Damn. I stared into the conjured ice-mirror, taking in the sight looking back at me as I stood up on the guard walkway above Sprinkles Supplies’ caravan entrance.

I had a horn again, of sorts. The thing was still bright red and charred black, standing obvious against the backdrop of my coat. Tapering to a point rather than a smooth cone, used-to-be-Sombra’s horn had somehow gotten turned around during the transplant, and now pointed to my left. This left the barest tip of red in the upper-left corner of my vision at all times, and I was increasingly having to drag my attention away from that. Worse still, the jagged mound of my stump didn’t line up with the jagged base of the horn, leaving it off-kilter and with a visible and tactile gap on the right side. With the mirror, I could literally see the forehead behind my horn with that gap.

The bubbled, angry scar taking up most of my right cheek didn’t help my looks any either.

It looked like what it was. I looked like what I was: Piecemeal. Patchwork. Unnatural.

Worst part is what’s going on underneath the horn, though.

"I brought you some tea. Thought you might be cold out here."

Startled, I looked up to see Wings standing there, two mugs held in her talons. "You're so sweet. Thanks."

Passing over my mug, her claw was warmer than the drink was. She pointed at my face. "Are you okay? Your eyes are doing that thing again."

Inwardly, I sighed. I know they are. "Sorry, I've just been thinking about something Peanut said. He basically told me that the world’s trying to kill me, and that it's basically pointless to try to make a life for myself."

She snorted into her tea, though it didn’t feel like there was really any humour there. "That's ridiculous."

Is it? There is a literal order out to kill me on sight. "At the time I thought so too.” I waved vaguely at the Wasteland beyond the wall. “Not much out there for an ex-Raider queen with a target on her back. I thought he was just being his normal jackhole self, but I'm beginning to think he might have a point."

Placing her mug down deliberately and stoically, Wings’ blazing blue eyes were turned on me. "No, he doesn't. Peanut doesn’t get to decide that. He doesn’t get to decide anything. You deserve a life after all this just as much as anybody else, maybe more."

It was hard to face the fire in her eyes when all mine had was smoke. "Do I? No matter what I do, the situation seems to always get worse. I can’t sit here within these walls forever. I will need to deal with what’s happening at the Stable soon."

“Ugh!” She groaned, almost knocking over her tea with a wild swipe of her claws. “You keep thinking that you need to do these things alone, and that we’re gonna let you. The only thing you need to do that the rest of us can’t is cast your anti-Windigo spell, but that doesn’t mean you need to go off hunting them by yourself! We’ll be right there with you, and we’ll keep you safe. For once, stop thinking like the big sister!”

“I am a big sister!”

“Not to me!” Another swipe, this time it did catch the mug of tea. We both stared at each other as it clattered and splattered on the floor beneath us. “I’ve never needed you to be a big sister.”

“I know that.” I smiled to lighten the mood. “You’ve never needed me at all.”

Anger flashed through those beautiful blues. “Is that what you think?”

“I know,” I groused, “you need a Red Ice for your Blue Fire.”

“That’s not what I… oh, just forget it!” She turned away, plumage ruffled and a scowl on her face.

What’d I say? We lapsed into silence, her angry and my not wanting to make it worse.

“...does it hurt?” Her caustic tone had softened considerably.

“Hmm?”

“The cheek. Is it painful?” She snuck a few looks at it, but tried not to linger.

There was a slight tightness around my cheek, as the scar took up a good half of it, but not enough to call it painful. “Nah, it’s fine. Here,” I tilted my head towards her, “feel.”

“...Alright.” One talon slowly reached out, halting just before contact for a few moments, then deftly brushed along it.

I threw my head back, hissing loudly. “Ah, watch the claws!”

“Sorry! Sorry!” She whipped her arm back, tucking it tight under the other. “I didn’t mean to—”

Rolling my face towards her, I smooshed my jaw onto her shoulder. “Hehehehe, sucker.”

“Bitch!” Wings’ tone was half relief, half barely-constrained rage. “Why do I even put up with you?”

“Because I’ve got the cutest little sister.” My reply was accompanied by running my tongue across what parts of the scar I could reach. Mom does good work. It doesn’t hurt at all. Doesn’t keep it from standing out like a damn road sign, but...

“Doesn’t explain why she puts up with you.” The tucked-under claw came out shaking in a mock-fist. “And I suppose the horn’s not painful either, is it?”

“Well, still a little pain. It’ll be fine when it’s fully settled though.” Hopefully, never swapped horns before. “Thanks for asking, Wings. Seriously.”

She shifted her weight from one paw to the other, changing the subject. “How is Undertow? And her mom?”

“They’re both fine.” A genuine smile was easy to come by when thinking of how I’d last seen them, after waking up from the three-way-meld. It’d taken its toll on all of us, and the two of them were fast asleep at the bottom of my bed, Undertow curled up in Mom’s embrace. It’d been a challenge to sneak out here without disturbing them. “And it’s OUR mom, actually.”

“Well, alright!” She found some genuine cheer too. “When’d that happen?”

“Apparently when I wasn’t looking. And speaking of things happening when we don’t notice, where’ve you been lately. I haven’t seen you since before I lost a few inches.”

“I was doing some stuff.” Neither her face nor voice gave anything away, no matter how long I quirked an eyebrow at her.

“...riiight. Well, I’m glad you’re back. Even if I am the worst offender, it’s dangerous for any of us to go alone these days. ‘sides, I missed you.”

She punched me in the shoulder. “Missed you too. And...sorry I left you alone.”

I punched her back. “It’s okay. You couldn’t have known what’d happen.”

“Still, though.”

“Yeah, I know.”

After a minute’s quiet tranquility, we both jumped as a new voice cut in. “A pretty sight, dahlings, but I am afraid I must interrupt.”

Schwarzwald stood on the ground behind us, craning her head up. The mercenary mare was still not her normal, merry self, but did not show the obvious anger she had displayed earlier.

Wings and I looked at each other, before she cleared her throat. “Me or her?”

Schwarzwald canted her head in my direction. “Hopefully both, but dear Snowflake first. I will speak with you later, Wings.”

“Alright.” Scooping her mug up with her tail, and then flipping it into her claw with a cocky smirk, Wings let her feathers glide her down next to the mare. “I’ll be inside when you’re done, yeah. You can fill me in on all of this.”

“Yes, dahling. Later.” Shooing Wings off, she waited until the griffon had disappeared out of sight before turning back to me. “You have taken a big risk, Snowflake.”

The purple smoke around the edges of my vision loomed a little larger. “I’m well aware. Are you here to yell at me for doing it?”

She shook her head. “It is done, Snowflake. I will keep watching, in case the worst happens. Right now there is somebody else who must have their say.”

Here we go. “So what are you gonna say, Watcher?”

A spritebot bumbled up over the wall from the outside. Angry static nipped at his words, making him seem even madder than he no-doubt was. “I could say a whole heap of things to you, Snowflake. Or Red Ice, it’s getting hard to tell.”

Lifting my mug, I sipped at my tea. “I don’t seem to be going anywhere. Go ahead.”

He sighed. “I wish you could have seen firsthoof just how much of a bastard Sombra was. What he was capable of, what he did. If you had, this never would have happened.” His mood turned melancholic. “I didn’t want this for you, Snowflake. You’re not a potential Element bearer, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a role to play in saving Equestria.”

Trying, and failing, not to laugh at his sincerity, my free hoof pointed back to the main compound. “We’re already working to stop a rampaging horde of wind demons, Watcher. One thing at a time.”

“I’m aware, Snow, and I don’t doubt all your bravery.” Even over the airwaves, he conveyed a welcome hint of pride. “This isn’t about bravery, though, it’s about whether or not you’re fighting evil with another kind of evil.” The spritebot tilted slightly. “How are you feeling? How’s your mood? I know it hasn’t been long, but have there been any changes you can see?”

“Got a medical license there, doc?” When my quip was met with stony silence, I relented. “It’s too soon to tell. I’m not feeling murderous or anything, nor do I have a sudden impulse to enslave any empires. If I do, I’ll make sure to tell you first.”

“Knock if off, Snowflake. It’s not funny.”

Exhaling through my nose, both Watcher and Schwarzwald were subjected to flat stares. “What do you two want with this? I am the only one who can fight the Windigoes. I couldn’t do that without a horn, and this was the only one on hoof. There wasn’t a better option. Sombra’s horn hasn’t killed me, and I’ve already confirmed that I can use magic again. This was what needed to happen.”

Schwarzwald raised her chin. “We know that, mistress. That does not mean that we have to happy about it.”

“But,” I shot back, “you do have to accept it.”

To my great surprise, Watcher began to chuckle. “Yeah, that’s the word isn’t it?” When the two of us simply watched, he continued. “I’ve talked a little bit about virtues in the past. Everybody’s got one, a defining characteristic that they stick to no matter what. It’s not always easy to determine what they are for a person. Often times they’re hidden under masks, or some dumb sap’s trying to be something they’re not.”

Was that a shot at me?

The spritebot chirped again. “In my spare moments, I’ve been thinking about the virtues of those ponies and griffons and other folks that I’ve taken an interest in. I think I finally figured out yours, Snow.”

“I’m all ears, and one messed up horn.”

Watcher slowly drifted in an orbit around Schwarzwald and I. “Buffalo,” he began, “the Wasteland, Raiders, Griffons, Changelings,” he stopped in front of my new horn, “...ghosts. Most others were smart enough, or just plain scared enough, to stay away from them all. But not you.”

Am I supposed to be offended by that, or...

Watcher laughed again, louder this time. “Before, because of your brothers and sister, I thought it might’ve been family. It’s a nice virtue to hold to, and you could fit the mold. Or maybe you took after Princess Cadence, and had great love in you. Again, there’s some truth in that, but no. Now, I’m pretty sure I’ve got it.”

Tootling over to hover by Schwarzwald, who had finally managed a real smile, Watcher made his case. “All those things I mentioned, you’re the only one who’s given them all a chance. That’s your virtue, Snowflake: Acceptance. You can allow anything into your heart.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“INSPECTORS AND ASSISTANTS, PLEASE REMAIN HERE UNTIL THE INTRUDERS ARE LOCATED!”

The robot guards had herded Esto, Bosco, Cassie, and I into a control room the moment the alarm had sounded, with Naiara and Cept following under zebra stealth cloaks. Once we were safely inside, the sentinels had sped off to intercept Latvi’s Monsters. Even in our makeshift safe zone, we could hear the pitched battle beginning on the floors above us.

Finally satisfied that we were alone, Naiara and Cept shucked off their invisibility. The two of them took up station at the door, with Naiara crouching to peek through the keyhole. “Can’t see anything, but no way to know how long that’ll last.” She turned back to us, pointing down through the floor. “We can’t stay here for long, not if Latvi’s here. Those bots aren’t subtle. They might give away that we’re here.”

“That someone’s here, at least.” Esto reminded. “We are here under pseudonyms, after all.”

“At this point, would you really trust this to coincidence?” I didn’t look up from the various monitors at the workstation. “Really?”

“No,” she admitted plainly, “but I also will not draw conclusions without sufficient evidence to support them.”

Bosco was slamming in a new clip for his pistol. “They might’ve seen the air carriage as they flew in.”

Cept leaned an ear to the door. “We covered it as best we could, but it is possible.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Cassie cut in sharply. “Naiara’s right, we have to leave if they’re here.”

Hoo boy, time to come clean. “Not yet. We can’t leave yet.”

They all rounded on me, except for Naiara who was still trying to watch the corridor outside through the cracks. “Why not?”

Still not looking away from the screens as I tapped at the keys, my back hoof kicked over my pack, spilling out its contents onto the control room floor. “Because of these.” Three, two, one…

They didn’t disappoint. Bosco was taken aback. “Is that a Pipbuck?”

Cassie was furious. “Is that Snowflake’s Pipbuck?”

“What’d you do to it?” The parts clinked in Naiara’s grip. “Looks like it’s been gutted and then put back together… multiple times.”

“Yeah,” I confirmed, “been poking around inside for a while. Think I’ve got a fair idea of what it can be used for here.”

“And what’s this?” The scientist unicorn’s fur brushed against the floor as she sifted through the other tech I’d brought. “Is this… armour?”

“Steel Ranger armour.” Cept confirmed, an edge to his voice. “The same armour I wore when I rescued Snowflake from Neighlway.”

Despite everything, the corners of my mouth curled up. Yeah, it was risky, but I had to take the chance. “Some of it, yeah. Real find that one, Cept, thanks.”

“Breeze.” Cassie was using her full-on ‘I do not approve’ voice. “Why have you brought these things here? If Latvi finds them—”

“I needed them,” Cutting her off as I turned away from the workstation, my hoof came up and came to rest on Esto’s shoulder, “and you. That’s why you’re here.”

“Me?” She looked to the others, who were as lost as she was. “What do you need from me?”

I nodded towards the parts on the floor, and then at the console behind me. “I need you to science up. If we’re gonna be storming the Stable, which is guarded by Neighlway’s Steel Ranger force, we’re gonna need some help.”

Esto had rapidly moved from surprise to analysis. She listened intently but dispassionately. Eyes no longer wide under her glasses. “Help from who?”

We all froze as a platoon of sentries barreled past the doors outside the room. “ENEMY FORCES PRESENT IN FACILITY!”

“From them.” I deadpanned.

“The robots?!” Green fire flashed around Bosco’s hooves for a moment. “Those things almost killed us!”

“And the Steel Rangers will kill us.” I countered. “Cassie and me saw them in action when we were observing Snow’s Raiders. Three of them took on twenty times that many Raiders. Even if there aren’t all that many of them, there will be more than there are of us, and we can’t take them one-on-one.”

Naiara flinched as an explosion went off somewhere in the facility. “What’s that gotta do with Snow’s Pipbuck?”

Scooping said Pipbuck up with a wing, I placed it on the console next to me as I began to type. “This thing can access any system I’ve tested it on. Combine that with the robust slave-and-master circuits in the Steel Ranger armour,” Schwarzwald must never know that’s what they are called. “and, in theory at least, I should be able to switch command of the sentries from Whitepony’s mainframe to the Pipbuck. I need Esto’s help, though, for this to even have a chance in hell of working.”

Horn lighting up, Esto moved to the other side of the console. “I think I understand the theory. I will do what I can to assist.”

“Thanks.” Already feeling the rush of tech, I hastily waved the others to the door. “You guys keep us covered. Don’t let anything in the door until we’re done.”

“Aye aye.” Cassie produced her rifle, flying up to sit atop the massive command console, barrel pointed at the door. The other three gave confirmations with various levels of sarcasm attached.

The system here was the most intact I’d ever worked on, and one of the most stringently protected. Even with the Pipbuck doing most of the heavy lifting, it still took all of mine and Esto’s combined concentration to penetrate each level of security, especially in ways that wouldn’t bring the robots busting through the door after us instead of Latvi and his griffons.

At one point, as an aside, I managed to trigger the camera feeds on a small, auxiliary computer in the corner of the room. Cassie was watching it and the door at the same time, keeping us informed. “Breeze, Esto. Latvi is in a room similar to this one. He appears to be trying to access the system.”

Bosco rushed to the camera monitor in shock. “How’d he get past the robots?”

“Because,” Cept growled as he stretched his muscles loose, “you are wearing his skin, and the guards think he is this ‘Jet Set’.”

“Ah… dammit.”

Esto grimaced, but kept working. “That will complicate matters. Though I am proficient enough with computers, Latvi was always the more electronically inclined. My studies were more in the natural fields. He may be faster than me.”

I heard her, but my expression didn’t change. “But he isn’t faster than both of us. Keep going, Esto. We’ll get the bots before he can.” My tail flicked up at my perching sister. “Let us know if he does anything, Cas.”

Standing up from the keyhole, Naiara wrapped the stealth cloak around her. “Cass, if you can show me the way to that room, I can take him out right now.”

She shook her head fiercely. “Absolutely not. The robots can detect zebras. They’ll cut you down before you even get there.”

Slipping the hood over her head, Naiara vanished. From the empty space where she’d been standing, her voice piped up. “Not with this. They walked Cept and I right here without being any the wiser.”

“You should not go alone.” Cept donned his own cloak. “I will come with you.”

Naiara waved him back. “You need to stay and look after these guys. If something happens, you need to get them out.”

What do you mean ‘if something happens’? “If something’s gonna happen, don’t go. We’ll finish here soon.”

Esto’s voice rose a few octaves. “Latvi is trying to access the guards’ control software. He is here for the same thing we are!”

A shimmer sped across the room to the door. “Cass, where am I going?”

“Nowhere.” Ripping the cloak off her, Bosco shouldered her away from the door before planting himself in front of it. “You’re not going.”

“Hey!” Naiara twisted with the shove, hopping back to glare at the colt. “What’s the big idea?”

He held his ground. “Back in Lethbridle, you got on all of us about taking stupid risks. This is a pretty stupid risk you want to take, and I’m not letting you do it.”

“We can’t let him take the robots, Bosco!”

“And we’re not going to!” He looked past her, to Esto and I. “Can you two change who the guards will target?”

Esto looked at me and half-nodded. “Probably, yes. Why?”

Green fire leapt up around the colt, leaving a smirking second Esto in its wake. “Send them after ‘Jet Set’. Nobody here but us ‘Upper Crusts’.”

“Oh-ho-ho, that’s nice.” Both us sporting wicked grins, we set to work doing just as the charcoal changeling commanded. “This is…”

“...going to be entertaining.” Esto finished my thought beautifully.

Unable to hide her own amusement, Naiara just shrugged and went to watch the cameras. “That should definitely slow him down a little. If we’re lucky, he’ll come to a very dead stop.”

“Done.” Esto planted her hoof forcefully onto the final key. “I have removed Jet Set from the list of expected visitors. As far as the sentinels are concerned, only ‘Upper Crust’ and her assistants are supposed to be here.”

“Well done.” Cept, still keeping his focus on the door, let out an almost inaudible sigh.

My ears still caught it, though. They caught everything. Yeah, I’m relieved too. Didn’t want Naiara going alone either.

“It’s working!” From her perch, Cassie cheered as several sentries on the camera feeds abruptly reversed or changed direction. “They’re moving against him.”

“Quiet, please.” There was no celebration in Esto’s edict. “He is still working, and we are still lagging behind.”

“Luckily,” Data scrolled before my eyes, “the bots are split up into squads, and he’s startin’ from the other end of the roster to us. Let’s lock down the ones we can, and work on the rest when his time runs out.”

“As you say.” The scientist hadn’t looked up from the console, or stopped working, for even a moment.

“Um, guys?” Whatever elation we’d been feeling was utterly absent from Bosco’s voice now. “Latvi’s doing something.”

“What?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Cept peer over the colt’s shoulder. “He is… looking at the camera?”

“He’s what?” Cassie moved down from her perch to crowd in too. “His horn’s glowing. What is he up to?”

We immediately had our answer, as the P.A. system came to life. “Very clever, Esto. Or did you think I wouldn’t recognise your methods?”

“Latvi!” She twitched at her station.

“He can’t hear you.” I reminded. “Just ignore it and keep working.”

The blue unicorn on the screen kept talking, regardless of our wishes. “It is certainly vexing to not get ALL of these fine machines, but the ones I have already should suffice.” Latvi looked off to the side as the sentries gave another bellowed alarm. “I appear to be somewhat pressed for time, so I’ll have to wonder how you found your way to this facility. I suspect you had help from Red Ice and her friends. Let’s test that theory. Naiara, are you there?”

All eyes went to the zebra filly, who watched stiffly. Her jade eyes had shrunk to pinpricks.

Nobody liked the savage grin Latvi bore at that moment. “Now, while you may have been at Lethbridle, and I suspect you were, the last time I actually set eyes on you was at my, oh sorry, ‘Snowflake’s’ Raider summit. Do you remember that? I do.”

“Cept…” Shaking, she moved to say something to her clan leader, but Latvi carried on before she could.

“Let me refresh your MEMORY. Naiara…” His voice shifted, reverberating across the loudspeaker as his horn grew brighter onscreen. “Two-tone ambition.”

Jerking as if shot, Naiara’s hooves flew up to clutch at her head.

Then she threw back her head, and howled. It wasn’t a sound of any language known. It was a throwback from before language, animalistic and unrestrained. Bloody cracks shot through her sclera, and drops began to fall from her nostrils.

“Naiara!” Cept tried to grab her, shield her from whatever was happening.

Her wild thrashing knocked his hoof aside, the brief contact snapping her eyes open. Growling, she rounded on him, gnashing out guttural growls in the zebra tongue.

Convulsions and further howls cut through his panicked responses, and her persisting agony kept his hooves at bay.

“What’s happening to her?” I yelled at the distraught stallion.

“I DO NOT KNOW!”

NOT GOOD ENOUGH! “HELP HER, CEPT!”

He tried. “Everyone, hold her still!”

We all leapt to his command, but Naiara was faster. She took in the four of us, not a one of us striped. “PONYTI! BINN TUSAA! CEPT, PONYTI!” Blood and contractions hardened her terrified glare. “STAY AWAY!”

“Naiara, let us help you!” Bosco crouched low, taking a single step towards her.

That was all he got. Throwing her whole body into a twist, she sprang up off the floor, knee crashing into his chin. Bosco was thrown back into the camera console, slumped and stunned.

On the screen by his ear, a crowing Latvi was led away by one of his Griffons. “I’ll leave you to your work. My robots and I will be going now.”

Can’t worry about that now. Have to help her! “Naiara, it’s me. It’s Breeze! What’s wrong?”

“Who are you?” She screeched. “Where have you taken me?” Her head whipped back and forth, trying to watch us all at once.

“Naiara, please stay calm. These are friends. You know them!” Cept panted as he tried to reason with her.

Pupils focusing and unfocusing over and over, she shook her head. “NO! I don’t know any ponies, Cept! What’s going on? Why are we here?” She broke off to grab at her skull again. “My head… it hurts!”

That bastard! “What did Latvi do to you?”

Even with one eye squeezed shut against the pain, she still managed to burn me with her glower. “Don’t talk to me, pony! Leave me alone!”

Tears ran freely down my face. “It-it’s me. It’s Breeze! Don’t you know me?”

With a vicious buck, she kicked the doors open. “I don’t know any ponies! This… this is all wrong! I’m leaving!” Swiping at the air to drive us back, she flipped away into the corridor.

“No, the guards!” Esto’s cry had us all speeding after her, even a groggy Bosco.

They’ll kill her!

None of us, not even Cept, could truly keep up with his clan’s finest scout. It was all I could do to follow her hoofsteps, barely heard over the sound of my thumping heart. “Naiara, please stop! Let us help you! PLEASE!”

My begging went as unanswered as Cept’s equally-desolate zebra-tongue pleas. All we could do was chase her, hoping that whatever had taken hold of her mind would eventually let her go. Come back, Naiara! You have to come back!

Our chase led us down level after level, corridor after corridor. We hadn’t encountered any robots yet, but our luck couldn’t hold.

Bursting through onto an overhead catwalk, it finally did.

Naiara stood at the centre of the walkway, casting about this way and that. When she saw us, she cartwheeled away, landing in shoulders-squared facing us. “Leave me alone! I just wanna get out!”

I could barely string two words together for blubbering. “We’ll get you out, I promise we will! We’re your friends, I swear! But you have to get out of sight now, or else—”

“INTRUDER SIGHTED! NON-PONY LIFESIGN DETECTED!”

The world slowed to a crawl.

A thousand, a million, ten million angry beams of ruby death slammed into her from the factory floor below. Their force lifted Naiara, determined glare shifting to dread surprise, off the walkway and into the air.

In the slow motion madness, she spun with impossible, horrific grace. Her body flew, swam even, through the air for a moment that lasted lifetimes.

Helpless, I could only watch as my best friend in the entire world fell, her final moments full of confusion and terror.

“NAIARAAAAAA!!!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Level Up - Max Level.

Perks gained: Absolute Zero - All ice magics, Equestrian and non, are at Snowflake’s command.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Author's Notes:

Goodnight, sweetest of angels. You will be missed. You have no idea how much I hated doing that.

A big thanks to TyriaThistle for this sweet picture of Snowflake.

As always, a big thank you to Kkat, Kyts, Y1, Auramane, CascadeJackal (he did the original cover art, which is still on the Fallout Equestria wiki), and you, the readers. Please read and comment, and pass the word along if you like the story.

That’s all for now, folks. Please keep reading, commenting, and spreading the word on Old Souls. I really appreciate your feedback, and we're one chapter from the end.