Fallout Girls: Friendship Is Magic

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.