Hey Nim, I have a question, and I’d like you to not let Luna know about it, Sarah whispered quietly within her mind as their small group walked down the broken highway.

Hmm? What question is that? Nim inquired curiously.

Well... Luna and I are together, right? Sarah asked.

I would think so, Nim replied blandly. Unless human relationships place far less significance on sex then ponies.

Sarah blushed a little and unconsciously placed a hand on Luna’s back as the alicorn walked beside her. Luna looked at her curiously, but upon Sarah’s headshake went back to scanning for danger.

So, was that your question? Nim asked her.

No... it was just the beginning one, Sarah replied with a slight frown. Look... I’ve never done this whole ‘relationship’ thing before. I’ve only read about it in books two centuries old and to be honest... none of them really talked about this sort of thing.

Sarah, just what are you trying to ask me? Nim asked, growing tired of the woman’s beating around the bush.

Alright, sorry... I’m just wondering what to do, Sarah stated.

What to do about what? Nim asked.

What to do about me and Luna being together! Sarah exclaimed. I just don’t know what to do.

Wait, do you not want to be with her? Nim asked her, her voice dropping a little and becoming more... hostile.

No, it’s not that, I want to be with her, the woman said, letting out a small growl of frustration. I just... don’t know what to do with it!

You mean... you don’t know what to ‘do’ with the relationship? Nim inquired.

Yes-no-I don’t know, Sarah replied, rubbing her forehead a little. I just don’t have any experience with this. I know that we agreed to stay friends first through this but I don’t know how to act now... do I kiss her all the time or only when we make love?

Well, speaking from experience, we don’t believe Luna cares a great deal if you kiss her when you’re not about to make love, Nim replied. In fact, we would think that the more you kiss her the more she will appreciate it.

But in that case how do I act all the other times? Sarah asked, her eyebrows furrowing together. I... this is just so confusing.

Act like before, only make sure that she knows you love her, she replied. Honestly Sarah, it is not that complicated.

I guess... I’m just new to this, alright? Sarah asked with a sigh. The last thing I expected when I went out searching for dad was to end up together with a talking magical alicorn.

To be fair, neither of us expected to be banished and sent to a Wasteland where we’d eventually come to love a fairly hairless ape, Nim stated, though there was a hint of amusement in her voice. Still, we suppose that it is a good thing you have come forwards with your question. We would not want you to have done something foolish.

Yeah... tell me about it, Sarah replied with a small shake of her head.

“Sarah, is there something wrong?” Luna asked her quietly, making the woman jump slightly at the sudden verbal interruption.

“OH- no, not really,” she stated. “Just talking to Nim about things.”

“Ah, I see,” Luna said, nodding slightly. “Just remember... she does not always give the best advice.”

We resent that statement, Nim stated, clearly irked. Our advice is undoubtedly the best available. In fact, we would go so far as to wager that our advice is possibly without any sort of flaw.

“Luna, is it possible that someone without a body can have a big head?” Sarah asked Luna with a small smirk.

Luna let out a small snicker at that. “I do not know, but Nim certainly seems to have developed one.”

When did you become ‘clever’? Nim asked Sarah irritably. Last we checked you still had trouble with basic multiplication.

Sarah blushed and glared at nothing. “My math skills aren’t important,” she stated.

Oh? We suppose that we are doomed if you are required to save us all by doing calculus, Nim replied.

“Why would she ever be require to save us by doing calculus?” Luna asked with a puzzled expression. “The least you could do is make a convincing argument, Nim.”

“Besides, wouldn’t you be able to do it for me?” Sarah added.

Hmph, Nim stated, and if she’d had a nose, she would have given them an annoyed sniff. Well in the future you can both solve your own problems if you do not appreciate our obvious genius.

Sarah and Luna exchanged a look before they both began to snicker again. Meanwhile, James looked at them over his shoulder and frowned slightly before shaking his head. Either his daughter was crazy, or there was something he was missing. Knowing Sarah, it was the latter.

“So... Luna... is Nim staying in my head permanently?” Sarah asked Luna as the pair sat on the same bed in Project Purity that they’d ‘broken in’ not long before.

The trip back had been fairly non-eventful with nothing much happening, well, nothing eventful other than gaining an even greater respect for her father’s hands. Sarah almost felt bad for the poor raider who’d tried jumping him.

“It strikes me as the best solution,” Luna replied, shrugging her blue shoulders once. “After all; I can hear her words no matter where she is, to a certain extent anyways. So this arrangement works well, does it not?”

We certainly approve of it, Nim stated. This way we may watch out for Sarah and offer much needed advice to both of you.

“Oh yes, you and your ‘perfect’ advice. We do not need that much of it, Nim,” Luna replied with a small huff.

Right, Nim said, Sarah could somehow feel her rolling her eyes. To be honest the feeling was unsettling. Remind us again who needed to be told what an orgasm was?

“Fair point,” Luna muttered with another huff before glancing at Sarah who was eying her with a raised eyebrow, before blushing. “It is nothing to be concerned about Sarah...”

“Okay...” Sarah replied, shaking her head slightly. “So, now we need to decide what we’re going to be doing for the next two weeks.”

“Indeed, your father seemed quite adamant that it would take at least that long to get this facility up and running again before we could be of any real help,” Luna agreed.

“Yeah, and as much as I love my father... and how long I spent looking for him and everything... now that I know he’s safe I’m... just kind of bored,” Sarah said, shaking her head.

That’s often the way of things, Nim stated in her head. The quest is more engaging than the reward itself.

“Right, well, what will we be doing?” Luna asked Sarah with a frown. “Shall we simply explore this Wasteland or should we ask around and see if there’s anything that needs doing in Rivet City?”

“Hmm...” Sarah frowned in thought. “You know, I think I remember there being a guy in Doctor Li’s lab who looked like he needed something done. Tomorrow we can head over there and see if we can’t find something to do.”

“Does that mean I will have to wait outside again with Harkness?” Luna asked, not sounding overly thrilled with the prospect.

“Or one of the other security guards,” Sarah stated. “I doubt that he’s always on duty.”

Yes, that would be highly unlikely, Nim agreed. He would have to never sleep.

Sarah simply nodded and then smiled softly. “So... Dad’s hard at work upstairs and no one is going to be down here for a few hours,” she stated as she looked over at Luna. “And I do have a promise to keep to Nim...”

“What sort of promise?” Luna inquired with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh... just a thing,” Sarah said, her voice suddenly becoming much deeper and more seductive as she let Nim take more control. “She promised us control for a night and even if the situation is a bit different then we thought it would be... we don’t think you’ll complain a great deal.”

Luna took one look at the expression on Sarah’s face and gulped, this promised to be... interesting.

“So in the future, please try and be quieter,” James finished as he sat across from Luna and Sarah over the breakfast table the morning after. “It’s very hard, and uncomfortable, to work with that much shouting.”

“I-um-okay,” Sarah said, blushing deeply.

There was not that much shouting, Nim stated within her head. And we have nothing to be embarrassed about, Luna was the one shouting.

Luna shot Nim an annoyed glance, but diminished it when she remembered that she was technically just glaring at Sarah.

“Yes, well we shall keep that in mind in the future,” Luna added to Sarah’s statement.

“Good,” James said, giving them both a smile. “So, I take it that you’re heading out today?” he asked.

“You knew?” Sarah asked in surprise.

“Well, I wish you weren’t, but I know how much you hate to sit around doing virtually nothing,” James replied with a small shrug.

“Yeah... I’m sorry dad,” Sarah stated, looking down. “It’s just... two weeks is too long for me to wait around.”

“That’s quite alright, to be honest with you I wish I could have you two press a few buttons and flip a switch to get this old girl started too, but it doesn’t work that way,” James agreed, shaking his head mournfully. “Years of neglect don’t just vanish that way.”

“I guess that would be pretty unrealistic,” Sarah agreed, shaking her head slightly.

“I suppose it would,” James said with a small smile. “It’s not like I could send you around doing grunt work either. We’ll have people for that.”

“I wouldn’t really mind all that much to be honest,” Sarah replied before shrugging. “But anyways, yeah, we’re heading out after breakfast.”

“We should see if Rivet City has a market of some kind,” Luna said, entering the discussion once again. “I would not want us to run out of microfusion cells or bullets.”

“Good idea,” Sarah said with a smile as she put a hand on Luna’s neck. “Does Rivet City have a market dad?”

“Only the best and biggest in the Wasteland,” James answered dryly with a small chuckle.

“Oh,” Sarah said, a blush crossing her cheeks. “I didn’t know,” she added, flicking one of her black hairs away from her eyes.

“I wouldn’t expect you too,” her father replied. “You’re still adjusting to life out here.”

“Indeed she is,” Luna agreed, giving Sarah’s cheek a nuzzle. “Yet she has kept us both alive despite my stubbornness.”

“You aren’t that stubborn,” Sarah replied, though she did lean slightly into the nuzzle.

Lies, Nim murmured quietly within their heads though it was good natured.

James just looked at the pair and a smile formed on his lips. “You have no idea how happy I am that you did,” he told them. “Not only that, but you’ve found someone who cares about you... out here in the Wastes, that’s no easy feat.”

“Thanks dad,” Sarah said, a faint blush on her cheeks once more.

“You’re welcome,” James replied. “Now you both just have to work on your volume.”

Sarah’s eyes widened at the unexpected ‘jab’ but then began to chuckle. “Yeah, I guess we do,” she agreed.

Luna smiled and glanced at Sarah. “Indeed, perhaps next time it will be Sarah who needs to practice.”

James just raised an eyebrow slightly and shook his head, to be honest, he was just happy that Sarah had finally found someone who made her happy.

“Let’s see, got my shotgun repaired, got more ammo for it, got more .32 for my hunting rifle, along with some microfusion cells, got a new knife...” Sarah murmured to herself as she walked through the market, she’d already been to see Zimmer and gotten the information on the ‘android’. He’d seemed like a creep to Sarah and Nim had agreed emphatically, but Sarah had still agreed to ‘help’ him. If nothing else she wanted to meet the android.

“Got some new pieces to reinforce my armour, five more stimpacks...”

Thanks to us you weren’t ripped off, Nim added helpfully.

Right, thanks again, Sarah stated as she continued going over her mental list. “Sold all of my Jet because it’s pointless, did the same with the Mentats... offloaded all the random silverware that I somehow managed to pick up... why did I even pick them up?”

We are not sure, Nim replied. Perhaps you were just attracted by the shininess?

Sarah just rolled her eyes. “Hmm... did I forget anything...”

We cannot think of anything, Nim stated. Mayhaps we can return to our fair Luna before she does something foolish?

You should give her a little more credit, Sarah replied.

We give her plenty of credit, Nim said. Otherwise we would not have agreed to remain here in your mind. We simply know her because we are part of her. We know implicitly how occasionally foalish she can be.

I guess you would, Sarah said as she pushed her way through the crowd of people and started on her way up the metal staircase. She pulled the door to the Wasteland open to find Luna and Harkness staring at each other silently.

Sarah froze where she was, but she sensed no animosity between the two. So, puzzled, she stepped out of the doorway and slightly to the side in order to watch them. The pair stayed staring at each other for another two minutes, unblinking until Luna let out a snort and turned away.

“How do you do that?!” she demanded of him with a glare. “We have out-stared dragons!”

“I don’t know,” Harkness replied, shrugging.

“Am I... interrupting something here?” Sarah asked, looking between the two with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Luna started as Sarah’s voice intruded and turned to face her with a small embarrassed blush.

“No, not particularly,” Luna said, shaking her head. “Harkness and I were just having a staring contest.”

You have become a foal once more without us within your head apparently, Nim stated, her voice rather dry.

Luna ignored her as Sarah walked over and put a hand on her neck. “Well, at least you two aren’t threatening to shoot each other any more,” she said, giving Harkness a smile.

“Mhm,” the man replied uninterestedly. “She’s not worth the effort.”

Luna snorted. “You simply know that you could not hope to match my majesty.”

“Mhm,” Harkness said before he stretched his neck. “Anyways, my shift’s over.”

“So, where are we going Sarah?” Luna asked as they watched Harkness walk through one of the doors.

“Well, I’m not sure to be honest,” Sarah answered with a small shrug. “All I know is that we’re looking for an android.”

“Which is?” Luna inquired with a puzzled look.

It is like a human but made of metals like a robot but made to appear human, Nim explained helpfully. We must say that we do not like the idea. Apparently they are ‘made’ strictly for use as slaves.

“Slaves... I have no love of slavers,” Luna stated coldly. “They are one step below necromancers and those who practice black magic.”

“Yeah, I’m mostly following this lead because I’m curious about where it’s going,” Sarah agreed, shrugging as she began to lead Luna down the long walkway. “I’m definitely not going to turn whoever this guy is into that creep Zimmer.”

Assuredly not, Nim agreed.

“Oh yeah, I got you a present,” Sarah added, looking over at Luna with a smile.

“Really?” Luna asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yep,” Sarah said as she reached into her bag and pulled out the package of microfusion cells and handed it to Luna who accepted it in her magic.

“OH! The ability to rain death upon our enemies!” Luna exclaimed with a wide grin before she leaned over and kissed Sarah. “How did you know my favorite gift?”

“Practice I guess,” Sarah said, a small smile on her face. “Now... where should we go?”

“I... don’t know, what did this ‘Zimmer’ fellow suggest?” the alicorn asked as she stuffed the microfusion cells in her saddle pockets.

“Well, he recommended asking around the Wasteland’s doctors or tinkerers,” Sarah answered. “Said that if anyone would know where an android would hide it would be them. I already asked the doctor in Rivet City but came up with bupkis.”

“So... where is the next closest doctor?” Luna asked with a frown.

“Underworld, apparently all we have to do is cut through the metro over there,” Sarah replied, pointing off to the right. “And we’ll get there in around half an hour.”

“Must we go there?” Luna and Nim asked simultaneously before the mare looked over at Sarah’s head and frowned.

“Apparently even apart we think the same,” she mused.

“Seems like it,” Sarah agreed. “And yes, yes we have to go to Underworld. Sorry Luna.”

“I suppose there are worse places we can go,” Luna said with a small sigh as she removed Daybreaker from her sheath. “And we have insurance if something unpleasant happens.”

“Yeah, just try to keep it in your sheath okay?” the woman asked as she patted Luna’s neck.

“We are not some jumpy stallion trying to stick his blade into everyone he sees,” Luna stated with a roll of her eyes.

Well, we for one shall be watching for any deceit, Nim stated. Now, shall we get this show on the road?

Author's Notes:

Normally I wouldn’t bother giving out perks because it breaks immersion too much but in this case, here’s the perk Sarah gets for having Nim.

Voice In My Head: Usually, not a healthy thing. But this one is helpful and isn't trying to make you kill your loved ones. This perk gives you a bonus +10 to Barter and Speech.