//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: The Kindest Cut // Story: Fallout: Equestria: A Cut Above // by Wirepony //------------------------------// ­­­Fallout Equestria: A Cut Above Chapter Thirteen: The Kindest Cut. I stumbled out of the recovery room in a daze. I didn't think what I had seen was possible. Even with potions and magical bandages and all that, regrowing a tongue from a stub was amazing. My father's best friend had lost his tongue before he had met us, and we had tried everything we knew to fix it. Even Hydra, that incredibly rare and powerful chem. Just the thought of Hydra made me shiver in fear. I had only ever seen one use of it, when one of the warriors had lost a leg to a raider's shotgun. The buck had screamed louder when the Hydra hit than when the leg had exploded in a spray of gore. I leaned on the wall of the hallway shaking as the unnatural convulsions played out again in my memory. The bone had crunched out in a shining white spur, rapidly forming a skeletal leg. Flesh had crawled along it, blood squirting out as its flow outpaced the growing veins. I shook my head to chase the memories away. There was no way Hydra was the treatment being used here, there wasn't enough leftover screaming in the air. A pony coughed to get my attention, and I looked up to see a friendly smiling earth pony stallion. He looked over his tiny spectacles at me, and gestured at the door I had just exited. "That a friend of yours, young buck?" He asked. I shrugged, taking the pony in. A pristine white lab coat covered everything of note, leaving his blue eyes his most notable feature. He was the only person in the hallway now, Engineer having gone missing. "Not really, mister...?" "I'm Stitches, the doctor responsible for that patient." "Oh! How did you do it?" I asked. This treatment could bring back Strong Back's speech - I had to know. "Well, Hydra doesn't normally regrow things like tongues or eyelids once they've healed badly or been cauterized," The doctor began, making his way to the door of the recovery room. "What's cauterized?" I asked. I thought I knew, but wanted to be sure. "Burnt, most say," Doc Stitch replied. I nodded. He peered into the recovery room, his smile reappearing. "But, I developed a procedure to force it to handle those old or ruined injuries." "Using Hydra." I offered. Doc Stitch nodded, and continued. "Hydra is an amazing drug. It's getting harder and harder to come by, but it is the only way to reliably heal something like your friend's tongue injury." Doc Stitch's voice was quiet, almost sad. "None of the other methods work nearly as often." "What's the method with H-Hydra?" I asked. The twitch of fear at the mention of the drug sent a prickle of embarrassment along my face. "Well, the first thing is to anesthetize the patient completely. Local anesthetic won't do, you have to use too much of it to stand a chance against the pain. Once the patient is unconscious, you have to debride the ruined flesh. It's often the toughest part of the whole procedure, really." "Debride?" I asked. I was not an idiot, but talking to this guy was making me feel awfully close. "Remove. Specifically, remove bad or corrupt flesh." "Ohhhhhh. Eek," I replied. Stitch nodded. "Yes, really. It's bloody and miserable, but it's got to be done. You, or rather I, remove the dead flesh, then apply the Hydra." My shiver caught the doctor's eye, and he turned away from the window to face me. "I agree, young man. It's a horrible horrible drug. But it works." Doc Stitch lifted a hoof and placed it gently against the window, staring inside. "The actual application is different, also. Instead of the normal hydraulic one-shot syringe, I have to draw the Hydra off into a much smaller needle, and apply it directly to the injured area in tiny doses." Doc Stitch put his hoof down with a thunk. It was half stomp, and his chest was thrown forward agressively as he turned to face me. "The stuff still hurts. It still burns a pony's life to repair their body. And it's still the only way to replace what's lost, sometimes." I plopped to my haunches, staring at the doctor. "C-could you teach me how to do that?" "What?" Doc Stitch recoiled, drawing away from me. "Teach you how to perform surgery?!" "It's just..." I began. I surged back to my feet, shaking my head. "A pony who is very important to me lost his tongue, just like that pony. I..." Doc Smith relaxed, leaning forward and hugging me. I relaxed into his embrace as I started to cry. I felt a ball of fear and need and frustration welling up in my chest, and I tried to choke it down. I was struggling to regain my composure when the door opened, Lyrical nosing out of it with Blinky on her back. "Wicked?" "L-Lyrical, they fixed that... could they fix Strongback? Can we bring him here?" I stepped out of Doc Stitch's hug. "Could you go there? What do I have to do for the Talons to make this happen?" I pleaded. "Wait, wait... you have a friend at home without a tongue?" Lyrical asked, worry clear on her face. I nodded, completely without words. "I need to go talk to Engineer. Stay here." Lyrical deposited Blinky on my back and trotted off, disappearing into the halls of the hospital. I stood astonished, looking between the last place I'd seen her and the bemused molerat on my back. Doc Stitch chuckled. "I do believe that she'll figure something out, one way or another. That was a mare on a mission," The doctor offered, turning his gaze back to the recovery room. "I think you're right, Doc." "Look, will you follow my instructions, exactly?" Stitch asked abruptly. I jerked my gaze away from Blinky to the stallion. He had one hoof up on the door again, staring into the recovery room. "Follow my instructions, and not do anything you aren't told to?" "Uhm... where? I mean no, I won't be your sl-" "Just in the surgery, I should have said." Stitch interrupted me, shaking his head. "It's probably foolish, but if you'll agree to follow my instructions, I can have you assist on the next operation." "Oh! Yes, yes sir I can agree to that!" I said. Stitch looked away from the window with a grin. "Doctor will do, Wicked. Let's go get another one of your friends patched up then." Doc Stitch pushed the door open then, striding through it confidently. His labcoat flipped back to reveal a silver needle cutie mark, a thin black thread sweeping through it. "Mister Leaf, we're ready for you in the operating room," Stitch announced. Leaf gulped audibly as he pulled away from Sky, his eyes wide with fear. Stitch patted the terrified earth pony on the shoulder gently. "It's OK, we'll knock you out. You will feel no pain." Leaf nodded once, and followed the doctor as he left the room. I hastened to follow, smiling as brightly as I could at Sky, whose eyes were almost as big as Leaf's had been. I turned through the door and hurried to catch up with Leaf and the Doc. Doc Stitch led us through a few turns of blank corridor, the only smell cleaning fluids and the only color white. Our path brought us to a double door labelled "OR" in big bold letters, with a symbol of a butterfly above the lettering. Doc pushed the door open, and strode through confidently. I followed Leaf in, and Doc ushered us into a smaller door on our left. "Here's where you scrub up. It will take a lot longer than you think you need, but you want to be cleaner than you have ever been. This will help reduce the chances of infection and keep you safer." The room was a sort of industrial bathroom, long sinks with hoof controls. A pair of nurses stepped forward and guided us through the process. I was a big fan of showers, but this was cleaner than I had ever been. My face was scrubbed thoroughly, and my teeth brushed with a paste that burned like fire. The nurse, a unicorn mare anonymous in a white labcoat and gown, scrubbed my lips as well. My hooves received the same viciously thorough treatment. The rest of my body got a hot water spray, followed by a wave of drying magic that pinned my ears back at its power. As the wave passed my withers, I whipped around to look at Blinky, expecting to find him pinned to the far wall by the force of the magic. I heaved a sigh of relief at seeing the molerat held in the magic of a third nurse, who was tickling the top of his head with a brush. He was having fun at least. Leaf's mouth was scrubbed even more thoroughly than mine, the nurse working on him running him through half a dozen different solutions, commanding him to rinse, then spit. Doc Stitch was getting a similar treatment to mine, though he was actively assisting the nurse. After my scrubbing, the nurse pulled curious booties over my hooves, front and back. The material almost felt like paper made into cloth, thin and tough and whispery. A mask was next, fitting closely over my face and ears, leaving my lips and mouth free to move. It almost felt like a battle mask, but paper instead of armor. Stitch and Leaf both wore similar getups, the doctor comfortable and assured. Leaf looked as lost as I felt, and we both focused on Doc Stitch. The doctor's smile was wide, his teeth sparkling. "Come on, you two. Let's go fix a pony." We followed Doc Stitch into the operating room itself, which was almost painfully brightly lit. The smell of whatever cleaner the Talons used was heavy in the air, and every surface gleamed with cleanliness. A bed was in the center of the room, a thin mattress draped with sheets and perched on top of a veritable forest of shining mechanical parts. Banks and banks of humming machinery lined the walls. I had never seen so many knobs and buttons. Stitch helped Leaf onto the strange bed, while I stood by awkwardly. Leaf reclined stiffly, and Stitch fretted at his position. He adjusted both Leaf and the bed, until the pony's muzzle was presented upwards. A masked and robed earth pony nurse stepped forward, nimbly strapping a breathing mask onto Leaf. A tube ran from the mask back to the bank of machines. "I'm going to count backwards from ten, I want you to count along with me. It's OK if I can't understand you, just repeat what I say." Leaf nodded under the mask, and the earth pony stepped aside, turning a knob with a flick of his hoof. A faint hiss sounded, and the nurse started counting backwards from ten. Leaf talked along in his broken voice, until six. At six he grunted sloppily, and didn't make any noise at all at five. The nurse flicked the knob off at four. Doc Stitch stepped forward with a scalpel in his mouth, poking Leaf in the ear with the tip. Leaf didn't so much as twitch, and Stitch nodded at the nurse. She pulled Leaf's mask off and stepped away from the table immediately. Stitch stepped back to Leaf's head, a frame of rods and screws held in his teeth. This frame went into Leaf's mouth, and between me and the doctor we got it arranged. The frame held Leaf's jaw wide open, leaving the stump of his tongue exposed and accessible. Doc grunted in satisfaction, and stepped back. "Alright, Wicked. Pay close attention, I'm going to start removing the damaged flesh. This is the most involved part, I'll need a new scalpel more than once." And so he did. I watched intently as he carefully trimmed the ragged ends of Leaf's tongue, revealing healthy meat under the thick scar tissue. It looked similar to skinning an animal, just a tiny bit more precise. I swapped out his scalpel once, and took a moment to wipe his forehead. I was surprised how hard the doctor was working. It made sense when you considered how precise and controlled his movements were. The next time he grunted for a new scalpel, I gently nudged him aside. "I'll take over, Doctor. Get a drink and a rest." Stitches said "Huh" and stepped aside. I closed in on Leaf's gaping maw, and carefully leaned in. It was awkward, holding the scalpel and watching its point at the same time. I managed, though. It wasn't much like skinning an animal at all. Tiny tiny movements, curling slivers of old scar tissue peeling away to reveal meat that was alive. It was tough, precise work. I found myself sweating as the scalpel dulled. The blade was absurdly sharp at first, and then just very sharp, and then just sharp. Sharp wasn't good enough for this precise work, and I stepped back. I grunted, and Blinky leaned over and plucked the scalpel from my mouth, replacing it with a fresh one. Back in I went, peeling the dead flesh away with the utmost caution. I felt a nudge in my shoulder, and rolled the scalpel away before turning to look. Doc Stitch stood with a smile around the scalpel held in his mouth. "Good work, Wicked. I'll finish up, take a break." One of the nurses guided me back to a bench, and plucked the scalpel from my limp jaw. I slouched gratefully, feeling a surprisingly potent wave of fatigue wash over me. I watched wearily as Stitch finished the work inside Leaf's mouth. Blinky plopped off of my back and became a lump on the bench, snoring quietly. Even the molerat seemed worn out. Eventually, Stitch stepped back and slumped onto the bench next to me, nodding gratefully at the unicorn nurse that floated his scalpel away on a flicker of magic. "Doc… why earth ponies? Why not unicorns for this sort of thing?" I asked. Doc huffed a quiet snort of laughter. "Most unicorns don't have the combination of precision and stamina with their magic required for the job. Very few earth ponies do, for that matter," Stitches said. One of the nurses chuckled, stepping next to him. "Most people just don't have the talent of the good doctor." She said, leaning into his side. "He's humble, but he's amazing." Doc Stitch chuckled, blushing around the edges of his mask. I snickered, and we watched the nurses clean up Leaf's mouth. Doc stretched his neck gently, breathing deeply as he rested. The nurses finished, stepping away from Leaf. One of the nurses returned with the gas mask, carefully monitoring Leaf as she re dosed him. Satisfied with her work, she stepped away. Doc rose to his hooves with a sigh, approaching the unconscious pony. One of the nurses had left a tray on a little stand next to the table. I couldn't see what was on it from the bench, so I levered myself up and followed. Four thin syringes lay on the tray, full of a grey oily liquid. Grumbling to himself, Doc Stitches picked up one of them. Gripping it gently in his lips, he carefully inserted the syringe into Leaf's mouth, stabbing it into the raw end of the pony's tongue. The reaction was immediate, Stitches leaping back with the syringe. I stared in astonishment as the red meat surged forward, growing in leaps and bounds. It was misshapen and incomplete, a raw crater of bloody flesh taking up most of the side away from the original needle mark. I pulled out of the way as Stitches surged forward, another needle in his teeth. He stabbed it unerringly into the center of the oozing hole. Leaf's entire body jolted as the tongue pulsed, flesh snapping out to fill the hole. And continuing! A bulge became another tongue, and rapidly became a tendril, then a tentacle of flesh. The hideous flesh whipped around as it grew out of Leaf's mouth, slapping me as I tried to get out of the way. I snapped back without thinking, grabbing the tentacle in my jaws and pulling it taught. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Doc lunge forward, the bright gleam of a scalpel in his mouth. Suddenly the tentacle pulled free, and I fell backwards, the grey flesh whipping me as it spasmed. One of the nurses kicked me in the side of the head, and my mouth came open to shout in pain. As I yelled, the tentacle was wrapped in the pink glow of her magic, and was compressed into a ball that went away. I fought to my hooves to help, but Doc had the situation under control. Two more smaller tendrils lay on the floor, sweeping away on a pink field of magic. Leaf was still restrained, his jaw gaping. Doc lifted his head, blood dripping from the scalpel and spattered on his mask. "That was a rough one. Get me a new scalpel so I can finish trimming this." I did. Doc carved the growths off, restoring a normal shape and size to the tongue. I swabbed the raw areas with healing potion, watching with awe as the skin crept together. When I was done, Leaf's tongue was red and angry looking… But complete. Doc was sprawled on the bench when I finished, and staggered over to examine my work. Clouting me on the shoulder, he staggered back to the prep area. "Good work, kid. The nurses can clean him up and get him back to recovery, let's wash." It wasn't until I rinsed my mouth out that I noticed the foul taste the tentacle had left in my mouth. Between that, the harsh cleaner they had scrubbed us with and the impact of what had just happened, I lost it. Foul yellow bile splattered into the sink as I tossed my cookies, vomit surging from me in great surging waves. I horked myself empty, finishing in a limp sprawl draped over the edge of the sink. Stitches was eyeing me with concern from the next sink over, spraying his mouth with water. I weakly followed suit, the cold, clean water an absolute wonder in my disgusting mouth. I hosed the sink clean as part of the process, and turned the spray nozzle straight into my face. I hosed down everything I could reach with the nozzle, spending extra time on my mouth and face. I was stretching to get under my foreleg, Doc watching me curiously from where he was scrubbing his forehooves lazily, when a nurse walked into the room. "Errr, Mr. Wicked, you do know we have a shower, right?" "Oh." The shower was paradise. I started with a pounding hot flood, beating on my hide like wrathful hammers. I soaped aggressively, turning myself into a foampony as I scrubbed. The cold spray at the sink had helped, but this was a chance to completely cleanse myself and I took it gratefully. After the soap and the hot, cold needles of water was the perfect complement. I left the shower shortly thereafter scrubbed clean and dripping wet. A nurse was waiting in the scrub room with a towel draped around her neck. Without the mask, her face was cheery and open. I smiled at her and nodded at the towel, which she floated over on her pink magic. "Hey," I asked, through a mouthful of towel. "Was that you that snatched those tentacles out of there?" "Yes doctor, it was," She replied. I chuckled, scruffling my mane with the soft warmth of the towel. "I'm not a doctor, ma'am. I just wanted to say thank you, that really helped." "You're welcome," She said, turning to leave. "Doctor." She shot over her shoulder as she exited the room. I couldn't help but chuckle, but it made me think. Surgery like this was a lot of work, but it was something I might be able to do to help ponies. Something I might be able to bring home and contribute to my community. Doctor Wicked Cut. I had to admit, it didn't sound bad. The hair care thing worked nicely with it, I had to have clean and sharp tools for both… Hmmm… I finished drying and left the shower for the scrub room. Doc Stitch was trying to play with Blinky, who was lazily pawing at the piece of string Stitch was dangling in front of him. The doctor looked up as I walked in, dropping the string into a pocket of his white coat. "Wicked, I'm starting to think this is the most useless pet ever." "Doctor, if it weren't for things like the scalpel switch he did for me, I'd think you're right," I replied, tossing Blinky onto my back. The molerat burbled at my clean mane, patting it before curling up on my withers. Stitch laughed and moseyed out of the scrub room. We passed through the OR door and headed towards recovery. Stitch was obviously tired, his smile thin and worn. I realized that he would have handled Big's surgery before Leaf's, both in the same day. "How do you do it, Doc?" I asked. "That wasn't much work, but it wiped me out. How do you do two like that in the same day?" "Two or more. Sometimes you don't get to rest. Fortunately the Talons aren't actively in conflict right now, so it's been quiet… Recently." Stitch shook his head. "This is OK. I'll go have a beer in the cantina, then read a book. Sleep a full eight hours tonight." Stitch looked at me, his smile suddenly as bright as the sun. "And tomorrow, I do the same to Sky. Assuming everything goes well, tomorrow afternoon will mark the first time those three have been able to talk to each other since… " "Since that happened," I supplied. Stitch's smile fell off his face as we paused outside of the recovery room. Nurses were flitting about, getting Leaf situated in the middle bed. Sky was glued to the side of Leaf's bed, just staring at his partner. "I wonder who and why. One of my friends has a similar injury…" "I'm grateful I don't have to worry about that part. I just patch 'em up, kid. The warrior types and leader types can deal with the who, and the why has never mattered at all." With a shrug, Stitch pushed the door open and walked into the room. His smile was back on his face, and he told Sky a very glossed over version of what had happened to Leaf. There was no mention of tentacles or fighting, just surgery and treatment. Interesting. Sky was getting excited talking to the doctor, waving his hooves around and repeatedly gesturing to his mouth. The noises he made while trying to keep quiet were one of the sadder things I've ever heard. Doc Stitch looked confused, and I strode forward to stand next to him. Sky looked at me and pointed at the wreckage of his tongue. "Doc, he wants to know when his turn is," I said. Sky relaxed with a huge sigh, nodding at the doctor. "Oh! Well, that's easy. We can put you on the table tomorrow morning bright and early, my good pony. You'll probably spend the rest of the day in recovery. After tomorrow, though… You should be completely better." Sky lunged forward and hugged the doctor, tears running down his face. I smiled, patting the pony awkwardly. There had to be a way to get Strongback here, or to get the Talons there. Sky calmed down and stayed with Leaf, who was profoundly unconscious. Doc Stitch thumped me on the shoulder and took his leave. The rumble of an unfamiliar voice came from the next bed, Lyrical's delicate tones answering. Big was awake. I hastened to his bed, nervous but determined. Lyrical was talking quietly about Sunrise, making wavy motions with her forelegs. I stepped through the curtain, and Big's eyes snapped to mine. Lyrical kept talking for a long moment, until she felt the tension in the air. "Big," I said. "Wicked," He replied. "I'm sorry." We both said. Our sad smiles were similar too, and I sat next to the bed. Big held out a forehoof, and I grabbed it in both of mine. "You first,"I offered, and Big smiled. "For the first time in a long time." He said. His voice was incredibly deep, almost felt more than heard. "I'm sorry, Wicked. As much as it hurt me to lose Clover, I-" "Clover?" I interrupted. Big smiled sadly. "My mare." My ears pinned back, and I looked away. "It wasn't your fault, Wicked. I'm sure that if there had been any other way, you wouldn't have killed her. I can't blame Leaf and Sky, either. Those two are completely useless in a fight." "Oh," I replied. I didn't have the first clue what to say. Big patted my hoof reassuringly, where he still held it in his. "No, Wicked, the ones to truly blame are the Horn Over Hoof gang. For Clover's death, for my tongue… The whole shit stack is theirs." Big squeezed my hoof reassuringly. "I'm going to kill them all, you know," He said conversationally. I blinked. I tried to think of a way to respond to that, but there wasn't anything. There was no way that a single pony, or a small group of ponies, could destroy an entire gang. A chuckle broke the circle of my thoughts, and we all turned to see Engineer standing just inside the door, a griffish grin on his face. "Maybe not all of them, but that's just because you won't be alone." Big left with Engineer shortly thereafter. The two of them were going to talk to Gawd and a small group of her officers. The Horn Over Hoof gang posed a threat to the Talons, and just like that they were going to meet their end. It was good Wasteland logic, I approved wholeheartedly. I sat with Lyrical after they had left, filling her in on the reality of the procedure Big and Leaf had undergone. She was horrified by the tongue tentacle, but intrigued by the less harmful use of Hydra. We spent some time catching up, and checked on Leaf and Sky. Leaf was asleep now, which was a nice change. He snored, Sky sprawled half on his bed and half on him. I took a moment just to smile at them. They really did make a cute couple. The first bed area in the recovery room was empty now. We were trying to decide whether to take a nap here or make our way back to the bunk room when the door opened. Engineer backed through the door supporting an exhausted Big, who stumbled back to his bed and collapsed. We rushed to his bed, where Engineer had his hoof in a firm grasp. The huge stallion smiled, then lay his head down and immediately went to sleep. Engineer gently put Big's hoof down on the bed, then ushered us out of the recovery room. Sleeping ponies behind us, Engineer was excited. The griffin almost bounced down the hallway. "So," He said, strutting down the hallway as I shared a bemused look with Lyrical. "We and we and you and we have quite a few things going on." "What and what and what now?" I replied. Lyrical giggled, and Engineer grinned at me. "First you, Wicked. The Big Bird has stated that she is officially interested in seconding you into the Talons." I blinked. "What does that mean, exactly?" "Well, there's a contract." "Of course there is." "But," Engineer continued, "The short of it is that you agree to bring any grievance before a Talon council before attacking them, you assist Talon members as best you are able – and get paid for that assistance, mind. Also, it means you have access to Talon medical and field support, within reason." "That doesn't sound half bad… What was that about pay?" I asked. "Any time you spend working as a Talon, you get paid. The whole 'for-hire' thing is Gawd's problem, us rank and file types just get paid for our services to the Talons as a whole." "Pay pay pay," Lyrical mused. "Why are the Talons spending Hydra and all that medical support on no-account slaves, then?" "Ah, but they're not just slaves, Lyrical. They're intelligence sources. And since they're the first folks from the Horn over Hoof gang that aren't slavers…" Engineer trailed off and began laughing. We stopped in the hallway, and the griffin got himself back under control. "It's just… All of the resources of that gang are going to the slaves, when the Talons are done with them. If what Big told us about their holdings was accurate, they'll all be rich ponies." "And then they have to pay for their own healing, pay for their rescue, pay pay pay." I grumbled. Engineer crowed laughter. "Nope, that's after they've paid off the Talons for stepping in. They're literally sitting on a gem mine, Wicked!" I blinked. That did change things, quite a bit. Lyrical piped up. "Wasn't Shattered Hoof a gem mine?" "Aye, it was. It was a lot bigger than the one the Horn gang is sitting on, too. But it's played out. Gem production is so slow we barely bother with it. Their mine was just opened before the war, and it's ripe and ready. The Talons send over a couple miners to teach the earth ponies, and presto!" "That's… Surprisingly good news for them," I mused. "What would it take for someone to get their tongue repaired who wasn't one of the slaves?" "One of your tribe members?" Engineer said. I nodded. "Sign up. You have personal reason to deal with the Horn gang and even as a second, the pay for that campaign would more than cover a significant surgery like Stitch's new Hydra technique." "Huh." I had to think about that. Signing up with the Talons, even in this limited role Engineer described, would mean giving up my freedom. I had to admit, the support structure was attractive. I pondered on this as we walked, paying attention to Shattered Hoof as we proceeded through it. The sun was lowering towards the horizon, painting the white and tan buildings in sunset colors. "Engineer, where are the kids?" Lyrical asked suddenly. I perked up. That thought hadn't even occurred to me. "Most of them are at home, I'd imagine." Engineer said mildly. I blinked. "Is there a park or a play area they frequent?" Lyrical asked. Engineer shot me an inquisitive glance, and I shrugged in response. "Yeah, I think so… this way." Engineer veered off, and we took a turn off the route back to the barracks. Engineer lead us to a part of the Hoof I hadn't seen yet. The buildings shrunk, and grass started to surround them. We passed several of the small blocky buildings, all bright colors and windows. A metal structure came into view, a sort of spiraling ramp around a post. Stairs led to the top of it, and guard rails protected the users. As we drew near, a filly came shrieking down the spiral, peals of laughter following her as she tumbled through the soft sand at the base. Sprawled out on her back, legs sticking every which way, the filly laughed uproariously. A griffin chick came sliding down after her, and the two tumbled further across the sand before running off to a set of metal bars. Those were apparently a climbing toy, which the two swarmed up to the top of. We sat watching them for a few minutes, until a griffin came swooping out of the sky. Settling to a landing next to our little group, he gave Engineer a nod and spared me and Lyrical a curious glance. I waved with a smile. "Scratcher, Fleetfoot, time to go home!" The griffin called. The children came running out of the park, complaining about going home. The griff laughed at them as he scooped them up in his arms, hugging them tight before tossing the pony onto his back. The little grifflet padded on the ground next to him as the three walked off. "Hmm," Lyrical hmmed. I gave her my most quizzical look, which she met with a shrug. "The Collegiate doesn't want me, Wicked. I want to help you with your quest, but I'm not going to be your camp follower. I'm going to try and sign up with the Talons." Lyrical shook her mane and trotted off, determination on her face. I hastened to follow, and Engineer flapped into the sky behind us. He landed in front of Lyrical, and led us the rest of the way to the bunks we had been assigned to. Lyrical didn't have anything to say as we got ready for bed. I positioned Blinky on the pillow and gave Lyrical a hoof up the ladder, standing on it to look at her as she worked her way under her blankets. "Lyrical, I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't think you were going to be my camp follower. I—" "That's the problem, Wicked." Lyrical interrupted. "You didn't think. There was no consideration for me at all in your plans." "No, there wasn't. I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I shouldn't be mad, and I'm not, not really." Lyrical said just as quietly. "But I've got to take care of myself, I can't -I shouldn't- count on anyone else to do so." "Well, I'll help you as best I can. You're my friend, and that's more important than a camp follower," I said. Lyrical stretched out a hoof, and I placed mine atop it gently. "Goodnight." "Goodnight, Wicked." My mind was a whirl of possibilities and choices as I lay down. Was I going to try and 'second' myself to the Talons? Was that what it would take to get Strongback fixed? Did I want to become a doctor? Most importantly, at least in the near term… What now? That could wait for tomorrow. I put a hoof on Blinky's warm back and drifted off to sleep.