Retcon

by Beige


Chapter Seventeen - Over Drinks

Retcon wrinkled her nose. What was that? A spike of-

She turned in her seat to look over her shoulder. Standing in the corridor, one foreleg raised to her barrel, was Misty Fly. Her expression as she resumed walking was genial and carefree, but the small jolt of alarm, fleeting and already fading, had given her away.

“Retcon, hey!” she greeted, stopping beside the large table. “How’s it going, you good?”

“I’m good, hi.” She gestured to the butter-yellow pegasus with a forehoof. “You’re unwrapped.”

Misty Fly glanced down at herself. “Oh, no flight suit. Yeah, didn’t need it today.” She nodded at the huge round table. “Cool if I join you?”

Huh. “Sure.”

Misty Fly grinned. “Just a...” She trotted over the glass wardrobe and pressed a few buttons, resulting in a clang from the machine. Over her shoulder she called, “You want one?”

“Oh, thanks. Please.”

With another clang, Misty Fly returned to the table with two identical cans. Taking a cushion next to Retcon, she slid one can over to her. It was the same type as the first one she had tried, going by the colouration of the label.

Misty Fly cracked the lid of hers with a hiss. “So what’s new? Didn’t see you again yesterday. Thought I might’ve missed you.”

“Sorry, were you looking for me?”

The pegasus paused mid-sip. “Well not looking, no. Just wondered if I might run into you again.”

Retcon shrugged. “I was in my room. I had my books.” No strong emotions anymore. I can’t tell what she’s feeling. At least she’s not afraid this time. “Well, no one’s said it’s not my room anymore.” And no one came to lock it, she added to herself. Her room had actually felt like a sanctuary that past night.

“Oh yeah? Reading anything good?”

“Yes.” …Oh, she’ll want detail. “I can’t remember the name, it was long and weird, but it had a picture of a sunset on the front. No pictures inside though.”

“What’s it about?”

“It’s…” Is this weird? Whatever. “Well it’s about pony who likes another pony. Like, likes them a lot. And they have dinners together. It’s sweet.”

A grin slowly spread across Misty Fly’s face. “Oh yeah?”

Retcon’s ears folded back. “What?”

“Eh, nothing.”

She found that really funny.

The pegasus’ jovial mood soon dipped. “Look, real quick; I wanted to say sorry, for how I acted yesterday.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “It was kinda rude of me and I think I made a bad first impression.”

Retcon frowned lightly. “…Um, no you’re okay. I didn’t think you were rude.”

Misty Fly appeared to deflate slightly, her emotions losing a little of the tension. “Ah, cool. Thanks.” Smiling earnestly, she extended a forehoof towards Retcon. “Friends?”

“I haven’t really got the whole ‘friend’ thing down yet, but sure.” She met the hoof briefly with her own. “Hello,” she said, smiling back.

Misty Fly giggled. “I’m friends with a changeling!”

Retcon snorted. The pegasus’ good humour was infectious. Glad I could help, I guess.

“Oh, since you’re new…” Setting her can down on the table, Misty Fly glanced over her shoulder, then leaned forward conspiratorially. “What do you think of Sky?”

Sky? “Well, um, she’s pretty grumpy. And bossy.”

“Heh, yeah.” The pegasus scratched the top of her muzzle. “Thing is I’ve worked here for about three years now, and Sky… She’s been here longer than anyone. Vel’s second, but even she doesn’t know much about Sky.” Sighing, she leaned back from the table. “I mean she’s great at what she does. Don’t get me wrong, she knows how to run this place, it’s just that we don’t actually know much about her, and I thought that since you…” Trailing off, she gestured vaguely up and down in Retcon’s direction. “You can read what ponies are feeling, right?”

“Uhh, kinda?”

“Oh, sorry, I shouldn’t- So how does it work?” Misty Fly gasped. “Oh, can you tell what I’m feeling right now?”

Retcon felt squirmy inside. “Mmh… Not really. Like… I-I can tell that you’re there and that you’re feeling a bunch of things…” She tried to focus. “…A couple of things… Most I can get is some discomfort…” …Which just got a little bit bigger just then. Blinking, she focused back on Misty Fly. “…But yeah, nothing strong enough to get a good reading.”

“Huh, that’s really neat.”

She’s… grossed out, I think? Just a bit. …But she actually seems genuinely interested. Hmm.

Retcon took another sip, then shrugged. “I never get much from Sky. Again, I can tell she’s there, not like with Gurney.” At Misty Fly’s expression, she quickly added, “Changelings don’t get anything from griffons, or anything other than ponies apparently. It’s like…” She furrowed her eyebrows. “…It’s like if you never heard somepony’s hoofsteps when they walked. They’re still there, but, not fully. Sky’s not like that, I just can’t get a good read on her. Dunno why.”

Misty Fly nodded along as she listened. “Is that how you get love energy?”

“…You’re surprisingly okay with all this,” Retcon noted.

“Mmm, not really,” Misty Fly admitted, her emotions muddled, if not strong, “but you seem nice, and this all sounds pretty cool. It’s better I ask, right?”

Retcon felt the ghost of a smile. “Well, kinda works like that. I’m still sort of new to all this…”

“Right, you thought… right.”

She nodded, “Yeah, the mind wipe and all that. So… Yeah, it’s kind of related to that, but I can sense some of the feelings of anypony around me. Most of the time it’s so… background that I didn’t even realise no one else could, didn’t notice anything weird until I met Gurney, he’s like a nothing.” She chuckled shortly. “…Okay, if a pony feels a strong enough emotion about me, directed at me, then I can… get energy from it.” She stumbled over some of her words, suddenly very conscious about what she was saying, and to whom she was saying it. “If it’s a positive emotion, it’s food, if it’s a negative emotion, apparently that’s bad.” She realised she was staring at the table as she spoke. “You’re, ah… You’re not making anything strong enough for me to, uh, get, if that helps.”

The pegasus’ emotions seemed to gradually flatten, some of the darker notes weakening. Outwardly however, she frowned, seeming troubled. “Hmm.”

Retcon glanced up. “What?”

“Well, that’s no good. How am I supposed to help then?”

“…Hah?”

Misty Fly propped up the side of her face with a hoof, elbow on the table, looking at her with an expression of scrutiny. “Well I don’t fancy you or anything. No offense, you’re a looker, but you’re not my type. Does it have to be directed at you?”

…What does fancy mean, in this context? Wish I had my dictionary. “That’s what the file says. Gurney too. If the strong emotion is about something else, I get nothing.”

“Mmh.” Misty Fly smiled. “Well, friendships aren’t instantaneous. We’ll work on this, yeah?”

“Uh, yeah.” She’s… she actually willing to help, even though she knows? I wouldn’t want some parasite feeding off me, but she’s offering? … Lemony was too. The enormity of what was being offered didn’t escape her. “Wow, that’s… that’s really nice of you. I, uh, don’t know what-”

“Yeah yeah yeah, let’s not make it awkward,” interrupted Misty Fly quickly, her face flushing. “It’s one thing to agree to be dinner for a changeling, it’s another to actually do it, you know?”

“Yeah.” Retcon rested her chin on her forelegs, crossed on the table. “Truth is I wish it didn’t have to work like this,” she said neutrally. “I don’t really want to steal energy from other ponies. The word 'parasite' isn’t a friendly one.”

Misty Fly chuckled lightly. “Well, at least I’m not the only one thinking it.”

A mild sensation of warmth began to trickle around her skull, a small feeling of contentment in her chest. A familiar feeling, one she hadn’t felt in a while.

Concerned, though afraid of moving too suddenly, she glanced sideways at Misty Fly. The pegasus took a swig of her drink, appearing carefree.

...Is she-

A sudden muffled whoosh of wind shocked her out of her thoughts. Lifting her head from the table, she turned to face the Warp Room door. Misty Fly had also taken notice. The sensation had stopped.

The door opened inward. Lemony Meringue took only two steps out of the room before she froze, eyes locked on to Retcon’s.

Retcon flinched at the sudden gust of dread that slammed her senses, her ears flat against her head. For a terrible moment, the sensation dominated everything she felt. She couldn’t move. Then Lemony blinked, and it quickly faded.

The pink unicorn had a thin rough-looking cloth wrapped around the bottom of her neck. Her yellow and orange mane looked a little straighter than usual.

“Oh… hi,” said Lemony, absently.

Retcon did her best to maintain eye contact. “…Hi,” she responded without thinking.

“Yo,” greeted Misty Fly, waving a foreleg in the air. Her ears pricked up, and she winced. “Ooh, what’s with the bandage?”

Lemony glanced over at the pegasus, looking surprised. The cocktail of emotions she was generating set Retcon’s teeth on edge. Lemony half raised a forelimb to herself, but quickly lowered it. “Um… There was a sort of accident.” Her eyes darted back to Retcon. “…I-…” A heartbeat. She looked down at the floor. “Excuse me.”

Without making eye contact, the unicorn walked past the table and started down a hallway. Misty Fly turned to watch as she left. Retcon hadn’t moved, still staring in the direction of the Warp Room.

When she finally heard the distant click of a door, when all she could sense was the confusion from next to her, Retcon let out a breath.

Should’ve said something. Should’ve said sorry. Why didn’t you say anything? She shuddered. Need to put it right. How can I put it right? What can I do? Can’t even open my mouth and talk…

Oh-kay, what was that?” Misty Fly interrupted her thoughts.

Quick turnaround on losing a friend. Nice one, Retcon, that’s a record. She closed her eyes tightly as she tried to squash her inner voice.

“…Something happened,” she mumbled downwards. “I knew something was up right from the start, when they said I had amnesia, but… literally everything I knew about the world, I was told. I had no choice but to trust completely that they were being truthful. A-And then I find out it was all a lie, and it made…” She sighed. “I’m making excuses. I hurt Lemony.”

The pegasus’ emotions began to hum a little darker, though were still restrained. “…Her…?” She lifted a forehoof to her throat. Retcon nodded. Frowning, Misty Fly asked, “…What did you find?”

“They had given me a copy of my file. Turns out it was altered. I found the real one, the part that said they had wiped my memory.” She gulped, her throat feeling constricted. “I… didn’t really feel I could… trust anything after that.”

Misty Fly sucked a sharp breath through her teeth. “Yeesh, that’d do it.”

Retcon blinked. The small unpleasant hum of emotion was already receding, drowned out by the low background muddle that she couldn’t discern. “Okay, not the reaction I was expecting,” she muttered.

“I wasn’t here,” said Misty Fly, her tone carefully neutral. “I wanna talk to Lemony first.”

That makes sense, I guess…

“Besides,” she continued in a softer tone, “it sounds like you’re sorry, at least.”

Retcon opened her mouth to reply, but couldn’t come up with the words, instead just nodding in response.

“Mmh, wait, was Lemony your only source of food?”

Retcon felt her eye twitch. “Don’t call her that.”

“…Huh?”

“Said don’t call her that. Lemony… was my friend. Don’t…” She felt like she was shrinking inside. “Just… don’t talk like that.”

The surprised look on Misty Fly’s face shifted into a ghost of a smile. “You got it, my b.”

Folding her forelimbs on the table, Retcon rested her chin on top. “Sorry.”

“It’s cool.” Misty Fly took a drink from her can. “So what’s next then?”

Retcon shrugged as best she could. “Think I’ve learned everything I can here. Might ask Sky where I can get set up and live.”

Misty Fly shook her head. “No, I mean to make it up to Lemony.”

Make it up to her? Can I do that? “…I was pretty much going to stay away from her. Don’t want to make things worse.”

“And you think that’ll help?” the pegasus snorted.

Retcon lifted her head up to look at her. Is this a pony ‘social’ thing to do? “What do you have in mind?”

Misty Fly rolled her eyes. “Go out of your way to actually properly say sorry, dingus. Lem’s not the kind to hold a grudge, not normally, but don’t just sweep it all under the rug and pretend it didn’t happen.”

“R-Right.”

Right.

Make it up to her…

Maybe I could…

“Um, Misty Fly, where does the food get made?”