Fallout Girls: Friendship Is Magic

Chapters

Episode 1: The Vault Dwellers
Episode 2: The Minutemen Captain
Episode 3: The Canterlot Commons
Episode 4: The Corvega Plant
Episode 5: The Dinner Night

Episode 1: The Vault Dwellers

War… war never changes.

My dad always said that. I never understood it when I was a little kid. But when I got older, I understood. He served in the battle of Anchorage, leaving when I was only eleven... I never saw him again even after the United States won.

I worked two jobs. First one was a party planner. I worked every day, to make sure my clients were happy regardless of the occasion; wedding, birthday party, graduations. It didn’t matter what kind I would plan, all that mattered was that everyone left with a smile on their face. My second job; I worked as a server over at a diner, rolling on skates to make sure everyone got their food hot and ready. It was fun to do little dances to the beats of music over a hundred years ago.

Some days, it was difficult to do that. With everyone so afraid of nuclear war coming around at any day, it became harder for us to just live our lives. You could never be out of politics, it’s either you’re with us, or against us… or you get blasted by everyone.

A client back once said, that ‘commie’ was just a bad word they used to describe people who don’t follow the pack, or who aren’t insane… then I guess I’m the biggest Commie around. We had problems, yeah, but, I got used to it. I lived in West Virgineigh with my sisters; mining lead and copper, just trying to get by. But we were happy with each other, no matter the dangers.

I can feel the fear everyone has. I’m trying not to panic or freak out with every piece of news, and I’m hiding behind the smile I keep on all the time. We know the end of the world is coming... but we have no idea when. But I know two things from this. One; fighting never accomplishes anything.

And war… war never changes.

Cold. The only feeling inside the chambers that had been dormant since their activation almost 200 years ago. Deep underground, locked inside a state of the art vault, with the declaration to protect those from the nuclear radiation that had occurred on the surface. But no one had ever know the truth about what the vault was meant for, or the ones that were created by the company Vault-Tec.

No one had known the vault was even there; as the residents who ran the place had died a long time ago, with the causes unknown. Now the place remained as nothing more than a hollow tomb for them, and the residents trapped in the cryo chambers. But the accompanying malfunctions in the system, years without service, let out a designated alert system. One that was out of date, but still active.

"Stasis interrupted. Malfunction in cryogenic compartment. All residents must vacate the premises, immediately. Repeat, malfunction in cryogenic compartment. All residents must vacate…"

One of the pods opened up, steam hissing out the sides as the door finally opened. The ice from within started to let up, and the woman inside nearly collapsed as she finally pushed herself out of it. Now on her hands and knees, she hacked and wheezed as she tried to regain composure, shivering all the while. Dressed in a tight blue suit with gold lining, and a three-digit number on her back, she covered her arms as best as she could, still shivering.

“Must… Must open… sh, she has…”

She wiped the excess ice on the glass in the pod in front of her, and tried to hit the buttons.

“Come on, please… there has to be a release, something… come on, come on, come on…” she pleaded, looking for anything to activate it. Finally she saw something; a red handle that she could yank down.

Pulling down hard, the pod opened up, and just like hers, it hissed and let off steam as the chamber was open. There was another woman now free; one with lavender skin and hair tied into a ponytail.

When the ice cleared, she slowly opened her eyes and tried to take a step forward, but was given a hand by the freed woman across.

“Easy, it’s okay, we’re out,” the first woman greeted.

“S… S-S-Sunset?” the second woman shivered.

“Yeah, it’s me, Twilight, I’m here,” Sunset reassured, not letting her teeth chatter. “Glad you’re okay.”

Wait… something’s not right,” Twilight began, looking around, and trying to hide the fact she was shivering like crazy. “H-How long were we in there? I thought we were supposed to have orientation in a few minutes.”

“We… we were,” Sunset tried to tell herself. She checked the other pods, trying to see if she could open them. All of them gave her a small buzzing sound, making it clear she wouldn’t be opening any of them. Curiosity enticed her to run over to the terminal on the wall, checking the logs.

Pod C1: Night Light
Occupant status: Deceased. Cause of Death: Asphyxiation due to Life Support failure.

Pod C2: Twilight Velvet
Occupant status: Deceased. Cause of Death: Asphyxiation due to Life Support failure.

Pod C3: Twilight Sparkle
Occupant status: Unknown. -- Pod Door Manual Override Engaged/Remote Override Engaged.

Pod C4: Sunset Shimmer
Occupant status: Unknown. -- Pod Door Manual Override Engaged/Remote Override Engaged.

Pod C5: Exec Team
Occupant status: Deceased. Cause of Death: Asphyxiation due to Life Support failure.

Pod C6: Buddy Visor
Occupant status: Deceased. Cause of Death: Asphyxiation due to Life Support failure.

“Wh… no,” Sunset whispered. “I-I don’t understand. Why. Why would they do this?”

Twilight was still shivering from the cold, but she got a good long look at the terminal. Out of desperation or just curiosity, she went back to check on the pods that had her parents in them. She tried to open the doors, but a single buzzing noise just said ‘no’.

“No, no, no, no, they can’t be dead, they can’t be!” Twilight struggled to get the pods open, but to no avail. “NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!” She banged on the doors, not making a single dent as she wailed multiple times before slumping her head down, softly crying. “They can’t be… I-I never got to say goodbye.”

A warm hand patted her shoulder before pulling her in for a long hug. Twilight’s eyes leaked over Sunset’s shoulders, but the latter didn’t care. She needed this comfort more than ever.

“I’m so sorry…”

A good five minutes of crying and comfort had passed before Twilight reeled herself back in. Wiping her face clean she placed her glasses back on, giving a determined look.

“We need we get out of here. If there’s any staff here, we should find them, tell them what’s going on,” Sunset thought. “Or, if these things had locked us in here for a while… I’m going to throttle the staff instead.”

Climbing up the steps, they entered a hallway that was void of staff or any other occupants. Around the corners, they opened a door hoping to find where they had retraced their steps but froze. Across the hallway, there was some form of bug. But this bug was bigger than it had any right to be. A giant roach chattering as it skittered towards them.

Thinking quickly, Sunset found a nearby baton and swatted it down, killing it instantly.

“Giant roaches… how long were we locked away?” Sunset worried.

Trying to ignore the fact that bugs had grown bigger, the two of them went through another door, finding a reactor room, with power still pulsing with life. Staying to the sides of the room where the railings guided, the two of them went around, going to the door on the other side, avoiding the bugs in the middle of the room. But what they saw made the two of them yelp from shock; skeletal remains.

A body no longer alive, laid flat on the ground, reduced to nothing but bones.

"T... this can't be right," Sunset stammered. "T-They can't be dead, no one can be dead here..."

Keeping their focus on trying to find any sign of life, they found a main desk in the middle of a lobby. It wasn't anything like the areas that they had walked through on orientation day, but it was better than before. Sitting down at the desk, Sunset opened up the logs, looking for information, something to determine what had happened. A tab read Overseer's Instructions, and so she loaded it up.

Her eyes darted across the tabs, reading them carefully while Twilight stepped away into another room to look for something. The science nerd had found living quarters with vacant beds, but no blankets. Checking the lockers, she opened up a few of them, finding some items of possible use. Some pieces of leather straps to hold multiple pouches, including some holsters. The lack of staff was concerning enough, but if there was a chance no one was around, she and Sunset would need to be ready. Grabbing the straps, she tightened it around her hips, and grabbed a spare 10mm gun sitting on a dresser.

She checked the next few lockers, finding some useless junk, but grabbed a medicinal item shaped like a syringe with a gauge on top; a stimpak. She didn't need one now, but who knows if they would need them. The rest of the lockers, the mirrors, and even dressers were checked, and she grabbed what little she could find. Some cases of bullets, another stimpak, and some other medicinal items like Rad-X, which were pills designed to resist radiation, and RadAway, IV unit bags to clean the bloodstream of any radiation sickness.

Sunset's eyes stayed glued to the terminal, shaking her head as she read everything it had to say. Twilight back, finally holding a blanket and wrapped it over Sunset who looked back to her friend with a warm smile before back to the console.

"So what do the logs say?" Twilight leaned in.

Sunset leaned her head back as she rolled in the chair. "Those manipulative little... gah, they lied to us!" She jumped out of the chair, losing the blanket immediately. "They were never going to help us. Every log I read details what happened to the staff six months after the bombs fell, they were going to abandon us!"

"What!?"

"I'm not kidding," Sunset shook her head, looking for something to hit. "Vault-Tec's little 'objective' was just to lock us up in a fridge, and then leave us for good. Who knows if we would have even got out, had my pod not malfunctioned!"

The fiery haired woman grunted as she slammed the chair and threw it across the lobby, screaming with such fury as she did so.

"... W-Was there anything else in that terminal?"

"Vault-Tec betrayed them! I don't even understand why would they do that either, they promised us they'd be looking out for us!" Sunset threw her head back as she slumped to the floor. "Agh... why."

Twilight waited for the anger to die down, and then paced over to Sunset, squatting down to talk to her face to face. "I don't know why they did it. But what if Vault-Tec didn't intend for that to happen? What if they got some bad people working for them they don't know?"

Sunset looked up. "Like a communist?"

"... W-Well, maybe, we don't know! I'm just saying, what if there's a chance someone sabotaged the operations of whoever was supposed to run this Vault and got us those jerks who were going to abandon us instead?"

"Hmm... it's a thought, I suppose," Sunset nodded. "But what do we do now?"

"Get out of here. I've searched the bedrooms, there's no one there. I haven't checked the recreation room, but maybe there's some more stuff we can carry with us to the surface," Twilight suggested, setting down some stuff she had on her. Two backpacks were on the floor, one of them lifted to show some of the stuff Twilight took with her. "I found some medical supplies, and some ammunition for the guns. I don't know if we'll need them or not, but it doesn't hurt to be ready," she offered a spare to Sunset.

Sunset's eyes looked down at the gun, and with a small smile returning, she took the pistol, and placed it in the new holster that Twilight gave her. Both young adults now had guns, ready for action.

Together the two of them conducted one final sweep of the vault before they would leave. Checking the recreation room, they found a few preserved food items they found worth taking. Some famous Salisbury Steak that could easily be reheated. Ice-cold Nuka Cola, a popular soda brand from back in the pre-war, along with cans of purified water. They didn't hesitate, they grabbed all of them. Blamco Mac and Cheese, Yum Yum Deviled Eggs, anything that was pre-packaged food from the Pre-War still intact, and fresh condition, they would grab them. Enough to last for a few days of travel, maybe over a week. It wasn't ideal time, but having enough to last for a good while was enough to make them happy. Twilight even took the holotape game out of the recreational computer, just to have something to do if she was ever bored, and took the magazine left as well.

Moving across the halls, the two of them retraced their steps back to the atrium where they first arrived. More roaches scuttled about, but the two of them were ready this time. Aiming their guns, they focused on the roaches, using precision shots on the few remaining ones.

BANG! BANG!

Two of the roaches were killed, with one smaller one remaining. Sunset didn't hesitate to just simply ending it's life with her boot. But there was something noticeable on the two skeletons nearing the entrance. The hands on both of the bodies were detached, but there were two wrist devices out in the open for the taking; the Pip-Boys. The Pip-Boys were personalized devices for any employee of Vault-Tec that kept track of vitals, daily tasks and requirements, and were some of the finest technology created by the geniuses at RobCo Industries prior to the Great War. Additionally, these devices could also tune in to the users favorite radio stations and play games, videos, or whatever music was loaded onto a holotape.

Picking them up, both Sunset and Twilight looked to each other matching expressions, strapping the devices onto their wrists. If they were going out there, they would need some additional help for navigating a world ravaged by war. Pulling out a cord, Sunset plugged it into the terminal, granting access to the vault doors. One button was all it took, and so multiple lights and alarms blared as the vault door began to push itself out, spinning on a rail as it opened up, allowing a metal bridge to extend.

"Well Twilight, it's now or never. You ready to get out of here?" Sunset asked, wanting to make sure her friend was ready.

Twilight looked back one last time, seeing the boxes left strewn about with no contents left inside them.

"I'm ready. Let's get out of here, there's nothing left for us here."

Agreeing with her, the two of them stepped onto the main plate that they arrived down in, waiting for the system to recognize they had arrived. The doors behind them closed, and the lift began to rise up...

“Enjoy your return to the surface, and thank you for choosing Vault-Tec!”

It was a good long five minutes for Sunset and Twilight to properly adjust to their new settings. A bright flash had hit their eyes when they left the vault, and they were greeted to an entirely different world than what they had left just moments ago, or what seemed like moments.

The lands bore new smells that were foul to the nose. The low tone of the generator was all they could hear, along with the whistling winds brushing through their hair. The lands once lush were mostly brown and dried up. Not a single tree had leaves left on them, left naked to the world. The homes that they fled were all collapsed, from the distance.

Sunset’s breath was shaking as she took this all in, looking around their new surroundings.

“I… I don’t understand. T-There can’t be anything left, can there?”

“Only one way to find out,” Twilight wondered. Rushing over to the control console where the platform was lowered, she scoured around to look for any items worth picking up. Some pencils, a lunch box, with no items worth taking. In one of the drawers, she saw a few cans of purified water still sealed tightly. Grabbing those, she put them in her backpack, and found a spare stimpak in the medic kit.

One holotape was on the desk, dropped out of the Pip-Boy who worked there. Grabbing it, she jammed it into hers, playing back the message.

“I don’t know if there’s a chance I can make it home. Sunstorm, if you find this message, know this. I… I thought I did was right. We evacuated the citizens who signed up for the program. Everyone else who wasn’t, we… we watched them get burned from the bombs. I knew I wasn’t going to be safe by this job, but I might… I might—”

Violent coughing interrupted the transmission.

“I might not make it. Promise me, you’ll take care of my sister for me. Ack, agh,” more coughing interrupted. “Please, just… tell her I love her. My final wishes. Ah… ahhhhhhh….”

The last breath of air was left on an uncomfortable silence, which made Twilight shut the tape off entirely.

“So… what do we do?” Twilight looked to her friend.

Sunset had a deep breath, just trying to absorb all that was around her. She didn’t know what to do. Sanctuary Hills was destroyed, some houses barely standing, others completely wiped away from their foundation. Unclear of options, Sunset pulled up her Pip-Boy, checking the map for anything in the area.

“Well… I suppose if the suburbs don’t work, maybe we can check Concord,” Sunset thought. “Maybe the city. I-It can’t all be empty out here.

Hiking up her backpack, she tightened the straps to her side, and the belt to hold the 10mm pistol by her side. Twilight did the same, ready to get going. Backpacks ready, ammo loaded, the two girls nodded and headed down the hill to set foot into the town.

Crawl out through the fallout, baby
When they drop that bomb
Crawl out through the fallout
With the greatest of aplomb

The streets did not make it look any better. They could see the destruction had ruptured much of the concrete, making the roads look broken, with some overgrowing foilage covering one of the homes. Walking past the houses, they made their way to Twilight’s home, a former mansion earned through hard work. Walking inside, the two of them carefully checked every corner, wondering if there was a chance someone could have broken in, or worse, there were animals inside.

When your white count's getting higher
Hurry, don't delay
I'll hold you close and kiss those
Radiation burns away

Crawl out through the fallout, baby
To my loving arms
Through the rain of Strontium 90

Making it to the top floor, Sunset and Twilight yelped in shock, seeing a few more giant roaches in their way. Neither one of them hesitated to use their guns on them, thankfully only taking one bullet to each one.

Twilight looked around her room, but threw her head back in annoyance. It was scorched like the rest of the house, wallpaper was crumbled into pieces, the bed was in shambles, it was unlivable. To make matters worse, she didn’t find anything intact on the shelf, no books, no nothing.

Think about your hero
When you're at Ground Zero
And crawl out through the fallout back to me

"AHHH!!!"

And both Twilight and Sunset ran out of the bedroom when another giant cockroach came crawling out. Both of them looked at each other briefly before loading the pistols, firing wildly at the little abomination before moving forward.

Running back downstairs, they found the kitchen in the same shape as everywhere else. Checking the fridge, there was a few cans that had recently been hidden inside; purified water. Shrugging, Sunset grabbed them and stored them in her pack, they would need that for later.

Crawl out through the fallout, baby
You know what I mean
Crawl out through the fallout
'Cause they said this bomb was clean

Surprisingly, someone had stored some bottles of Nuka-Cola, one of the most popular soda drinks from back in the old days before the bombs wiped the surface. One of the bottles was even glowing bright blue neon, as if it was humming with energy. Grabbing it, Sunset looked at it briefly before shrugging, and hoarding it into her pack as well.

Out of the house they went. Briefly the two of them considered going back onto the road and to keep on going, but Sunset stopped, looking at the various houses around. So far, no one had really been outside in this neighborhood. She was wondering if there was potentially dangerous people lurking about, but ultimately decided to keep her gun out i the unlikely chance she had to. With Twilight, the two of them went over to the neighbor's home, pushing the door slightly as they went inside.

The stairs were still intact, and some of the rooms were together for the most part. Carefully the two young adults looked around the living room, and found a few opened cans and boxes of pre-packaged food that had been eaten, even a few plates and bottles left strewn about.

Opening one of the trunks, Sunset's eyes lit up to see what was inside. A few boxes of ammunition, 10mm. Carefully she stored some of them in her pockets, and in the backpack, making sure to pass some to Twilight.

"I don't care how many there is, the fact we've found any ammo at all, is fine by me," Sunset said before Twilight could speak.

"It's good to grab them... but who put them here?"

Sunset's head looked up and her eyes sunk in. There was all this treasure for the taking, and someone else could have possibly been storing it. Putting down the box of bullets, she slowly stood up and gestured Twilight to follow her carefully, moving their way up the stairs. They heard a sudden noise that sent shivers down their spine, gasping and wheezing, as if someone was trying not to panic. Looking around the corner, they saw walls were torn down, leaving the bedroom and former office space open to one giant room. Someone was sitting in that room, squatting and rocking back and forth, as if they were trying to calm down.

Cupping her mouth, Twilight tried her best not to panic, and slowly went back downstairs. Sunset did the same, no sense in hurting the stranger.

Making it back outside, the two of them looked at the rest of the neighborhood. There was no idea if there were any other squatters living in those, and they did not feel like taking any chances. Exchanging a silent nod, the two of them made their way out of the neighborhood, crossing the pathway that led to the rickety bridge, half demolished, but still sturdy.

Across the path, they passed by some cars that had been reduced to shells, no engines, no power, nothing. Both of them kept their eyes forward, trying not to get distracted, but that task proved more difficult than ever. Every familiar sight, sound, smell, was all changed. Crisp air, now scented with gross smells of burnt material. Even the Red Rocket truck stop station was in ruins, showing little of any signs of people or life around it. Gas pumps were still standing, but what use was gasoline without any vehicles to drive?

The two of them froze up again, hearing the sounds of gunshots. Far off in the distant, there were sounds of multiple gunfire, as if a war was happening right across town and they had just walked into it. Screams and yells without any comprehensible words made them tense up, wondering if they should even bother going near the battle. Taking caution, the two of them kept marching forward, looking everywhere for the source of the sounds. The gunfire kept going until finally, they heard it stop. They waited patiently for any other noises, but nothing else carried.

Further down the road, they moved into the town of Concord, maybe some people were there. Somehow the buildings were still intact even after the destruction of the bombs, but the sights of them being boarded up, with very few open, and multiple sandbag barricades told another story. Keeping an eye out, both girls took out their pistols in the event of needing to fight. Looking ahead, Sunset and Twilight ducked behind a barricade, peaking out if there was a chance of people on the balconies who could be the source of the shots.

Not a single person could be heard, the silence more deafening. One foot after the other, the two of them stayed close against the walls on the left side of the street, checking each door. No one was around still, just more of the same ruined buildings and debris. But when they looked back at the street, the two of them were greeted with a horrible sight. Multiple bodies strewn all over, as if most recently from a fight. Pools of blood drenched the crackled road.

Closer inspection didn't make it better. Up close, the man that Sunset and Twilight examined looked horrifying. Various pieces of leather armor and straps, and some metal armor with spikes jutting out in a nonsensical form, as if to look scary or intimidating. Raggedy clothes covered in dirt and blood, and his face covered in crazy tattoos.

Sunset didn't know what came over her, if it was morbid curiosity, or plain stupidity, but she gently checked the pockets and felt something metallic inside. Pulling them out she saw a handful of... bottle caps?

"What the..." Sunset observed.

"Sunset what are you doing!? That's a dead man, you can't just... steal things off him!" Twilight whisper-yelled.

"Well it's not like he's going to need them now!" Sunset muttered back. Looking back up, she surveyed the area again, no sign of people. And digging further, she did find a few spare bullets, only .38 rounds. She didn't know how useful they'd be for her gun, but any ammo was better than none. Taking them, she put them in her pockets, moving onto a few more bodies.

Roughly nine bodies were on the ground. Of those bodies, Sunset and Twilight found two stimpaks, forty bottlecaps, three bottles of a medicinal product called Rad-X, and about 52 rounds of 10mm bullets. Dispensing the loot between them, both of them kept going forward. But they had one more building to check, just behind them. Once a general store, now nothing more than abandoned history. Behind the desk, Sunset checked the register; some old money from the pre-war still wrapped tightly. Not knowing if it still was usable, Sunset took the money and anything else she could carry out of it. And underneath the desk, Sunset found a metal box. She prayed it would have more money locked away, and when she opened it... her face drooped finding more bottle caps. With a sigh, she took the box anyway.

Both Sunset and Twilight still were trying to figure out the significance of the bottlecaps, why did these men carry them? They were used for soda drinks, they couldn't be that valuable! Could they? Taking one final search, the two of them carried on, leaving the town. If whoever had executed these crazy individuals was still there, they did not want to linger for too long. The possibility of the killer coming back was too great to take a gamble on.

--
An hour went by, and the two felt more uneasy as they kept walking through the paths, coming to a dead end that would take them through the woods. Winds whistled around the pair, and Twilight just hung closer to Sunset out of fear. Sunset didn't protest, holding Twilight's hand to offer some comfort as they kept going forward.

"L-Let's turn on the radio, maybe that'll help sooth things," Sunset offered.

Flipping the switches, Sunset found a station reading Canterlot Radio, flipping it on.

"--teel and a ghoul leaving together after rescuing some poor ghoul kid from a raider gang not too far from Goodneighbor. And we've just received word this kid is safely back with their parents. If this Power Armor gal and ghoul are listening to this, know that the Commonwealth is gracious for your hospitality and kindness. And cause I'm in such a good mood, here's a nice little song to get you all in the mood; Don't Fence Me In by Bounce-Bounce, and the Ardent Sisters ."

Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
Don't fence me in
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Don't fence me in

Focusing on the music, the two of them were able to make further strides into the dark and desolate forest, as night started to slowly take place. Crickets chirped around them, and there were a few owls hooting as they flew around above. As creepy as the woods were, it started to look familiar to them the more they walked, and less of the unknown. The pair had traveled through the woods before many times while trying to go outside for a study break back in high school.

The two of them stopped to look for a moment, finding a grisly sight on the ground, ripped to shreds. A robot, with a big bulbous torso, and spindly arms and legs, in pieces on the ground. The glass top protecting the circuits was destroyed, and limbs were torn off, as if by a wild animal. Both Sunset and Twilight looked to each other then back to the dead robot, and simply kept moving forward.

Finally out of the woods, the two of them stopped briefly at a former bus stop, still intact. The two of them took a moment to sit still, trying to consider all their options. They could keep going forward into the cities, with no clue if there was going to be more guns and more dangerous men. Or they could try to find a safer home to stay at. Sunset remembered that Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor, his spouse, Mi Amore Cadenza, and baby had lived somewhere in the city, housing complex near what was once Crystal Prep Academy. Maybe there could be refuge there—

Moooooo.

Sunset blinked as she looked in front of her. Cattle was in front of her, mooing. But more shocking was there were two heads on that cow. It looked like a normal animal, but the two heads stood out like a sore thumb.

"... uhhhh..." Twilight paused.

"Ahem."

"Dah!"

"You two going to keep ogling my cow, or are you going to buy something?"

Their attention was caught to a man who stood with the cattle, an older woman in her 40s, smoking.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Sunset asked.

"Name's Tracks," she greeted. "I'm a traveling merchant, I give supply to anyone who needs it. And it looks like you two need some supply."

"Um... okay, what do you got?" Sunset asked, deciding to give the merchant a try.

"Well I've got plenty. If you need guns, I've got some for ya. If you need munitions, chems, bombs, food, alcohol, private pleasure toys, I'm your gal. And if you've got stuff you wanna turn in for caps, I'd be happy to take some."

"Caps?" Sunset repeated.

"Bottle caps. Are you not from around here?" Tracks asked. Her eyes looked up and down at the two girls. "... Ohhhh good lord, you're not... alright, I'll break it like this. We don't use paper money around here anymore, that's an outdated concept. Now, we trade bottlecaps. And I have a feeling you two don't--"

"--We do have caps," Sunset showed some in her hand. "We grabbed some earlier."

"Hmm... smart girl," the merchant admired. "Alright, well if you've got stuff to trade or you wanna buy, let's hear it."

Sunset dug through her backpack, setting some things down on a fold out table the merchant opened up for Sunset to do her business. Carefully she looked at what was available and with a few shrugs, picked out a few items. Some of the stolen pipe pistols taken were offered, two of the bottles of Rad-X were given, some of the .38 bullets, etc.

Twilight meanwhile looked at the two-headed cow, admittedly not freaking out as much as before. Despite the two heads, it looked like a relatively normal animal. She simply smiled at it, watching as it looked around the area it was standing in.

"What's her... his... their, name?" Twilight struggled for a bit.

"Shock and Awe. You're welcome to pet them if you want, they're friendly," the merchant assured as she waited for Sunset to continue digging in her inventory.

Given the okay, Twilight carefully reached out, letting the two-headed cow smell her hand first. The science student waited for a negative response, and instead, the cow simply licked her hand with affection, making her giggle. She petted the first head, and then the second one, gradually switching to make sure both sides got enough attention.

"Alright, not a bad haul," the merchant nodded. "I can get ya some good caps for that. Now what would you like from me?"

"What kind of food do you have?" Sunset asked firstly.

"I've got basics; frozen steaks, corn, tatos, mutfruit... freshly pasteurized Brahmin milk, if you two need any."

"Brahmin?" Sunset repeated.

"That'd be my traveling companion here," the merchant gestured. "They're a brahmin."

"Is the milk any different?"

"Not really. It's been pasteurized, filtered, I do every test on it before I offer it to my customers. One of the best drinks you can fidn out here, even if the alcoholics detest my healthier solution," Tracks shook her head.

"Alright, how much for a bottle?" Sunset asked.

"Since you two look like you're new out here, I'll give you two a pass this time and say, two caps for a bottle,"

Taking the offer, Sunset laid down sixteen caps, getting eight bottles in return. And so, Sunset went through the woman's inventory, picking up a few more bullets for both their pistols, some frozen steaks, and two pieces of leather armor. In the end, Sunset and Twilight combined had 104 caps remaining.

"Alright, that should be enough for now. Thanks again," Sunset expressed.

"Happy to help. You two stay safe out here, okay?" the merchant warned before patting her brahmin friend. "Best to stay away when it's night out. It's not entirely dangerous, at least, in some spots... so if you two are going to keep wandering out here, be careful."

“We will, thank you,” Twilight nodded.

“Last word,” the merchant requested. “If you two are looking for a safer place, I’d recommend going to the Canter Commons, or Diamond City."

"Alright, we will. Thank you again!" Sunset called.

And so the two of them set off again, looking for a safer place to find shelter for the night...

Episode 2: The Minutemen Captain

The late night did not help the journey for the two vault dwellers any better. While it was peaceful, the merchant's warning put both Sunset and Twilight on edge the more and more they wandered through the night. It was only 7:00 now, past dinner time. But neither of them could think about food, they just wanted to find someplace safe to relax, if only for a little bit.

Their travel brought them back onto road again, shrouded by the forests. There were some damaged cinder-blocks that divided the road, but nothing out of the usual. That is until they turned on the Pip-Boy lights... just up ahead were remains of deceased bodies, laying on the ground. But these ones were not the skeletons that they had gotten used to seeing, these bodies were recent, like the crazed bodies found in the middle of Concord. Carefully checking, Sunset squatted down to press a finger down on the wrist of one of them.

"Dead. But this looked recent..." Sunset observed.

Twilight shined a light over the wound in the dead man's chest, slowly giving a closer inspection. "I... I can't see any blood. No wet blood anyway. Looks dry."

But the fear the two had once before elevated once they heard a sound of a twig snapping. Like a deer in the headlights, the two of them froze, eyes darting in all directions to look for the source. Shining lights around, they tried to find a source of the noise, anything that was setting it off. The noise grew louder, sounding more like a hungry animal this time. They looked everywhere, whoever or whatever it was, was getting dangerously closer.

Finally, picking up the sound, the two girls turned to find a sight of something they hadn't expected; a two headed fawn. It was a doe, but like the brahmin, it too had been mutated by the wasteland. Two heads, and spindly little hooves dangling like arms out the middle of the chest. The vault dwellers had no clue if this animal was violent or not, only waiting for it to respond to their presence or make a move. It just gently walked towards them, sniffing Sunset, and not once did it attack.

A smile was on their faces, seeing the animal act very sweet and calm to them. Reaching down, Twilight found an intact blade of grass, offering it to the animal. Gently the left head leaned down to nibble on the grass, while the second tried to push itself to grab some. Sunset moved to the other side, offering some grass as well, watching the two-headed beauty enjoy their offering.

"How much do you want to bet every animal we find just has two heads?" Sunset asked with a confident grin. "I mean, if this is all the damage it did to animals, I am not going to complain, I think I can live with this."

"Me too. But it's still so fascinating," Twilight looked in awe.

But a nearby sound broke the attention between all three, one that made the doe's ears perk up and turn, staring deep into the woods. Slowly it backed away, as if it had seen something that neither of the humans could see. The ground started to shake from heavy steps, forcing the animal to hop off into the night. Understanding quickly of the danger, the two of them kept moving, trying to find a potential spot to hide if they could, until they looked ahead. A few destroyed husks of cars were piled up, and a few cinder blocks were present as well.

Taking a chance, the two vault dwellers ducked behind the blocks, listening carefully. The footsteps got heavier as several branches were snapped off from the trees on the other side of the road, hearing soft growling of an unknown animal. Two heavy feet kept marching down the road, looking around and sniffing around, searching for prey. Neither one of them wanted to look out, fearing for their lives as they stayed down.

Sunset could however see something in one of the shattered mirrors that reflected behind them, seeing something large with two feet and giant claws coming down the street. Scared for her life, Twilight cupped her mouth, trying to stifle her breath and not to scream. Both of their hearts pounded against their chests as they remained there, listening for the animal. It briefly went near the rusted cars, sniffing around and snarled, trying to find its next victim.

One heavy thump after another, the animal poked its head out past the rusted cars, forcing Sunset and Twilight to carefully sneak away to get out of it's line of sight, knowing if it just looked closer past the cinder blocks, it would find them. Whatever this animal was, it scared them to the core. It looked almost reptilian with the scales and skin, but the giant horns like a bull mixed with a ram did not help alleviate the fear.

Sniffing one final time, the animal let out a snort of disappointment before walking over the cinder blocks and going back into the forests, in search of more food elsewhere. Unbeknownst to the vault dwellers, they were spotted by someone from afar, looking at them through a pair of binoculars, wearing a long tan coat. She looked at them with a curious face, but relieved to see them still alive.

Realizing they could take a chance to leave, the two vault dwellers ran as fast as they could down the road, trying to get far away from where that animal would have traipsed off to. About five minutes of running and the two had finally realized they were away from where the animal was. But before they could get far--

“Get down!”

Sunset and Twilight were ushered to hunker down by an unknown figure who yanked them to the ground. Dressed with a militia hat, green plaid under blue denim shirt, a long coat, and denim work jeans, She looked at them with a finger up, telling them both to be quiet.

The woman peered up for a second to check, showing a branding of a lightning bolt crossing a rifle on her jacket’s back. Checking carefully, she watched as two soldiers marched out of the fog, old style military gear under black combat armor. A man and a woman, both of them nodded to each other as they surveyed the area, checking for anyone outside their perimeter. It was hard to tell but to Sunset and Twilight, the combat armor they wore had a bright capital E surrounded by stars blazed on the chests.

“Anyone?” The first woman asked.

“Nothing,” the man responded. “Hightower checked in earlier, no sign of Brotherhood, or the Minutemen. Think we can talk with them?”

“No. They live out here, they’re unpure. Only way to save them is to put them out of their misery, that’s our orders,” the woman replied.

Sunset and Twilight’s eyes bulged. That went from a zero to 180 very quickly. The soldier growled quietly as she listened to them, biting back her tongue so she didn’t give them away.

“Come on, we gotta check in with the major. Make sure the western camp’s secure,” she ordered, leading the two of them away.

“They’re gone now. Which means we need to get far away as possible, come on,” the southern-spoken soldier ordered.

Taking their leave as quick as possible, the group of three moved fast, avoiding anything that would make their presence more known to the mysterious soldiers.

“Who were those guys!?” Sunset whisper yelled.

“Bad people. Ones that would not like seein’ you two strangers around,” the soldier replied. “Especially me.”

“Yeah, but who?”

The woman looked at her with a stone-cold glare, uttering one word that sent shivers down her own spine.

“Enclave.”

Seeing the coast was still clear, the woman led the small group farther away from the site, roughly a mile or two until they were completely safe.

By the time they arrived at the southerner's base camp, it had become completely dark out, with the sounds of crickets chirping around. The mystery woman led Sunset and her company to a settlement house cobbled together out of concrete, brick, and wood. A few lights hanging on the porch to lead inside, and upon entering inside, it looked nothing like they had expected so far.

There were a few cots set up, a couch, some old books still intact. An old television with a few holotapes collected for entertainment. Even the kitchen despite its rustic and decrepit state looked like it could still function despite it all the damages done.

“Y’all are welcome to spend the night here, that’s the least I could do. I don't want anyone bitin' the dust early cause of those creeps,” the woman explained, setting her bag down. “Name’s Applejack, by the way.”

"Thanks. I'm Twilight, and this is Sunset. We appreciate the help but, who... why did you help us?"

"Those folks are Enclaves, bad news. Not folks you want to be lendin' a hand to," Applejack explained. "But more importantly, I saw you two comin' down the road and having a near death experience with that Deathclaw. I never seen anyone try to hide from 'em and still come out alive. Y'all either got insane luck or yer smarter than ya look."

"... A Deathclaw?" Sunset repeated.

"Yes. Don't tell none of y'all see one of 'em things before?"

“… NO!” Sunset snapped.

“Okay, did you all hit your heads against a crate of cider or somethin’? How could you not know what that was, those things are common in this part of the woods.”

“Yeahhhh… about that…” Twilight hissed. “We’re… not exactly from around here.”

“Well, where are you from? Anchorage? San Palamino?”

No reply.

"Los Pegasus?"

"We might as well tell her, Twilight. Not like it matters in the long run," Sunset gave up, slapping her arms down.

“Tell me what?” Applejack asked, raising a brow.

“Okay, this is a long story,” Sunset had to pause, before sitting in the chair across from Applejack. “But, we used to live here. Like, a long time ago. Before… all of this,” Sunset gestured to the outside with her hands.

“I’m not understanding, what do you mean you used to be here?” Applejack still didn’t get it.

“We lived here 210 years ago,” Twilight explained, making gestures with her hands. “We are from the Pre-War.”

“Wait… but if that’s true, how are you all still alive? Y’all synths or somethin’?”

“I’ll ask about that later, but no. We were frozen in a vault. We only recently got out,” Twilight answered. "Everyone we know is dead, it's just us now."

Sunset and Twilight then proceeded to explain everything that they had known up to that point. How Twilight’s family had been killed while on ice, how their neighborhood was obliterated, how they used to remember things before the wasteland.

“… Wow. That… that’s amazing,” Applejack took in, leaning back against the couch. “I’m sorry about your loss. Both of you. I know exactly how that feels.”

Sunset took a moment to collect herself. “Yeah, it… it’s not been fun.”

“Oh, heavens, I haven’t been a real host. Y’all must be hungry. Want somethin’ to eat?”

“Yes please,” Twilight nodded. “If that’s not too much trouble.”

“No trouble at all, Twilight,” Applejack walked over to the kitchen area, pulling out items from the functional fridge to prepare for a meal.

“But enough about us; we know your name is Applejack. But what were you doing out there, and why did you help us?”

“Commonwealth Minutemen, I’m one of the captains,” Applejack explained.

“Minutemen? So we’re going backwards in time now?” Sunset snarked without thinking.

“Heh, no nothin’ like that. Protect people at a minute’s notice, that was the idea of them. I joined up sometime when they grew in popularity. We're still growin' even today, building ourselves back up after our last battle,” Applejack shook her head sadly as she stirred the pot. “There’s a collective us still out there, but we’ve lost a lot.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Twilight sympathized.

“No need to be, it ain’t your fault,” Applejack reassured. “But the fact of the matter is, we’re down serious numbers. But whether one joins us or not, is entirely up to them. You two were walkin’ into Enclave territory, and I stepped in to keep you all safe because I wanted to.”

“That’s the other thing, what are the Enclave?” Sunset asked, leaning her head back.

“I don’t know much, but I learned a few things. The Enclave are remnants of the United States government. Unfortunately, their obsession with ‘purity’ has made them… no dancin’ around them, they’re about as sick and twisted as a mad scientist with access to all the brahmin he can steal.”

Eventually, Applejack finished preparing the meals, passing them down to the two girls. Meals were nice hot soup, with a little bit of spice.

“Mmm… that tastes wonderful, thank you. You’re a great cook,” Sunset complimented.

“Thanks,” Applejack chuckled. “Anyways, the Enclave only care about one thing: purity. They hate anyone and everything that’s lived in the wasteland. If you weren’t from there, you’re pure. They blame mutations for everything being wrong with this world.”

Sunset and Twilight looked at each other.

“Mutations? What do you mean?” Sunset asked.

“Anyone who lived out here; whether they be settlers or raiders, they’re considered targets to be killed. They even despise ghouls, synths, super mutants, claiming all of them are undesirables that need to be ‘cleansed’… they can’t be reasoned with,” Applejack quivered at the thought.

“A faction that thinks anyone who isn’t them needs to go?” Twilight surmised with some fear in her eyes. “Sounds all too familiar.”

“Familiar or not, they’re a problem. The good news is, out here, they’re only small numbers, not much bigger than your typical raider gang. But they’re still a problem, especially if there’s more of them on their way. Which means, we need to get farther away from them until we have stronger forces or better weapons.”

“Sounds fair, I guess,” Twilight nodded off.

“… Hey, tell y’all what. Look, I know I just dumped a lot of info on you that you didn’t ask for, and I know you just got out here… why not come with me? Tomorrow, I was gonna head over to the Canterlot Commons anyway, I think y’all should come with me. I can help keep you safe, and help show y’all around while you get used to things up here. How does that sound?”

Twilight and Sunset looked to each other, nodding a bit before looking to Applejack.

“Not like we have any other option,” Sunset rested her head back against the couch, thankfully not spilling the last bits of her dinner. Instead, she just laid limp, staring blankly at the ceiling. “I just wanted to get up, go to the park for a run. All I wanted to do, and now I get frozen in time by a bunch of psychopaths...”

She grabbed a nearby pillow and slammed her own face into it, groaning into it.

Sunset looked up briefly, without turning her head. But she was met with some sudden warmth as Applejack pulled a blanket that was folded up in the corner to cover her in, trying to provide some comfort, any that she could.

“We’ll be safe in here tonight. But tomorrow at first light, we pull out,” Applejack remarked.

The following morning, the group pulled out of the cabin, heading out on the road. No raiders, radroaches, or any other surprise creature or vermin came to attack them within the first few hours of light. Sunset was still hesitant to follow this stranger, but Twilight remained optimistic. Weapons were loaded, armor was readjusted, and Sunset had some tunes playing on a radio at a softer tone to not alert any nearby threats that would be around, potentially. Her eyes now moved everywhere, trying to stay as perceptive as possible.

"Thanks again for taking us with you, we do appreciate it," Sunset said, not looking at the Minutemen captain.

"Not a problem y'all. Sides, we gotta help each other out, no one does that anymore," Applejack agreed.

“No one helps each other out here?” Twilight asked. “How does anyone even survive?”

“Mostly by being violent, I’m afraid. You have to fight to survive out here, and fight for what you want,” Applejack sadly remarked. “The Minutemen had to fight a lot of bad people to build their numbers up. Somethin’ we’re still tryin’ to do since the massacre at Quincy.”

“Massacre?”

“I’ll get into that another time,” Applejack brushed off for the time being.

The group went over a stone bridge, going over a small river that was still flowing nicely. Sunset in the meanwhile had been playing with the switches and toggles on her Pip-Boy, trying to understand all the settings. She found multiple tabs, all of which managed to keep track of her own personal health, rad detection, inventory, and even a personal radio station.

“Still studying that device?” Twilight asked, looking back.

“Yeah. Trying to get used to all these tabs, a lot to keep track of,” Sunset toggled the switches some more.

“I don’t like what they did to us, but you got to hand it to them, they did not play around with having the technology to prepare for nuclear war,” Twilight said, feeling a bit sheepish at complimenting their former captors. “I'm assuming if the world has devolved into anarchy, there are no real establishing governments?”

"Not really," Applejack shook her head, climbing over a massive tree that had been pushed over long ago. "The Commonwealth tried that once, no luck. We're just doin' things on our own for the time bein'. Everyone wants to make things better, but we've kinda got our own different ways of doin' things. No one can agree on anythin'."

"So not really any changes," Sunset said, her snark coming back.

"Sunset!"

"It's true though," Sunset rolled her eyes. "Aside from the animals, and well, everything being more dangerous than it ever was, has anything actually changed since we got out here?"

"Before we even left the vault, all I thought we were going to have to worry about was maybe going crazy from isolation," Twilight protested.

Applejack just let the two of them continue to argue, leading them over a stone bridge that remained intact, passing by a few stray dogs that were off doing their own thing. Just up ahead, twenty minutes from where they were was a town long abandoned, making Applejack double check her weapon; a laser weapon modified into a musket.

"Whatever, look, let's just find somewhere safe," Sunset groaned. "I don't like being exposed any longer than we have to be."

"We're not that far from the Commons, just keep goin'. But if y'all don't mind me goin' on... I need to give you both a warnin'," Applejack stopped the group and looked at them both with a serious face. "Now, we can do this one of two ways. We can take the longer way around, or we cut through Feral Town right there," the captain pointed up ahead. "Now, it'll be faster if we do so, but we need to stay absolutely quiet."

"Monsters?" Sunset asked, recognizing the fear in Applejack's voice.

"Somethin' just as bad, equally. Now, if we move quietly and don't make a sound, and watch your steps, we will be completely fine," Applejack warned. "No one with guns, but the kind that lives there moves fast. Now, can I trust you both to stay quiet?"

Sunset and Twilight exchanged brief eye contact before nodding quickly to the captain.

"Alright. Now let's move. And turn off any radio stations, noise carries," Applejack warned.

The next twenty minutes were kept in silence. Sunset felt as if her conversation wasn't over, but she did understand the dangers present, and she had no idea what other kind of horrors now existed here in the wasteland. Keeping her mouth shut, she followed Applejack close behind, as the gang made their way to Feral Town.

Before crossing the bridge, there was a partially destroyed sign with the few remaining words reading 'Welcome To'. The rest of the sign was destroyed, and it didn't look so good further ahead. The few stores that were up in this town, most of them were boarded up with no entry inside. A few were open, which Sunset wanted to explore for maybe any other goods that they could plunder, but if Applejack was right, then they needed to stay far away.

Twilight meanwhile kept her eyes down on the ground, watching her step, making sure where she walked did not create any loud noise. The path was one thing, but shattered glass or broken doors were another. Her ears meanwhile were listening to the sounds of everything else, hearing the whistling winds and moans of broken doors in various houses.

Applejack kept a brave face as they gently walked, but her eyes kept darting around. She knew the dangers of this place, but she felt as if there was another force potentially watching her. Even the small rubble of movement on top of one of the buildings made her spine quiver. But she had to stay focused, they were almost out of the town.

The group of three had to stop when they heard the sound of a twig break. Everyone looked around each corner, wondering who or what could possibly be in this abandoned town. Everywhere their eyes turned to look, they could tell someone or something was there, watching them from above, but they didn’t know where.

“I’m getting the feeling we’re not alone,” Sunset worried, pulling out her gun.

Another snap.

Everyone slowly looked to their left, seeing a what appeared to be some disheveled man leering over someone’s dead body… snacking on them. Lots of loud crunching and snarling, as if he was desperate for food. The sight was as gruesome as the sound.

Eventually his desire for food had stopped when he sniffed something more alive and delectable. And standing up, everyone got a better look; he looked less like a man and more of a decaying zombie, with rotting flesh, no nose, stiff movements.

“… What is that?” Twilight whimpered.

“Ferals. Not good, grab your guns,” Applejack ordered, pulling out her recon pistol.

Quickly the girls grabbed their guns. The feral charged straight at them only for Sunset and Twilight to fire wildly at the monstrosity. A few bullets hit the shoulders, and one of them grazed it’s leg, but it didn’t stop it.

“Wait, aim for the head!” Sunset thought. “Can’t focus on eating if it doesn’t have the brain stems for it!”

Deciding to play with Sunset’s idea, everyone fired straight at the feral ghoul’s head, making it rattle back until it finally dropped dead.

“Huh, okay, that wasn’t so bad,” Sunset thought.

“No, it’s worse,” Applejack reached for her musket, charging it up for a full blast. “Where there’s one feral, there’s more.”

And indeed she was right, two more came running out of the door of one of the houses, growling and snarling as if they were ready to feast. Pulling the trigger, Applejack eliminated the two that were making the move. Several more came running from the other direction, looking to go after Sunset and Twilight. Both of them fired as much as they could, but they just kept coming.

Sunset and Twilight stayed close together as they tried to blast the growing ghouls away from themselves, and from Applejack, but there was just too many of them.

"Just keep moving, they'll leave us alone if we make it out of the town!" Applejack ordered, winding up her musket again for another shot.

But ten more ferals came out of nowhere to block the exit out of town, shambling towards them.

“Agh, great!”

Sunset and Twilight raised their guns again, firing non stop at all directions, but were taken aback by extra shots coming from out of nowhere, hitting them from the sidelines without their impact.

More bullets flew through the air, hitting more of the ferals. But it didn’t come from AJ or Sunset. But what was shooting at them?

Across the street came a new stranger. A long dark brown cowboy duster covered her body with the iconic Bottle and Cappy cartoon characters on the bottom of the chaps. The back of her duster had ‘Nuka World’ read across for anyone who saw her walk away. Even the shiny gold belt buckle holding the denim jeans under the chaps had something Nuka related. Her color-matching hat had a shiny metal badge in the forehead reading ‘Nuka Wild’ just like the branding.

Masked with goggles and a red bandana, the stranger twirled two revolvers as she strut along the road as happy as a clam, shooting up the ferals without a problem.

I was walking along
Mindin' my business
When out of the orange colored sky

Spinning around, the tail of her duster rose up as she danced like she was on Broadway, focusing on another group of ferals that were shambling towards her.

POW!

Flash!

BAM!

Bam!

KA-BOOM!

Ali-ca-zam!

Wonderful you came by

Sunset and Twilight were completely flabbergasted by the sudden stranger’s helping hand, watching her take on the next few without so much of a worry or issue.

I was hummin' a tune
Drinkin' in sunshine
When out of that orange colored view

Stopping for a second, the stranger quickly reloaded her guns before slamming her hand down on the hammer of one before firing again.

One final ghoul came around the corner, grosser than the other ones before it. Bloated all over the upper portion of the body, and glowing bright green. The stranger stopped for a second before clicking her guns again, focusing on the last feral in sight.

BAM!

Flash!

POW!

Bam!

KAPOW!

Ali-ca-zam!

Several bullets went through the legs, and into the forehead of the bloated, before it started to bleed glowing green blood, collapsing onto it’s knees, and finally dying on the ground, leaking over the broken roads.

Twirling the revolvers around, the stranger set them back down before taking her hat off, wiping sweat off her head.

“That was fun!” The stranger chirped. Somehow an excited high pitch voice was not at all the voice that Sunset and Twilight were anticipating from this gunslinger looking woman. "Hi Applejack!"

"Whoo-wee! Now that's what I call a fine showdown," Applejack grinned, giving the cowpoke a high five. "Where'd you come from?"

"I just wanted to stop by the Party Cave, that's all," the gunslinger shrugged.

“… Wow. Um… I-I don’t even know what to say but, thank you,” Sunset said, trying to be polite to the woman who saved their life.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Those guys were easy,” The stranger shrugged off. “Oh by the way, the Canterlot Commons are that way! See you all there!”

And in a complete 180, she just bounced along like nothing had happened, humming a tune to herself. Sunset and Twilight could only stare in complete disbelief.

"Y'all will meet her later. Come on now, let's get goin', we're almost there."

Episode 3: The Canterlot Commons

Almost there took about half an hour of traveling, until they finally reached the edge of a town. Past two empty store buildings was a heavily fortified wall, with a few armed guards standing by them. Two turrets swiveled back and forth on the edge of the store buildings, acting as the first lines of defense. The trio walked further more, and the two guards at the gates nodded at the captain.

"Captain Applejack, glad to see you," one of the guards greeted. "Who are these two? Caravans?"

"They're new around here. There's another vault out there we missed," Applejack explained.

"And you brought them to the best spot in the whole Commonwealth," the second guard chimed in. "You go on through, Captain."

"Any updates from Captain Settler or the others?"

"Nothin' yet. But we did get word from a nearby settlement; that platoon you sent in to help were able to protect them, now the two kind folks at Tundra Station want to join the Minutemen again," one of the guards explained.

"That's great news, thank you," Applejack expressed.

The gates opened up, and the trio were finally inside. As expected, the place was bustling with people; compared to the past few areas they walked through, this town seemed very refreshing. Lots of homes made out of trailers and shacks, stacked on top of each other. A few buildings still standing were rebuilt and refurbished to look somewhat new again, with people coming in and out of those places as if they were homes or stores. Some residents looked fancy, some looked like they had no home.

Sunset had to admit, she didn’t expect to see well-pressed suits still intact after the war, but especially men in those suits offering helping hands for those who were dressed in rags that were tattered. But there wasn't anything hostile about them.

Unfortunately, the welcome was cut short by a balding man with road leathers.

“Hey. New folks walk into the Commons, ya pay up. Insurance and all.”

“If it’s keep-dumb-assholes-away-from-me insurance, I’m not interested,” Sunset glared.

“Hah. No, nothing like that. I mean the kind that you need where I walk away, and you leave with no blood out of your body, or broken bones,” he threatened.

Sunset was ready to pull out a gun, but once again was cut off. This time by a man who emerged from one of the alleyways; dressed in a tricorn hat and an old red jacket. She couldn't get a look at him, but she swore this man had no nose.

“No fucking more, Fin,” he snarled at him as he stepped into the light. “We’ve done this dance too many times. No. You got all the chances you’re going to get.”

“You’re soft, Hancock.”

“Have I now?”

Without restraint, Hancock grabbed Fin by the head and slammed his knee into his nose, making him scream in agony and letting him drop to the ground. Guards did finally show up, but they didn’t go near Hancock, instead, they yanked the man who threatened Sunset and company.

“He pull the extortion crap on you?” Hancock asked, looking to the newcomers.

“If by extortion you mean threatening to kill us unless we hand over what little we have, then yes.”

“That’s what I thought. Now, Fin. As a courtesy, I won’t slit your throat right here. But if we ever see you here in the Commons again, I promise you, I won’t be so polite,” he growled, lifting his chin up to gaze right into his eyes.

“We’ll take care of this, Hancock. Thanks for letting us know,” the guard acknowledged before leading him away.

“Sorry that’s how you were greeted. I warned him twice, and I didn’t want to have to end him on the sidewalk. Never forget the rules out here are different from Goodneighbor,” Hancock greeted.

“You are…?”

“Mayor Hancock, of Goodneighbor. I live here on occasion, helps me remember my roots; and where I came from. I see you’ve become acquainted good ole Captain Applejack,” he greeted the Minutemen trooper. “Who are you two?”

“Sunset.”

“Twilight.”

“Lovely to meet you both. If you ever need a hand to show you around, you’ll know where to find me; No Tracks, just down the street,” he finished, tipping his hat to them before moving on to his own business.

Awkward silence filled the Commons, despite it being bustling with people. Looking to each other, the two of them quietly nodded before turning forward. Then with one foot after the other, they started to explore.

The city still had some concrete, stone, and brick buildings intact, with a few windows restored here and there. Surrounding them were the real homes, shacks, vendors, and recreation centers. Trailers, some stacked on top of each other to act as an apartment complex. Shacks and houses made of metal and wood, connecting to each one via ladder or pallet walkway. Signs and decorative pieces hanging from each, giving them more character.

Alleys ran in every corner. Lots of people of all different ages, genders, and ethnicities. And much like outside, they could see some of the residents weren’t entirely human, as seen by the few robots and ghouls that wandered about, treated like any other person.

“This is… incredible!” Twilight squeaked. “I-I thought there weren’t that many people here, but this! This is proof that they were wrong! Humanity does a find a way to survive.”

“Yeah… it does,” Sunset droned, still feeling the painful reminders of her old home.

"You two feel free to look 'round, I've gotta go do a check in with my Minutemen. Oh, and while you're here," Applejack handed the two of them a small bag of caps. "There's a hotel that you can stay in for the time bein', only costs five caps a night. Should cover you both for a couple of weeks until we find a new house for you to stay in. Just follow the steps up to the old apartments down the street on yer right. Rodder's Rest will be on the buildin', used to be an apartment space back in the old war."

"Thank you, Applejack," Twilight expressed kindly.

The Minutemen nodded before heading off on her own. Now alone to do whatever, Twilight and Sunset started to explore the wide open world of the Commons.

While they walked around, the two of them had to freeze for a moment. A few people were trying to avoid a rather large bug, larger than any bug should be. Buzzing and hovering around as if it was looking for food, trying desperately to find any morsel.

“… Grab your gun, slowly,” Sunset ordered.

Both Twilight and Sunset pulled their 10mm pistols out, ready to fire. Turning around, the identified stingwing started to charge towards them only for something to stop it mid-charge.

The bug buzzed in agitation as it tried to get away, and the girls saw their unexpected savior. Some stranger in a suit of Power Armor, a T-60 model with cyan paint and a badge of a bolt of red, yellow, and blue out of a cloud. The stranger grabbed the bug and pulled it close, grabbing it with both hands before crushing it into a large splatter of guts and juice all over the power armor, and over Sunset and Rainbow. Sticky residue and guts covered them all over them, especially on their hair and faces.

“I suppose that works too,” Twilight said with annoyance.

“Oh, heh, oops. Sorry, I uh, got some bug guts on you… heh,” the suit apologized. “I’m Rainbow Dash by the way. Hey, let me get that off ya.”

“No thanks, I’m good,” Sunset tried to move away.

“Wait, no, it’s okay, I can wipe that off, I can clean it off my suit, let me just—”

RIPPPP.

And by accident, the Power Armor hand accidentally tore off a huge portion of Sunset’s vault suit, leaving her in just her tank top. A blushing Sunset covered herself before glaring at Rainbow with a slow growl.

“… s-sorry, um, I’ll uh, I’ll stop trying to help now,” the suited armor apologized.

“… I’ll give you til the count of ten. And then I’m going to rip that suit off your body. And I will kill you,” Sunset growled, pumping her gun.

“Sosorrygottago!”

And with a large huff, the Power Armor ran as fast as possible away from the angry woman.

“Well… we know two things. One, Power Armor still works even after 200 years,” Twilight began, wiping the guts off her body, “two… all bugs are huge.”

“Make that three; this town has complete idiots running in armor that can reduce a person into roadkill,” Sunset growled, as she covered her chest. “I can’t go anywhere now, I need a shirt, or something else, it’s cold out,” Sunset shivered.

Twilight looked around, taking note of one place in particular, showing a woman leaving a shop with a set of clothes in her arms.

“Thanks again, Rarity!” The woman called.

A brief light flickered on the lamppost above Sunset and Twilight, enticing the two of them to come towards the store. A big sign in purple lettering and a professional font read ‘Carousel Boutique’.

“Carousel Boutique huh? They might have a change of clothes we need; maybe there will be something more fitting for you? We can’t just wear these suits all the time.” Twilight asked.

“I hope so. I don’t have a lot of caps on me, and it still boggles my mind that we use these for money now,” Sunset shook her head.

Entering the shop, they could see the place was stocked full of different outfits and items. Dresses from the Pre-War kept in intact condition, ratty skirts with fun tops, business suits, dressy clothes, clothes made to be messy when working in various conditions, mechanic suits, t-shirts, there was all kinds of fun outfits here!

“Well… we won’t be short on variety, that’s for sure,” Twilight looked around.

“One moment, darlings! I’ll be right there!”

Entering from side of the room, where a changing screen and several mirrors were visible for anyone to try on outfits, walked a pure white military robot with indigo-blue highlights and a curvy figure; an Assaultron. She had a metallic mohawk above her head, colored in mint green, cream-yellow, and indigo-blue. Some metal spikes were above the shoulders, one arm was a standard Assaultron hand, but the other had the hand replaced with a Protectron model with four claws and a small nozzle in the middle.

“Alright, let us see…” the Assaultron passed, grabbing several spools from below. “No… no… oh, dreadfully no. Oh, perfect!” And so she turned around to look at her new customers. “Welcome darlings.”

“What the fudge!?” Sunset tried to not swear.

“Fudge? There’s no fudge here. I am Rarity, seamstress of Carousel Boutique and--whahahaaahhh!! Oh my goodness! Darlings, what happened to you both!?”

Sunset only blushed harder. “Are you referring to the fact we’re covered in bug guts, or some idiot in Power Armor just ripped my clothes off?”

“Ehh… d-do you have other clothes here?”

“Oh please, step this way, I must get you out of that ratty vault suit,” Rarity took Sunset by the hand, yanking her into the changing area.

“Wait, wait, wait, I can—what are you doing, wait!”

Twilight tried to follow, but couldn’t. She wanted to interfere, but she knew all about the dangers of these robot models. The history lectures on the many powers and skills these robots had were not to be taken lightly. She did not want to be reduced to cinders right here in the shop.

And poking her head out, the Assaultron saw the state of Twilight’s hair. “I’ll also be fixing your coiffure, that looks… ghastly.”

“Dah, look, robot, ah! Stop! Please!” Sunset begged behind the changing screen. “Stop! Can you not do that!?”

“You seem unhappy. I only wish to help you, I don’t intend on harming you,” Rarity tried to reassure. “Now let us see… you don’t seem like a vault dweller type. Fiery, a little rebellious, but not to the degree of juvenile delinquency and common vandalism. No chems detected in your blood streams. I think this outfit might be perfect for you. Try it on.”

Twilight could tell Sunset was looking a bit bashful, if her shadows were any indication, but she took the clothes offered anyway and went into one of the stalls to try it on.

The robot stepped back out, showing the vault suit had been completely taken off of Sunset but the pieces that were damaged were sewn up and patched, as if it was brand new.

“Whoa… h-how did you do that?”

“I’m a seamstress darling, it’s one of many skills I’ve learned to develop over the years. Now, come, we must do something about that hair,” the robot insisted, urging her to sit in a chair meant for hair cleaning.

“O-Okay…?”

Twilight hesitantly took a seat, leaning her head back in the sink. Reaching for the sides, the Assaultron removed her standard claw and replaced it with a hand that had a complete set of smooth, gentle, five fingers, much more needed for this task. But before getting to work, she watched as the Assaultron walked to a corner and starting putting on… clothes? Wrapping her chest around in a minty blue top made out of classic cotton, and a violet kama/skirt wrapped around the hips, allowing enough leg room to run if needed.

“Much better. I forgot I had customers, a lady cannot go around naked after all. You know the thoughts some boys get when they see a woman in the buff.”

Reaching over, the robot turned on the water and ran her hair through with it, even putting in some soap to scrub it. As weird as it felt having her hair washed by a robot, Twilight had to admit, it was nice to get a little bit clean. It was the first time she felt clean since the few days she had been up there.

“Tell me, what are your names darlings?”

“Um… T-Twilight, I’m Twilight,” she said, trying to look up at her host. “And you are… what are you?”

“I’m a lady, darling. Can’t you tell?” The Assaultron titled her head, confused.

“Oh, um… of course, yes, you’re a lady. Um… a very lady-like robot?”

“Designation: Assaultron. Creation date: 2072. Activation: 2267. Designed to provide a variety of services to the modern man. New designation: RA-R1T3, Rarity. Family member and business owner. Robot enough?”

“Oh, um. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean… I didn’t mean to offend, I was just asking—please don’t kill me,” Twilight whimpered.

“Twilight, darling, I am not going to harm you, I promise,” Rarity reassured as she finished scrubbing out the soap in her hair. “A lot of people have asked me of my… status. Frankly, whatever I am is not of importance to me, I know who I am. As far as I’m concerned,” she said, walking to the side to grab some drying tools before facing her, “I’m a lady, darling. And I’m one of the best seamstresses and salon artists in the Commonwealth.”

“I… I see,” Twilight struggled to find something to say, anything that wouldn’t make her host offended.

“Now, you had your hair held in a ponytail, correct? Well, let us see about restoring it to its natural beauty,” Rarity thought as she started to run the blowdryer through her client’s hair.

After a few minutes or so, Twilight finally got to see what she looked like, and gasped in delight. Her hair was back to its normal beautiful; small trim in the front, nice ponytail in the back, and her glasses were cleaned up as well. It was like she never left the vault!

“I… thank you, I don’t know what to say!”

“Not a worry, darling. Now, what about your friend?” Rarity turned around to go to the changing room area, watching her other client look at herself in the mirror. Sunset now wore a set of road leathers; dark leather pants with a skull motif on the belt, a plaid button up with cut up short sleeves, and a short leather jacket above with no sleeves on that one either. But Sunset was too distracted by how it looked on her to even care about the fact that her host just stripped her so quickly.

“I… I love it,” Sunset whispered. Rarity stepped behind in the reflection to get a look as well.

“Oh darling, that looks wonderful on you!” Rarity cooed. “Though you will need some armor to go above that.”

“I don’t suppose you know anything on making it?”

"Oh absolutely! Where should I begin?"

"I reaaaallly do not need anything right now, maybe another time," Sunset tittered. "Please?"

"But Sunset, maybe we can--"

And Twilight didn't get to finish her sentence before she was yanked out of the store with only a small gust of wind blowing against the tarps.

"... Well. I suppose I will see them around," Rarity put her hands on her hips, tapping her foot with annoyance.

Twilight was still annoyed she got pulled away so quickly, but something she was going to have a serious talk with her later on about. But the rumbling stomach finally alerted her to get something to eat/drink, and thankfully there was a bar/diner up ahead that Sunset was leading them to. Rustic on the outside, like everywhere else in the Commons.

Both of them looked around the inside of the restaurant, plenty of folks from all around here enjoying the food and chatting with each other. It didn’t feel any different than how it was in the pre-war era, it was oddly nice. Sure there was a larger abundance of non-humans, but it honestly made the place more interesting to them. Even if it was weird to them that some of the robots hanging were… dating flesh.

Taking a seat at a bar table, one of the waitstaff gave a simple nod, letting them know that he would attend to them in a moment, after he was done with hsi set of orders.

“How are you holding up?” Twilight asked.

“Me? Oh, I’m fine. W-What about you? I’ve been really worried about you, losing your family like that and all, it’s just… I’m sorry,” Sunset sympathized.

“You don’t have to be sorry, it wasn’t your fault they were gone,” Twilight promised. “I just… I don’t understand why Vault-Tec would do this, they said they would help us, and then they just… stabbed us all like that?”

BURRRRRRRP.

The sound of the rather large burp caught their attention as a drunken woman came stumbling around, trying to gain control.

“Ah, oh boy, still got control, I’m good, I’m good,” she murmured. And then her eyes locked onto Sunset. “Well hello there, cutie. Who are you?”

“Nobody, please leave me be,” Sunset politely insisted.

“Nah, come on, ain’t no way someone as smokin’ as you comes in here wanting to be alone, all girls like you just want the real down and dirty…” and she got uncomfortable close to Sunset’s face, her breath smelling like an alcohol sewer. “And I know all about getting’ down and dirty…”

Sunset immediately shoved her off before standing up. “Okay, new rule. First one who grabs my butt gets their arm broken. I’ll give you ten extra points since you’re drunk.”

“Oh you wanna play hard to get?” She said, losing the silliness and turning more aggressive. Unaware was she to hear the doors open for another patron. “Why don’t you want me? I’d be good for you, I’m not like those other girls.”

“Okay, you’re drunk. Just go home,” the bartender ordered. “I don’t know how you snuck behind the counter, but you need to go home, now.”

“You wanna try old man?” she slurred before whipping out a gun.

“Put the gun down, now.”

But then out of nowhere, an unknown arm grabbed the drunken patron, throwing her across one of the tables where she fell to the ground. Sunset was taken back by the unknown person who stepped into the room without her noticing.

She only could see her back for the moment, but she saw someone in a large coat grab the drunken woman off the ground, grabbing her by the shirt, with heavy breathing that sounded raspy under the helmet.

“Well now hot stuff—ack. H-How about we take this somewhere else?”

No response other than raspy breathing came from the helmeted unknown. Grabbing her, she threw the drunken patron out the door before slamming it behind her. Turning around, the unknown figure was seen by everyone now.

Dressed in a long jacket with multiple pockets on the back, denim jeans tucked into the boots, with tons of ammo straps and holsters on both sides. Riot armor covered the person’s chest, with a small symbol of a mutated bear with two heads on one side, and a marking of three butterflies on the other. The helmet, hiding the face, was of a riot gear trooper with red tinted lenses and filters.

“Um… I don’t know who you are, but, thanks,” Twilight complimented, trying to be polite. “I’m Twilight, who are you?”

The figure finally looked at her, her breathing still filtering through the mask. They were quiet for a moment, shyly looking away and down at the floor. Their foot softly squeezing against the wooden floor.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked.

“…”

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“… Fluttershy,” a filtered voice finally came through, one quiet and meek. The complete opposite of what both Twilight and Sunset had expected the trooper to sound like.

Sunset quietly growled. Not even a few minutes in, and she was already being harassed by the local drunks. Eventually the bartender did come around and take their orders, although Sunset's order was incredibly short; just one shot glass, and no meal. Despite the worry from Twilight, Sunset did very little to reassure her, just brushing off her concerns with 'I'll be fine'.

"... know what, I need to be alone," Sunset groaned. "Twilight, if you want me, I'll just be sitting at that cafe I passed by, I... I just need to be alone right now."

"But, you can't just--"

"--Twilight. I just need to be alone right now," Sunset said, a little more command in her tone this time. Unintentionally so, but it was very clear.

And so the vault dweller left the diner, leaving a very alone and sad, Twilight Sparkle. All she wanted was to sit and eat with her best friend like she always had, and now she was being denied that opportunity. And especially after how Sunset was starting to finally talk again with her, and now she just stopped.

But her train of thought was interrupted by the sounds of running metal, with a battle-ready Rarity standing in place.

“Darling, are you alright?” Rarity charged in, her hands spinning in attack mode. "I heard Saltlick being thrown out again, this is not the first time this has happened."

“No, we’re fine, thank you, but we’re okay,” Twilight reassured, letting a seat open for the Assaultron to take next to her. But her eyes locked back to the trooper in the riot gear who sat lonely at the bar, taking a few sips from a straw. “Rarity, who is that girl there?” Twilight pointed.

Rarity’s head swiveled, with the audible gears turning to look. “Oh, the riot trooper? That’s Fluttershy, she’s one of my friends. And one of my best clients,” the robot squeed a little.

“And she’s dressed like that, why? The air around here isn’t that toxic. Is it?”

“She’s a member of the NCR, the New Coltifornia Republic. She’s on assignment to do some scout work here for them, apparently members of an enemy they were fighting, the Legion, ran away here. So she’s been searching for them.”

“Does she always wear that outfit?” Sunset asked.

“You yourselves have been wearing those rather severe vault suits for how many days now?” Rarity sassed.

“… fair enough,” Twilight shrugged off. “But does she take that helmet off at least? That has be hot in there.”

“She always keeps it on whenever she’s in public. I’ve seen her without it, but I’m the only one she trusts, and I don’t disclose any private information about my clientele,” Rarity replied.

Looking to the left side of the bar counter, she saw the NCR Ranger briefly glance at them before quickly focusing back on the empty glass sitting at the bar, not wanting to bring any more attention. Curiously, Twilight leapt off the stool and opted to move to the open space in between Rarity and the trooper.

“Thank you again, that was… that was sweet of you,” Twilight tried to greet. “Fluttershy, right?”

The ranger was quiet, but titled her head a bit, the red visor peaking out at her.

“… Y-Yes.”

“My name’s Twilight. Mind if I sit?”

Fluttershy just meekly nodded, offering the chair. But thankfully the presence of Rarity coming to sit on the other side of Twilight at the bar helped a lot.

“I’m really sorry about Saltlick, she’s… not herself when she drinks,” the bartender sighed. “I keep telling her to stop, but she just points a gun at me and tells me to keep it going.”

“Maybe not, but it does slow the pain down,” came from the woman sitting on the other side of the bar. She wore a pink plaid shirt and denim jeans, with a cowgirl hat with some holes and tears visibly shown. The western looking woman glanced at the NCR Ranger for a second before rolling her eyes back down to her own drink. “Left the Mojave to get away from the NCR, and now they’ve found themselves all the way out here… typical.”

Not paying any mind, Twilight refocused back to Rarity and Fluttershy who provided company.

“Soooo uhh… have any cider?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, indeed. Apple, I take it?” The bartender pressed.

“Yes please.”

“Coming right up. Real popular here, you can thank the Minutemen captain for that,” the bartender smiled as he grabbed the bottle. Pouring it into a wooden beer mug, he gently set it down for Twilight to take.

“Thanks,” Twilight nodded before taking a sip. “Ahh… that’s the stuff.”

“Oh my. I didn’t know you were the drinking type,” Rarity’s eye focused on her.

“I do like apple cider. Not the hard stuff, just the right amount that won’t mess with my vision,” Twilight explained.

“You like the cider too?”

Turning her head, she smiled to see a familiar face. “Applejack!”

“I see ya already met Rarity and Fluttershy,” the Minutemen captain nodded, taking a spot next to Fluttershy. “I know it has been a bit chaotic since we got here, but I was hopin’ to find ya over here if you needed a place to just relax after the past few days. How you feelin’?”

“Right now… I guess I’m okay. I’m not sure,” Twilight frowned, thinking back to the past few days. “I’m not even supposed to be here, but… I guess I have to learn to accept this is how things are. And Sunset just left me.”

“What do you mean, darling? Were you on the run?” Rarity asked.

“Rares, I don’t know if she wants to—”

“—No, no, the cat’s already out of the bag at this point,” Twilight scrunched her face with her free hand. “… You know the vault suit I wore to your boutique? That wasn’t because it was all I had.”

“I just assumed you were a vault dweller, there were plenty of those who passed through here in the Commons,” Rarity thought.

“Well I’m not a vault dweller. Never was. I’m not even a Vault-Tec employee! I don’t even know what I am anymore!” And she slammed her mug down before hitting her face into the bar table. She lifted her head up, before adjusting her loose glasses. “I’m not from around here.”

“… where exactly? The Mojave?” Fluttershy asked this time.

“Third Texas Republic?” Applejack added.

“The Pitt?” Rarity also chimed in.

“No, I mean… I’m from here, in Bostrot, but not from here in this point in time.”

“What are you talking about, how can… wait,” Rarity had to reboot her malfunctioning audio receptors. “Time? Are you from the past?”

“Ugh, yes! I’m from the past! I was frozen in a Vault-Tec cryopod, and Sunset and I only recently got out,” Twilight finally admitted, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer. “Everyone is going to know who we are eventually, so I don’t see why we should hide it.”

Everyone was gathered around her, patiently waiting to hear more. Rolling her eyes, Twilight began to tell her story. She recollected the events that happened, how she and her family were supposed to have just signed up to go to a vault and live their lives there when the bombs finally dropped, only to be frozen inside. Everyone remained quiet to hear her story, but eyes darted back and forth when she mentioned the rather malicious detail of what the Vault-Tec employees had planned at 111.

“… and that’s about it. Who I was before, it doesn’t… it doesn’t matter anymore,” Twilight threw her head back.

“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?”

Twilight jolted up, seeing two more faces now joining the rest of her friends. One was that cowgirl with a bandana mask over her face, who had helped out over in Feral Town. The other was a girl with cyan skin and rainbow hair cut in a short, wearing a black jacket with short sleeves, a bandolier with multiple pockets, cargo pants, and a black cowboy hat atop her head with bullets wrapped around it.

“I’m sorry, have I met you two before? Wait, hold on… I know you,” Twilight pointed to the cowgirl who gave a rather cute grin. "You saved us back in Feral Town."

"Mmmhmm! That's me," the energetic girl chirped. "I'm Pinkie, nice to meet you!" She shook the vault dweller's hand, and even though it was for a second, Twilight could feel how incredibly rough her skin felt, but didn't get a good look. Though the discoloration in her eyes was a bit worrying.

"And I'm Rainbow Dash, nice to meet you,” she shook the vault dweller’s hand. “And I assume you’ve already met my girlfriend?”

Twilight nodded. But had to do a double take when she looked at Pinkie’s outfit, then back to the woman across the bar. And then back to Pinkie again. “Are cowgirls a common thing in Bostrot and I just haven’t noticed?”

“Nah, this is just how I look these days,” Pinkie shrugged, pulling up a spare bar stool. “I'm into the Wild West kinda movies now. So what brings you out here?”

“I… guess I’m just trying to find purpose again,” Twilight somberly took another drink. “I don’t know what to do with myself now.”

Applejack frowned, but her eyes lit up when she had an idea. Bringing the rest of the girls over, all five of them whispered to each other, something Twilight wouldn’t be able to hear. And momentarily, they looked back at the vault dweller with beaming expressions.

“Actually… I think I have an idea,” Applejack thought as she leaned against the counter. “If you’re gonna survive out in this new world, you’re gonna need some guidance on how everything works out here. Lot more violent than the pre-war, I’m assumin’.”

“Understatement of the century,” Twilight dryly remarked.

“We’re willin’ to help you learn how to survive out here. Sides, it might be nice to have some new faces around here,” Applejack thought.

“Yeah! Vault dwellers don’t really come that often out here, aside from a few from 81,” Rainbow Dash agreed.

“Okay, first off, we need to circle back on this '81'. Second, what if I just slow you down?” Twilight worried.

“Even if you slow one of us down, there’s four more of us here to help,” Rarity piped up, swiveling her hand around in a 360 motion. “And I would be more than happy to help you.”

"Me too," Fluttershy chimed in, no longer hiding at the bar stool.

“Sooo what do you say?” Applejack asked.

“Well… I guess it would be good to learn how to hold my own,” Twilight pondered. “Alright, I’ll do it!”

“Yeehaw! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about. And I know just the thing to start you off with,” Applejack grinned. “But first thing’s first, we need to get your friend in as well, no sense of her not learnin’ to survive as well. Where is she?”

“If you’re talking about the gal in the road leathers, I just saw her slump up to the apartment spaces. She didn’t look that happy,” Rainbow folded her arms.

“That’s Sunset. She… hasn’t been taking the change very well,” Twilight admitted, feeling a bit sheepish to talk about her friend in that way.

“I felt the same way,” Pinkie shrugged off. “But we’re taking her with us too, she needs to learn as well.”

"I'm not sure she's going to be cooperative," Twilight worried.

"Oh don't worry about that. Once she gets a good look at this face," Pinkie pointed, despite still hiding under a bandana. "She will never want to stay put in one place again!"

Rainbow snickered a bit.

"What? What's so funny?" Twilight asked.

"You uh... you haven't figured it out yet?" Rainbow asked.

"What's to figure out? She's a cowgirl, that's not really scary."

Rainbow was still trying not to laugh. "No, no, you're right, sorry. It's just she might be a bit... shocked, is all. But you'll find out soon enough, she only shows her face if she feels like it."

"Fair enough," Twilight understood. The scientist looked back over at Pinkie, noting the rough skin behind the bandana. She couldn't tell much behind the mask, but she definitely looked rougher than the rest of the girls she had met here. "Have you seen a lot of action?"

"More than you know it," Pinkie nodded, squinting eyes before turning to lean against the bar, tapping for a drink. Twilight tried to get a good look underneath, but never could when Pinkie took a drink of the apple cider passed down to her. That bandana hid her very well, and if she wanted to show herself, it would be on her own terms. But for the rest of the night, Twilight enjoyed the company of her new friends, feeling good for the first time since they walked the wasteland.

Sunset however was not feeling so good. Not from poisoning, but mentally, she was not there. Her friends she once knew, all dead. Her family, dead for sure. All she could think about was how could she leave them all behind? Sure, she remembered the events leading up to that moment in time. She was up with Twilight Sparkle, and her family (staying as a housemate since her mother was far away), and enjoying breakfast with all of them, ready to start a brand new day. Then their cartoons being interrupted with dark news of attacks from all over the country.

Bomb strikes on Coltifornia. Attacks on Manehattan. Wiping the surface of Fillydelphia. Nuclear blasts growing all over, and then the sirens raiding above the state. The rush of panic, leaving the scared neighbors who had no idea what to do, and then running to the center of the vault platform. Then watching as a bright flash exploded in the distance, and seeing the flames coming their direction, as all life flashed before her eyes. In that moment, all she could think about was the family about to be left behind as she descended underground to the vault.

But all of that was gone. It was gone in an instant, and it had only been two days. No, not two days. Over two hundred years, and it went away. And she couldn't do a damn thing to stop it, or save someone. Her fists clenched as she thought about it, then dug into her pocket, remembering some items she had on her vault suit that were stashed away, pulling out a single picture that remained intact; of her and another woman, some girl with green shades, and a plaid button up shirt, taken against a warm sunny tree. Her fingers twitched as she looked at it, and she closed her eyes, trying to fight the urge to cry in the middle of the cafe area. It was a nice outdoorsy area, surrounded by small brick walls that could be climbed over, next to a food truck that was restored and cooking delicious food, and next to it was a stage for performers; musicians, stand-up comedians, etc.

The pain only made her more upset, and reduced her hunger. She pushed her items away before walking off to the street, looking for the hotel she was provided with. Unbeknownst to her, she was spotted by another woman who sat at the cafe, wearing a faded red coat and reporter's cap, watching with piqued interest...

Finding the hotel, she went up a few stairs, passing by a few folks talking on them, or flat out making out against the walls, looking ready for a night of lovemaking out in the open. Ignoring the passion, she found the room they were staying in, and went inside. It was a relatively nice space with a few beds, a room with a bathroom and shower, and against all odds, it worked! But the idea of getting cleaned up in potentially irradiated water just soured the idea, and instead, she went to the bed, groaning into it. Her head rested against the pillow as she looked at the picture one last time, no longer able to hide the tears leaking down her face.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't save you."

Episode 4: The Corvega Plant

The morning light finally shone through the hotel windows, making the fiery haired girl groan. She had a hard time falling asleep until she finally fell due to exhaustion, and by then, she had only a few winks. Twilight on the other hand had gotten dressed, zipping up the vault suit, strapping her Pip-Boy, and enjoying a quick drink of the cold bottle of cream. Grabbing the backpack, she threw it at Sunset's bed, hitting Sunset's side.

"Ow."

“Come on, Sunset, I need your help. We have a job!” Twilight clapped her hands. "Let's go, grab a bottle of milk and meet me downstairs."

"Go away..." Sunset moaned into the bed.

“Applejack wants our help, seven person team. And she said she’d be willing to pay us,” Twilight said, nodding her head to come out.

Sunset groaned as she slapped her head down on the pillow, wishing she had just gone back to sleep. Twilight poked her head out, groaning as she came back in, putting her hands on her hips.

“You can’t stay here all day, Sunset. We need to learn how to live out here, and we have friends who are willing to help us,” Twilight said, firmly but fairly.

“I don’t caaaaaarrrrre…” Sunset moaned.

“Mind if I try?” Pinkie asked. The cowgirl entered the room and she slapped her bandana to the floor, Twilight still not getting a good look at what she was about to unveil. Without waiting for Twilight to give an answer, she grabbed Sunset by the legs and dragged her out of the bed, letting her body slam onto the floor—

“OW!”

--and dragged her down the hallway until she finally was kicking her legs back against the rough skin that held her.

“Okay, okay, I’m upppppaaaaaaaaaah what the hell is that!?” Sunset screamed.

Twilight had to jump a little bit as well. Pinkie's face looked more rough than ever; her charcoal eyes were much more clear in the daylight, she had no nose, and she looked deformed beyond all belief. Worse, she looked exactly liked those feral monsters that were hauling ass back in Feral Town.

Sunset's legs kicked harder as she pushed the cowgirl away, scrambling to her feet and clinging to the wall as if she had seen a spider. Pinkie could only look with a chipper smile on her face as if she didn't know what the problem was.

"Why do you look like that!? What the hell is wrong with your face!?"

"What?" Pinkie tilted her head. "Wait, do I still have cream cheese on my face?" The ghoul reached for a cloth and wiped both cheeks. "Mmm... nope, no stains." Casually she just walked out of the hotel room--

"--Oh by the way--"

For two seconds.

"--you should probably put some pants on."

Finally, Sunset got out of her room, and in a much more calm state after her freakout, meeting in the café of the Commons, where Twilight, along with a few others were waiting. Some of the residents that they met the day before were gathered as well; Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack respectively. Sunset’s eyes glared heavily towards Rainbow who sheepishly waved at her, after hearing about her escapade in the Power Armor the day before.

Dressed in her road leathers attire, she faced the group of women, ready to hear what they had to say.

“Alright y’all, here’s the deal. For the two of you who don't know, my job is lookin' out for any settlements who need our help. If they want it, we help. If they don't, we still do. Even if they don't want to be a part of the Minutemen, we help those in need simply because, it's right. One of our settlements radioed in, told us that there’s a gang held over in Lexington that’s been harassin’ them for a good long while: stealin’ food, supplies, and caps. They did give us a location of where they’re coming from, but they don’t have the means to fight. Which means, we will,” Applejack instructed. She then turned back to Twilight and Sunset who were ready with them. “I know you two are new to this and all, and y’all are gonna need the caps, and the experience to survive out here, so I’m willin’ to pay you two if you can survive and help us on the job.”

“Seven of us: I don’t know how many caps you have on you, but that doesn’t seem like you’d be able to pay us just to make sure it’s even,” Sunset raised a brow.

“Nah, I’m not doing this for the money, I do this because it’s good to help people,” Pinkie shrugged. “And if we get a few stuff off a few raiders, then that’s cool too.”

“Agreed. I’m healthy on caps as well,” Rainbow added. “Actually... that might be good for you two learn anyway. I know it sucks, but any raiders you take out? Check for any goodies worth stealing. Caps, ammo, armor, anything that’s useful, take it. Even if it’s junk, we repurpose that stuff, or turn in to make some more caps.”

“Agreed. Now, this trip will only take a day to and back, bring food and munitions with you. We will rest somewhere for a night, which is why we’re bringin’ sleeping bags. Any questions?”

Sunset raised a single finger.

“Yes, Sunset?”

“Is she going to rip off my clothes again?” Sunset pointed at Rainbow with a glare.

“… I wasn’t careful,” Rainbow admitted. “Sorry.”

“Just keep your hands off me, okay?” Sunset sneered.

“Can we focus?” Fluttershy whispered in a rather stern and authoritative tone. That got everyone to turn to her. “… thank you.”

“I don’t know what kind of issues you’ve got with the former Brotherhood here, but like it or not, we need you both, and we need her,” Applejack said, folding her arms. “So I suggest y’all find a way to get along, alright?”

“… Fine,” Sunset groaned.

The following hour, Sunset and Twilight sat outside the Commons gates. Some leather armor was strapped over Twilight’s vault suit, while Sunset used two basic raider pieces over her shoulders and her knees. Despite the ghastly spikes that jutted out like they were poorly applied, they were all she had to work with at the moment. Needless to say, she was still particularly grumpy she had to be dragged out of bed to start the morning. Especially in this hellish lands that would be around them every day now.

Pinkie soon joined them, twirling her revolvers around like a gunslinger from the old west. She adjusted her hat, giving them a cute but weird grin as she looked at them.

“Nice revolvers,” Twilight complimented, trying to be polite.

“Thanks!” Pinkie squeaked. “I won these, actually!”

“Won them?”

“Yep! There’s a traveling carnival back in Applelachia, I won these during one of their competitions. Worth it!” Pinkie chirped. And showing them the guns, Sunset and Twilight could see the Nuka-Cola branding on the weapons.

“I did not know Nuka Cola also worked in arms dealing,” Sunset blanked.

“Nah, these were painted. But I liked them anyways,” Pinkie shrugged, putting them at her holsters. “Oh, that reminds me, if you two need any guns,” she dug into her backpack, “I’m your girl!”

Fluttershy was next to join the party, with 10mm pistols in her holsters, and a 5.56 service rifle hanging off her back. Like Pinkie, she had a backpack strapped to her as well, but she carried medical supplies and chemicals rather than weapons and ammunition.

“So um, how long have you been here in Bostrot? You’re from Coltifornia, right?”

“Mmmhmm,” Fluttershy meekly replied. “I’ve uh… been here for about a few months, I suppose.”

“But why out here?” Sunset asked, putting her hands on her hips.

“I wanted a change of scenery. Coltifornia’s a real mess out there. Between that, the Western chapters of the Brotherhood, and the still on-going fight with the Legion over at Hoofer Dam, I wanted an assignment where I could clear my head and figure out what I want to be. So, I volunteered to track down a Legion criminal out here,” Fluttershy said, wistfully.

“But why would this Legion send someone so far out here? I haven’t seen any cars or vehicles of any kind aside from those Vertibirds that worked. Seems like an unnecessary trip to make out here,” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy froze. “W-Well, um… n-no one said the Legion were smart.”

“Agreed.”

Now Rarity had joined the party outside, her feet clicking with each step she took. “Fluttershy informed me all about this group, this ‘Caesar’s Legion’, as they’re called. Extremely terrible is what I’d call them. Slavers, misogynistic, xenophobic—”

“—You won me over just with slavers,” Sunset held a hand up. “I understand the point.”

“Regardless, they’re a faction that must be stopped. And I volunteered to be Fluttershy’s partner in tracking down this missing member.”

Rainbow Dash was next, marching towards them with a junker suit of Power Armor; the chest and helmet were T-60 model colored in black with flame detailing, but the limbs? The limbs were a different story altogether. One leg used a model of an X-02 Hellfire piece in dark blue, while the other leg was a standard T-45 in red. The chest and head were still T-60, blazed in the flames of an old hot rodder. One arm was covered in raider armor with many spikes, and the other had tesla-coils attached in bright white and pink hot rod style, over a T-60 model.

“Hey Pinkie, I hope you don’t mind, I wanted to use the Raiden outfit, if that’s alright,” Rainbow asked.

“Not a problem. I was gonna suggest my suit anyway, it’ll let them know the Brotherhood won’t be wasting their time with them,” Pinkie reassured.

Rainbow stretched her arms in the suit, doing a few punches at air to hype herself up for the travel ahead.

Finally, last to step out was Applejack, holding a laser musket, armed and ready.

“Alright y’all, you ready?”

“Yep!” Everyone said, collectively.

“Then let’s get a move on. We’ve got raiders to fight.”

One by one, the girls set off on the road...

An hour had passed since they left the Commons, with everyone mostly enjoying a little bit of quiet. A rarity to come by in a never-ending insanity of the Commonwealth. Everyone just moved as a single unit, following behind Sunset. Occasionally she checked the map, making sure they were still going in the right direction, or for any radioactive deposits, but nothing too hazardous as they made their way.

She stopped briefly at the end of a bridge, waiting for the others. Twilight kept walking, followed by Rarity, then Fluttershy, then Pinkie, and Applejack, and lastly followed by Rainbow, who made sure the group stayed safe as she covered their back in the Power Armor. Sunset looked behind them to make sure, and quickly dashed behind Rainbow.

Why does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know it's the end of the world
'Cause you don't love me anymore?

Sunset took note of everything as they walked through the open roads. More houses, mixed with the destruction. Those intact, mainly boarded up with no means of access. Some open from the destruction, with brick and other junk discards surrounding them. A few skinless mongrels walked about, taking note of the group of travelers, but left them be, noting the strength in numbers.

It was almost funny in an tragic sort of way. The skies never changed from how beautiful they were, and yet the rest of the land still was touched by atomic energy and destruction.

Crossing another bridge over a river, the group passed some ribbiting frogs, and the few normal sized flies buzzing about, only to be consumed by the frog’s sticky tongue. Rarity’s head swiveled with a soft whir of her gears, observing the frogs for a second before focusing back ahead.

Pinkie in between their walk, took a few sips of her own mixture of a purifying drink, helping recharge some lost energy that was taken as they walked. She passed it around, making sure everyone got some, even though Sunset politely declined.

I wake up in the morning, and I wonder
Why everything's the same as it was
I can't understand, no, I can't understand
How life goes on the way it does

Sunset for a moment, felt the group stop their pacing. Turning around, she saw what got their attention. All of them were gazing at a cute little animal that peered out of the fields, one of them approaching the group softly. Fluttershy reached into her pack, taking a knee down and held out a small bit of food for it, luring it in.

The animal in question, was something that Sunset wasn’t expecting: a small baby deer. It was… normal. Normal coat, same size as a baby, it was the most mundane thing she had ever seen. And yet, she smiled when she watched the baby accept the food from Fluttershy’s gloved hand.

The deer, feeling calm enough, allowed Fluttershy to softly pet it’s head, affectionately saying hi to it. Sunset just stood there, patiently watching it be cute to the animal expert. And when it decided it was done, it frolicked along the fields, while the girls watched it do it’s thing.

Why does my heart go on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when you said goodbye

And so the journey continued, as the girls made around the corner, moving towards an abandoned store, Cambridge Hardware. Not that far ahead would be the assembly plant that housed the gang that they were tasked, but by the time they arrived it had become nightfall, and the group was tired after a long day of walking.

Carefully everyone moved into the store, setting up sleeping bags and other makeshift cots to get some rest. Rarity stayed on watch, not requiring any sleep, pacing back and forth outside to do routine checks of the perimeter. Sunset tried to stay away, not feeling any safer being out in an abandoned store with a bunch of strangers. But she knew she had to trust someone, and better it be them than anyone else. She stayed up as much as she could, until eventually she fell asleep.

The following morning, after breakfast, the group made their way once again, getting closer to their location. To Sunset's surprise, she saw most of the buildings were still standing, even after the bombs. Some of them still had usual signs of age like destroyed windows, boarded up doors to keep people out, and a few cars covered in rust with no wheels to move. Occasionally, Pinkie was found scouring some of the trunks, grabbing a few random assortments of junk that she found; something Sunset wasn't understanding for what purpose, but did not ask.

“Okay, so I’m curious, I don’t have functioning organs like the rest of you. What is your favorite food?” Rarity asked, as they passed through the empty city.

“Salisbury Steak, cooked medium rare, sprinkled with some salt, and a drink of Nuka Cola,” Rainbow answered.

“Rocketeer was the spokeswoman for that. She was the Nuka Girl,” Pinkie remembered.

“You consume that every day?”

“Nah. Brotherhood of Steel was really strict on diet, Salisbury is a once in a while food, I’m just glad I didn’t make the mistakes of some of my others. There’s a reason why I don’t make it a daily meal, let’s put it like that.”

“Fair enough,” Rarity understood. “Fluttershy?”

“Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with a side of Brahmin milk. It’s a quick meal, not that hard to make, and if I’m in a rush, I can bag it up on the go,” Fluttershy responded.

“Smart and practical,” Applejack commented, looking at their surroundings, making sure no one was in any immediate danger.

“Applejack, darling, what about you?”

“Hard apple cider for the afternoon; brahmin milk and fresh pancakes, drenched in syrup for the mornin'. Always had them after settin’ up the cookin’ pit, makes breakfast all the more rewardin’ when it’s done,” Applejack smiled.

“Sounds nice,” Twilight complimented.

“I’ll make some for y’all sometime. Pinkie, what about you?”

“Oh, I have too many! I kind of learned to love a lot of food over the years, I’m not really picky,” Pinkie replied, deep in thought. “Buuut if I had to pick one… yeahhh come back to me on that one, too many.”

“Seriously,” Rainbow chimed in, “She’s got a lot. Shared some of her favorites with me before I left the Brotherhood, first real taste of freedom I had in a long time.”

“Mine is grilled cheese sandwich. Always loved getting to make those in the old dorm kitchens,” Twilight added in, getting a few resounding nods and murmurs of approval.

“What about you, Sunset? What’s your favorite food?”

“I… I dunno girls, you all would want me dead if I told you.”

“If it’s another person who has new flavors on a cookie pizza, I got ya beat. And also, all the flavors are okay on pizza,” Pinkie squeaked.

Sunset could tell none of them were going to get moving unless she told them. Why they decided now was a good time to stop their mission, she didn’t understand, but she wanted to move on anyway.

Letting out a small sigh, she worked up the courage to speak, and addressed the group.

“You have to understand something about me first; where Twilight and I came from, times were very different from now, I don’t know the same norms exist these days, but I felt the need to address this first.

This was probably maybe a year, maybe two before the bombs fell. My late partner and I were on our first date, looking for someplace to eat. Turns out she found a nice place owned by a new couple who just moved here to Bostrot. Nice people, knowledgeable when it came to cuisine. It was a place I hadn’t eaten before, and I wanted to give it a try. Nice marble floors, beautiful tapestries, there was a lot of culture from where they lived that they loved and brought over. I could probably go on and on, but we’re on a time crunch.

Anyways: one of them, the wife I think, gave us some sushi with a side of hot wasabi. Two minutes after taking a bite… I had to stop a fight. One of the folks that entered was screaming about us supporting ‘Commies’ by eating here… despite the fact that no one in the vicinity was from Chineigh. The concept of don’t put all people of an ethnicity went over his head.”

Everyone’s eyes still remained locked on Sunset, and thankfully without any present danger from the outside world to interfere.

“I was ashamed of what I did next: I apparently hurt him so hard… he had to get surgery for his nose. Now thankfully the patrons did witness everything and convinced the judges that there was no evidence to prove the owners were communists, but… word broke out, and the couple’s restaurant had to be moved elsewhere. I honestly thought it was my fault that I sent them away.”

“… okay, so what happened then?”

“We never heard from them, but my partner loved that I even bothered to stand up for them, and didn’t care how that would affect my social standing, that wasn’t something I was really worried about, we were in war after all. But yeah, my favorite food? A nice hot plate of sushi and wasabi. Inspired me to wanna make a sushi truck, but my hope of that went out the window when the war ended and, well… you see.”

"I don't know if I've ever had sushi before. Sounds wonderful," Fluttershy replied.

"It is. Though stay away from wasabi, that stuff is hotter than the fiery pits of Tartarus," Sunset forewarned.

"Fair enough," Applejack nodded, silently waving her hand up for the group to continue forward, through the town. Going around the corners of some of the apartment houses, they crept up their way up a road and past a few steps, seeing a little bit of the holdout. A few sand barriers with a turret swaying side to side, surveying for targets, and a few raiders with makeshift armor.

Rainbow kept her movements slow as she walked up, moving herself behind the wall of the plant to stay out of sight, with Pinkie, and eventually the others lining up against the wall too.

“Okay, so what's our strategy?"

“First thing’s first," Pinkie reached into her backpack, hooking a few grenades onto Sunset's belt. "You're going to need some of these; just pull the pin and throw, standard grenade."

"Got it," Sunset acknowledged, making sure they were secure on her pants.

"Most of them will be outside tryin' to keep us from goin' in. Pinkie and Rainbow are needed out here; that kind of energy is gonna be needed for them to focus on us," Applejack instructed. "That bein' said, go a little nuts. Scare them a bit."

"Best job ever?" Rainbow grinned under the armor.

"Best job ever!" Pinkie quietly cheered as she fist bumped Rainbow Dash.

"I'll be joinin' y'all as well, Sunset, you too. The other three," Applejack looked to her group. "Get inside and take care of any raiders inside. There may be a boss in charge livin' like a king," the captain ordered. "But keep Twilight safe and give her any pointers you can."

"No one will dare cross me, and if anyone does; I will BURN THEM TO CINDERS."

Twilight and Sunset blinked from the sudden distortion but quickly nodded in understanding.

"Alright, got our plan. Let's get goin'."

"One more thing," Rainbow added. "Pinkie, you brought that old tape with you?"

"Yep!"

"Load it up," Rainbow requested.

Opening a panel on Rainbow's armor, Pinkie inserted a holotape inside, and closed it. A beat started to play through a small set of speakers attached to the sides of the armor, echoing as she began to walk towards them. At first, she moved casually, as if she was going for an ordinary stroll, which didn't take long for the raiders to focus. Two of them on the ground aimed their rifles at the Power Armor, waiting for the user to do something impulsive.

A little less conversation, a little more action, please
All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me

"Hold it right there, wastelander," one of the raiders called.

But Rainbow didn't respond, she kept walking towards him, as if she didn't notice he even called to her.

"I said, hold it!"

"Are you deaf from that song?"

The second raider clicked their weapon, only for a bullet to go straight through their forehead and splattering the ground in brain juice and innards. Dropping to the ground, the second raider's body went, The first raider turned to look for the shot, only for a high powered laser to strike their chest and reduce their entire body to ashes, screaming for a few seconds as his last breath escaped him.

The raiders on the catwalk above the doors saw them, and fired down, shooting at Applejack who ran to hide behind an old bus stop cover as bullets ricocheted around her. Rainbow still kept moving, and eventually a shot from a rifle came and hit the shoulder of one of the raiders above, fired by Pinkie Pie who held a her Nuka Cola themed lever-action rifle out, and fired a second shot.

The turrets locked on and fired at Pinkie who dodged them, and hid behind a few sandbags. Rainbow, taking her cue ran to the first one nears the doors and crushed it with her hands, the armor bouncing off several bullets in the process. Then looking up, Rainbow ran up the steel stairs that were able to hold her armor, and pulled out her laser rifle, firing several shots at the second turret before watching it explode. One more raider was left on the catwalk, giving Rainbow the chance to fire her shots and finish her off.

"Alright, door's cleared!" Rainbow called. "Come on, let's go have some fun!"

Picking up her feet, Rainbow ran down the road with the other two in tow, with Sunset keeping up behind them. And so, Fluttershy led her group inside through the front doors. Upon opening the doors, they were met with the remains of a waiting area; a front desk in the middle with a set of chairs and coffee tables for a waiting room on the left, and on their right, was a Corvega model with corrosion and rust all over.

Moving past the desk, the girls stayed close together, hearing some noises coming from the raiders in that hallway. Rarity gave a hand gesture to Twilight, silently ordering her to stay put and to let her make the first move. Giving the nod, both Rarity and Fluttershy opened the doors wide open, staying out of sight and letting the two raiders in the hall get a good long look at the robot who approached them.

"What the hell...?"

"Oh shit..."

And a more distorted voice droned from Rarity's vocabulator.

"Your termination commences now. Operation: Humankind Destruction."

A single blast fired from her face, something Twilight did not dare see, but the screams of pain and agony were enough for her to understand what she had done, especially seeing her body arched as if she was screaming at them.

After a minute or two, Rarity stood back up, her red eye laser hissing from the inensity. "Whoo... that was, rather intense. I'm really sorry if I scared either one of you," the Assaultron apologized.

"It's okay, really," Twilight reassured as she poked her head out. Her theory turned out to be correct; this Assaultron, even 200 years later, still had high powered weaponry that reduced her enemies to cinders.

Moving forward, the girls were greeted by the sounds of more gunshots, as a raider poked from out of a doorway, firing with her pipe gun towards Twilight. The vault dweller hid just in time, and fired two shots back, missing her target. The raider fired again, forcing Twilight to lean back to avoid being shot. Another shot, and miss.

"You got to give her something to focus on," Fluttershy suggested, stepping out in the open and firing at the door frame. Taking the bait, the raider moved out farther, hitting a few dents on Fluttershy's riot armor, and giving Twilight the chance she wanted. Raising her gun up, she got two shots in, hitting the shoulder, and then her chest, making her drop.

"Tell the boss!" One of the raiders called. "We've got intruders attacking! We got intruders!!!"

Taking the chance, the trio moved forward and ran through more of the back, moving through destroyed walls to cracked hallways, leading to multiple routes on the factory floors...

Outside, Rainbow marched up the driveway where trucks typically came up to unload tools and resources for the assembly lines, getting shot by a few bullets at her shoulders. One of them hit the back of her head, and Rainbow turned to look at who shot her, firing him in the chest with a single shot. Sunset stayed close behind Rainbow, feeling safer with the Power Armor being a bullet sponge and reducing her chance of getting hurt. Rainbow even moved an arm out to deflect a few shots coming at Sunset, showing she didn't mind acting as a guardian.

Pinkie just casually walked, head bobbing to the music as she twirled around, letting the tails of her coat fly with her, only for her to grind her boots on the ground as she shot another raider in the face, with a glint in her eye. Another raider came forward, taking a few shots at Pinkie, making her wince slightly, but with barely any reaction. Looking up, Pinkie smirked and fired at her, sending her falling off the scaffolding and slamming on the ground with an intense thud.

Applejack moved more strategically, catching the few raiders that were more triggerhappy and stupid, and firing on them if she could see them getting ready to take a shot from above. She spotted another one on one of the stairs, and ran up towards them, winding her laser musket to take a shot, and was yanked to the side by two more raiders. Not held back, Applejack kicked one raider in the foot, and elbowed another in the face before pulling out her pistol and tapping both raiders in the stomachs, and letting them drop.

"Sheesh. Some raiders," Applejack rolled her eyes as she turned her musket onto the raider from afar, reducing him to cinders and ashes.

Sunset still was afraid to fight, taking cover in one of the open trailers that was thankfully void of any raiders inside. So many bullets went flying, and could hit her at any moment; it was a risk she wasn't willing to take. She knew she had to fight, but she didn't know how, what could she do. Searching the truck, she did find a pair of weapons laying in the back, poking out of a wooden trunk. Pulling them out, she spotted a pair of Power Fists. She wasn't going to do much good getting up close, she knew she'd be shot instantaneously if she tried. Until her eye spotted something on her left... a small case with a bold red font, reading 'Mentats'. Sunset remembered them well; they were a recreational drug that sharpened people's mental processes and memory-related functions.

She looked back outside, cringing as she watched Pinkie kick a knife up with her boot before stabbing it through the skull of one of the raiders, only for Rainbow to punch her hand against the blade, sending it through the raider's skull, gruesomely killing him. Sunset struggled to fight the urge to throw up, but she couldn't. Violently, she hurled against the wall of the trailer, sending her breakfast right back up. Coughing, she wiped her mouth with disgust and shame before noting that one of the raiders had taken notice of her.

"Oh no..."

"Well, what do we have here," the raider chuckled as he paced towards her, his yellow teeth smirking sinisterly. "I haven't seen a pretty thing like you around. You're with those wastelanders shooting up my men, aren't you?" He snickered. "Well, that's okay. I'll make sure you suffer just as good as them," he said, reaching to unzip his pants.

Realizing what he was about to do, Sunset gripped the insides of the gauntlets and immediately punched him in the face; but the launch was so hard that his head went flying out, rolling on the ground, with a permanent mush that destroyed any semblence of who he once was. Looking down, she saw his body on the floor and then at the gauntlets. They actually packed a serious punch, something that made her smile a little bit. If she had a chance to fight, maybe she could help them. Looking to her side, she eyed the Mentats again, silently judging if she should take them or not...

"Ffffff.... aggh, no, what are you thinking? That'll kill you... well, m-maybe just one tab won't hurt. But just once! Just this once..." Sunset reached for the box...

A few more raiders decided to come out of hiding, thanks to Applejack going above and picking off the ones that hid more strategically, sending more of the coked out raiders to Pinkie and Rainbow. Neither one of them were breaking a sweat, this was a Monday morning for them!

Come on, baby, I'm tired of talking
Grab your coat and let's start walking

But then, out of the trailer, Sunset started to strut forward. Her eyes locked forward at the two raiders who had turned their attention to her, seeing the weapons on her arms. Sunset couldn't help but grin as she looked down at the Power Fists, holding them up as if she was a boxer. One button click on both of them, and a pair of sharp saw blades extended from the top of the fists, making Sunset gasp with excitement.

"Oh no..." one of the raiders murmured.

"That's not good..."

Sunset looked down at them, and slowly looked up at the raiders. A slasher smile started to grow on her face as she felt her focus on the group in front of her finally lock on. And with one mighty roar, she planted her feet firmly, ready to charge at them.

The main factory floor was almost cleared out. The main room was what was left of an assembly floor, where cars rested on lifts so engineers could oversee part installations and do final checks before the cars were okay to be shipped out for consumer purchase.

Rarity and Fluttershy were clearing out the raiders on the ground while Twilight moved to the platform to the main control room. Pressing the button, the bridge extended itself as she made it across, narrowly avoiding the turret fire that rained down upon her. A shaky breath and a loaded pistol, Twilight readied herself to shoot the last few raiders left up in that room.

Twilight leaned around a corner, checking for any other raiders. One did slip out of the corner of her eye, and she moved just in time as they fired upon her. But she soon found herself corner as three more came out to box her in. Quickly thinking, she shot another man in the head, only for the other two to pin her against the wall, one of them flashing a knife in her face.

"Lookie what we got here. Fresh out of the vault. One of you pretty things cost me and my sister an eye," a one-eyed raider growled. "I'm going to have a lot of fun taking it out of you..."

Twilight could only look back at the knife in fear as she tried to find a quick way to push back against them and get her gun without getting stabbed...

"AGHGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

That sound sent shivers down Rarity's processor. Quickly, she ran up the platform stairs with Fluttershy coming up behind her, quickly reloading her rifle. Upon reaching the control room, the two of them froze. Another dead raider on the ground, with a second one dead against a desk. Only one other one remained, as he clutched his bleeding chest, sitting across from a pony-tailed girl.

"What did you do... WHAT'D YOU DO!?" Rarity shrieked.

"She's the one who did something!" He screamed as his foot slammed down on something gross and squishy. "She stabbed me in my fucking leg!"

Neither one of them could see Twilight's face, but they watched as one of her hands, covered in blood reached for a gun, clicking it to make sure there were still bullets.

"Wait. No! NO! Please, have mercy! I beg of you!"

Twilight did not respond, and instead she kept the gun pointed at him, listening to him scream and panic. A reflection of what she was like moments ago.

BAM!

One shot, and the raider was killed. Her arm slowly lowered as she dropped the gun, thankfully not setting it off as she did so, only to drop to the floor from the pain, and laid against a wall. Fluttershy and Rarity moved closer, and quickly saw the issue. Blood was leaking from her right eye... and a lot of it. No visible ball was in sight, as she weakly looked up at her friends, speechless and with misty vision.

"Oh heavens, Twilight! Fluttershy, quickly!"

Fluttershy didn't hesitate for a second, grabbing her medical kit and quickly applying some healing solution around Twilight's eye to clean her up before wrapping a few bandages around that side of her head.

"I'm so sorry we didn't catch up with you, it's all my fault!" Rarity apologized as she hugged her friend. "I'm... I'm so sorry--"

"R-Rarity... I'm... I'm okay," Twilight reassured, putting a hand on a shoulder plate. "Hurt, but I'll be okay. He... he didn't get far," she looked back at the dead raider. ".... I killed him. ... I really killed him. Just like the others up here... what have I done?"

"Twilight, listen to me, you were in pain, he was going to kill you. You did what you had to do to defend yourself," Fluttershy addressed, carefully cleaning off last bits of blood and wounds she could find. Her red tinted eyes looked down at Twilight's leg, finding a stab wound visible as well. "Alright, I have a spare stimpak on me, I just need you to sit still."

"O-Okay..." Twilight tried to keep her breathing steady, knowing how painful needle insertions were.

Once it was prepped, Fluttershy injected it near the spot where the wounds were, making Twilight hiss from the injection. But the pain started to subside after a few seconds, as the open stab wounds began to regenerate, tendons reattaching themselves from within. Feeling her strength back, Twilight slowly stood back up, finally seeing herself in a broken mirror. Her hand briefly touched the sides of her face, keeping directly off the center of her eye and the bandages.

"I'm so sorry," Fluttershy apologized. "I have specialties in medicine, but I'm afraid I can't restore your eye. It's gone."

"... it's fine," Twilight said, her one functioning eye looking back at the mirror. "I... I can work with this. My other eye is still intact, no pain there... just need to keep it together. And to never again let someone with a knife that close to my face."

A few moments of silence passed between the group.

"... Well, enough about that. Maybe we should stop the rest of the raiders then?"

"Darling, you helped clear this floor of the factory. If that makeshift throne is anything to go by, you just eliminated these ruffians leader," Rarity reassured. "And my sensors indicate that our friends outside have only but a few raiders remaining."

"Really?"

"Mmmhmm. Applejack's going to be so proud of you when she hears this," Fluttershy wheezed, pounding her chest armor a bit to clear her throat. "Come on, let's go meet the others."

Back outside, the last two raiders were cowering in another control tower, listening carefully for the sounds of approaching feet from their attackers. Neither one of them were sure how they could have lost, there was over thirty of them, and it didn't look like there was any more than four of them outside--

BAM! BAM!

And now all thoughts were gone as their brains splattered against the walls. Pinkie's revolver was puffing steam that she blew away before twirling it around and putting it back in her holster.

"Found them!" Pinkie called out.

But one more came around the corner, trying to tackle Pinkie before Sunset Shimmer slammed her power fist against his back, sending him flying and hitting the wall. He weakly moaned as he tried to get up only for Sunset to punch him several times, letting the saw blades grind up his innards like meat, and splattering blood against the wall. She didn't stop grinding for about two more minutes, finally snapping back to reality when she looked down.

"Hah... HA! HA HA!" Sunset taunted. "Try to assault me, I'd like to see you all try again, suckers!"

Rainbow and Pinkie only stared at her, seeing how crazed she looked with the weapon.

"Ho... lee... crap," Rainbow muttered. "Sunset, are you okay? I-I know that can't have been--"

"--Are you kidding me? I feel AWESOME! All that time, I spent cowering, and for what? I didn't need to be afraid, these guys don't have the power over me! Or even that settlement Applejack talked about, now they'll have to think twice! Oh wait, no, because they're all deaaaaaad!" Sunset sung with a little bit of a laugh.

"...."

Pinkie and Rainbow shared a look and Pinkie flatly went forward, sniffing the breath coming out of Sunset's mouth.

"Uhhh, okay, getting a little too close to me right now--"

"--How much did you take?" Pinkie asked, seriously.

"Um... t-take what, I didn't---"

"How. Much. Did. You. Take." Pinkie repeated, sounding more like a disappointed mother.

Sunset looked at Pinkie with fear before sighing. "... I took one tab. But it was just one, I swear!"

Pinkie's hands went to Sunset's thighs, feeling her pockets, and then very awkwardly slapping her hands against Sunset's butt, feeling a metal tin stuffed in a back pocket. Grabbing it, Pinkie opened it up to examine it before glaring back at Sunset.

"I know you're feeling a kick right now, but this is not going to help you fight. Trust me, I've tried that before... it never helps," Pinkie shook her head. "Take it from a recovered addict."

"B... but it helped me fight. But what if another raider attack happens and I need to fight, what if I don't--"

"--We will help you fight," Rainbow intervened, joining her. "Do you remember what the after effects of that drug does to you?"

"... No," Sunset sunk.

"If you only took one tab, that's fine, it won't do much damage, but it will make you tired once it wears off. But if you take too much of it, it's going to give you serious migraines, or health complications, or worse; that could kill you. Just promise us you won't take any more, okay?" Rainbow asked, somehow still sounding scary even with the polite words being filtered.

"I... o-okay," Sunset slumped.

Pinkie softly gave the vault dweller a hug and patted her back to reassure her.

"We're here for you. And we care about you, okay?"

"I understand," Sunset nodded, starting to feel the effects wear off.

Exiting out a set of doors were none other than Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight, who were more than glad to meet up with the others.

"Glad to see y'all are still alive and--HOLY TARNATION!"

"Twilight, what happened back there!?" Pinkie exclaimed.

Twilight rubbed the back of her head. "Um... a raider took my eye. So I might have put a bullet into him."

"Dang... that's hardcore," Rainbow admired, folding her arms. "But are you okay? I can't imagine that was easy."

"... no, it wasn't," Twilight shook her head. "And, I personally blamed myself. I don't know what I was thinking, I didn't see there was a larger group up there, I thought I could shoot them down, and that would be it but.. .well you saw what happened," Twilight pointed. "I deserved it."

"Pump the breaks, newbie. No one deserves getting their eye stabbed out, and I'm sorry you lost it. ... Though on the plus side, if we find you the right attire, I think you'd pass as a cool pirate."

Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy all slowly glared at the suit of armor.

"What? I'm serious! I mean, Hancock still wears a tricorn, doesn't he?"

Sunset didn't say a word, but instead just pulled Twilight in for a much needed hug. Twilight hugged Sunset back, trying to calm down from the intensity. Their ears had finally stopped ringing from the bullets flying past them, and they were thankful to be safe, but after all that had happened that afternoon?

"If it's all the same to you girls, I'd like to go home," Twilight requested.

"Of course. We can head on back. We will need to stop at that settlement to let them know the problem's taken care of. Minutemen can only grow if we can show people we're not afraid. Sides, I think it'd be good for you both to see more of the wider Commonwealth."

"Okay..." Twilight moaned with disappointment. "But can we go home after?"

"I promise," Applejack reassured, placing a hand over her heart. "You have my word."

And so, the group made their way down from the platforms and scaffolding, heading back to the ground outside the main Corvega entrance.

“Well, all in all, I call that a successful job,” Rainbow prided with a smirk. “Who’s up for some grilled radstag when we get back?”

“I do, I do!” Pinkie raised her hand.

“I feel like we might have forgotten something though,” Sunset wondered, looking around.

“AGAHAHAH!!!”

“DAH!”

Everyone yelped as one more raider came running out, bloodshot eyes, huffing one last puff of Jet (another recreational drug) with a crazed look. He was ready to charge at them like a bull, forcing everyone to quickly pull out their weapons. But to their surprise, none of them could get a shot.

Someone beat them to the punch, as a massive gaping hole was created in his skull, making him drop to the ground. Smoke drew from a brightly colored pistol, held by a hand covered in scars and cuts. The girls gasped when they saw who it was, but Twilight and Pinkie had no reaction.

Across the road in front of the factory was an unknown figure: charcoal hair and mocha skin, eyes and face blocked by a bandana and a pair of road goggles. A long brimmed cowgirl hat covered her head, and she wore specialized combat armor. She stood there, observing the girls who were waiting for a move.

“Is… is that who I think it is?”

“N-No one ever sees her, I thought she was a myth,” Rainbow stuttered.

“Who is she?” Sunset asked, completely clueless.

“They call her a lot of things. The Chosen One,” Applejack tried to remember.

“The Lone Wanderer,” Rainbow piped in.

“The Sole Survivor,” Pinkie concluded.

“Some say she was the last resident of her vault, with every one of the members inside all dead due to unknown reasons,” Fluttershy explained. “No one knows who she is, or where she came from.”

“Only thing we’ve ever known is that she doesn’t leave a lot of survivors to tell the tale,” Applejack gulped before reaching for her revolver.

Sunset eyed the stranger carefully, watching her movement. The stranger only stood there, observing the group for a minute. Everyone waited for her to make an attack, but she didn’t. Instead, she slowly put her revolver away and walked away, disappearing in the moor of the waking night.

“Who was that…?”

As the sun began to set, the group came that much closer to returning home. Twilight's eye was still in pain, but the bandages and healing salve that Fluttershy had provided were doing its job and making it subside. Sunset still blamed herself for not sticking with Twilight like she was going to suggest, but glad that she was still walking okay.

"Hey um, girls? Can I say something?" Sunset asked, stopping everyone in their tracks. All eyes turned to the fiery haired vault dweller who looked more ashamed than anything else. But everyone gave her the undivided attention she wanted. "Thank you for helping us. I know I haven't really been saying it, but I do appreciate you all looking out for us, and I do appreciate that you helped Twilight, I... god, I don't know why I didn't stay with her, if I had, I'd... " Sunset's fist clenched up and then released. "I... I'm sorry."

Applejack was the first to speak up, with a small but sincere smile. "Not a problem, sugarcube. And I mean it. In fact, I meant to give you both these, but here," Applejack tossed a medium sized sack that jiggled with caps inside to Sunset. "The payment for holdin' your own out there. Should be enough for you to get some more supply and essentials. Course if you wanna keep survivin' and earn some more, I'd be happy to help find you both some jobs in town."

"Well... I suppose it would be good to find some work again. But maybe wait a few days before we go back into a fight?" Sunset requested with a stressed face. "I'd like to relax after I spent half the day watching Rainbow and Pinkie dancing to an Elvis Prancely song and murdering people."

"THEY'RE RAIDERS!!!" Pinkie and Rainbow protested.

"The moment they started raping and stealing is when they lost the right to come out of the fight alive," Rainbow folded her arms. "And we couldn't just let them come back to harass the settlers again. We made a promise. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this kind of how most the problems get solved up here."

"... right," Sunset sank back into a meek state.

Twilight however spoke up, with a mild cough, "What I think she's saying is, it's a little bit taxing to have to suddenly learn how to fight and kill everything, and we need some time to adjust to it all."

"Nothing wrong with that. I certainly understand after an event like that, you two are more than deserving of some much needed normalcy," Rarity chimed in as she guided the group to walk again.

"Yep! Sides, when we get back, I had a fun idea for how we can--DAGHHHHH!"

Pinkie didn't watch where she was going and fell face first into a large pit with a small puff of cloud dust billowing above her like a mini mushroom cloud.

"I'm okay, the dead bodies broke my fall!" Pinkie shouted.

Her fingerless gloved hands reached above and climbed out of the pin, dusting the scuff on her duster. Pinkie turned to look at where she fell, and let out a large gasp that made everyone worried. Pinkie zipped all around the large pit that she fell into, and then pointed to her left. All heads slowly turned to where she was looking at, and fell quiet.

A similar sized pit was a few feet across from it, baring a similar shape. Circular, but with multiple triangular forms at the top of it; a footprint. But this footprint was larger than any animal that the Commonwealth had seen, not even deathclaws, or the dreaded mirelurk queens had feet of that size. It was almost the size of two giant trucks paired together. Horrifying visions went through everyone's minds, trying to even imagine how big that animal, creature, thing, whatever it was that could even make something that huge.

A silent agreement was shared as the group continued to go forward, walking around the footprint shaped pit and head back to the Commons on a more familiar road where they would be more safer than whatever else was possibly lurking out in the open...

Episode 5: The Dinner Night

The walk back home was thankfully uneventful from there on. They did stop briefly at the settlement Applejack had talked about, who were more than gracious for their help, and had given Applejack their word that they would be more than happy to be a part of the Minutemen. And despite of how tiring it was that they walked far, and had gotten in a firefight, Sunset had to admit, it felt good seeing the relief on the settlers faces. Sunset could tell that this family had very little, but were making it fine with what they had.

The group made it back to town, this time avoiding going through Feral Town to avoid the headache of fending off a never-ending chain of feral ghouls (even if Twilight found it impossible that there was an endless spawn of them that would keep coming back). And so they made it through the gates back to the Canterlot Commons, feeling relief to see normal civilians at work again.

"Twilight, how's your eye doin'?" Applejack asked.

"Um... still hurts, but not as bad as earlier," Twilight admitted.

"We'll get you to a doctor. Curie might be able to help you," Applejack reassured, guiding her down the street to a small building that was converted into the local hospital. Inside, there were a few residents waiting in the waiting room, while a few rusty but still functional and stable Mr. Handy and Mrs. Nanny units, one of the finest robots of General Atomics, working around the clock with the human and ghoul staff members.

"How can we help you today?" One of the Ms. Nanny bots asked.

"Any chance we can make an appointment with Curie?" Applejack asked. "My friend's hurt."

"Take a number, and I will inform Ms. Curie right away," the Nanny unit replied, before hovering around and going down the hallway.

Both Twilight and Applejack sat in the waiting room, quietly observing the other patients. Not many today, thank goodness. As far as Twilight could see, only a man clutching a detached arm, a woman with severe burns to her face, reading casually, and a ghoul who just sat in a chair, smoking.

"Want a cigarette?" The ghoul offered, sounding raspier with every word.

"Ah, no, no thank you," Twilight politely declined.

The ghoul shrugged. "I'm trying to cut back myself."

After ten minutes of waiting, and seeing the other patients coming and going, a responder finally came to Twilight's plight. Someone came down the hallway; a woman with a short haircut, wearing a plaid shirt, jeans, and hiking boots. She also had a light combat armor chest piece strapped over her, with some ammunition in the belts.

"You must be the new patient?" She asked, sounding just as French as the Nanny units who came around.

"Um... you're a doctor?" Twilight questioned.

"Of course. Whatever else would I be?" The woman replied. "My name is Contagions Vulnerability Robotic Infirmary Engineer, or Curie. Please, come with me."

Applejack and Twilight moved to her office. And Twilight was surprised to see how intact her room was; it still looked old, but the equipment was clean, cabinets were fully stocked with medicines and chemicals, and there were folders and documents neatly lined up on a shelf.

"Now let us see, what is your name, Miss?"

"Twilight Sparkle."

"And what seems to be the problem today?" Curie asked.

"My friend got her eye cut out by a nasty raider over at the Corvega factory. My friends tried to patch her up as best as we could, but we thought maybe you should take a look."

"Hmm. I'm not sure how much I can do, I'm afraid I cannot regenerate a missing eye. That is a science that we have not discovered," Curie explained. "But I can ease your friend's pain."

"H-How, exactly?" Twilight asked, as Curie gently started to unwrap the bandages wrapped around her head.

"I may not be able to replace your missing optic, but I can heal it so the pain will not ever come back again," Curie promised, observing the damage. "Hmm. It would seem your friends were able to clean up most of the bleeding. But I believe some of this," Curie rubbed some more healing salve over Twilight's eye, "this will heal stronger, but you must leave it alone and do not pick at it."

Twilight's other eye just gave a deadpan glare. But she remained polite as Curie worked on cleaning up the damaged remains she could help fix. Then, standing up and walking to her desk, Curie very gently opened a tin, pulling out a small patch with a strap, moving it over Twilight's head carefully and placing it over her eye. "And I believe we are done!"

Twilight looked over at a mirror, seeing the standard black eyepatch over her once functioning eye. She twisted her head around, observing everything for a second. Then she placed her glasses over her face, getting her vision back in the other.

"Okay, I think I can work with this," Twilight accepted.

"And while we're here, I don't think this is an emergency now... but I wanted to ask, doc. Do you know anything on fightin' an addiction?" Applejack asked.

"Substance abuse? Of what kind?"

"It's not a danger now, but I wanted to ask if you knew how to combat being addicted to any kind of drugs. Mentats, Psycho, Jet, Day Tripper, you know," Applejack continued.

"I have considerable medical knowledge of them. I advise caution against their use. You two are, of course, aware of the many dangers of chem use?"

"I am. Twilight?"

"I don't take drugs, no," Twilight answered, shortly.

"Well should your friend start exhibiting signs of addiction; anger, attachment, or strange sleeping patterns, that should be a sign that they will need help. But if there is no present danger, then you should not have anything to worry about. I will however advise taking this," Curie pulled out a small box, showing a stick that looked like a bizarre inhaler, "this is Addictol. It will cure all addictions and will work to clean the chems out of the body, but it will take time."

"Understood. And thank you so much ma'am. How much we owe you for this one?" Applejack asked.

"Just check in with the doctor at the front desk, and you are good to go," Curie reassured. "Please take care of yourselves out there, my darlings!"

Soon after paying the bill, Twilight met up with Sunset and the two of them went back to the hotel to just sit still for a second. Sunset had laid the stolen gauntlets down in a box so they couldn't do much damage, and the Mentats box was no longer in her possession, now in Pinkie's. Sunset wanted to just crash in bed, and not too long after laying down, she drifted asleep. The journey siphoned a lot of energy out of her, but Twilight didn't dare bother her. She giggled as she placed a blanket over Sunset, letting her take a nap. And all the while, she stepped over to the bathroom to take a surprisingly clean shower, having an engagement with the girls for something later this evening.

About half an hour had passed, and Twilight had long left the hotel room. There was a knock at the door, making Sunset moan in annoyance.

"I'm not getting up..."

But the hands knocking did not stop.

"Aghhhh, fine!"

Throwing the blanket off, Sunset fell to the ground, still not fully awake to answer the call. But finally after a struggle, she made it to the door and slammed it open, only to be greeted by Rarity and Rainbow Dash who were standing on the other side.

"Ah--oh. Sorry, I thought you two were someone else, I... I just needed a power nap," Sunset rubbed her eyes.

"We were hoping you were up. We wanted to invite you to dinner."

"Oh... really? That's, oddly sweet. And nice of you all."

"Soooo? You comin’ or what?” Rainbow asked, tilting her head to entice her to come.

Sunset wasn’t sure, but in truth, she hadn’t really made any plans to do anything else this evening. But with a shrug, she hiked up her jeans and got ready to step out—

“—Ah, ah, ah, not so fast,” Rarity raised a finger. “Have you showered?”

"Why would I shower? This... wait a minute. We have a shower!?"

"Well yeah, we've had them for ten years, works wonders. You haven't showered?" Rainbow asked.

“… this place has a shower!?” Sunset questioned again.

Rarity strut over to the designated bathroom and pulled on a lever, unveiling an additional room that showed a functional shower system and tub.

“… you’re kidding me…” Sunset’s face turned more red in anger. “I’ve been walking around in the same pair of underwear and bra for several days straight, and no one thought to tell us that there was a shower here!?”

“You didn’t ask,” Rarity wagged a finger. “Now, get yourself cleaned up, and put on this,” the Assaultron set a rather sexy looking red dress down on a chair, nice and neatly. “Meet us over at Pinkie’s mansion. Just down the street, in what used to be the old Cupcake Factory house.”

“And I have to be dressed in this, why?”

“Respectability, darling. I think it will make you feel better, maybe even remind you that not everything from the old war is gone?”

Reluctantly, Sunset had gotten a surprisingly nice shower, and put on the dress. When she looked in the mirror, she was surprised to see how nice it looked on her. Didn't hug her too tight, but still showed off some curves, and there was even a small slit where she could show off her legs, making her give a sexy wink in the mirror.

Leaving the hotel, Sunset made her way to the streets and followed the signs that led to Pinkie's home. A few guards were out, and there was still some people shopping about, but the bustling activity had died down from earlier in the day. Sunset knocked on the door of the makeshift mansion, waiting for a response. The door swung open, revealing a rather glossed up looking Pinkie Pie. Even with her extremely rough skin and noseless face, she looked oddly beautiful in that cyan-blue dress. Surprisingly, she had a full set of hair as well.

“Hey Sunset! Come on in,” Pinkie urged.

Entering inside, Sunset got a good look at the main floor, the room of the makeshift home. It was a dining area, with plenty of seats, a full table, and a functional kitchen too. On the walls, there were a few old movie posters and ads for comic books from back in the day, ones made by Hubris Comics. Some picture-frames containing pre-war photographs, and a few recent ones showing Pinkie and Rainbow looking rather… close.

The smell of fresh spices hit her nose, finally reminding Sunset that she was indeed starving. Pinkie had nearly finished prepping dinner, waiting for the rest to be finished. The rest of the guests were hanging out upstairs, laughing over a few jokes being exchanged. Curiously, Sunset walked up to check on them, finding Applejack, Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity having all arrived. Mostly everyone was well dressed, even Rarity had a sexy sequin dressed over her robotic body. And for the first time, she got a good look at Rainbow Dash, noting her spiked up hair, her muscles, and she had to admit, Rainbow had a nice figure in that dress.

No wonder Pinkie fell for her, she's certainly a looker.

The only one not looking well dressed was Fluttershy, still in the full riot gear, much to Sunset’s confusion and complaint.

Why does she get wear the same clothes?

“Sunset, you made it!” Twilight called. “Come on up.”

Walking up the steps, Sunset got a look at the inside of the second floor; living area. Plenty of couches, chairs, a desk for typing on an old typewriter, or even a functional terminal. There was even an old TV with a shelf containing a lot of video tapes.

“—Okay, okay, so I step out from the corner, I’m surrounded by these raiders, they’re ready to just kill me on the spot,” Rainbow continued. “Next thing I know, Pinkie comes running in, screaming like a little girl high on sugar, firing the Love Taps in the air and spinning around, scaring the absolute crap out of all of them,” and she was nearly rolling over laughing.

“They fell for it?” Twilight sniggered.

“They did! They were so scared, they ran like hell away from her!” Rainbow cackled. In the midst of her laugher, she saw Sunset poking her head out from the stairs. "Oh hey, Sunset! come on up!"

Sunset took a chance, and slowly came up the stairs, with everyone getting a good look at her.

"Whoo-whee, now you're lookin' mighty nice there, Sunset," Applejack complimented.

"Indeed! That makes you look quite fetching!" Rarity squeed.

"You're the one who gave me the dress though," Sunset raised a brow, failing badly to hide the smirk.

"Yes, well, I still believed you would look simply divine in that," Rarity huffed.

“Dinner’s ready, ladies!” Pinkie poked her head up.

“Sweet, come on!”

And in a rush, they all ran past Sunset, not giving her a chance to even speak. Well, except for Twilight who politely waited before talking.

“You look great by the way,” she complimented.

“Oh, um, thanks,” Sunset blushed a bit. “You um… you look great too, actually.”

“Thank you,” Twilight giggled. “I have to admit, I wasn’t sure about this, but wearing this, it feels… normal. I missed that.”

Twilight went back down the steps, waiting for Sunset. And for a brief moment, Sunset smiled at the word. Normal. For a brief moment, she did feel like it.

Coming down the steps, she saw Pinkie and Rarity setting the food all over the table. Grilled radstag as promised, which looked like nice juicy steaks set on a large dish meant for turkeys. Some nice piping mac and cheese. A side of freshly cut vegetables. Even a pitcher of brahmin milk, it looked beautiful.

“Ohhh… you made all of this?”

“Yep!” Pinkie chirped.

“Pinkie is one of the best chefs on this side of the Commonwealth,” Rainbow boasted. “Only ones that can even come close to being better are Saffron Masala over at the Tasty Treat.”

“Mmmhmm. Her food is soooo good,” Pinkie smacked her lips together at the thought. “But please, have a seat.”

Everyone politely took a seat, and soon food started to get passed around.

“Grilled radstag is a great strength booster. Ever feel like you have your energy siphoned from a long day, that stuff will make you feel like you can bend the world around you,” Rainbow said as she cut a piece for herself.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sunset nodded, before taking a bite. She had to pause for a second. The texture was nice and juicy, not too hard. The spices made it taste even better, and there was a nice meaty center that hit the right spot on her taste buds. “Oh my goodness… I think I’m in heaven.”

“I knew you’d love it!” Pinkie squeaked.

“It’s wonderful, Pinkie. I don’t even have a functional mouth and I’ve never tasted food, but I can tell it looks lovely,” Rarity chimed.

Fluttershy didn't dig in the radstag, but she found herself more in the veggie mixes, but only took a small nibble of the cooked chicken.

“… Isn’t that uncomfortable? You can take it off, we won’t judge ya,” Applejack suggested.

“NO!”

Everyone jumped at that sudden burst.

“… I-I mean, n-no, I’m okay,” Fluttershy slowly sank in embarrassment. “I um… I have a bad haircut, I accidentally shaved my head by mistake, I’m trying to grow my hair back. This helmet makes me feel safe.”

“… uhh… huh,” Sunset wasn’t so sure, but decided not to press any further, at least for now.

“Anyways, so, um, what do you all do here at the Commons? Surely you don’t just fight all the time, right?” Twilight offered to change the subject. “I mean, we’ve seen Rarity’s boutique, but what about the rest of you?”

“When I’ve got time away from my busy schedule, I’m usually helpin’ my family grow some apples,” Applejack answered, taking a sip of her drink. “I bring shipments of ‘em in, or the occasional cider. Sells like hotcakes over in the farmer’s market.”

“Oh, cool!” Twilight complimented. “What about you, what do you do, Pinkie?”

“Hmm, let me think… I’ve kinda done almost everything. I’ve run tables, I’ve done heists with Bobbin No-Nose, I make pastries, I’ve made guns, I've been rebuilding the railroad system, I fought Caesar’s Legion, I did jobs for Blue Ridge Caravan Company, I blew up a trafficking ring that was harvesting organs from strangers, I hoard junk I find in the wasteland—”

Rainbow paused Pinkie by a simple tap on the shoulder. “I think she means, what do you do for work out here, babe.”

“Ohhhh. Well, I mostly make pastries over at Sugarcube Corner, and work over at the Atom Cats garage. I helped them find residence here, and we work on making the coolest suits of Power Armor here,” Pinkie explained.

“The Atom Cats?” Sunset asked, raising a brow.

"Right, you haven't met them yet," Applejack chuckled. "They've been providin' the Commons some suits of Power Armor in exchange for shelter, and expanding their name."

“Yep! They’re actually pretty cool people,” Rainbow added, taking a bite of her food. “That tough look is mostly for show.”

“They are absolute darlings,” Rarity agreed.

“Guess I’ll have to pay them a visit then,” Sunset thought. “Anyways; Fluttershy, what about you? You have any work out here, or are you only here to find these Legion guys?”

“Well, I don’t know how far they’ve gone out here. And I did purchase a house here in the Commons, so I’ve been looking to do some jobs on the side. Most of them are simple bounty jobs, but they pay fairly well,” Fluttershy replied, slipping a straw into her drink and sipping through the exposed hole in her mask.

“Think about takin’ these two out and doin’ a few?” Applejack suggested.

“Bounty hunting?” Twilight double checked.

“Well, yeah. Sides, y’all need some work out here if you’re gonna pay for that hotel, and it might be good to have the skills to survive. This ain’t the pre-war anymore.”

“Still had danger to worry about back then though,” Pinkie muttered quietly.

“Like what?” Rainbow asked.

“… Mostly being accused of being a communist,” Pinkie blanked as she thought about it. “I don’t even understand why everyone accused me of that, I picked ONE day to go out and didn’t join that cult in trying to burn someone alive, and suddenly that made me a ‘commie’. The nerve, I swear!”

Both Sunset and Twilight nearly dropped their food at that statement. Eyes wide with gaping jaws slamming against the floor as they stared at the ghoul.

“… we’re gonna need to circle back on that last part,” Sunset paused. “Who accused you of being a communist?”

“Oh, who hasn’t? The mailman, the Actors Guild, Blueblood, the weird neighbor who spied on my sister in the shower without her knowing—”

“—Pinkie, I think we get the point,” Twilight interrupted with a sheepish grin. “What I think Sunset is trying to ask is why are people still calling you that now? It’s been 200 years, hasn’t it? I’d think that accusation had died.”

“Well, it kinda has. Sorta,” Pinkie shrugged. “Met a few of them over in Appalachia. They weren’t super friendly and wanted to ‘liberate me from the capitalist nightmare’. I don't even know what that means, they were just trying to kill me! With guns! A lot of them!"

Everyone just collectively blanked as they gazed at Pinkie.

“… know what, I don’t think I have any more questions about that right now,” Sunset felt more disturbed. “How about we change the subject then?”

“Okay, here’s something I don’t understand,” Twilight began. “Why are we using bottlecaps for currency now? How did that even get started?”

“That’s somethin’ we don’t really know. I just know that was how currency worked, and cause Nuka Colas are everywhere, and the caps were easier and light on weight, it made payments much more viable,” Applejack thought. “Speakin’ of…”

Applejack dug into her pockets, pushing a few metal containers to Twilight. “Never did pay you proper for the job. I think 150 caps for you should help get you started.”

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Twilight accepted the tins, opening them briefly just to take a look. She had to admit, as strange as it was to be accepting them as currency, she did find the idea fascinating.

“I know the wasteland seems scary right now, bein’ new and all. But we’ll help you adapt in any way we can,” Applejack offered with a smile. “Sides, from the looks of things, you two need it.”

“I don’t know, I mean, that’s sweet of you all but… come on, you don’t want to drag me around, I’ll just slow you down,” Twilight worried, slinking back in her chair.

"Didn't we just have this conversation already?" Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“We weren’t built to handle a world like this, or even prepared for anything,” Sunset added.

“Maybe so, but have you forgotten what you’ve accomplished in the past few days?” Applejack asked. “You evaded the Enclave without getting caught!”

“Fought an entire horde of ferals in that town…” Pinkie added, raising a finger.

“Survived a Deathclaw encounter…” Fluttershy continued.

"And you've only been up here for what? A few days, tops? You two are a lot stronger than you think you are," Rainbow pointed out, taking another bite of her food.

After finishing dinner, the girls sat still for a moment, continuing to chat idly, until Pinkie returned with several decks of playing cards, all with the backs labeled ‘The Tops Casino’. Placing them about, each of the girls grabbed a set of cards, ready to play.

“So how does this game work?”

“It’s like any other card game. Normally I’d bet with caps, but since you two are new to this, we don’t have to bet,” Pinkie reassured before slapping a colorful bag that was still wrapped up and looking freshly assembled for shipping. “That’s why I got preserved candy!”

And so the game began.

“So I’m curious about something. I know the Commonwealth isn’t exactly in the best state, but is there any form of government out here?”

“We tried that a few years ago,” Applejack explained, “but one of the representatives of the Institute killed all of the reps from the other settlements and towns, somehow killin’ our chance of establishing any kind of order ‘round here.”

“Not that you really can. Everyone wants to do their own thing, and if you try to police them, they get really mad. Can’t say I blame them…” Rainbow muttered quietly as she placed another card down.

“Well, I mean we have the Commons, that’s at least a semi-stable place of order, right?”

“That’s true,” Pinkie nodded, flipping through her cards. “But the only other real stable cities out here are Diamond City, which all of us got kicked out of, and Goodneighbor, which not a lot of people want to go to.”

“Really? Tell me about them,” Sunset asked.

Pinkie and the other girls looked to each other before shrugging.

“Alright. Here’s what do we know; Mayor McDough ran Diamond City for a while, which at first, was a nice place to go to. Great noodles, lots of vendors, jobs, and solid housin’ opportunities. But then the mayor started an anti-ghoul rule, getting’ folks to line up and kick them out, even killin’ some.”

That statement alone was enough to make Pinkie snarl like one of the ferals.

“Not helpin’ matters either is the place is full of ‘em rich and stuffy,” Applejack shook her head.

“Agreed. I may like high society, but I will not join any that looks down on my family, or my friends,” Rarity added, placing another card down on the table. “Especially Codmare. That wretch is horrid.”

“Goodneighbor however is the opposite side of the city. Very seedy side, full of crooks ‘n Triggermen. But they are also very welcomin’ to anyone who don’t feel like they belong,” Applejack continued, placing a card down.

“Ghouls, synths, homeless drifters and scavengers, it doesn’t matter who you are, as long as you don’t hurt anyone there who doesn’t deserve it,” Fluttershy concluded.

“Guess we might need to visit it, then,” Sunset thought out loud.

“Not alone you are, we’ll come with, just say the word when,” Rainbow remarked.

The game continued, and for the first time, Sunset actually felt happy. These girls, as weird as they were, especially in the land of rapey raiders and gun-toting lunatics, were the first normal individuals she and Twilight had met. Just having dinner, talking to each other, playing a card game, it just felt right.

“Oh Pinkie, I checked out the desk in one of the surveyor areas above the factory, I found another one of those comic books for you,” Rainbow reached into her backpack, giving her partner another intact piece of reading material.

The ghoul just let out an excited squeak of joy. “You found one! Ohh, Dashie, thank you!” And she gave the biggest kiss on Rainbow’s cheek, making her blush.

“Heh, i-it’s no problem.”

“People still read comic books out here? I thought they’d all be burned.”

“Unfortunately, most literature is.”

And that sentence made Twilight freeze in place before falling back in her chair, fainting from shock.

“… is she okay?” Applejack looked back.

“I think she has an aneurysm,” Sunset said casually.

“I… I think I’ll just lay on the floor and have a crisis, if that’s okay,” Twilight was breathless, practically going white at the thought. Barely any reading material left? Take away most of the world, fine, but not the books!

“Sooooo what do you guys do around here for fun?” Sunset asked.

“Well, there's a lot we like doing out here. I know sometimes over at the rec hall, we'll put on movies for movie nights. My favorites are always the ones with Sheriff Brandy,” Pinkie answered with a squee.

“… The cowboy? Brimstone, right? Appeared in Man From Casabalas?”

“Yep! And my absolute favorite, A Man and His Dog!” Pinkie chirped. “I love his movies, they’re great! And I got to meet him!”

"Really? That's awesome! Wait, you... how? Isn't he... dead?"

"Nope!" Pinkie casually remarked, still smiling as bright as the evening glow.

“... Know what, I'll circle back to that later. But what about the rest of you, what do you do for fun?"

"I do like helpin' out my brother and little sis on the farm whenever we get the chance," Applejack continued to pick up the conversation. "Good ole card games like anyone else, and I've played some games with Rainbow and Pinkie. Watch out for Rainbow, she's competitive as all get out."

"Coming from you, Applejack?" Rainbow smirked. "You couldn't even try to keep up with me."

"Don't test me, Rainbow," Applejack countered.

"Girls?" Pinkie interrupted.

"... anyways," Applejack continued. "But yeah, that's what I like doin'."

"I like playing games myself, Pinkie introduced me to most of them," Rainbow explained, taking another card into her deck. "Never did figure out how to win Atomic Command though."

"Alright, that sounds fair," Sunset nodded. "Rarity, what about you?"

"Hmm. Lemme think, you've already seen my boutique, so you know that I work in restoration and recreation of clothes lost from time. But I do dabble in other forms of creation," Rarity began. "Baskets, crafting, sculptures, armor. I love to recreate art that was once lost, my databanks is archived with some of the greatest works of art from history."

"That sounds wonderful, Rarity," Twilight smiled.

"Thank you, darling. After all, I would certainly think we should strive for a little culture here," Rarity chimed, placing a card down in the deck.

But as the game continued, Sunset kept darting her eyes back and forth at her own deck of cards, and to Pinkie. She knew it wasn't polite to stare, but she was finding it very hard not to look at this noseless person sitting at the table. Sure the world up here was rough, and she probably had to fight so many people up here to stay alive, but she couldn't help but wonder more about this weirdly appearing person here.

"Okay, I just need to clarify again, Pinkie, you are...?"

"A ghoul," Pinkie answered for her, playing a card down.

"... But you're not a zombie," Twilight continued. "But all those... um, things, back in Feral Town were--?"

"--Also ghouls," Pinkie answered. "Feral ghouls, unfortunately."

"If you don't mind me asking... h-how did, um... w-well, I mean, but um..."

"You want to know why I look like this?" Pinkie asked, with an innocent grin.

"... yes?" Twilight sheepishly sank in her seat.

"Oh, no problem. Hmm... trying to think, where did I end up walking. Glowing Sea? No, that wasn't it. Vault 87? No, that wasn't it either. Toxic Valley? Hmm. I don't know, I walked into a lot of toxic places, and took every chem under the sun that I kinda forgot what happened," Pinkie shrugged. "All I know is, I woke up one day from a bad trip, no nose, my skin started to get gross and rough, and I couldn't change it. But I embraced it. Yeah, some still look at me and go 'AAAAAAAAHH!!!'

The scream made Twilight and Sunset fall out of their seats, making Rainbow laugh like a hyena.

"--Buuuuuuut it gave me a new purpose!" Pinkie pointed. "And it means I'm impervious to most radiation."

Climbing back up in their chairs, the girls continued.

"Oh. Well then," Twilight paused. "I... guess that makes sense?"

"It's Pinkie Pie, don't question it," Rainbow shook her head. "But yeah, she's a ghoul. Plenty of them out here, just don't point it out, okay?"

"Fair enough," Twilight nodded. "Are there others like you?"

"Oh, plenty of them! You already met Mayor Hancock, Brimstone Barbosa's a ghoul--"

"--The actor is still alive?" Sunset had to pause again, pointing a finger at her. "You're telling me, he's still alive?"

"Mmmhmm. Pre-War ghoul, he survived the bombs. I don't know how, but he did," Pinkie shrugged. "He was actually really friendly to me. And he let me take a photo with him!" The ghoul's smile started to fade, thinking back to that day. Memories started to resurface, that left her stone silent for a good few minutes, staring at the wall, lost in memory. Her eyes wandered, stiffly, as if dozens of images were flashing before her eyes, and it paralyzed her body.

"... What's happening here?" Twilight worried.

"Pinkie! Pinkie snap out of it," Rainbow snapped her fingers.

"--I can't go back to jail!" Pinkie snapped back to reality. "... wait, what were we talking about?"

The card game continued like normal, with very few questions left to ask regarding Pinkie's sudden lapse in reality. Only Rainbow knew, but she didn't dare tell anyone about that, opting to enjoy the game. Sunset and Twilight meanwhile had to admit, even with the crazy things they had done in the past few days, playing a simple card game with this group of friends made them feel good for the first time since arriving on the surface.