Fallout Girls: Friendship Is Magic

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...