“YOU WANT TO DO WHAT?!”

We all shrank back from Schwarzwald. Her trademark amusement was completely absent here, as her conifer eyes drilled into Breeze, who had made the suggestion. You have never raised your voice before. Now, my sister offers a chance to restore Snowflake’s magic, and you act as if she suggests euthanization?

What had been a very cute scene, with Amber and Schwarzwald wearing identical smiles as the latter spoonfed the former, now threatened to unravel. Amber, involuntarily silent, seemed equally surprised at the older mare’s reaction. There was a hint of indignation in the Bernstein’s expression too, as the spoon Schwarzwald held remained in her mouth. She was forced to stare, cross-eyed, down the handle to the mercenary’s face, which continued to glare at Breeze.

Wilting, Breeze leaned back into Cept, who rested his head against hers. “I, um, I just thought that… y’know…”

Schwarzwald released the spoon, and bounced off of Amber’s bed. Standing at her full height, we were reminded that she was a very tall mare. “You thought that you would expose Snowflake to the influence of the dark king?”

Breeze’s wings had locked in at her sides under Schwarzwald’s scrutiny. “She… but... um… magic?”

Schwarzwald’s wood-brown face was turning burgundy. “Absolutely not. Those magics are not toys. Bosco’s Changelings, and their Windigo enemies, show that there are forces of the old world to fear. King Sombra was no mere unicorn trickster. He held power that threatened the entire country!”

“Schwarzwald,” I came to my sister’s defence, “the king is dead. Sombra has been gone for two hundred years. What influence does he still wield to make you act like this?”

“Ask Latvi!” She snapped back, shifting her focus to Naiara. “Was the horn so harmless the last time somepony called on its power?”

Naiara looked away. Her actions at the Raider summit still shamed her at times, even though all concerned had long since forgiven her. “No, Latvi used it to hurt Snow and Undertow.” When she looked back, her jade eyes were glistening. “But what else can we do? That was then, and this is now. Now, Snow’s got no magic, and everybody’s trying to kill her. She needs a way to defend herself, and there’s no time to teach her to fight with her hooves.”

Amber put a hoof on Schwarzwald’s side, but the latter shrugged it off. “You are not wrong, dahling, but there is more to that horn than just normal unicorn magic. We do not know what it will do to Snowflake if it is attached.”

“So what would you have us do?” My patience had run out with Schwarzwald’s little outburst. I placed myself in between her and Breeze, matching her glare. “Leave her crippled and a hindrance to our fighting power? We still have battles left to wage, Schwarzwald. If the rest of us have to expend time and energy protecting her, it will put us all in danger!”

The door to the ward was wrenched open by a purple haze. Orange frizz bouncing furiously, Lexi strode in. Undertow stiffly marched in behind her. The older unicorn made no effort to conceal her gritted teeth, or furrowed brow. “Ah’d have the lot o’ yeh shut the hell up right now. Ah heard the whole thing, and yeh’re all lucky Ah don’t have my boys escort y’all outta mah compound flank first!”

Oh, wonderful. Another angry mare. “With all due respect, Fed—”

“SHUT THE HELL UP, PEGASUS!” She followed up the interruption by painfully seizing my lips in her magic and forcing them shut. “You, sniper, do not get to talk about protectin’ mah daughter. Either of my daughters. Yeh’ve done the opposite more than once, and this ain’t the first time Ah’ve had Snow in my medical bay with her life in danger. Say one more damn word, and Ah’ll pluck out those eyes yeh’re so damn proud of!”

Breeze tweaked her greave, and its blade popped out. “Let go of my sister, you bitch!”

An aquamarine aura surrounded the accessory, rooting it in place as the technophile ineffectually tugged at it. Undertow’s anger wasn’t as explosive as her mother’s, but there was no warmth in her voice. “Breeze, you are on my mother’s land. Do not threaten her again.”

Lexi dropped her hold on my lips, prompting Undertow to do the same to my sister’s weaponry. After a moment, Breeze retracted the blade, and lowered her hoof. Lexi hadn’t looked away from me. “Now, there ain’t a one o’ yeh who’re as worried for Snow as me or Undertow, but Ah’ll be damned if Ah let y’try to fit ‘er with some dead horn if’n it’ll be dangerous. Ah’ll be damned if a single one o’ yeh makes any sort o’ decision fer Snowflake. Y’all ain’t got the right. ‘til she wakes up, and decides for her-damn-self, the horn stays off.”

Schwarzwald nodded her thanks at the mare, then exhaled in a long, slow stream. “A mother’s wisdom is a fine thing, Fedexi Lexi, thank you. But, and I do not like this any more than you, Naiara has a point. Snowflake still has battles to fight, and she cannot do that without her magic.”

“Ah know, but Ah’m a medic, not a doctor.” Lexi’s eyes softened, her pupils shrank, and her breath stuttered her words. “Ah don’t know if Ah can do what yeh’re askin’.” She hugged one leg with the other, curling in on herself slightly. “Ah don’t know if Ah can get my baby whole again.”

Despite her bluster, and violating my lips with her telekinesis, I felt a pang in my chest. Did mother look like that when she thought of who I would be: A pegasus Raider born of rape? Was she so afraid of what might happen to me because she couldn’t make it better?

Lexi’s worries didn’t go unanswered. “I do.”

All eyes went to the buffalo in the entryway. And then to the pony riding atop him. Buff, taking small and measured steps, shuffled into the room with his two brothers in tow.

On his back, Snow grunted at even these small movements. Left eye squeezed shut, mane plastered to the sides of her face, the unicorn was not at her prettiest. She had to constantly part her mane strands so they wouldn’t brush across the jagged stump on her forehead, reacting every time one did. Still, she held herself upright and stable.

Undertow cantered across to her, climbing up the horn Buff presented to her. “Sister, you should be resting.”

The older girl reached out to stroke her cheek. “Yeah, I could use a nap, but I have a decision to make first, don’t I?”

Naiara gulped. “And what’s your decision?”

Easing her neck muscles around, she shoved her head into her gear, and withdrew a red needle, fire-blackened at one end. Passing it down to Buff, who laid it on the ground, Snow looked to Lexi. “You can do it, mom. I know you can.”

“You sure?” Lexi replied in a hoarse whisper. “Ain’t no goin’ back if you do.”

Four wood-brown hooves planted themselves over the severed horn. “Snowflake, there will be… certain people who will be very upset if you do this.”

“Yeah, like half this room.” Naiara quipped, even as she traded worried glances with Bosco and Cept. “Wings’ll be seriously pissed.”

Where IS Wings?

Snowflake grunted again, holding Schwarzwald’s gaze. “Anybody who has a problem can come see me later, but it needs to be done. I’m the only one who can hurt the Windigoes. That hasn’t changed while I’ve been asleep, has it?”

No one present had a response to that, no matter how much several clearly wished they did.

Clearing his throat, Cept held a hoof up to his chest. “I will not be sad to see the horn out of his reach, Snowflake, but Atesh and my clan may feel differently.”

“We’ll talk to them, though,” Naiara interjected hurriedly, “I won’t let them try anything.”

Managing a weak smile, the buffalo-rider nodded at the two zebra. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate that.” She turned to the other unicorns in the room. “Shall we get started?”

“Snow, Ah told yeh this could be more’n Ah can do.” Looking between the horn and her daughters, the master of Sprinkles Supplies remained unsure.

Her eldest daughter opened her mouth to speak, but broke off as a stab of pain ran across her face. After a few calming breaths, she tried again. “Mom, I know you can do this, and you don’t have to do it alone. Undertow’s gonna help.”

“Me?!” Startled, the Deep Diver slipped off Buff’s back, rolling onto Lo. “What can I do?”

Both of Snowflake’s eyes were drooping now. Whatever energy she’d built up while sleeping was already draining away. “We’ll use our link. Nobody knows my magic better than you, little sister. You can bring in Mom, and the two of you can get the horn to harmonise. I know you can do it, both of you.”

“If they do, it’ll be unprecedented. I’ve never heard of a horn transplant before.” To my surprise, I began to feel excited at the prospect, though partnered with a healthy amount of concern. “The three of you understand that there will be risk, not just to Snowflake, but to all three of you. Are you prepared for that?”

Growling, Schwarzwald raised her back hoof over the horn. Half a dozen gasps sounded as it hovered there.

Don’t do it. They will kill you. Lo and Al had lowered their heads, horns pointed at her, and Cept’s muscles were visibly coiled under his stripes. Nobody moved a hair for a tense quarter-minute.

Groaning, Schwarzwald’s hoof shot down… next to the horn. Without a word or backwards glance to anyone, she stormed out of the room.

Lexi’s purple glow began brushing Snow’s mane away from her face. “Let’s get you ready.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Y’all two ready?” To my left, Lexi held the horn over my forehead with her purple haze.

My nostrils sucked in a deep breath, eliciting another little pang of discomfort through my horn stub. “Ready.”

“Ready.” Making up the third point of the triangle with Mom and I, Undertow was wound tighter than a Tarantubaa cocoon.

Reaching over, I patted her knee. “I know you’ll get us through this, Undertow. You’re the best magic user around.”

Gulping through a smile, she nodded. “Ready.” She repeated.

“Yeh’re up first, babygirl,” Lexi blew a little frizz out of her eyes. “Start the link.”

Electricity exploded in my brain as Undertow’s arcane touch probed at the remains of my own. Where once we had been almost effortlessly connected, now her tidal wave overwhelmed my last few icebergs, threatening to dislodge them entirely.

“Un… Undertow,” I gasped, eyes squeezed shut against the assault, “slow down, please.”

“Sorry, sorry,” she blurted out, “I’ll stop.”

“No!” Lexi interjected. “Don’t stop. Just listen to yehr sister. A little at a time, yeah?”

“I… yes, mother.”

What had been a surging river drained to a trickling stream. Shallower, gentler. Her touch moved with the grooves and islands of ice, flowing around and protectively encircling, rather than washing away.

Though painful, it was becoming more familiar. With her comforting presence, I felt emboldened to activate more of my own magic, to pour more into the link from my end.

I haven’t dared to try since I lost my horn. The sentiment may have been lost through the link, but I hoped Undertow understood regardless. Keep me from going under, ‘tow.

We two sisters revelled in our link, so precious to us both. Every little extra bit of ice I supplied was corralled and contained in her water, held together and coherent through the lapping tides. I could feel the magic trying to escape, lacking the horn’s focus point, but Undertow was equal to the challenge, and her confidence grew as my gratitude filtered down the connection.

Finally, my mind buzzed with the arcane weight I had collected. The pain was still there, but manageable. A calm pulse was my signal for Undertow to move to the next stage.

She sent a confirmation back though her horn, and turned to Mom. “We are ready for you. I’ll guide you in.”

“Awright. Ah’ll start wi’ just a little. Yeh’ll lemme know when Ah can up the juice, yeah?”

“Don’t worry, Mom,” I opened my eyes to smile at them both. “she’s the best.”

She smiled back. “That’s mah girls.”

True to her word, Mom’s magic arrived gradually, a warm breeze rolling across the waves, until it reached my frozen islands. The wind was followed the path of the water, encircling my magic before moving inwards. There was no malice in this wind. It was just pure, unburdened, kindness. My islands were cradled in it, stirred into greater activity by it, insulated by it.

The warmth increased as it found the heart of my isles but, instead of melting the ice away, it filled in the gaps, strengthening it. The water around it joined in, the two forces working to bind the frost back into a single whole.

It was mesmerising. The sensations, the emotions, the three flavours of magic all intermingling as one. I felt all of them, and they felt all of me. The three of us, together, complete.

...Family.

Mom’s healing magic repaired the damaged and fraying leylines of my magical self, and Undertow’s water washed away impurities. I felt cleansed, and each new push of cold I provided felt… purer. Virginal. A rebirth.

It was still weak, though, and wouldn’t stay like this without them. It was time to introduce the last chain in the link.

One voice gave words to the situation. “It’s time.”

I have no idea which one of us said that. From the feelings I was getting through the link, neither of the others knew either, or particularly cared.

This was the hard part. I had to open myself to the horn, but just enough that it would come to me alone. Schwarzwald’s fears might have been baseless but, if they weren’t, I couldn’t risk exposing my sister or mother to it. The burden would be mine alone.

Softly coaxing and cajoling, I eased the water and wind back away from the shores of my reefs, letting them surround them, but not penetrate. All the while I was sending comforting affirmations throughout the link.

I’m okay, you’re okay, just follow my lead for a little while.

At the borders of my floating icebergs, great pillars of cold rose up, reaching into the sky, a more obvious target for the foreign magic to align to.

It was not subtle. Black lightning slammed down onto my islands, gouging deep furrows and harsh cracks in the surface. It pushed constantly from the center outwards, trying to overwhelm the rebuilt atolls.

From beyond the archipelago, pitiful cries sounded. It took me a moment to realise that they were my own.

Inside the link, the lightning continued, dark clouds forming overhead, threatening a storm. Impossibly, the stygian lightning was so harsh and so hot, it set the ice ablaze. Green fires and purple smoke began to swarm across my islands.

It… it’s too much! I can’t contain it!

Renewed emotions barreled down the meld into me, just as the wind and water surged in.

The ocean reared up, extinguishing the fires caused by the lightning strikes.

I’m here! It willed.

The wind fought just as fiercely, blowing the storm clouds away and over the horizon.

Me too!

The lightning took notice, and intensified its assault.

You can do it! The wind and water sang together.

YES! With them, I could. Without the fire and cloud, the black lightning was alone, and I was not.

From the very heart of the strike zone, my ice leapt and climbed, scaling and encasing the black lightning itself. Up and up it reached, to the very sky.

You can’t beat me! I roared into the black. I’m not alone! You’ll never have enough to outlast us all!

Every inch of the black lightning, from sea to sky, was encased in solid, unyielding ice. Around these towers, waves lapped and winds whirled. Laughter and joy ran rampant through the world of our link.

In the farthest sky, the towers of ice joined together in a bright glacial flourish.

This is our family, our magic, and we are stronger than you!

From the heavens, soft white snow began to fall.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“INSPECTORS UPPER CRUST AND JET SET CONFIRMED! PLEASE ENJOY YOUR INSPECTION, INSPECTORS AND ASSISTANTS!” The guard sentinel bot executed a jerky bow, then motored away back into the facility.

“...I cannot believe that worked.” I unclenched as the robot disappeared back down the corridor.

“I can.” ‘Jet Set’ remarked from beside my ‘Upper Crust’. “This was what tripped us up last time. We tried to be Jet Set and Upper Crust, but weren’t unicorns, as the guards made violently clear.”

Wonderful. “So is that why you brought me along, Bosco? Because I am a unicorn to pair with you?”

“Not just that, Esto,” Aqua Breeze, playing the role of ‘assistant’ with her sister, piped up. “I needed your scientific know how. You’ve got working knowledge of programming, right?”

“Well, yes,” I should have brought my lab coat. “why do you ask?”

Eyes shining with delight, Breeze moved past us and started down the corridor. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Why not now?”

Cassiopeia Venatici gave an apologetic bow as she followed her sister. “Sorry, she gets distracted when there are gadgets around. I’m sure she’ll tell us soon enough.”

Well, that is hardly ideal. I huffed. “So… until she deigns to tell me my purpose here, I am forced to walk around accompanied by the very-former associate who did such terrible things to my closest friend?”

“Sorry.” Bosco, in Latvi’s blue body, ran a hoof through his blond mane sheepishly. “He’s, uh, the only male unicorn I really know.”

“It would have taken all of thirty seconds for you to seek out a unicorn guard among the Sprinkles Supplies employees. You could not have taken the time, and spared me this annoyance?” I pointed out of the double doors separating Whitepony from the Wasteland. “And them? Naiara and Cept? They cannot enter without alerting the guards, or so you tell me. What will they do?”

Cassie was halfway through the door before responding. “They’re going to use the fire escape. It’s… delicate. Apparently it was damaged the last time our group was here. I wasn’t present at the time, but I will take Bosco and Naiara’s word for it. The zebra have the best chance of scaling it without issue. We will meet them on the upper floors.”

“Hey, wait a sec!” Breeze called from around the corner. “How do we even know Jet Set’s a guy, or Upper Crust’s a lady?”

The two of us remained completely still for three long seconds.

Bosco released the breath he’d been holding. “...I cannot believe that worked.”

“...If we are married, I want a divorce.”

He hung his head. “Yes, dear.”

We caught up with the two pegasi on a catwalk overlooking one of the server banks. Cassie was trying in vain to glean information from an extremely faded wall map, while Breeze was… almost drooling as she took in the the sight of the guards rumbling around the walkways below.

I ignored the latter and addressed the former. “Do you know where we should look for the information you seek?”

Giving up on her scrutiny of the near-white illustration, she instead turned to Bosco. “I have no idea. Where did you get the information last time?”

He jerked his head towards the far end of the catwalk. “A server room further in. If we follow the water pipes it’ll lead us there.”

Cassie and I exchanged a sideways glance. “Bosco, how would we know which ones are water pipes. There are pipes all over.”

He shrugged. “Undertow did it last time. Um… could Breeze hear the water?”

“Probably.” She replied cheerfully, pushing herself away from the railing. “Everybody shut up for a sec so I can listen.”

Ears twitching back and forth, Breeze turned this way and that for a few seconds. Finally, she just blew air from her lips. “Can’t tell. I think it might be somewhere on one of the higher floors. Probably easiest to just meet up with Cept and Naiara, then go from there.”

“How very scientific.” I drolled, but still followed them. It would hardly be helpful for me to stay down here by myself and risk having our cover identities undone, while the rest did the real work upstairs. Whatever I can do to speed this up and get back to fixing Lithu.

Heading further up, into the heights of Whitepony, was not the most pleasant of experiences. There was a noticeable tension every time we passed one of the heavily armoured sentinels, audibly checking us as we passed. The hallways became quieter too, so each encounter was all the louder for it. We have no more notion of what we are here to ‘inspect’ than the robots do. If they try to offer us directions, we will be in a difficult position. The others had tried talking loudly about quasi-scientific terms while the guardians were around, but fell silent after it became clear the robots weren’t that sophisticated.

I happened to glance into an office suite as we passed, then promptly turned around and went back to stare. What in the world?

The others joined me a few seconds later. Bosco went bug-eyed. “Whoa! What happened here?”

The room was utterly destroyed. Perforated cubicles, smashed desks, shattered terminals, and a debris-filled miniature crater with thick black burn marks radiating outwards.

I regarded him squintily. “You did not do this on your last visit?”

“Hell no.” he shook his head vehemently. “Might have been one of the others. Snow and Schwarz, maybe. Either that, or…”

“‘Or’?” Cassie repeated, but was already wearing a resigned expression.

“...or maybe we’re not the only ones who’ve been here.”

“Or are here.” Breeze quipped, already checking both ends of the corridor.

Why did I agree to come here? “We should hurry to meet the zebra.”

All three grunted their agreement, and we set off again. Our pace was far less casual this time around. We sped up along corridors, then slowed down to ascertain that other rooms were clear before passing. More than once we ducked into a side path or alcove when Breeze’s ears or Cassiopeia’s eyes were alerted to approaching sentry bots.

Three floors from the top, we ran into Naiara and Cept coming the other way.

Breeze instantly jumped forwards. “Naiara! Cept!”

The two clamped hooves around her mouth without stopping, bustling the four of us back around the corridor corner. Cept peaked his head around, waited a second or so, and then nodded. Only then did Naiara release her grip on Breeze. “Not so loud. We got trouble.”

Of course we do. “The robots?”

The striped mare’s green eyes were dark. “Worse. Latvi’s incoming, with all his griffons.”

Spittle caught in the back of my throat. “Latvi? Here?”

Batting Naiara’s hoof away, Breeze pointed downwards. “Does he know about the—”

“NON-PONY LIFESIGNS DETECTED! LETHAL FORCE AUTHORISED!”

“...robots.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~