Sarah awoke to the now familiar feeling of having Luna’s billowing wing draped over her as her head leaned into the mare’s neck. It was, the woman reflected, an odd feeling. In fact, it was far closer of an embrace than she’d ever shared with anyone else and strangely, it didn’t make her feel uncomfortable. The mare’s soft fur was the perfect pillow and as her starry blue mane wafted gently over Sarah’s face in an invisible wind the woman felt a feeling of... peace settle over her.

The woman stayed like that, wrapped up against the mare, for the next ten minutes, simply enjoying the feeling of warmth that seemed to flow off of the alicorn before she let out a sigh and slowly removed the wing from overtop of her careful not to wake Luna. Sarah stretched out her back as she walked over to the window and looked out over the destroyed Mall. The trenches stood out pointedly and she saw several super mutants going about their morning routine of yelling at each other.

Her gaze drifted farther out to the dilapidated form of the Capitol Dome, explosions rocked the steps of the building and the woman distantly made out the forms of several black armored figures trying to fight their way up them. It was impossible to really tell from this distance, but Sarah was positive that they were more of the Talon mercenaries like the one that had tried to kill her outside of the Super Duper Mart.

Sarah shook her head and turned back to the still sleeping form of Luna, there was an unmistakable grace about the mare... something aestral and almost beyond her comprehension. Sarah pursed her lips for a moment and then shrugged, going over to her heavy duffle bag and quickly locating her favorite hunting rifle, beginning to clean it.

As she did so, the woman’s thoughts turned to her father. I’m closing in on you dad... once I talk with Three Dog... I’ll be able to find you... and then you can finally explain things to me, she mused to herself. After that... I guess I’ll just do my best to help Luna get home... I owe her that much, she continued, turning to give the sleeping alicorn a small smile.

The alicorn’s eyes suddenly snapped open, as if aware that she was being looked at and met Sarah’s head on, a small smile playing across her lips. “Good morning Sarah,” Luna said with a slight yawn, breaking the moment.

“Morning Luna,” Sarah replied as she finished with the hunting rifle. “Sleep well?”

“Very, and yourself?”

“Excellent,” Sarah replied, recalling her dreamless sleep.

“That’s great to hear,” Luna replied as she got to her feet and began to stretch out her back. “So, what are we doing today?”

“Well, first we’re going to check out that Underworld place and offload some of the supplies that we picked up while we were raiding that museum,” Sarah answered.

“Ah yes, I hope that includes those bulkier weapons as well. They are very heavy,” Luna said with a nod.

“Of course,” Sarah replied with a small shrug. “I imagine that those two miniguns will fetch quite the price... not to mention all twenty or so of those assault rifles we picked up,” she added with a speculative look at the extremely bulky bag.

Luna also looked into the bag. “Speaking of which... what currency do you use?” she inquired. “I doubt that you use the ‘bit’” she paused for a moment and then rolled her eyes. “Or the Celestial Bit as it is otherwise known,” her tone took on an edge before she shook her head.

“Your sister had the money named after her?” Sarah asked her incredulously.

Luna scowled. “No... the commoners started doing that...” she muttered. “Even though it was I who formulated the tax codes, created the banks, and designed them,” her voice dropped into a growl and Sarah shot her a worried look and put a hand on her neck.

“Easy there Luna,” the woman told her calmingly. “Anyways, as ridiculous as it sounds, the Capital Wasteland uses-” she reached into one of her armored pockets and drew out a small pouch which she then opened revealing two or three dozen odd metallic objects. “-these bottle caps as currency.”

Luna cocked her head and levitated one of the caps out of the pouch and held it up before her eyes for a moment. “This is... a strange way to seal a bottle... In Equestria we use corks,” she mused. “And we are to use these to actually buy things? How? There is no gold backing them up, nor is there a system of credit which can be relied upon to make sure that purchases are backed up. In other words, this is only worth the metal from which it was ‘minted’.”

Sarah shrugged. “I honestly don’t know why they started using them. Remember; I’ve only been out here around five days or so,” she added. “My best guess is that they use them because they’re everywhere.”

“I see...” Luna dropped the metal object back into the pouch with a chink. “And we will be able to sell these ‘assault rifles’ and ‘miniguns’ for more of these bottle caps?”

“Yep,” Sarah said with a nod.

Luna snorted. “It is unconventional... but I suppose ‘when all you have is a hammer’,” she said with a shrug. “So long as people accept them as currency then I will not question it too greatly.”

“Right, well, we should get going,” Sarah said, zipping up the bag and looking to Luna. “Are you sure you want to keep carrying that bag?”

Luna shrugged and levitated the bag into its place on her back. “As I said, it is not too strenuous,” the mare replied as she began to walk towards the elevator, Sarah at her side.

They entered the elevator, and after rickety ride down it, during which Sarah noticed that Luna had once again decided to squish herself as closely against her side as possible. The woman felt a slight blush travel over her face at the contact, but ignored it and the elevator soon arrived at its destination. The pair quickly exited, nodding to the pair of Brotherhood soldiers who’d been keeping watch over the monument. The soldiers nodded back, and as the pair exited the open doorway, it swished shut behind them.

“So... how long will we be in this den of the undead?” Luna inquired as they began to walk the ‘fairly’ short distance to the Museum of Natural History. Luckily there did not seem to be any mutants about to shoot at them.

Sarah gave Luna a look. “They’re ghouls... not zombies Luna. It’s actually very offensive to call them that,” she rebuked the mare. “How would you like me to call you ‘horse’ all the time?”

We would decapitate you for the slight to our race, Nightmare replied silently causing Luna to mentally roll her eyes.

“I understand that... I suppose,” Luna admitted. “It is just... they are zombies, Sarah. Unnatural abominations of life who are there only to serve the foul purposes of whichever necromancy raised them...” The mare trailed off and sighed. “We spent a great many years fighting their ilk... so pardon us if we do not immediately take to them.”

Sarah raised an eyebrow at the last sentence, but shrugged. “Look Luna, from what Gob told me when I asked him about it... they’re the way they are because of the radiation and the bombs. A lot of them have spent the last two hundred years looking like death warmed over with the growing possibility of going insane the longer they live...” the woman stopped talking and shook her head, a sad frown on her face. “I can’t imagine anything more horrible.”

Going insane? And these fools trust them? Nightmare asked incredulously.

“Then would it not be more merciful to simply end their suffering?” Luna inquired with a raised eyebrow. “Afterall, if they are truly in such a state, then why do they continue living?”

“I guess they don’t want to die,” Sarah answered plainly. “That, or they’re too religious to. Suicide gets you into Purgatory I think... it’s been a long time since my dad talked with me about it.”

Luna frowned at that, but shrugged. She had encountered many different religions in her life and both she and her sister had learned long ago that there was no point in questioning their beliefs.

“I see,” Luna replied. “I suppose I could always ask one of them... though strangely I do not believe that is a good idea.”

You think? Nightmare asked her dryly.

“You think?” Sarah asked, unknowingly echoing the Nightmare.

Luna gave her a flat look but shrugged as they approached the entrance of the museum. Willow was on guard again.

“Well if it isn’t the Tourist and her pet sword pony,” the ghoul greeted them sarcastically. “Going to be swinging that big poker at me again?” she asked, directing the question at Luna.

“No, I suppose that I would rather have someone as unpleasant as you spend the rest of their life in a rotting cell,” Luna replied tartly. “Where I come from, you could make a very good act in a carnival menagerie.”

Very nice, Nightmare commented in her head.

Willow glared at her for a moment, then made an odd gesture involving her middle most finger and turned away. Luna grinned to herself, happy in her victory over the ghoul. Sarah meanwhile gave the mare a slightly annoyed look.

“Please be more diplomatic once we get inside,” the woman said as she walked up to the doors and pushed them open revealing a destroyed lobby.

“Please, I am a Princess,” Luna replied with a frown as she followed the woman into the lobby.. “I can be very diplomatic if I so choose.”

“Really?” Sarah asked. “Because I haven’t seen it so far.”

“There has been no need to as of yet,” Luna answered with a shrug. “Should the need arise I am fully capable of negotiating.”

Sarah let the subject drop, and walked into the main room of the museum. The woman’s lungs stuck in her throat as she looked at the sight before her. On her right was a massive structure of giant bones, half of which was lying near her. On her left was a large... quadrupedal... thing... with thick tusks. Right in front of her was ornate looking doorway, topped with a large skull.

Luna stared around the room, taking it all in, her expression going through the rapid change from shock, to amazement, to finally weariness.

“That dragon is very deformed,” she observed with a frown. “And that mammoth is missing a pair of tusks...”

Sarah frowned at her and then shook her head. “Don’t ask me,” she said before signaling forwards. “Willow told us that ‘Underworld’ is through the big skull doorway... so let’s go see what we can find.”

Luna frowned once more at the bones, but shrugged and nodded, following behind Sarah as she led the way. Sarah pushed open the doors to reveal a long room with two floors created by a set of balconies. Directly in front of them was a large and rather disturbing sculpture of people climbing up a monument of some sort. There were many ghouls walking around within the room. Sarah felt Luna stiffen beside her, but the mare’s behavior ended there. Before she had time to take a more intense look around the room, a male ghoul in a faded blue RobCo jumpsuit walked up to them.

“Oh, well would you look at that?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “Looks like we got a smoothskin and her pet visiting us here in Underworld,” he added with a smile. “It’s been a while since we’ve had any of your type,” he said with a nod to Sarah. “And we’ve never had your type,” he finished with a small chuckle in Luna’s direction.

“I am not a pet,” Luna growled.

Why do all of these people assume that we are a mindless beast of burden!?! Nightmare raged angrily in the back of her mind.

“So, Willow wasn’t lying; you can talk!” the ghoul said in a surprised tone of voice.

“Yes, very well in fact,” Luna replied with narrowed eyes. “Now my name is Luna, please call me by it.”

The ghoul stared at her for a moment before turning to Sarah. “And what’s your name smoothskin?”

“Sarah,” Sarah answered. “And this is Underworld, right?”

“Yes, that’s right,” the ghoul answered. “My name is Winthrope and this is Underworld; the only safe place for ghouls in the Capital Wasteland. We’re here out of sight and out of mind. The mutants leave us alone and the slavers usually don’t come into the city, so it’s not so bad,” he explained. “Honestly, the only thing we really have to worry about is the Brotherhood of Steel but they don’t come in here so...” he trailed off with a shrug.

“You do not like the Brotherhood?” Luna asked with a suspicious gaze at Winthrop. “Whyever not? They seem like brave honorable knights.”

The ghoul snorted. “They shoot at us whenever they see us, though they ‘miss’ most of the time,” he answered with a roll of his eyes, which was a rather disturbing action. “The bastards can’t seem to tell the difference between us and the ferals.”

Then yet another reason to approve of the Brotherhood, Nightmare whispered viciously within Luna’s mind. They know evil when they see it.

“I’m surprised by that,” Sarah said with a frown, then she shook her head. “Anyways, is it alright if I trade a few things?”

“That’s fine. As long as you don’t bother us, we won’t bother you. Feel free to come and go, trade, sleep, whatever,” Winthrope replied.

“Thanks,” Sarah said with a small nod. “Can you point us in the direction of the general trader or weapon shop? We’ve got a lot of stuff to sell,” she added.

“Yeah it’s Underworld Outfitters; first door up ahead on your left,” the ghoul replied with a nod in the direction of one of the doorways set into the wall.

“Thanks,” Sarah said, giving the ghoul a small smile. “Come on Luna.”

Luna gave Winthrope a last critical look but then shrugged and followed after Sarah. The pair entered Tulip’s and walked up to the counter to find a female ghoul wearing a mostly destroyed jacket.

“Oh my! You really are a unicorn!” the ghoul exclaimed as Sarah and Luna drew nearer. “I never thought I’d see one of you!”

“Alicorn, actually,” Luna said with a small frown as she lifted her wings.

“Alicorn?” the ghoul asked with a frown before shrugging. “And you can talk? I guess Willow wasn’t full of shit after all.”

“Indeed...” Luna said with a slight roll of her eyes.

“Right, now, we have some things to sell,” Sarah declared, grabbing the heavy bag off of its place on Luna’s back and lugging it over to the counter.

“Oh good, it’s been forever since I had a customer,” the ghoul said. “My name is Tulip by the way and welcome to Underworld Outfitters.”

“Sarah, and my furry friend is Luna,” Sarah replied as she unzipped the bag and began to pull out the assault rifles, Tulip’s eyebrows continued to rise as the number increased exponentially. “Alright... there are twenty here.”

Tulip eyed the assault rifles for a moment before she picked one up and stripped it with an extreme amount of competence. Of course, Sarah thought to herself. She’s probably been doing it for around two hundred years, so that’s to be expected I guess. Tulip examined the rifle and nodded.

“Alright, I can give you 50 caps for it, I’ll charge the same rate for the rest,” the ghoul told her. “That sound about right to you?”

“Umm... how much is that?” Sarah asked with a blush. “I’m not a math person.”

“One thousand,” Luna and Tulip answered simultaneously. The mare and the ghoul exchanged a look, and the ghoul chuckled.

“Don’t worry about it Miss Sarah, I’m only good at it because I’ve been doing it for so long,” the ghoul assured the blushing woman.

“Right... so we’re a thousand caps richer... great!” she said with a smile. The ghoul nodded and reached under the counter, pulling out ten small pouches.

“There are a hundred caps in each of these,” she explained and passed them over to Sarah who nodded and stuffed the pouches into her armored pockets.

“Thanks Tulip,” the woman said.

“Anytime, like I said, I’m just happy to have customers again,” Tulip replied as she moved the stack of assault rifles onto the floor beside her. “Now, is there anything else you’d like to trade? I’ve still got a few hundred caps available.”

“Actually yes,” Luna spoke up. “We managed to acquire a pair of ‘miniguns’ from some mutants and they are very heavy so we would like to be rid of them as well.”

Tulip raised an eyebrow. “Well let’s see them then,” she said.

Sarah nodded and reached into her pack, drawing out the assorted minigun parts and rapidly assembling them both with the aid of a screwdriver. When she’d finished there were two miniguns resting on the counter. Tulip pursed her lip, an odd sight from a ghoul, and began to examine them closely. After a several minutes she sighed.

“Well, these two are in shit condition,” she grumbled. “Stupid muties don’t take care of their weapons the way the rest of us do.”

Sarah’s expression sagged. “Does that mean that we carried these all the way here for nothing?”

I will be very annoyed if that is the case, Nightmare muttered darkly.

“No, I can give you about a hundred and fifty caps for the pair,” Tulip said with a frown. “I mean, they’re repairable and you’ve got all the important parts... it’s just going to take me a bit to get them into working order,” the ghoul explained.

“Okay... that’s reasonable enough I guess,” Sarah replied with a small nod.

“As the one who carried them, I would say that is hardly fair,” Luna spoke up. “Given the amount of firepower these two beasts can put out, they are clearly worth far more than a scant one hundred and fifty caps.”

Tulip looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Then she smacked one of the guns and the six barrels clattered to the counter with several pings. She then gave Luna a skeptical look.

Excellent...now we look like a fool, Nightmare groaned within Luna’s skull.

“I withdraw my argument,” Luna said, a faint flush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

“Excellent,” Tulip declared, drawing a pair of pouches out from under the counter, one was noticeably smaller than the other. Sarah took them both and put them in her pockets. “Anything else I can get you? Ammo, stims, armor?”

“Actually yes,” Sarah said, drawing her combat shotgun off of her back. “Do you have any ammo for this?”

“Yeah, about forty, they go for two caps each,” Tulip answered.

“So... sixty?” Sarah asked, thinking hard.

My word, that’s impressively bad, Nightmare chuckled within Luna’s mind.

She is clearly not a math pony, Luna agreed with a chuckel of her own.

“Eighty,” Luna answered with a slightly amused grin on her face. “However have you managed up till now Sarah?”

Sarah rolled her eyes and drew one of the pouches that Tulip had given her out. “Here you go... can you do the counting?”

Tulip chuckled. “Sure,” she quickly counted out eighty caps and then walked over to the shelves behind her, grabbing a crate full of shotgun shells. She brought them over to Sarah who examined them and then nodded, shoving them into her bag. “Alright, that all?”

“Yeah, we’re good on stimpacks, and our armor is holding up well enough, and I got more then enough hunting rifle ammo thanks to the muties,” Sarah replied with a smile. “Thanks for trading with us Tulip.”

“It was no trouble,” Tulip replied. “Do you plan to stay in town?”

Sarah was silent for a moment and then shook her head. “No... Luna and I have a father to find.”

Author's Notes:

Yes I know why they use bottle caps, Sarah doesn’t, you don’t need to tell me. Also, as is made clear in this chapter, Sarah is good at many things, shooting things, hacking things, and repairing things... but she’s not so good at math.