"ARGH!"

Twilight awoke with a start, unsure as to why she felt the need to scream like that. The first thing that she became aware of was that she ached all over.

She forced her eyes open and her heart stopped.

A super mutant was staring at her from the other side of a set of bars.

And she was the one who was locked in.

"You're awake," said the mutant. "Good."

Twilight scrambled to her feet, never taking her eyes off of the mutant.

"Where am I?" she demanded, trying to conceal her terror and display confidence that she didn't really feel. "How did I get here? What happened?"

"How did I get here?" sneered an unseen speaker in a mocking, sarcastic tone. Twilight warily looked around, but failed to find the speaker.

"Stop showing off," said the mutant, apparently not speaking to Twilight. "This isn't a game."

To Twilight's astonishment, another mutant appeared out of thin air next to the first one.

"I'll tell you how you got here, pony creature," said the second mutant. "You were out in the wasteland, all by yourself. I snuck up on you with my stealth-boy and injected you with this stuff that Loutenant gave me, and you passed out. And then I hauled you all the way here slung over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes."

"What are potatoes?" asked the first mutant, confused.

"You don't remember about potatoes?" asked the second mutant. "They're sort of... They're... How you say..."

"Potatoes are essentially round, brown vegetables that are filled with starch," said Twilight. She then wondered why she was interjecting into the conversation.

"There, you see?" said the second mutant. "Potatoes." He turned to face Twilight. "And now here you are."

"And where is here?" demanded Twilight. "I remember being in Shady Sands. But I don't remember what happened after the attack. I... I think we won!"

"Yes, you won alright," said the second mutant. "That entire detachment is pushing up daisies. You're lucky we aren't big on revenge, otherwise... Well."

"We are currently inside Mariposa military base," said the first mutant.

"Don't tell her that!" shouted the second mutant.

"She isn't going anywhere," countered the first mutant. "And, besides." He turned to look at Twilight. "This base is filled with hundreds of mutants. Even if you were to bust out of there, one of us will kill you before get anywhere near escaping."

"Yes," agreed the second mutant. "Just remember that. Both of you! No funny business, and we won't have to kill you!"

"Keene," said the first mutant in frustration, "shut up. Every mutant is loyal to our cause. That includes me."

"So you say," spat the second mutant.

"What do you two want with me?" asked Twilight.

"Ah!" said the second mutant. "Yes... I have a special message for you, Twilight. It's from... The Master."

Twilight felt her blood go cold.

"The Master says that, whether you are willing or not, he will get what he wants from you. It would be much less... unpleasant if you were to cooperate."

Twilight gave no answer.

"Just remember you two, you had better watch what you do and say..."

There was a strange electrical noise and he suddenly vanished into thin air again.

"Because you never know when I'm watching you!"

Twilight didn't speak for two whole minutes. Finally, she whimpered, "Is he still there?" She didn't know why she was saying this to another super mutant.

"Keene isn't here anymore," said the first mutant confidently. "He likes to try to make me think that he might be, but I know him. He's gone. There's no telling when he'll come back, but for now he's grown bored talking to me."

Twilight didn't speak.

"I'm sorry about him, by the way. He shouldn't be treating you like that. But, he's a nightkin. Nightkin are unstable, and they don't trust anybody except for The Master. They can hear The Master's voice in their heads, you see. But, because 'normal' mutants such as myself can't, that makes them very suspicious of us."

"What did he mean that The Master is going to get what he wants from me?" asked Twilight.

"Actually, we already have," said the mutant. "Already have what we want from you, I mean. Body scans. Flesh sambles. Genetic information."

"That explains why I feel like a badly put together jigsaw puzzle," said Twilight. Suddenly she realized the full meaning of what the mutant had said. "Genetic information? Why does your master want that from me?" She hesitated, trying to remember. "You're going to integrate my DNA into the unity!?"

"Well, yes and no," said the mutant. "You are unique. Irreplaceable. If you die, all we have left is your corpse. And a corpse is not enough for what we hope to achieve. Nor are we willing to risk dipping you in mutagen and seeing what kind of a mutant comes out. Not when you are the only of your kind. It's a shame, really. You'd be a perfect specimen. I bet you'd make a fantastic mutant.

"However, right now, at this very moment, there is a tank on the premises that contains an embryonic clone of you."

Twilight felt as if her stomach had dropped through the floor.

"A clone?" she whispered. "You're creating a brand new pony out of my DNA just to torture it and run experiments on it?"

"A thoroughly unpleasant business, yes," agreed the mutant. "Personally, I wouldn't have gone to such extreme measures. But, then again, I am not the Master. And if The Master thinks that this will create a better future for mutants, then it will."

"A better future for mutants?" cried Twilight. "What about the future of the humans? Do you care nothing about the humans? You used to be human!"

"Yes, I was once a human," answered the mutant. "The virus that turns us into what we are was designed to improve the subject in every way. Stronger. Smarter. Better. I approve of the change."

"Wait just a moment," said Twilight. "Stronger, I can believe. I can see without a doubt that mutants are way stronger than humans. But smarter? No. Not in my experience. Other than you, every mutant I've ever encountered was... stupid!"

"It's a side effect of the transformation process on subjects with excessive exposure to radiation," said the mutant. "Which is why I said that you would be ideal for mutation, assuming that your slightly alien physiology doesn't interfere with the virus. Humans from the wastes are far from ideal for the process, and they make stupid mutants. Most of them have trouble even remembering what their names used to be. If we didn't need numbers, I would say we should never have mutated them at all. But The Master requires them for cannon fodder, and if we must have dim-witted mutants to achieve the unity, then so shall it be. Mark my words though, it will bite us in the ass one day."

"You are rather better spoken than any other mutant I've... 'met'," said Twilight.

"We wouldn't want some idiot guarding you, would we? You might convince him to let you go, or something. But, you are right. I'm what you might consider to be one of the elites. I was born in a vault. Which means that the virus worked as intended, and I'm one of the smartest mutants around."

"But... you confiscated my gun, yet left me with my robe? Why?"

"Why not?" asked the mutant, confused. "It's just a robe. We're not trying to antagonize you. That would counter against the goal of convincing you to cooperate willingly."

"I... Suppose. But, back to the topic at hand! What about the humans who don't want to be a mutant?" demanded Twilight.

"Nobody disapproves of the change after the transformation has taken place," answered the mutant.

"Because they're brainwashed!" cried Twilight.

"True enough. But the evidence is there, whether you like it or not. We're completely immune to radiation and extremely hard to kill. My kind is better equipped to survive the wasteland than humans are. There can be no argument about that. Humans had their chance. Now, we will have ours."

"What do you mean 'humans had their chance'?"

"The war. The bombs. Humanity assumed the role of caretakers of this world. They failed. Humans have proved that they are not capable of living on the Earth without bringing ruin."

"And you're just going to kill them?" asked Twilight in astonishment.

"If they oppose The Master, then we must. There are some humans that assist The Master willingly, and they are allowed to stay human. You would get a similar privilege, if only you cooperate with us."

"And you really think that just because mutants are stronger than humans, they can do a better job at governing the world?"

"No, The Master governs us. And there will be no more war. No more fighting. Everyone will just... get along."

"Mutants are fighting humans in the wasteland every day!" cried Twilight.

"The humans force us to kill them. Most humans won't embrace the unity. They have to be killed. Peace must come later."

"Why am I debating this with a super mutant?" cried Twilight. "You'll never understand! The Master already owns you!"

"The world outside," countered the mutant, "it's chaos. Hell on Earth. And it was made that way because of human shortcomings. You can't deny that."

Twilight said nothing.

"So, if you don't want to live in a world like this one, some changes have to be made."

"You are right," said Twilight. "But your master is going to make the wrong changes."

"It might not be perfect," said the mutant, "but it won't be like the wasteland that is out there today. Are you telling me that you would rather live in the world as it is right now than in the world of my master's vision?"

"Yes," said Twilight Resolutely. "If it's a choice between chaos and the kind of order that the master has in mind... Then I choose chaos."

"Then I guess we are at an impasse of opinions," said the mutant. "I stand by what I said before, however. I bet you would make a great mutant."

"Hey," said Twilight.

"What's on your mind?" asked the mutant.

"Do you remember what your name is?"

"My name is Marcus."

Author's Note

For those of you who have played Fallout New Vegas, but not Fallout 2, you are probably familiar with Marcus the mutant, but in New Vegas, he isn't very outspoken about his opinions. In Fallout 2, he is much more assertive about his questionable opinions, although he is friendly to the player regardless. He doesn't specifically appear in Fallout 1, but it is implied that he was present during its time, so I am using some artistic license about his role in it.