Fallout Equestria: Endless Horizon

Chapter 6 pt.1: Dr. Free's Clinic

I tried to convince Raul to let me stick around and repair some of the damaged pumps and burst pipes, but the ghoul swore he had it under control. I was sure he wouldn’t have an issue, but I just knew we could have it running so well with just a few days of work between the two of us! But, it wasn’t meant to be. Scarlet would get bored waiting around for us to fix up the place, not to mention the rads and scary magical goo wanting to twist our genes like a kitten with a ball of yarn. Once Scarlet and I treated my chest burn as best as we could, we bid the kind ghoul farewell and went on our way.

Unfortunately for me, my recklessness and naivety went further than a ramshackle energy rifle to the chest. The wasteland always has another painful lesson to teach, and my next class was a brutal one. Luckily my friends were there to help me through it.

🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

We wadded through sloppy mud as Scarlet and I made our way through the wastes together. The air was icy cold against my feathers. Every movement made my muscles burn. I was so tired. My legs gave out under me, landing me chin deep in the damp earth.

My body was heavy and far away. The world was fuzzy and out of focus. All I wanted to do was rest, but I wasn’t allowed. A red unicorn pulled me back to my hooves. Scarlet energy unfurled my wing and put it over her back for balance. I lacked the strength to push her away. We kept walking.

Something smelled oddly sweet under the sweat and dust of the wasteland. I nuzzled into the soft fur of the red ponies neck. I tried to take a deep breath of that scent, but it burned. A bag of marbles raddled through my lungs as I coughed and wheezed, but the pony didn’t help me. Was she taking me to someone who could help? Did I even want help? Maybe sleep would be better.

"I know it's hard, but we have to keep moving. You won't last a night out here. We can’t stop." A magical force pulled me more tightly to her side. Forced to keep her pace. We were outside. When I was young I loved it outside. Did I still like the outside? I didn't think so. Bugs, cold, warm, loud noises, other people, bright light. Inside was better. Warm, cozy, safe, and clean. Please take me inside.

🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

Everything was wrong. She was melting. Dying! I screamed weakly and pushed against her. I coughed with enough force to free me from her grip. Right into what was left of a rose bush.

Pretty flowers. Vicious thorns. Sad flowers. Struggling to survive in a world they couldn’t understand. Being squished by a bird creature they’d never seen. Couldn’t see. Plants don’t have eyes. I’m sorry, flowers.

Then she was back. She blamed me. The orange unicorn who shot at me! Her flesh melted and swirled as tentacles grew from gashes in her legs. She wanted to kill me. I got her killed. She wanted revenge. S-she couldn’t… Scarlet would protect me! She was my friend! But where? Did she leave?

The orange face lowered to mine. Her teeth were changing. Dripping spikes of toxic death. No... no, it couldn't be real. Why would death smell like cinnamon?

Scarlet took her place… she was there! She didn’t abandon me. My first friend in Equestria helped me up, and then we were moving again. The thorns left a billion tiny cuts in my hide but it was ok. It wasn’t bad pain. Not like the pain in my chest and my stomach. Not killing, murdering, malevolent pain.

🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

"I'm sorry I got you into this. I didn't mean for you to get sick, I should have paid more attention. I shouldn't have left you." A brown stallion said in an alien voice. The buck from before, who made his own magic gun. But why was his voice wrong? Everything felt so wrong. "Free will figure out what's happening, we'll get you fixed. We're almost there, just stay with me ok?"

Leave me? You didn't leave Mr. Repair Pony. Scarlet left me for a minute, but she was doing what was best. You shot me... You were apologizing for shooting me? It's alright... It's ok. I know you regretted it. I know you were a good pony. Your soul wasn't haunted. You weren't a murderer.

I was dying… I could hardly walk. I couldn't speak without breaking into a fit of bloody coughs. My coat was slick with blood. No matter how hard the cinnamon-scented stallion tried to keep me moving I just couldn't. My limbs were jello. They weren't listening to me. Maybe they weren’t even there anymore. One last time I fell to the ground. This time I didn’t get up again.

🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

Scarlet trotted back and forth in the clinic as she spoke anxiously with the medical pony, Feather Free. They kept their voices down in hopes that I wouldn’t overhear, which I did anyway. I can be kind of nosey.

I was laid out on a bed in Whinnies Grove’s clinic, covered in a layer of sweat and filth. Plastic tubes drained clear and purple shimmering fluids into my veins. I hardly noticed the needle under my skin with how terrible the rest of me felt.

My stomach heaved every few minutes, despite having already voided its contents onto the floor shortly after we arrived. I felt like I was on fire, but I wouldn’t stop shivering. My entire body ached and throbbed, and every movement made the room spin. I hadn’t felt that bad since I had bird flu as a foal.

Everything but my PipBuck and pearl shard had been stripped away, my barding replaced with a scratchy, uncomfortable blanket to keep me warm. The texture was overstimulating, with every fibre clinging to my coat and feathers. I did my best to kick it off me during bouts of consciousness, but somepony would just wrap me up again when I was out of it.

I mentally flicked my EFS off the moment I woke up. I didn’t flashing alerts to tell me that I was in rough shape. Even with it off, I could still feel the echoes of the PipBucks warnings in the back of my head, tickling the space just under my ear. Nothing I could do about that beyond powering off my wrist-mounted terminal or finding a surgeon to remove that annoying, likely botched implant from my brain.

We were halfway to the village before my health went into rapid decline. It was scary. We had no clue what was wrong with me, and I couldn’t help but think about the taint barrels that burst just metres from me. Scarlet tried to assure me it wasn’t taint-related, but she wasn’t even sure herself.

As lost as I was to what Free called fever-induced delirium, Scarlet managed to get me to the gate of the village. She guided, dragged, and even carried me at some points. The mare didn’t stop until she was close enough to flag down some guards for help. The last thing I remembered was collapsing in the fields outside town, before waking to two ponies arguing about my condition.

“How could it be rads? I feel perfectly fine, and I absorbed as much as she did.” Scarlet asked the doctor. “It could be the taint, or-or infection or poison from when she got shot! How do you know!?”

The buck rolled his eyes. “She’s showing all of the signs of radiation poisoning. Her PipBuck shows moderate exposure. She was probably exposed to some before today, and she definitely has a low tolerance to it. For better or worse, her people didn’t go through several generations of the less resistant creatures dying off, they aren’t adapted to it. Her bloodwork was clean of infection and poison. There were signs of low taint exposure, but so far it’s completely benign. But the radiation…”

“There’s nothing else we can do for her right now. We used what radaway we had on the foals when the water was out. Without medicine, all we can do is keep her comfortable. The healing potion in her IV is keeping her organs from dying, for now. But I don’t know how long she’ll hold out. Her body was already weakened from her injuries and sleep deprivation.” Feather Free said quietly. He was at his desk, reading a chart that I assumed had my information on it.

The pain in my breast and flank had been getting worse. The pain steadily grew as the wounds failed to heal properly. I reopened them several times on the way back, likely getting them infected to some degree. Not only did the balefire radiation keep my body from healing and fighting bacteria, but it was cooking me inside out, cell by cell. Any potion I drank went simply to keep my organs intact.

Scarlet stomped the floor, seething with anger. “We can’t just do nothing! She’s my friend, she helped me when no pony else would. She saved this town for Luna's sake! There has to be something else we can do.” Her voice wavered as she fought to hold back tears.

Feather Free sighed. “There is… something. An animal hospital, southwest of here. They were stocked with a ton of different meds before the war. Local scavers will make rounds there, but the mutant animals keep them from getting at most of the medicine. But Aella is in no condition to fight. The hen can barely stand.”

“So I go myself. I haven't known her long, but she’s a good pony… bird… thing! She’d do it for me. Besides, she has a whole country of creatures counting on her!” Scarlet's eyes teared up as she spoke. She was really worried about me. Really hurting. As dumb as it was, I felt bad for making her worry so much. The only other pony who ever cared for me that much was my sister.

“You can’t go alone, you’d never make it. You’re a trader right?” Scarlet nodded. “I’m sure you can handle yourself, but you’re not exactly a gunslinger.” Finally, the buck relented. “Ugh, hell… fine, I’ll go with you, watch your flank. I can hardly stand idle after all that. The town can use some supplies anyway… We’ll sell whatever we don’t use back to them. The town's Doctor will care for Aella, Dr. Heartly is feeling well enough to do that.”

The mare tapped the floorboards with a hoof as she weighed her options. “That could work. I assume they taught you to fight up in the sky?” The buck nodded. “Alright, no time to lose.”

🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

I skidded across the asphalt somewhat… Ineloquently. It was my first time home since I went to Skya to study, and in my excitement, I came in too fast and took a tumble. I was fine, though! Not even a hungry firebird could ruin my mood. Not with how happy I was to see my brave, beautiful hen.

I hadn’t heard from her since she got back from her last repossession mission out in The Wilds, and it worried me. It wasn’t the first time she shut everyone out after a difficult fight or traumatic experience, but usually, I could fly over and check on her after a few days to see if she needed anything. Being away from home made it feel even scarier.

Karma was a few years older than I was, so she already finished her education. She was a soldier! Or as close as we had to warriors. Members of the Repossession Team got a lot more combat training than peacekeepers, as well as a range of survival skills. My warrior hen could put someone twice her size on their back!

A pink ball of excitement drew me from my thoughts as it tossed its hooves around me, not even waiting for me to get up. It was my sister, Aqua! She was clearly excited to see me after months of separation, and I was just as happy to see her. I returned her embrace with a wing as we both giggled happily. When she was finally satisfied with our sister hug, the little pony mare helped me up.

It was hard being away from her for so long. When we lost our parents, she was all I had. She did everything from reading me stories before bed and making dinner, to explaining confusing social rules and weird turns of phrase. Sometimes I felt a bit lost without her, but we messaged each other almost every night.

“I should have known you’d be making a crash landing. Here I am, without my first aid kit.” Aqua giggled. She loved poking fun at my clumsy habits. At least when they didn’t result in serious injury.

I rolled my eyes and nickered, before taking a look around. The square was packed with hippogriffs, some zebras, and the odd pony or griffon. All setting up stalls, stages, or decorations for the coming festival. Every four months there was a period when Blood Ash didn’t fall on the mountain. Each period is marked with a festival of life, where celebrate our survival and the perseverance of nature and reflect on what we’ve lost.

We didn’t know much about the Blood Ash. More accurately I didn’t know much about the Blood Ash. I wasn’t the best history student. I knew it was the result of a terrible megaspell that was detonated in the Beakini Atoll, between Hippogriffia and the Zebralands. It made our mountain home inhospitable and forced us into small settlements near the bottom of the mountain. The red haze it created also shortened our growing seasons and worsened our winters, making things even harder. It attacks the body and soul, ringing you for every ounce of energy until nothing is left but a dried-out corpse.

But we managed! And it was a time of year to celebrate our continued survival! Four days of rituals, music, storytelling, trading, drinking, and drugs! (If that was your kind of thing. Karma would murder me if I got anywhere near those kinds of chems.)

And yet… I wasn’t as happy or excited as I should have been. It was great to be home, and amazing to see my sister, but I was all overshadowed by my worry for Karma. I’m not exactly the best at hiding my feelings, so of course the mare who practically raised me could tell something was off.

Aqua looked up at me with a concerned expression. “You aren’t yourself today. Usually, you’re all bouncy, or fluttering your wings, or info dumping about some machine you fixed or book you read. What’s wrong, little bird??”

I picked at the stonework below as I responded softly. “Karma… hasn’t returned my calls or messages this week. I was so excited to see her and catch up, but… What if she’s mad at me? Do you think she’s upset that I’m away in Skya instead of here, with her?” My ear feathers drooped as I hugged myself with my wings.

Aqua flashed me a smile. “Come on hun, being an engineer is your dream. I’m sure she’s happy for you, proud of you! And I know she misses you. She asks about you every time I see her. I bet her terminal is busted, and she wants you to fix it!” That was almost a good theory! Submitting a repair request could mean waiting in the queue for months, so Aqua and Karma always went to me for repair work. “You should go check in on her. Oh, you can bring her food, too! They’re serving meat, fish, and tofu tonight. I think she’ll appreciate having dinner with you after so long apart.”

I smiled. Just the thought of all that nutrient-dense food made me salivate. “Yeah…Yeah, you’re probably right! We can curl up, eat, and watch a film. It’ll be nice. As fun as it is to work and study, I need some downtime. And some mare time. Ugh, I miss her… I can just nuzzle into her soft fur and feathers, maybe make my way down south between-”

“Three spirits, Aella! That’s terrible!” Aqua laughed as she playfully pushed me with a hoof. “The last thing I need on my mind with Endrin and the rest of my flock later is thoughts of my sister getting it on!” We broke into a fit of giggles.

“Sorry, but ‘Twilight's Guide to Friendship Problems’ is very explicit. Teasing is a natural part of the sibling dynamic. If I didn’t give you a hard time, I’d be going against nature. My wings are tied!” I explained before I stuck my tongue out at her. Nearby creatures smiled or raised their eyebrows at us as we laughed even harder. It took a minute for us both to calm down.

Once the dopamine from my laughing fit faded, the lonely feelings crept their way back in. There really was no griffon quite like Karma… She was so gentle but so powerful. She could lift my sister without breaking a sweat, easily doubled my wing power, could land any hit with her rifle, and yet… She was so caring, and even vulnerable when she needed to be. Most importantly, she accepted me and did her best to understand me. A feat no other hippogriff even tried to manage.

Noticing my glazed-over expression, Aqua giggled and whipped me with her tail. “Hey, Aella Muon, Girl Genus, go visit your partner or I will. There’s no reason a sweet badass like her should spend the night alone.”

My wings unfurled as I snapped back to reality. “R-right!” I squeaked with a few warm-up flaps. “I’ll see you at the far tomorrow?” My sister nodded and waved me off. With an excited flutter, I was off to see my love.

🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

My sister… my home. The last time I left for longer than a week, I lost the most important thing in my life. I had no idea the last time I saw her would be the last time ever, and I’d never understand the circumstances that led to it.

Maybe leaving Hippogriffia was a mistake. What if history repeats? If when I get back, there was no one left to save? It wasn’t the first time my resolve wavered but with radiation trying to cook me like a rotisserie chicken, I struggled to lock away the “what ifs.” What if everyone was already gone? What if I was too late? What if I wasn’t good enough? What if when I got home, I lost everything all over again?

What if…

What if I was just as sick as they were…? Would I have noticed the signs? With how distracted and busy I’d been, I couldn’t be sure. They said I hadn’t come in contact with anyone who was sick, but what if they were wrong!? I could have touched a doorknob, or typed on a keyboard, or even just used a light switch after someone else! I could have been spreading a terrible disease across the Trotten islands! The wastelanders couldn’t treat it, they had even fewer resources than us! The thought made me shiver. Or maybe it was my fever getting worse.

What if I failed to save my people… and I doomed someone else’s?

No! No. No? NO! That was silly. I didn’t show any signs, not one! The medical gear on the Skystar was built to interface with my neuro implant, they let me track everything down to my hormone levels from moment to moment! Besides, I didn’t have any blue boils, or a rash, or anything!

Still… I lifted my blanket to take a peek at my coat just to be sure. It was blue. Just like it always was. More dusty and smelly than usual, but I didn’t see any signs of illness. The skin below was soft and smooth. No blue boils!

Wait… blue. Blue! My coat looked blue, the boils from the illness are blue. What if it looked normal because it was all boil! Every inch of me! A walking talking infection, destroying my friends, my family, and everyone who tried to love me!

There was a faraway beeping as my heart thundered in my chest, but that didn’t matter. Was an increased heart rate a symptom? I couldn’t remember! It was getting really hard to focus… Especially with all the galloping hooves of hospital ponies echoing nearby. So rude, distracting a hen when she’s trying to have a panic attack! No social edict at all!

My people weren’t the only ones in danger, either. Scarlet… Scarlet! She was back! Or maybe she hadn’t left… She was standing above me, smiling at me. I could warn her. I could save her! “H-hide… The monster pony. Her alicorn. Corrupted death. Risen from ashes of war. Just hide…”

The pony I thought was Scarlet injected something into my IV line that made everything better. The heart monitor droning slowed and my eyes grew heavy. Everything relaxed. Of course, it did… I saved Scarlet. I warned her. She was safe. I could rest.

🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

It was a beautiful day to be enjoying a walk! Sure I was in a hurry to see Karma, but I couldn’t help but take a few minutes to enjoy the sun against my back, and the cool salty breeze coming off the ocean. I wasn’t the only one, either. Creatures of every shape and size ceased the chance to get out of their hollowed tree homes to enjoy the day's beauty and spend time with their friends and loved ones. When our existence hung so dangerously in the balance, the festival of life was a much-needed chance to destress and unwind. For just a few days, we could all pretend the war didn’t happen, and everything was ok. Like we weren’t one flu outbreak away from going without clean water, or a bad flux regulator shy of crippling brownouts.

Two warm metal tins on my back contained the delicious meals that the festivals always brought. The Elders almost always removed calorie restrictions for special events, affording the rare opportunity for everyone to stuff their beaks and muzzles to their heart's content. I made sure to get extra for us in case we got hungry later but weren’t willing to leave each other's embrace.

Karma had a fairly nice home just a few blocks from the square. One of the few dozen trees that still stood from before Deluge De Arcana. Maybe even one of the oldest trees on the island. Karma’s parents had been scavengers like her, so she was allowed to keep possession of their house after they died. I spent almost all of my time there before I got the Skystar assigned to me, so it was like my second home. Third, if we count Aqua’s place too.

I paused at her doorstep, my fist centimetres away from knocking. Anxiety churned in my belly, fighting to relight the fears my sister so easily defeated. I hadn’t seen her for months. What if it was different? What if she was?

I didn’t want to waste time calming down with a flight around the city. I already waited more than three months to see her, and I didn’t want to extend it any further. And it wouldn’t help the growing soreness in my wing joints after the long flight home from Skya. It was gonna be fine! We were gonna hug, nuzzle, eat great food, and talk about everything we’ve missed.

With a determined whistle, I knocked! It seems like a small thing, after reading about my wasteland adventures, but knocking on someone's door can be really hard! Especially when they don’t answer… Maybe she didn’t hear. I knocked again, harder this time.

The anxiety gave way to feelings of boredom as I knocked and waited again and again. After five minutes I hit my limit. She was either asleep upstairs, or she was out. That left me with my least favourite kind of question… a social one. Was it socially acceptable for me to let myself into her place to wait for her? We’d been together long enough that I was allowed to come and go as I pleased, but that was before I left for school! If it turned out she was ignoring my messages because she was mad, then letting myself into her house could make her even more upset.

I groaned and rested my head against the trunk of the treehome. She didn’t seem mad at me when she last spoke, and as far as I knew I hadn’t done anything to make her mad at me. So… she probably wasn’t mad at me! Missing me, sure, but not angry. She was usually really good about telling me if I did something to upset her, so… yeah. Yeah!

I steeled myself, and let myself into her house. All of the shades were closed and the lights were off, leaving it a lot darker inside than out. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to it.

No sign of her downstairs. Her workshop was empty, though her rifle was disassembled on the workbench, probably still waiting to be cleaned and regreased after her last mission. The rifle strap was missing, probably damaged during the mission or being cleaned.

The living room was likewise Karma-les, with the only signs of use being a few books left on the table she’d been reading. There was a cute walnut sitting on her coffee table! The little guy seemed lonely, so I slipped it into my breast pocket for safekeeping. Why would the walnut be lonely, when it had the company of not only Karma, but the magical tree home growing around it? It must have been a very high-maintenance tree nut.

There was a door halfway up a curling stairwell to her room. I tapped softly on her door. When she didn’t respond I cracked it open and called for her. “Karma, are you home? It’s Aella! Aella Breeze! I brought you dinner! I thought maybe we could share it and watch a film, snuggle and catch up?”

No response. Anxiety was starting to build now. Something felt wrong. Every detail about the situation was unfamiliar and strange. My breath caught in my throat as I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

It was a mess. Bedsheets on the floor. The vanity mirror shattered. Her journal was tossed across the room, its pages torn out and thrown, or turned to what was now ice-cold ash in a metal trashcan.

The world stopped then. Nothing felt real. It was like I was in SATS in reverse. I couldn’t feel the emotions or connect with the racing thoughts. I could watch my body move, but it didn’t feel like my own. It was like I was watching some kind of sick memory orb. My body shook and whimpered all on its own as I stumbled back. My vision was filled with tears, but somehow I could still see it. Even as I trotted down the stairs in a total daze, I couldn’t stop seeing it.

The most beautiful hippogriff you’ve ever seen. With a shining orange coat and a mane the colour of the sea. Hanging from a ceiling fan by her rifle strap. The skin under her coat was cold and blue. The love and liveliness that once flowed so freely were gone, leaving only her vacant eyes to stare down at me. Forever.

I have no idea how long I stared at her. Or how long it took me to trot outside and settle on the stoop. I cried silently as I stared at the ground, but I felt Empty. Empty as her eyes. Someone came over to see if I was alright. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t even look at them. I just shook my head and clenched my talons into fists. I didn’t understand. It was impossible to understand. Even after seeing it right in front of me, I swore it couldn’t be real. She would never…

I don’t remember anything after that. None of it mattered. The mare I loved was dead. Gone forever. The whys and hows didn’t matter. Though they’d haunt me for the rest of my life.

Karma was dead.

🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

Memories that I did my best never to think about, never to dwell on. Thoughts and feelings I wasn’t strong enough to properly deal with. The fevered dreams of radiation poisoning forced it all to the forefront of my mind, forcing me to confront it. In the hospital bed of the clinic, I was completely helpless. At the mercy of my own fears, and insecurities.

My parents, my love, everyone leaves. How long until my new friends died, or left me behind? I was weak, a novice of wasteland survival. I needed them so much, but they didn’t need me at all.

I couldn’t help the dreams of pain and abandonment my tired mind brought to me. There was no escape. Sleeping meant being tortured by my exhausted mind, but being awake meant feeling the necrotic magic of balefire eating me alive.

Was this how the sick back home felt? Cold, scared, and helpless. Far from their deathbeds thanks to how slow the illness progresses, but just as terrified and hopeless. Or maybe some were… Those with other conditions, compromised immune systems, or plain old bad luck. Anygriff could be in the same position as me. Wheatgrass in the commissary, Chief Engineer Sureclasp, or even General Seaspray (the seventh) could me laid out in medical beds, suffering, surrounded by overworked healers and grieving friends who could do nothing to help.

No one deserved to feel this sick. To see death coming for them, lurking just out of their vision. My ancestor's comfort and the three spirits' guidance were not enough to quell my fear of death. Nothing could shut out the sick amusement my pain gave the wasteland and its horrors.

I had to save Aqua. Save them all. Not even the worst hippogriff deserved this fate.

🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

I don’t remember my friends getting back and I wasn’t conscious when they forced the first pouch of radaway down my throat, but I started improving after that. My fitful broken sleep was replaced with a restful slumber, while my body and healing potion IV drip worked to reverse the damage the radiation had done.

I woke twenty hours later, not in the cramped clinic of Whinnies Grove but tucked into my nest aboard the Skystar. Only one tube was left in my body, connecting my wrist to an IV bag of clear fluid. No more pain drugs or healing potions for this bird!

A familiar unicorn smiled sleepily at me from my bedside, slightly out of focus from the lack of corrective flight goggle lenses on my face. “Morning, sleepy bird. I was starting to worry you wouldn’t wake up at all. With how much effort Free and put into saving your flank, I would have killed you if you died anyway.”

Unable to find my words, I sniffled and pulled the unicorn into a feathery hug. “I-I was really scared.” My voice left my dry throat sore and raspy, but I didn’t care. I was alive! They saved me. “If you two hadn’t… I would be… W-what happened? How’d I get here? Where’s the pegasus stallion? Can I have a drink?”

Scarlet laughed and drew out of the hug, petting my wing with a hoof. “Slow down, you’ve been through a lot. Here, I made you this-” I chirped happily as a thermos of creamy goodness wrapped in a ruby glow floated into view. I grabbed at it before she could finish, taking a long soothing sip of the wonderful brew. It wasn’t as good as when I made it, but it was hot, caffeinated, and hydrating, and that’s all I cared about.

“So,” Scarlet continued as I drank. “Once you were stable, Free was super insistent we bring you here. Went on and on about how it’d be easier to recover if you were someplace comfortable, and how much safer you’d be on your sky boat.”

“Ship.” I corrected between gulps.

“Right. Didn’t stop until I agreed to help move you, so, here we are. Last I saw, Free was in the kitchen, -

“Gally,” I interjected again.

“Yeah, whatever. He’s fiddling with his gun where the food lives. It jammed up on him while we were out there.”

I finished the entire thermos of coffee and sat it aside. “I see. So where exactly did you two go? What happened?” The mare smirked and levitated a notebook out of her saddlebag. Did she sleep with her saddlebag on? “What’s this?”

“I think… Free’s diary? I stole it from his saddlebag while he was exploring your ship.” My eyes narrowed at her. “What!? If he’s gonna be aboard, I wanted to make sure he wasn’t secretly evil! Especially since he seems really interested in our mission, and what we’re doing next. I think he wants to… come with us? Anyway, this diary thing has accounts of like, everything the buck does, so it's the best way to make sure.” He wanted to come with us. Well, that was interesting… It wouldn’t hurt to have another fighter on the team, and we certainly could use a healer!

I snatched the book out of Scarlet's aura with a talon and scoffed. “Scarlet, we can’t read this! It’s private. In polite society, we do not read someone's private thoughts! It isn’t our business.”

A pair of big green eyes pleaded with me. “You aren’t in polite society anymore, Aella. We need to ensure our own safety. Do you remember what happened when you trusted Specter?” The mere thought made me wince. “Exactly. We don’t want a repeat. Plus,” Scarlet snatched the book back in her hooves and turned to a page she’d marked. “These recent entries are about how we saved you! This is the easiest way to explain it all. Besides, If it’s about us, doesn’t that make it our business?”

Ugh.

UGH.

She had me. “...Alright, fine But I only wanna read the sections about us. And you return that the second we’re done!”

Scarlet smirked and patted my shoulder. “He’ll never know he lost it.”

“Good.”

“Oh, and read it out loud, would ya? I’m pretty slow at it.”

Footnotes:
No, you didn’t level up. I’m afraid reliving old experiences is not the same as gaining experience. I don’t make the rules!

Author's Note

Chapter updated! 11/10/23

• Streamlined events
• Fixed error that caused character POV changes to get confusing
• Improved password protection
• Removed herobrine