cocked her head quizzically. “Why would you need to go back?”

“Well I found the… thing in the Stable in the first place. It kicked everything off. What if they’re connected?”

“But what does that have to do with our brothers?” Her obvious delight in saying that was infectious.

“Well, I’ve been out here for so long now. There’s so much that I’ve seen, and been through...” I glanced skyward, at our feathered friends. “...and had taken from me. I guess…” Once I realised exactly what it was I was about to say, my breath caught in my throat.

“You guess…” She pressed.

Gulping, I pushed through. “... I guess I kinda stopped thinking I’d ever go back.”

Heh, I really did start thinking that, didn’t I? Wonder when that happened?

Did I ever think I’d get back?

“Especially after what happened at the Raider summit. I saw a vision when Latvi… did what he did.” Having to censor my words from fear of eavesdropping was getting aggravating. “I was back in the Stable. I saw, well, everybody again. I saw my three brothers, just as I remember them.”

“Tell me about them.”

Gladly. I couldn’t remember exactly how much I’d told Undertow so far, so I just started talking. “Well, they’re three triplets. Probably a little older than you and Bosco. Buff, Al, and Lo. All of them different, but all of them my little brothers. They had a mother, Mrs. Doublehorn. She was the sweetest mother in the world, even when she struggled with things. She loved those three with all her heart, and always made room for me too. I guess they adopted me just as much as I adopted them.”

My sister smiled her beatific smile. “I want to meet her someday.”

My return smile slipped a little. “Sorry, Undertow, but she died a long time ago. We were all just kids, not even old enough to get a Pipbuck yet. Still, I kinda took care of them after that. Made sure they did their homework, kept ‘em from fighting, saw that they didn’t stay up too late. The usual stuff so that they were good boys.” My reverie began to fade, so I sniffed back my moistening nose. “But that kinda brings me to my point. If what I saw really is connected to the Stable, then it might not be a matter of wanting to go back, I might HAVE to go back.”

The weight of my words evidently weighed down on both of us, as Undertow’s response was tentative, unsure. “That’s good, isn’t it? The Stable is your home, big sister. You can see your family again.”

Somehow, that didn’t ease the load across my shoulders. “One thing at a time, Undertow. Going back to the Stable would be nice, but I meant what I said before my…” I sighed. This is so stupid. “...’little trip’. I’m… not really a Stable pony anymore. I’m different now. I wouldn’t be normal, even if I did go back.”

Playfulness laced Undertow’s words, even as she nuzzled me comfortingly. “I am not sure that you really could claim to be normal, Snowflake, even as a Stable pony. Still, for what it is worth, let me say this.”

She rested her forehead against mine, whispering. “I didn’t know you as a Stable pony, but I know you now. The pony you are now, Snowflake or Red Ice, is my favourite person in the entire world. You are not perfect, in fact you are a long way from perfect.”

Ouch, little sister. Ouch.

“But if WE go back to the Stable, then I won’t let anybody try to turn who you are into a bad thing. You are my sister, and Buff’s, and Al’s, and Lo’s. You are OUR sister, and we all love you for who you are.”

The weight across my shoulders was forgotten in light of the lump in my throat. I couldn’t even speak for the joy I was feeling. Chrysalis, I feel like I could keep you fed forever right now. Even with all the hate coming my way, it’ll never be enough to overtake my family.

Undertow had definitely earned herself a Stable visit. If I ever got the chance, she was coming with me, without question. I should probably talk to Cassie about getting my Pipbuck back.

~~~~~~

The day was half-lit by the time we stopped. Cept excused himself to fetch Atesh, accompanied by Naiara, and shadowed by Cassie in the air. Bosco had us check our weapons were ready to go while we waited for them to return.

We weren’t waiting long. Naiara and Cept emerged from around a grey, lifeless hillside just as six other striped equines shimmered into view with them. Upon seeing them approaching, in equal numbers to those we wielded, everybody tensed up. Cassie would react before any of us, should she spot any danger with her sharp eyes, but we’d still have a fight on our hands if things went rough. Cept was no slouch as a fighter, and all of the others still carried their powerful rifles.

“Come on, Cept, be on the level.” Breeze bit her lip as she muttered to herself. rolling a grenade between her hooves.

“If he’s not, I’ll put my knife through his chest for doing this to Naiara.” Bosco’s growl was lower and colder than usual. Ever since his capture in Whinniepeg, he’d been harder, less eager to trust.

Works out well right now, though. He’s looking out for Naiara, same as always, but being serious about it.

The eight zebra stopped a hundred yards from us, and we watched as they huddled up. Snippets of rapid zebra speech floated across to us, but I couldn’t catch enough of what any of them were saying, as the words of the other seven clouded the sounds.

Seemingly reaching a consensus, Cept and Naiara detached from from the huddle, walking towards us, several yards apart. They kept glancing at each other as they crossed the gap between us, watched by both sides. Both halted ten yards away.

Naiara spoke first, cautiously stepping forward. “Okay guys, don’t freak out. Be cool. You’re gonna be cool, right?” There was a playfulness in her words, but the tightness around her jade eyes betrayed her worry.

Cept hid his better. “As promised,” he gruffed out, “I surrender Atesh into your custody.”

The space between the two distorted, momentarily reflecting an image of Wings’ beak on Undertow’s face, before Atesh removed the Stealth cloak. He hoofed it to Cept, who accepted it without breaking his stare. “Should anything happen to our Elder while in your custody, we will not forgive you.”

Atesh stroked his tuft beard for a moment before moving towards us. “Do not worry, Cept.” There was no sign of the calm he’d previously shown. If anything, he looked bored. “This is not a clash of enemies. It is a negotiation between mutually interested parties.”

We spread out in a hexagon, allowing Cept to walk to the centre, where he gathered his robe around him, and lowered himself to the ground. If he was angry at being held like this, it didn’t show past his uninterested visage.

Wings clicked her talons in irritation at Atesh’s behaviour. “Undertow, Schwarz, watch him. You know what to do if he tries anything.”

“Of course, dahling.”

“Yes.”

Nodding, she turned back to Cept and Naiara. “Let’s get things started already.”

“Yes,” Atesh suddenly became much more animated in our midst. “let us start. In fact, I will begin: I am here today to negotiate the return of the horn of King Sombra, currently in Snowflake’s possession.” He locked eyes with me as he said the final two words.

The reaction from the others was mixed. Naiara went pale. Undertow didn’t react. Schwarzwald’s smile remained, though shrank slightly. Wings, Bosco, and Breeze just looked confused.

“The hell’s King Sombra?” Breeze’s blue and white mane swished back and forth.

“I thought there were only Princesses in Equestria?” Bosco’s grey eyes flicked between Atesh and I.

“Snow, what’s this horn?” Wings’ look blazing blue eyes were relaxed, but expectant.

Mock surprise bled into Atesh’s speech. “You have not told them, Red Ice? You carry a dangerous relic of the Old Empire, one which might change the entire world, and you do not tell your companions? Why ever would you keep this a secret?”

Three pairs of eyes came to rest on me. Possibly four, if Cassie was watching from above. None of them looked impressed. It’s not gonna be that easy, Atesh. “And WE are here to convince Atesh, and his clan, that doing this would be a bad idea.”

Atesh grinned victoriously. “And what do-”

“Not finished.” I snapped.

His grin vanished.

“So let ME tell you who Sombra was.” Yeah, I’m taking this away from you. You can thank Watcher for filling me in. You aren’t the only one who knows about Sombra. “Sombra was king of the Crystal Empire. It was an ally to Equestria, and home to the Crystal Ponies. Sombra, the Crystal King, was an absurdly powerful unicorn who specialised in crystal magic.” Among other things. “And Atesh here wants the horn to grow crystals for his homeland, since he claims that was what the zebra were fighting the war for, two hundred years ago.”

Now, Atesh displayed some of his old ways. Drawing himself up haughtily, he affected an air of insulted dignity. “I do not just ‘claim’-”

“BUT here’s why Sombra’s Horn shouldn’t be hoofed over so easily. King Sombra was a bastard. He sealed his entire empire away for a thousand years, and tried to kill one of the Princesses of Old Equestria when he came back. He’s bad news.” I pointed at my face. “My weird eyes? Compliments of Sombra. It’s the reas… It’s PART of the reason I went off the rails with the Raiders.” How easy would it be if I could blame the whole thing on the horn? “Crystal magic wasn’t his only power.”

“A power which only corrupts the weak-minded.” Atesh was standing again now, openly ready for an argument. “You have just confessed to being a puppet to a ghost. You are not fit to hold that horn.”

“And who is? Latvi?” I ground my teeth at his barbs. “That’s who you’re planning to give the horn too again, right? The pompous unicorn who thought it was a good idea to steal a Raider army from a known criminal.”

“You.”

“Unimportant! Latvi has memory magic, and no morals. If he gets the horn again, he won’t use it to grow crystals for your homeland, he’ll dig and dig inside the horn until he’s found every dark little secret Sombra had, and he’ll use them to further his own goals. Hell, if Latvi figures out how Sombra hid the Crystal Empire, he’ll bring it back and take it over himself!”

I froze, stunned into silence by my own sentence. “Shit, that’s exactly what he’ll do, isn’t it?”

Atesh said nothing, but from the grimace he wore, it didn’t seem like he really disagreed.

The elder zebra soon found his voice again, though. “Whatever Latvi wishes for the horn is simply a fantasy. He will not have any choice but to use it for the purpose that I decide. We will take him by force, and renew our homeland. That crystal spell will be mine!”

“...At any cost, is that it?” Wings questioned airily.

Incensed though he was, Atesh didn’t bite. He still had some politician in him. Before speaking, he gathered his robe around him. “The horn represents the best hope for my people. I am not comfortable leaving it with Red Ice.” His sunken hazel eyes met those of my friends, one after another. “And I do not believe that you all are either. What will you do, now that you know the truth?”

Unsurprisingly, Breeze was the first to voice her opinion. “Snow’s a damn idiot for messing around with a magic she doesn’t really understand, especially if it made her go full Raider.” Her single blue-white bang whipped back and forth as she fixed Atesh with a pointed stare. “But all you’ve done is try to discredit her. You haven’t answered any of the concerns she raised about Latvi.” She spun the grenade on her hoof. “Snow can suffer with the horn, if it means others don’t go full Raider. We can handle her, but I don’t want another one.”

Um… thanks?

Bosco wasn’t any more enthused about Cept’s proposal. “What she said. Snow’s our problem. We’ll deal with it.”

“...” For once, Atesh and I reacted the same way.

A warm, familiar chuckle drew my gaze to Schwarzwald. Ah, hell. She’s got that damn smile again. “I see no evidence for what you say, Atesh. Snowflake has always made questionable decisions, even before she picked up this little trinket. From what I can see, it is equally likely that she hid it from us because it is merely a stallion stand-in.”

Atesh looked revolted at her words, while I was left choking on my own spit. You lying bitch! Did you have to go there? My little sister is standing right next to you!

Recovering sooner than I did, despite the snickering coming from all sides, Atesh moved on to Wings. He bypassed Undertow entirely, no doubt having heard about her from Naiara. “And you? I do not believe it will make much difference either way, but I will ask regardless. In your opinion, is Red Ice truly who you wish to hold possession of the horn, knowing what it is capable of?”

“I…” She began, before faltering. The sapphire blaze in her eyes flickered as she looked at me, evaluating.

Well, shit.

Taking a deep breath, she tried again. “I think that the horn should-”

“INCOMING!” Cassie shouted down from on high.

“Wha-”

BOOM!BOOM!!BOOM!!!

Great clouds of dirt and fire ripped outwards as the rockets hit. We were all thrown off our hooves.

As we all lay groaning, Cassie yelled again. “MOVE! GET OUT OF THE WAY!”

As we scrambled, three more rockets hit. The world spun around me, before I slammed down hard. My head lolled to the side just as Atesh crashed down beside me. Cept and Naiara were there in an instant.

“Protect the elder!” Cept bellowed, sweeping the area for the unidentified threat.

“BWAHAHA! I TOLD YOU BASTARDS I’D BE BACK! AND I BROUGHT MORE GUYS!” Crush and his increased entourage surged forward, still firing rockets. The zebra were only just beginning to return fire, while Cassie had her rifle out and blasting.

The ten buffalo soon split up. Four moved to engage the zebra, another four reacted to Wings’ and Schwarzwald’s returning fire, leaving Crush and the armoured pony to stride straight towards me, Atesh, Cept, and Naiara.

“Come on, new guy. Let’s show these damn stripes what happens when you mess with the baddest in the Wasteland!” Crush’ mud-brown body was bristling with weaponry, and he opened up with all at once.

“Fuckfuckfuck!” We all dived aside, Cept and Atesh to one side, Naiara and I to another as a cascade of automatic fire lanced through where we’d been standing.

“Ahahaha! Don’t run, just stand still and die, punies!” Crush moved to follow Cept and Atesh, while the armoured buffalo turned to us. Without a word, he lowered his head and charged.

“Move, Snow!” Naiara shoved me aside, before flipping away. At Naiara’s shout, the charging buffalo faltered, crashing to the ground. He rolled over onto his side, head facing me. I found myself looking into his eye, in the dawn light. He stared back, the one eye I could see looking almost... familiar.

“Look, just stay down and you won’t be hurt.” The eye widened as I spoke, and the buffalo it was attached to jerked upwards, scrambling backwards at top speed.

“You’re… you’re here!” His voice, muffled by the helmet, squeaked out.

“Uh, yeah. Listen, just stay out of it!” I couldn’t spare any more time on this guy. Crush and his band had to be stopped. Turning on my heel, I rushed towards the four trading fire with my friends.

As I neared the fight, I saw one Buffalo go airborne, as a grenade from Breeze went off under his belly. He landed with a splat, guts spilling out from under him. If he wasn’t already dead, he soon would be.

Breeze took two grazing shots to the shoulder from one of his buddies, and dropped back in pain.

“Breeze!” Cassie drilled a high-powered rifle round through the skull of the buffalo who shot her sister. He too dropped.

That left two more. One was swiping and shooting at Wings, as she wheeled and dodged above him, letting loose with her revolvers whenever she saw unarmoured fur. The buffalo barely winced at her shots, and kept firing.

The last of the four was dueling with Schwarzwald and Bosco. Just before I reached them, his launched a rocket, but it only made it halfway between the two sides when a stray bullet set it off. All three combatants were thrown backwards, to lie groaning on the ground.

“AARGH!” Wings’ screech snapped me back to her fight. The buffalo had gotten a hold of her hind leg, and was crushing it between his hooves.

“Let her go!” My Cryo Serpent shot forward, faster than it’d ever been, and wrapped around HIS hind leg. Startled, he let go of Wings, and swatted at the ice on his ankle. “BITCH!”

That was all he managed before Wings, Cassie, and I all slammed into his head at once.

“Motherfucker, that’s hard!” Wings complained as we fell away. She was right, it’d been like hitting stone.

Swaying, the buffalo began to drop, but bit down on his battle saddle as he fell. Unconscious, his guns ran until they jammed.

“AARGH!” Wings hooted, cradling a wing.

“Let me see.” Cassie dropped down next to her, gently examining the injured appendage. “Not good, it hit the joint. You need a healing potion.” Cassie turned to me. “Snow, go help the others. There’s still a fight going on.”

“R-right.”

With our group out of immediate danger, I went looking for Crush. If we stop him, we end this. I passed the armoured buffalo again, who was still sitting where he’d been before, following me as I moved. Kinda creepy, but whatever. It’s not important right now.

Of the remaining five buffalo fighters, one was dead. Two striped bodies lay motionless across from him. The other three were facing off against the other stealth-cloaked zebra, with the growl of gatling fire battling the crack of the zebra rifles.

That left Crush. The leader of the buffalo was taking on Naiara and Cept at once, as they fought to keep him from Atesh. The old zebra was behind the two, weaponless, and unable to do much against Crush’s vast array of guns. Still, he hadn’t been hit yet.

Cept and Naiara were doing their best, but they didn’t rely on weapons like their clanmates either. Every time one got past Crush’s guns, his goring horns would drive them back. Something had to give.

That something was Undertow. Propelled by her water, she splashed down on the big buffalo’s bad. As soon as she was down, she began whipping her tendrils this way and that, dislodging or destroying Crush’s weapons.

“What the hell? Get offa me!” Crush shrugged his shoulders rapidly, trying to dislodge her, but she held fast.

“Naiara, get away!” Undertow called down from her perch. “I will hold him.”

“NO YOU WON’T!” Crush threw himself backwards onto his back, crushing Undertow between himself and the ground.

“UNDERTOW!” I couldn’t see her under Crush’s bulk. All I could see was his big, crooked, sneer.

“There you are, one horn, you’re first.” Rolling himself upright, he unloaded with everything.

A wall of ice shot up before me, catching the barrage. I caught the barest reflection of purple smoke before the wall shot forwards, slamming into Crush and sending him sprawling. I felt warm spots on my coat, but didn’t care.

Four Cryo Serpents shot out at once, rising from the ground and biting into the guns on crush’s mammoth battle saddle. One after another, his guns turned to ice and shattered before his eyes.

Unarmed, he struggled upright, glaring at me. “I don’t need those to gut you, little pony. I’ll take you out myself!” Snorting and stamping, he barreled towards me.

I wasn’t even looking at him. All I could see was the still form of Undertow, lying on the ground.

“MMMMRRRROOOOO-urk!” My ice wedge cut him off mid-bellow. It crashed upwards into his neck, halting his charge and trapping him in that position. His hind legs scrabbled ineffectually to free him from the perch.

“Do you know who I am?” It was like I was hearing my voice from somewhere else. It was unnerving how calm I sounded.

Crush wasn’t unnerved. He just continued to struggle against the ever-growing ice. “Some bitch. Who cares?”

“Close, but not quite. You see, Buffalo, I… am Red Ice.”

“‘zat supposed ta mean something to me?” He grunted, glaring down at me as I stood in front of him.

I noticed that all around had gone quiet. “Well, that’s kind of the point, isn’t it, Crush? You don’t know who I am. You don’t care. All you care about is your stupid pride.”

“O’ course! A bull’s pride is what makes him a bull!”

“Yes, ‘bull’. A lot of that going around.” I idly inspected the scars Cassie had put in my ankles. “As I was saying, Buffalo, I’m Red Ice. I’ve fought Steel Rangers, Plottawan slavers, Raiders, robots, Pegasi, monsters… and now Buffalo. I’ve fought against, and with, pretty much everything this Wasteland has to offer. I’ve lead Raider armies into battle, faced down abominations in their own homes, uncovered secrets that others wouldn’t dream of, and played power games with the tops of the tops. Did you know I was in one such important negotiation before you and your moronic herd showed up?”

He was still fighting, though the sweat was freezing in his mud fur. “You’ll die for what you did to them, one horn.”

“You’re starting to repeat yourself, Crush. That’s your problem. Out of all of us here, you matter the least. All you care about is your dustbowl village in the middle of nowhere. You’re irrelevant, Crush. You don’t matter.”

I raised a hoof. As I did so, an ice arm formed out of the stocks holding him. It swam up and around to his left horn, wrapping around it. “And, even though you don’t matter, you still dared to ATTACK ME AND MY FAMILY!” I twisted my hoof, and the ice tightened around his horn. Slowly but surely, I began to pull down. “You dare hurt her?! Dare attack me?! You are nothing to me, Crush! You barely register in comparison to everything else I have to deal with. You. Don’t. MATTER!” I pulled down harder, causing small cracks to appear along his horn.

“UURGH! Get away from me, bitch! I’ll kill you!”

I felt my lips curl up into a terrible smile. “You’re just a nobody, lump. You can’t kill Red Ice!”

Click. The barrel of a gun pressed to the side of my head.

“Stop.” Wings’ voice was rock solid.

Slowly, I lowered my hoof to the ground. Turning carefully, Wings and I were soon eye-to-gun.

Behind the revolver, she stared at me, with those burning blue eyes, unblinkingly. “Enough, Snow. Put those eyes away. Go see to Undertow, she’s coming round.”

Robotically, I turned and marched to my fallen sister. The buffalo in the ice stocks was utterly ignored. Undertow was stirring as I got there. Naiara was watching over her. “Easy there, kid. Don’t try to move.”

“N-Naiara? Did we win?”

Sniffling, Naiara shook her head. “Nobody won, Undertow. We just survived.”

Silently, I sat down beside them both, and wrapped my hooves around them.

From beyond my closed, teary eyes, I heard Cept and Atesh conversing. “Did you see? That is the power of the horn! Look what it did, even for a pony as weak as her.”

“I saw, Elder. It was a… memorable display.” Cept’s voice was stilted, thoughtful.

Atesh was exhilarated. “Exactly! We must take the horn from her, now!”

“Not now, Elder. We must attend to our brethren.”

“What do you mean, ‘not now’?!”

A hint of reproach leaked into Cept’s response. “We no longer have enough fighters here, Elder. We must put our clanmates to rest.”

“...Of course. Forgive me, Cept.”

“...As you say, Elder. Please, this way.” Their hoofsteps faded quickly. I didn’t open my eyes to follow them.

“Snow?” A muffled voice came in from the side.

I looked up for this. The armoured buffalo was standing a little ways away, with guns pointed at him from several directions.

“What do you want, guy?” Wings challenged, both revolvers up. “Your buddies are all dead, and your leader’s lucky not to be joining them.”

The Buffalo ignored her, continuing to stare at me. “I can’t believe you’re here, Snow.”

I peered at his helmet, trying to figure out who he was. “Do I know you? Were you one of the guards at Lethbridle?”

His eyes dimmed at that.”No, Snow.” He reached up and tugged his helmet off, voice no longer muffled. “It’s me.”

My heart stopped. “No.” I whispered. “Oh, please no.”

Shedding his armour, revealing his cienna fur, Al beamed down at me. “I finally found you, sis.”

Feeling Undertow shift beside me brought me out of my stupor. “You… you can’t be here, Al. This isn’t right. Al, WHY ARE YOU HERE?!” I was on my hooves now, advancing on him.

“Well, I came with Crush, and…”

“WHY AREN’T YOU IN THE STABLE?!” My hooves were roving all around his face, neck, and front legs. You can’t be here, Al. You’re supposed to be safe in the Stable! “What happened?”

“We got thrown out.” He deadpanned.

The revelation dropped me to my haunches. “W-what? You mean the Overmare…threw you out?!” I’ll kill her. I’ll kill her slowly. I’ll shove my ice so far up her-

“Not exactly. She’s out here too.”

The surprises just kept on coming. “What?”

“She got thrown out too.”

My brain needed a reboot. “How? Who threw you out?” I reached up and smacked him on the top of his head. “WHAT WERE YOU DOING TO GET THROWN OUT?”

“WHAT WERE WE DOING?” Al never did have the most stable temper, even with his family. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, SNOW?! I heard you just now. You called Crush a ‘lump’.”

“What in the hell does that have to do with anyth-”

“You sound like Roc.”

That shut me up. The confrontation in Whiskey Sour’s bar came back to me in a rush. Al was right. I used the exact same fucking word and everything. I told Crush he wasn’t important.

What have I done?

Al pressed on. “He’s the one who threw us out. Roc’s Overseer now. He won the elections two weeks after you left.”

“No!” Despite everything else, this seemed like my biggest problem. I did not know why.

Al blanched. “Yeah. Soon as he was in the Over Office, he turned around and booted the four of us out.”

My eyes shot wide. “The others? Where are they?” I grabbed whatever part of him I could reach, and shook. “Where are Buff and Lo?”

His big, kind brown eyes were full of sorrow. “We… got separated, Snow. I’m sorry.”

“No no no, this can’t be happening! You three have to stay together. Whenever something bad happens, you help each other! I’ve been telling you that for years!”

“I know, sis. I’m sorry.”

Him apologising was like poison in my soul. “No, Al. Don’t ever apologise. This isn’t your fault. I should have been there. I’m sorry. So sorry for everything.”

A half-smile grew on his face. “So let’s go find them, Snow. You and me. We’ll find them both, and the Overmare too, and we’ll all go back together. Roc can’t get away with this if you come back too.”

He broke my heart in that moment. “I… can’t.”

“Eh?” He tilted his head, not comprehending.

“I can’t go back to the Stable, Al. I just can’t.”

“Why not? We have out Pipbucks,” he looked at my bare legs, “er… I have my Pipbuck. It can get us back to the Stable, even through the blizzard.”

“That’s not…” That’s not the problem. “I still have things I need to take care of out here, Al. There’s too much at stake. Too much still to be done.” My eyes flicked over to Undertow, who was watching silently, and intently.

Al was riding a wave of boyish optimism. “Then I’ll help. I’ll come with you, and we’ll get done twice as fast!”

Not a chance in hell, little brother. “Absolutely not! You’re not safe out here, Al.”

“Snow, I don’t really think any of us-”

“I said no, Al.” I cut him off forcefully.

“What about them?” He shot back, waving a hoof across my gathered friends. “Why are they safe if I’m not?”

“They’re Wastelanders! They know the risks. They’ve been out here all their lives.”

“So what? I’m twice the size of any of them! I can take whatever the Wasteland can dish out.” He pounded his chest. In the Stable, I’d have found his teenage macho pride charming. Out here, the thought terrified me.

“Al, you’re not going anywhere near what I have to take care of. I’m taking you somewhere safe, and you’ll wait there until I can find Buff, Lo, and the Overmare. Then we’ll ALL decide what to do next.”

He was starting to shake. “Why are you doing this, Snow? Why won’t you let me come with you?”

I was shaking too. “You can’t. It’s too dangerous for you. You have to stay where it’s safe. Listen to what I’m saying to you, Al. I’m doing what’s best for you. I’m still your big sister.”

“ARE YOU?” He roared. “From what I just saw, I’m starting to-”

He stopped as his brain caught up to his mouth. We stared mutely at each other, our haunted expressions a mirror image.

“Snow, I-I didn’t mean to… I would never… I don’t…”

Swiping a hoof across my burning eyes, I found just enough strength to look him in the eyes one more time. “I’m taking you somewhere safe, Al. That’s final.”

~~~~~~

The gates of Sprinkles Supplies rumbled open, with a smiling Fedexi Lexi on the other side. The smile quickly faded as she took in our injuries, and general demeanour.

“Howdy, Snowflake. Howdy, Undertow.” She greeted her favourites first.

“Hi, boss.” I replied, listlessly.

“What brings y’all here this time?” She was still starting at Cassie and Breeze, who were trying to look inconspicuous.

I pushed Al’s front leg. It had no effect, but he took a step forward anyway. “I need you to look after him for a little while.”

She regarded the sulking Buffalo for a few moments. “Ah ain’t running a motel here, Snowflake. Who is he?”

“Please, boss?” I pleaded. “He’s my little brother.”

That got a reaction. Her eyebrows shot up so far, they disappeared into her frizzy orange mane. “Him?”

“Just for a little while, Boss. I’ll pay, or… or he can work! Whatever you need.”

Lexi looked across all of us again. “Snowflake, Undertow, what happened? Really?”

Undertow saved me by speaking up. “A lot has happened, Boss. It would take a long time to explain, but I promise that we will explain it, in time. Can you please look after Al until we find his brothers?”

“More of ‘em? How many brothers y’got, Snow?”

“Three, Boss. I want them all to be safe. Can I bring the others here too, when I find them?”

It was an agonising age until she answered. Turning to Al, she looked up at him sternly. “Hey, big fella. Ya fit and healthy?”

Blinking in surprise, he nodded.

“And yer really Snowflake li’l brother? This ain’t a put-on?”

Al’s jaw set. “I wouldn’t joke about that. She’s my big sister. She’ll ALWAYS be my big sister.” He answered, emphatically.

Lexi stamped a hoof. “Well awright then. Git inside and down to the kitchens. We need a garbage boy.”

“Aw, c’mon, can’t I-”

“Ah ain’t askin’, boy!”

Al rapidly shuffled inside, casting a forlorn glance back at me as he went. I had to force myself to keep looking until he rounded the corner. At which point I burst into tears.

“T-t-thank you, B-Boss.” I managed to sob.

Striding forward, Lexi’s purple hoof came up and roughly scrubbed at my eyes. “Dry them tears, Snowflake. That boy needs you t’be strong, just like Undertow does. Y’ain’t got time to cry. Y’got two more brothers to find. ah’ll look after this one until y’do.”

She paused for a moment to whap me around the back of head. “Now ah know there’s no way in hell that you’d leave family like this without it being damn dangerous, so ah’m telling you now that ah ain’t ever gonna forgive you if’n y’go an’ get yourself killed, got it?”

Still nuzzling the hoof that was wiping my eyes, I could only mumble an affirmative.

Satisfied, Lexi gave my cheek one last rub, before turning on her heel and heading back inside. “All o’ you better be safe, y’hear? Look after each other, Snowflake, Undertow.”

The gates rumbled shut behind her.

Breeze turned to Undertow. “Your mom’s scary.”

Undertow nodded in agreement. “Yes, but kind.”

~~~~~~

Level Up!

~~~~~~

Perks gained:

Something the Matterhorn? - In extreme emotional situations, Snowflake receives a massive boost to her magic, but also experiences a sharp drop in perception and, well, sanity.

~~~~~~

Author's Notes:

That took a while. I should not have tried to write the chapter without an arc layout first. That will be remedied for the remaining chapters.

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.