I slowly pushed myself up, but my hooves lost their grip in the slick muck. I crashed back down, white light flashing before my eyes.

I was jolted from my reverie as a purple glow of magic wrapped around me. I screamed as I was flung painfully to the ground, straining against the Prince’s telekinetic field as he magically crushed me into the ground. Insane ghoul or not, he was still a powerful unicorn, and my meager strength wasn’t anywhere near enough to break free. I was sure to be squished, until a bolt of electric blue magic dissipated the energy. The Prince whirled in the direction the counter spell had come from. Clouds made a small noise of terror and galloped away, the demonic stallion giving chase.

I scrambled to my hooves and tried to assess the situation. The plethora of targets the Prince had to deal with was the only thing keeping us alive. If any one of us tried to fight him one on one, we’d be destroyed. But this advantage would not last forever, partly because the Prince could not tire and partly because the Heart was getting worse. More cracks were fanning out across the ancient crystal, leaking noxious energy. I felt myself growing nauseous not long before my PipBuck informed me I was suffering from minor radiation poisoning.

“Clarity, it isn’t working. The Heart is just growing more unstable.” I yelled over the radio.

“It will. It has to.” She said, straining against the corruption. The buzz of magic redoubled as she poured more power through her horn, but the Heart rejected the positive energy. A blast of pink tinted magic erupted from the Heart, knocking everyone in the chamber off their hooves.

“Gotta get out, don’t look back.” I muttered, pulling myself through the mud. Never mind that it stained my coat and clogged in my feathers. “Gotta get out, don’t look back. Gotta get out, don’t look back.” It was cold. So, so cold… “Gotta get out, don’t look back…” Static buzzed in my eyes.

“…gotta get out of here!” Somepony was screaming as I blinked the spots from my eyes. My helmet was in complete disrepair now, flickering static further distorting the broken display. I painfully sat upright, groaning as stabs of pain ripped through my gut. There was a slight whining noise in my ears, like a gun had been fired over my shoulder. And then there was the screaming. That horrible screaming that came from nowhere, boring into my head. I pressed my hooves to my ears and swayed drunkenly, barely able to see what was in front of me because of the static. It was brilliant though, I knew that much. So pretty, a pink light flickering like fire.

I blinked a few times and shook my head to knock loose the fuzziness. I must have jostled something in the helmet back into place because the static cleared just enough to let me make out the light. It was the Prince, lying on the ground and burning in magical fire. But it did not sear his flesh or melt his armor, instead the flames ate at something else. At first it looked like a heat distortion but the longer I watched the clearer it became. Wherever the flames touched, a pony shaped darkness was writhing in agony.

“There’s another soul.” I murmured Clarity’s words as I watched the Prince burning. I looked between him and the continuously degrading Heart. “The Heart projected positive emotions, so if there’s something else dark inside him…”

“The Heart will burn it away.” A voice whispered through the radio.

I twitched in surprise, tearing my eyes from the burning spectacle long enough to spot Clarity, collapsed not far from me. I got up and stumbled over to her. Her breathing was ragged, and a small trickle of blood was running out the side of her mouth. “Shit.” I muttered, rolling her onto her side. She coughed violently, splattering the inside of her helmet with blood. I called for Scout, unable to spot him in the blinding light.

“Now I know how you felt.” She rasped. “Back in Heaven’s Point.”

“It’s miserable, isn’t it?” I said, trying to sound light. I nearly choked in relief as Scout came galloping into view. He saw Clarity’s condition and immediately fell to his knees, ruffling through his bag for Rad-Away.

“Sleet, I’m sorry.” Clarity said between wet breaths.

“Apologize when you aren’t dying.” I instructed her, shooting Scout a glance.

“I have more than enough Rad-Away to stabilize her.” He said. “But the Heart isn’t going to hold up much longer.”

“There is an escape route somewhere in the castle, but I’m not sure where. If we could find it, we may be able to evacuate in time.”

We both looked to Clarity who shook her head. “I don’t know where.” She muttered. “But he might.” We looked to the Prince, where the fires were starting to burn down.

I swallowed hard and stood, walking towards him. Scout didn’t try to stop me. I reached the Prince as the flames burned out entirely. With the darkness burned away, he looked emaciated, more like a standard ghoul. His bones were standing out prominently against the dirtied white coat, with his blue mane falling out before my eyes.

His eyes were open, and turned towards me. The fermented hatred two centuries old was gone. All that was left was exhaustion. “What…happened?” He asked slowly. His voice might have been powerful once, but now was reduced to a gravelly groan.

“The Heart burned the darkness from you.” I explained simply. “You’re free now.”

“Where’s…Cadence?” I glanced poignantly down at my PipBuck. He followed my gaze and sighed.

“I’m sorry.” I said sincerely. “But the crystal ponies escaped. They are still alive out there.”

“Good.” He looked to the Heart for a long second before meeting my eyes. “Run. You can’t save it. You shouldn’t. She needs to rest.” He nodded towards the door we entered the chamber from. “The throne room, go.” I nodded and turned from the Prince, galloping back to Scout and Clarity.

Finally on my hooves. Gotta keep running, or flying? Either or, just do one, c’mon move it! They’re there can’t you see? Go go go!

I checked my PipBuck map as we climbed the stairs. Clouds and Arterial had thankfully been on their feet and ready to go when I was done talking to the Prince. Now we were rushing upward, sucking on Rad-Away and praying for time. “Arterial, how is it looking?” I asked over the radio as we passed through the security checkpoint.

The griffon’s voice crackled in my helmet. “All clear. There’s some sort of terminal in here. Must be the escape system.”

“Good, keep it secure, we’re on our way.” I broke into a canter. I wanted to sprint there as fast as my legs would go, but Clarity was incapacitated and being carried by Scout. I took a further minute to reach the throne room, each second feeling like the floor would erupt under us.

“What do you think it is?” Clouds babbled, rushing along next to me as we slammed through the throne room doors. “A rocket? Hidden tunnel system? Hidden underground train system?”

The throne room was a wide airy chamber with a central throne that looked scarily similar to Sombra’s in the basement of the Stalliongrad palace. Before the throne was a large inlaid symbol of the Crystal Heart. Arterial was pacing on that symbol, flying over to us as we entered. “What’s on the terminal?” I asked.

“A ‘dimensional compression system’ which means nothing to me.” He said. “Does it make sense to you?”

“Dimensional compression.” Clouds muttered. “Wait, that sounds like teleportation! That was the old trick unicorns were taught for teleportation spells, picture two spots and fold them together like paper.” She bounced excitedly and galloped to the terminal, tapping like mad. “If they managed to computerize the process then the terminal takes care of all the calculations! We just plug in coordinates, juice it up and go!”

I ran over to join her. “So how do we make it go?” I asked, scanning the screen rapidly. The theoretical metaphysics were making my head spin, so I started scanning for the device itself.

“There seems to be some kind of pad that the teleportation field extends from.” Clouds muttered as she jumped through menus and screens. “We just need royal clearance.”

“I got it.” I said, stepping forward. Fortunately, there was an external connector cable I could use to plug my PipBuck into the terminal. The diamond mini-computer flashed as the connection was made and the screen was taken up by a command menu. It gave me control over the pad, which it informed me was the inlaid symbol before the throne. I instructed everypony onto it, sans Clouds who was busy calibrating the target location.

“Alright, I have it set.” She said after a long stretch of typing. “It’ll pop us over to the abandoned train station at the edge of the Empire’s territory. That should be far enough to get us safely from the blast.”

I didn’t respond right away. I was flipping back and forth through a particular setting, hoping that I was seeing it wrong. I forcibly bonked the side of my helmet to try and clear the static, praying it was distorting my vision. I jumped as Clouds put a hoof on my shoulder. “Sleet? Is everything good to go on your end?”

“Yeah, it is.” I said easily, tapping a few buttons that did nothing. “Just double checking.”

“Alright, then let’s go!” She said trotting past me.

The world froze as I activated S.A.T.S. I wished I could close my eyes and breathe, but all I had here was frozen time. I moved the cursor over each of my companions, taking into account their positions and what they were looking at. Arterial was hovering over the pad and watching the doors. Clarity was lying on the pad with her helmet off, a Rad-Away tube in her mouth. Scout was kneeled over her, administering the medicine. And Clouds was a half-pace away from me, easily in reach.

I took a mental sigh, and let time flow freely. “Clouds.” I said in a private radio channel.

She turned to me, looking slight surprised. “Yeah, Sleet?”

I smiled a genuine, sad smile as I placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Clouds…” I paused, just long enough for her breath to catch. “I’m sorry.”

I shoved her with all my strength towards the pad. She had been caught off balance by my interruption and couldn’t catch herself as she bowled over Arterial, creating a tangle of bodies. I checked just long enough to make sure they were all in the circle of the inlay before rapidly going through the final procedures. “Sleet!” Clouds yelled, detangling herself enough to look at me.

I didn’t meet her gaze, instead punching the “confirm” button. The inlay glowed a brilliant violet, the light blotting out the forms of my friends. In under a second, the light erupted with a loud POP! and when it faded, they weren’t there.

“The teleporter could only send so many.” I explained, even though they weren’t there to hear. “It would have overloaded if I’d gone too. And now…” I glanced at the screen of my PipBuck, where the teleporter program had crashed. I sighed heavily, shakily, tears building in my eyes. I pulled my leg inside the suit sleeve, wiping the tears away on my fetlock. That wasn't the last time you’ll see them. I told myself. Run.

My suit and PipBuck were flashing alerts at me as I dove from one of the throne room’s wide windows. As I caught the wind and swooped high over the Empire, I noted the skyrocketing radiation levels. I pumped my wings furiously, ignoring as hard as I could the tearing feeling in my muscles as I put as much distance between me and the Heart as possible. I was going at an upward angle, getting vertical and horizontal distance on the epicenter of the coming disaster.

The black curtain boiling over the Empire, backlit by the nauseating green of the poison, were my paradoxical salvation. But I was weak, Goddesses why am I so weak?, and they weren’t getting closer. Sweat ran in my eyes as I forced my way up up up c’mon up damnit! I flailed my hooves at the clouds, finally catching them with just the edge reach.

I tore at what I could get to, forcing down strands of clouds that I could grab onto, climb up, and get to safety. I scrabbled until I finally got purchase, dragging my way into and above the clouds like a rabbit digging down to escape a dragon. My chest was a vacuum, collapsing in on itself as I flopped down on the boiling storm clouds.

Don’t lay around, Cold Flank. Are you sure you’re safe?

I screamed with the little air I had, ripping off the helmet and dropping it through the cover. Bloody vomit soon followed as my body violently rebelled against its abuse. Don’t rest don’t stop. I staggered forward drunkenly, spitting, gasping, and probably crying. The one thing that interrupted my running was the beeping. My PipBuck was sending rapid alerts, informing me that I was probably going to die of radiation build up before the Heart exploded.

I struggled to root through my suit as I ran. I managed to pull out a Rad-Away and tablets of Rad-X. Heedless of the potential to overdose, I poured the tablets in my mouth and washed it down with orange detox. The combination of vomit and extreme tart nearly made me heave again, but I choked it down.

I stopped and threw my head back, letting the concoction slide down my throat and caught my breath. It was so cold up here, fog billowed from my mouth with each gasp. I finally took note of the sky and saw the gradient of pitch to honey that signified the rise of the sun. I watched, mesmerized as the light came from my right, slowly consuming the darkness until the last vestiges of the void were blotted out.

And suddenly, it was brighter than bright.

Breathe in, don’t forget. I raggedly sucked in air. Breathe out, don’t forget. It left in a rush. Again, again. I kept the rhythm as I watched. Beyond the rolling hills of blackened grass, the titan’s sword was broken. The pieces hung in the air, suspended by something invisible. The smaller crystal homes were gone, as flat as the plains that led up to them. The clouds were gone, and for the first time in two hundred years the Empire was kissed by the sun.

Only to highlight its death.

Static buzzed in my eyes. I rubbed at them with a hoof, but it wouldn’t go away. My rad suit hung off of me in tatters, soaked in mud that was clumping in my coat and feathers. That wasn’t good, I needed…I needed…

What did I need?

“Sleet!”

Yes, that’s me, hello.

“Sleet!” Maybe I should answer. I turned, putting my back to the Empire. It was Scout, still in his suit, galloping towards me. There were tears in his eyes. Did Scout cry? I couldn’t recall if I’d ever seen it. “Thank the Goddesses you’re alive!”

Alive? The static buzzed out everything. The screaming was gone but now there was just CCCCHCHHHHHHHZZZZZZZCCCCCHHHH!!!!! When did I start walking? I looked to the left and Scout was leading me along, away from the Empire. He was saying something, muttering assurances. It’s gonna be alright. Don’t worry. CCCCCHHHEEEEEZZZCCCHHH!!!!!

In out in out. I was breathing very fast. I remember that much. And…and…
[Please, Ms. Gray, try to remember]

I don’t want to, it hurts…
[We can take a break if you want]

…No…No let’s continue, please…Where was I? Right, breathing fast, I was…panicking.

“Scout what’s happening to me?” I asked. My mouth was dry like I had already said it a thousand times. I was in a building now, made of old frozen wood. It was too cold for the years to rot it away. I could feel the blizzard raging outside.

“I don’t know, but we’ll fix it.” He said. He wasn’t in his suit anymore, so I could see his colors again. Green and brown, green coat brown mane. Like a forest, if I had ever seen one before. I felt something tug my hoof and when I looked down there was electric blue magic wrapped around the pink flesh. Wasn't there supposed to be fur there? “We’re going to get out of here and get you some help, okay?” The rope we used to not get separated in the storm began to wrap itself around my hoof. I looked up to the source of the magic and
CCCCCHHHHHHHZZZZZZCCCCCCCHHHHHHH!!!!!!

I was under one of the Heat Masking Thermo-Tarps. Scout was next to me, guiding me along through the snow. “Scout.” I whispered, my voice catching on I didn’t know what.

“Yeah, Sleet?”

“I can’t feel the cold…”

“What?” He turned to me, eyebrows knit together in worry. We were lit up by the dull green glow of his PipBuck. “What do you mean?”

“I can’t feel the cold.” I think the catch was fear. “I don’t feel it…and I keep blacking out and…” CCHHHCCCKKK “Scout I think something it really wrong!” I was shaking, unable to walk. “I think I’m a…I’m a…I’m a…” Every time I tried to say the word it failed and a burst of that static played in my head.

“Ghoul.”

Scout and I both froze. That voice was too deep to be anyone with us. Not to mention the wind had stopped blowing. Scout pulled off the Tarp and jumped back, readying his guns. Before us was a colossal figure of gold, standing on his hind legs and carved in the shape of a lion with bat wings and a scorpion tail. In one giant hoof he gripped his weapon, a spear as long as him with a magnificent cross guard leading into a blade that glimmered despite the lack of light. “Coming Storm.” I whispered.

“Hello again, Sleet Gray.” The towering knight greeted me, his thunderous tone rumbling in my chest. “I am sorry.”

“You said g-“ CCHZZZ I dropped to my knees, squeezing my head between my hooves.

“She’s not a ghoul yet, she doesn’t look like one.” Scout said desperately. He shot a worried glance at me, his eyes tight.

The manticore helmet turned to him. “It will come in time. For now, the process is yet continuing.”

“Then there’s time to save her, get out of our way.” He demanded.

“Do you truly believe you can surmount this blizzard in time to save her mind, let alone her soul?” He strode over to me, dropping to one knee and lifting my chin with his free hoof. The metal shoe was strangely warm and set my mane and coat on end with lightning. I looked into the golden plates where eye holes should be, trying to remember how to breathe. “You already feel it, do you not? Your mind unwinding.” I closed my eyes, the static buzzing in my ears. “The Undeath comes when foul zebra magics slay the body but do not let it fall. Your soul is unbound, ready to pass to whatever lies beyond. Only your intact mind pretending to be alive is keeping it here.”

“So what do I do?” I asked, still not opening my eyes.

“You can do nothing.”

“Bullshit.” Scout shot at him, his voice rough. “There has to be a way.”

“There is nothing she can do.” He dropped my chin and I fell to the snow, not feeling the cold. I opened my eyes and looked up from the ground at Coming Storm, so tall I couldn’t see his face. “But I may be able to help.”

“Why are you here, anyway?” I asked, barely raising my head. “Why would the Shadow King send you here?”

“My Lord sensed the destruction of the Crystal Heart, and sent me, the swiftest of his knights to investigate.” He looked down at me from on high. “I suppose you are to fault in this?”

“We couldn’t save it.” I said exhaustedly. “I’m sorry, we tried.”

“You failed.” He intoned. “My Lord may yet me lenient and provide a chance of redemption, but,” he widened his stance over me, and whirled the spear around to aim at my heart “you must first be saved.”

“Wait, what are you going to do?” Scout asked in a panic.

“This regalia I bear is a gift from my Lord, an ancient artifact from the Empire you were sent to save. The crystal ponies were benders of souls, and this armor holds that power.” Lightning began to dance along the contours of his armor, charging the air with incredible power. “I shall bind your soul to the device on your wrist, also of crystal design. Your essence will be held to this side of the veil and your mind will be spared, but the effects on your coil I cannot predict.” He paused, looking at me, through me. “Do you accept this fate, Sleet Gray?”

I lay there, breathing in and out, and not feeling a second of it. “I accept.”

“Very well.” Without any more preamble, a bolt of lightning shot from his spear and impact my heart. That pain is one thing I will never forget. As long as I’m alive I’ll never be able to erase the agony of my dead body being forced to life again, of my soul being stitched back into place. I think I screamed as it happened, I know I was contorted in such a way that should have broken my back. My eyes were open, but I only remember bits of what I saw. Scout recoiling in horror, Coming Storm radiating light like the rising sun, Clouds being held back my Arterial several yards away. Had they stayed at a distance because they were scared of the knight, or because Scout had signaled them away? I wasn’t sure which, nopony ever told me.

The vision I remember the most was Clarity. She didn’t look scared, or worried, or anxious. She was just frozen with this unbelieving stare on her face. I met her swirling, kaleidoscopic eyes and for a second I understood precisely everything she was feeling.

It was all gone an instant later as the spell ended and I crashed into the snow. The shocking cold sent me scrabbling for warmth, so I grabbed up the Tarp and wrapped myself in it. “I think it worked.” I stammered after a second of heating up.

“Indeed, but be warned that this is only a temporary measure.” Coming Storm said as he resumed his standing position. “Your body is still corrupted, and there are no known ways to purge that. Additionally, your soul is both the subject and source of the spell’s power.”

“So what does that mean?” I asked as the static faded from my hearing.

“Who you are will keep you sane.” He said gravely. “Should you lose yourself, the spell will be lost, as will your soul.” I nodded shakily before burying my head in my knees. I felt Scout place a hoof on my shoulder. “You will need time to acclimate.” I heard the clanking of his armor and looked up to see him extending a hoof to me. “Come. I can get you to safety far swifter than walking ever will.”

“Can you take all of us?” I asked, nodding over my shoulder to my companions. He nodded; Arterial and Clarity, who was finally on her hooves, approached.

But Clouds held back. “If it’s all the same, I think I’ll make the rest of the way to Meltwater on my own.” She said.

“Are you certain? The dangers of this blizzard are many.” The knight questioned.

“Yeah, I already got teleported once today and it’s not very pleasant, you know?” She said, forcing a smile. “Besides, I got my Tarp, I can make it back safely.” She trotted over to me and shuffled nervously. “Thank you, for letting me join you. But I don’t think I’ll do this adventuring thing anymore. It kinda sucks.” I noted that she nursing her left side, the one that had been stabbed by the demon.

“That’s fine.” I said, giving my own fake smile. “I can’t blame you. Besides, you need to take care of your brother.”

She nodded hesitantly. “But, Sleet, do you think,” she sigh heavily and spoke rapidly “do you think we could talk someday? About, you know?”

I sat there for a second, mulling it over before my smile became genuine. “Of course.” I said. “Of course we can.” Her face lit up and she leapt forward into a hug I returned easily. If only, hm? I had to fight hard to not tense up at the little voice in the back of my mind. After we broke the embrace, we waved our goodbyes and grabbed on to Coming Storm’s armor. In a flash of lightning the blizzard, and one of the best friends I’d made in the Goddesses forsaken place, was gone.

I slowly opened my eyes, spotting a familiar ceiling. I tried to move, but my muscles wouldn’t listen. All I got was a barely audible groan as my battered body yelled at me for trying to move so soon.

“She’s awake.” Somepony said urgently. The sound of cantering hooves left the room, followed by an almost glowing figure appearing above me. “How you feelin’ there, honey?”

“Sister.” I whispered, trying to sit up again. The albino unicorn placed a gentle hoof on my chest, keeping me down. I was lying in one of the beds in Sister’s infirmary, buried under a blessed amount of soft blankets as she magically tended to the IV bag connected to my wrist.

“Rest now.” She said. “You’ve been through a Hell of a lot since you ran out on me.” Her soft features became dark and angry at the thought. “And I am really tempted to beat your flank for that. You had me and those friends of yours worried sick.”

“Sorry.” I muttered, unable to say more.

“Apologize to me later.” She said as the door opened. “I think they have first dibs.”

I strained my eyes to see Scout and Arterial entering the infirmary. I pulled myself up into a sitting position, leaning my back against the stacked pillows. “What happened?”

“Coming Storm dropped us off outside St. Ponysburg.” Scout said. “We carried you and Clarity here to get fixed up.”

“And she’s resting up in another room, in case you were wondering.” Sister chimed in.

“Thanks.” I said, smiling as best I could. Neither of them returned it. My own faded in response. “Look, everyone, I’m sorry.”

“We don’t want sorry.” Arterial said. “We want to know why you tried to commit suicide by balefire bomb.”

“It wasn’t suicide!” I said leaning forward despite Sister’s protests. “I didn’t have a choice. The teleporter wouldn’t have sent more than four of us. I was the only one other than Clouds who could have turned it on, and only I could have still escaped.”

“So why didn’t you tell us?” Scout asked.

“I came up with it on the spot, and we didn’t have time to debate it. It was either take that route or we all die.”

“Then you need to make what you’re willing to do obvious.” Arterial said bluntly. “Leaders can’t lead if the ones following them don’t know what to expect.”

“I never wanted to be the leader.” I murmured, hanging my head.

The click-clack of talons was my only warning before Arterial grabbed my face in his clawed grip. I winced as he dug into my cheeks, trying and failing to pull away. “I don’t give a fuck what you want, Gray. I care about what you’ll accomplish. And if you keep acting like you can’t do what you promised me, then I’ll have to be the one who makes good.”

With that, he let go of my face and left the room, ruffling his feathers as he did. “Blood hungry bastard.” Sister growled after him as he left. “He makes more work for me just by existing.” She looked between Scout and I before standing up. “I’m going to go check on Clarity, and make sure your griffon friend doesn’t break something.”

And so we were left alone, quiet dominating the room. I decided to enjoy it despite the tension, it had been so damn long since I got some real peace. I closed my eyes and rested against the pillows, simply breathing, enjoying how it felt. Scout didn’t speak for such a long time I began to wonder if he assumed I was asleep, but eventually he broke his silence. “Didn’t you promise me you’d not leave me in the dark about your plans?”

“Scout,” I said, sighing “I didn’t plan any of that. How could I have? It was chaos.”

“Arterial was right, though. You could have at least made your intentions clear.”

“I’m not psychic, and neither are you.” I said, still refusing to open my eyes. “There was no time to tell you.”

“The Heart didn’t blow up until well after you flung us through that thing!”

“And how was I supposed to know that?” I asked, finally opening my eyes as I turned to him. “Scout, it was either do something that might fail or do nothing and die!”

“You’d rather risk everything on a ‘maybe’ than try to find the way that works no questions asked?”

I went a little slack jawed as I tried to work through his logic. “What about this don’t you get?” I asked, growing exasperated. “We didn’t have the time to deliberate! We never have the time to deliberate! Tell me, when was the last time we were given the luxury to come up with a solid plan? Because I can’t remember it!”

“Maybe if you’d slow down and listen to me we’d stop getting thrown into places where we don’t have a choice!” His voice was rising, and he was starting to lean into his anger.

I pressed my hooves into my eyes until I saw flashes of light. “I can’t afford to slow down.” I said through gritted teeth. “I need results!”

“Results?” He said disbelievingly. “Is ‘results’ all you care about?”

“Yes!” I bellowed, slamming my hooves on the bed and shoving my face into his. “Because if I don’t, do you know what happens?” I didn’t give him a chance to answer that. “Everyone dies!” I punched the bed to punctuate each word. “If I don’t do my job then everyone dies! Earth pony, unicorn, Stable dweller, gryphon, buffalo, EVERYONE!” I was breathing heavily, drilling into his gaze with my own. “And all that will be left is the Enclave. And it won’t matter how slow or fast I went or how few or many risks I took. None of it will matter anymore if I don’t get this done.”

We stayed there like that for a long time. Eventually, I pulled away and flopped back onto the pillows. “If you can’t understand that then…” I shook my head and rolled away from him. “I don’t know why you’re still following me.”

He was quiet for a second. I expected him to leave, but he spoke up. “I don’t think that’s why you do it.” He said. “At least, that’s not the big part of it.” I scrunched up my shoulders. “I think you’re just being selfish.”

“What?” I whirled around, glaring at him.

“No, shut up.” He spat, stomping. “You got your chance to yell and it was bullshit. Now shut up and listen. You’re being selfish. You’d rather see yourself die saving us than deal with Clarity or me or Clouds or anyone dying on your watch. You can’t handle the guilt, or the thought of the guilt, so you’d rather lose everything instead of just something. But where does that leave your precious results then?” For an instant, his face fell from anger to profound sadness. “Where would that leave us?”

“I…” I began, haltingly. I choked out a few more half words, but nothing complete. Shaking his head, Scout turned and trotted to the door. “Sleep. You need rest if we’re going to get moving again quickly.” He closed the door on his way out, leaving me all alone in a room crowded by too many thoughts.
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Footnote: EXP gained!
A new Trait has been added: Equinity
You are trapped somewhere between life and unlife. You level of Karma affect how much you swing towards either side, where any extreme can topple you over the edge. Positive Karma increases your Equinity, increasing Intelligence, Charisma and Endurance proportionally to your natural maximums (Fully Equine). Negative Karma induces Ghoulification, reducing Intelligence, Charisma and Endurance proportionally to a minimum of 0 (Feral Ghoul).

Author's Notes:

D-D-D-DOUBLE FEATURE UPLOAD!

That's right, two for the price of one. Critiqued by my Creative Writing major peers, these last two chapters are brought to you by my final semester of schooling. I'm a college graduate now, baby!

Because of the whole "graduate" thing, I'm going to be taking on a lot of responsibilities, not the least of which is keeping up with Snowfall. I'll try my hardest not to let another massive gap like this one happen again, but food and shelter are important. Thankfully, I have a job lined up to begin in the next few days, so I'm not going to be writing from the streets! June 12th for the next chapter sounds good, the summer is already a scorcher where I'm from so I'm going to need the Northern Wastes to keep cool!

Special thanks go as always to Kkat for being the OG of radioactive horses, Mobius for being my sounding board/prereader/editor/giver of dumb ideas and my new prereader Starlight Nova, whom I'm excited to start working with as this continues. Ah, and I'd also like to give thanks to Dr. Stuart and my friends in the Creative Writing Seminar for putting up with being dropped cold into the middle of this mind bending adventure. I'm going to miss you guys in the working world!

That about covers it for my longest author note yet. Drop me a like if you did, a dislike if you didn't, and a comment telling me why! See next time, everypony, and don't feed the yeti!