“So... she kissed her when she left... right?” a male distant voice asked.

“Yeah,” a female one replied. “And?”

“That’s pretty weird right?” the first voice asked.

“Well yeah, but hell, it’s the Capital Wasteland,” the female one replied. “It’s not like it’s the weirdest thing we’ve ever seen out here.”

“I guess,” the male voice replied as a cold wind blew across her face.

“I mean, do you remember that traveling trader girl with the trained yao guai?” the woman asked. “Fifty caps said that she’d trained it to-”

“Please don’t, I’d rather not have that image in my head,” the male replied.

“Would you two shut up please?” a third, new male voice asked and she felt a small pinch of pain as if someone’s grip had increased. “I’m trying to concentrate over here and you two talking about that type of thing is distracting me.”

Sarah’s eyes flickered open and she found herself looking up at a well tanned man with light brown hair who was sitting beside her. He was wearing dark greenish brown combat armour and with the words ‘Reilly's Rangers’ on the front of it alongside a four leafed clover. The man was currently in the middle of cleaning a rather ugly cut she hadn’t even known she’d had on her right shoulder, and it was at that moment that she realized that she was half naked.

The woman felt a sudden blush run down her body and she jolted upwards, away from the man’s hands. Unfortunately, all that did was send an agonizing drill of pain spiraling through her midsection and she fell back to the tiled floor with a strangled scream of agony.

“Hey, easy there Sarah,” the man in front of her said as he gently, yet firmly, pushed her back down with one hand. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Indeed he is not, Nim suddenly stated within her mind. And thank goodness you awoke Sarah. We were growing tired of only having access to your ears and nose. Both of which we find distinctly lacking in function.

I’d say something clever... but I hurt too much, Sarah replied, her mental voice equal parts irritated and pained.

We are sorry. We do not mean to sound so irate, Nim said comfortingly. We realize that you are in a great deal of pain and are at the moment doing our best to lessen it for you. Now we suggest that you speak with your mouth, less ‘Butcher’ here comes to believe you are injured even worse then he believed.

“Right...” Sarah said aloud, her head turning slightly to look at ‘Butcher’. “You’re one of Reilly’s Rangers... right?”

The man raised an eyebrow and then tapped his chest plate. “That’s what it says on my chest,” he told her.

“I see that...” the woman said then looked down at her own, rather bare, chest. Sarah suppressed a shiver. The night air was rather cold on her skin and though she was sure Luna would find the effect interesting, she was less concerned about that at the moment as she was about wanting to be clothed again. The only part of her upper body that was remotely covered was her ribcage which was obscured by a layer of bandages.

“Can you finish up?” Sarah asked Butcher, a slightly irked expression crossing her lips. “As much fun as being half naked with you leaning over me is...” she let the line hang as Butcher removed his hands from where they’d been pressing her into the floor and nodded.

“Almost done with you, so just bare with me for a few more minutes,” he replied as he reached into his pack and pulled out a large roll of bandages, which he began to apply to Sarah’s shoulder wound. It didn’t take him long to finish and when he did he leaned over Sarah and zipped her jumpsuit back up. “There. I’d recommend slow movements for a while, but otherwise you should be fine.”

“Thanks...” Sarah said, feeling rather uncomfortable about having had him zip her back up.

“Don’t mention it,” Butcher stated with a slight shrug. “I’m Butcher by the way.”

And thank goodness that is not a true description of his skills, Nim added within Sarah’s head causing the woman to let out a belt of laughter.

Butcher just stared at her uncomprehendingly.

“Sorry... sorry...” Sarah said between winces of pain. “The voice in my head said something funny.”

Butcher was silent for a moment longer before finally saying. “Guess you hit your head harder than I thought,” before he got to his feet and walked away.

“Yeah...” Sarah muttered as she slowly and tenderly got to her feet. She found herself on the rooftop of the hotel with Bucher another man, and a woman. All of them were similarly dressed in Ranger battle gear and all appeared to be very much alive. “Oh thank God! You’re all alive!”

“Wait... you actually knew who we were?” the woman asked with a raised eyebrow. “I figured you just heard the shooting and decided to check it out.”

“That’s a good question actually,” the other man said with a frown. “How did you know?”

“Reilly sent us,” Sarah answered them both. “We met her in Underworld after I fixed her up.”

“Wait... she’s alive?!” Butcher asked, sounding both surprised and incredibly relieved. “We weren’t sure if she got out alright!”

The other two Rangers voiced their own sentiments, though neither was quite as vocal as Butcher. Sarah then explained what had happened, watching as the other Rangers’ faces went from happy, to concerned, to finally settle on relived.

“Thank God,” Butcher said when Sarah was done with her story.

Good, now that that’s dealt with, we must simply wait for Luna to return from her little excursion, Nim stated happily within Sarah’s head. Though we do not know what could possibly be taking her so very long.

Wait, where is Luna? Sarah asked in surprise... she had somehow just noticed that Luna was nowhere in sight.

Off retrieving a ‘fission battery’ from the floor below, Nim answered casually. We are sure she is fine. It has only been half an hour or so since she departed.

She went down there alone? Sarah demanded in surprise.

Indeed she did, Nim answered before pausing for a moment. Oh. Here she comes.

Sarah turned her head towards the stairs to find Luna walking up them, a full protectron unit hovering beside her. She looked exhausted, not to mention bloody, and the robot bounced gently against the ground, barely supported by the magic. As she looked over the alicorn, Sarah also noticed that she had a new, and impressibly big, edition to her arsenal.

The woman barely had time to notice that however. Instead, the moment that Luna saw that she was standing upright and conscious, she tossed the robot to the ground and ran towards Sarah. The woman had only a moment to brace herself before she was submerged in a feathery hug as Luna’s furry neck leaned into hers and the blue wings wrapped around her.

“You are okay!” Luna exclaimed as she pulled Sarah closer, though as she did so she took remarkable care not to squeeze the woman’s ribcage.

“Yes... yes I am,” Sarah whispered in her ear as she leaned against Luna’s neck. “Though... I think the ‘wing hug’ is a bit much...” she added as a feather brushed against her face.

“I do not believe so,” Luna said as she pulled Sarah closer still using her shoulder as a grip. “I believe it is exactly what you need.”

Sarah let out a small sigh of resignation and simply leaned into Luna as well, savoring the feeling of her soft fur against her cheeks.

They were interrupted by a cough from beside them. “Sorry to interrupt, but we kind of need to get out of here,” Butcher said. Sarah felt Luna’s wings retract back to their normal position and revealed that Donovan had finished fixing the elevator with the entire robot disassembled beside him.

“Wait... how long were we hugging?” Sarah asked in confusion. Luna looked equally confused.

Ten minutes, Nim stated. We believe that both of you are so tired from the day’s activities that you didn’t register the passage of time.

“Ten minutes,” Butcher stated with a small frown. “You really did hit your head harder than I thought you did didn’t you?”

“I... I guess I did,” Sarah said as she took a moment to gather her breath and then looked at Luna. “Are you up to flying? Because I’m just about beat.”

Luna nodded. “Indeed I am... I am not that tired,” she said, flapping her wings once.

“No way in hell are either of you up to that,” Butcher stated flatly causing both Luna and Sarah to turn to him. “You’re both dead on your feet and if you,” he pointed at Sarah. “fall again then you’re going to die. No ‘maybe’ about it.”

We are in agreeance with the medic, Nim stated within their minds. You are both far too injured to fly. Especially with your safety precautions so badly damaged.

Luna looked like she was about to argue. After all, she was a Queen, a warrior who had fought King Sombra and his necromancer army to a standstill not to mention standing up to Discord in all his terrible wrath. Who were these two to tell her what she could and could not do?

Do you want to lose Sarah because you were too prideful to take advice? Nim suddenly demanded within her mind. Her words were sharp and cut deep into Luna’s frankly exhausted mind. If so, then you are still a foal at heart, not a Queen!

Luna wilted beneath the assault.

“I... suppose you speak the truth,” the alicorn said slowly, addressing both Butcher and Nim.

Sarah, who for her part hadn’t been about to protest, simply nodded. “Right,” she said slowly before her head lulled slightly to the side. “Sorry... I don’t think either of us are thinking all that clearly right now.”

“It’s fine,” Butcher stated, shrugging slightly. “I know the look. You two can tag along with us as we get back to the Base. We know some shortcuts that should be clear.”

“Really? I thought every street in this city was infested with some form of asshole out to kill you,” Sarah said with a deep frown as the three walked towards the elevator.

“Well, usually they are, but we keep these ones nice and clean,” Brick stated from where she’d been waiting, casually leaning against the wall with her minigun at the ready. “And if anyone has been stupid enough to try and take’em back, then Eugene and I will take care of them,” she added, patting the minigun affectionately.

“I see... that is good to hear we suppose,” Luna said. “As it is... we do not think we are up to more than simply walking behind you. Please do not take offense to that.”

“Eh, it’s fine,” Donovan said as he pushed the ‘open’ button on the elevator and the door slowly rolled open. “Thanks to you two, we can get off of this God damned roof so I don’t think any of us are going to complain too much.”

“Good,” Sarah said as the group entered the elevator. “You know... I’m glad this is a big elevator.”

They finally arrived at the Ranger Compound after what seemed like five hours, though Nim assured both Luna and Sarah that it had in fact only been somewhere around half an hour. To their surprise, they were met at the door by Reilly herself. The woman looked to be in much better shape then she had been when Sarah and Luna had last seen her.

“You all made it!” the woman exclaimed, a surprising note of absolute glee overtaking her face as she ran from where she was standing in the hallway, the rifle that she’d been carrying dropping to the floor.

She reached Butcher first, and drew the man into a kiss causing both Donovan and Brick to look away awkwardly. Neither Sarah nor Luna bothered, far too tired to care as they leaned against each other for support. Reilly ended the kiss quickly and turned to her other two squadmates, her smile just as big. Before either Brick or Donovan could react, their squad leader reached out and pulled them into a fierce group hug.

Sarah and Luna watched all of this, small smiles forming on their faces.

We did a good thing, Nim stated within their minds. It feels... good. Very good.

"Yeah... it does,” Sarah stated softly, not bothering to answer mentally.

At the sound of her voice, Reilly broke the group hug, allowing Brick and Donovan to quickly step away from each other. Then the woman walked up to Sarah and smiled.

“Looks like you didn’t die after all,” Reilly said with a grin. “And more importantly, you got my family back in one piece.”

“We did our best,” Sarah replied, smiling back, or attempting too. At the moment it was hard to keep from simply falling to her knees in exhaustion. Only Luna’s presence prevented it in fact. “I... um don’t mean to be rude... but do you have an extra double bed anywhere? Luna and I are about to fall asleep... I’m kind of surprised that we made it here actually.”

Reilly’s eyes widened and she nodded quickly. “Actually yeah, there’s one in the far end of the bunk section. Don’t do anything too extreme though. We’ve all got to sleep there,” she stated.

“To be completely honest Reilly, I’m too tired to be ‘horny’ right now,” Sarah stated wryly.

“As am I,” Luna added with an emphatic nod of her head. “In fact... the sooner we can get into a bed the better.”

“Then follow me,” Reilly said with a small chuckle.

The woman quickly led the two to a long room with several dozen beds, at the end was a large double one which Sarah and Luna flopped exhaustedly into. Without really thinking about it, Sarah moved closer to Luna and leaned her head against the mare’s soft chest while she felt Luna drape a wing as well as moving her head so that it was next to Sarah’s.

“I love you,” Sarah whispered as her eyes closed.

“And I you,” Luna whispered back.

And I love you both, Nim added before all three fell asleep.

“Damn, that is adorable,” Donovan stated from where he was leaning against the doorway of the room.

“Yeah. Do you still think it’s weird?” Brick asked from beside him.

“Yes, yes in fact I do,” the man replied with a shrug. “But hell, it’s adorable all the same.”

Author's Notes:

So no big battle with the Rangers. Sorry guys but in the state that they’re in at the moment, Sarah and Luna would probably die. Such is the price of realism. *shrugs* Don’t worry though, the following chapters should have their fair share of action.

Also, I’d just like to take a moment to thank Harry Leferts. I recently checked the referrals page and found out that he’s been linking Wandering Moon in the Spacebattles forum. So, to Harry, thanks for that man!

Next chapter we meet some new faces.