"Twilight?" Flash Sentry appeared in the doorway of the kitchen of Applejack's house, where Twilight, Sunset, Applejack, Rarity, Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest (who invited herself along with her fellow Shadowbolt) were having a quick meal of fried bacon and eggs.

"Yes, Flash?" the lavender-skinned girl responded, her voice slightly muffled because of the food she had in her mouth.

"Elder Aegis just told me over the radio - he wants to see you as soon as possible. I am to bring you all there, with my squad."

"Ugh," Applejack groaned, "can't we have a rest?"

"He... was very insistent that you come there quick."

"Shucks. Twi, what you say?"

"Lemon," Twilight turned to the rock-loving girl, "would it offend you and Vinyl if I visited CWN HQ after Brotherhood's bunker? I am not sure I want to keep him waiting."

"Eh, if the man has big walking hard-to-kill tin cans with big guns under his command, it's not wise to piss him off," Lemon waved the concern away. Flash coughed, making Lemon jump.

"You do realize that a tin can is standing right here, right?" he crossed his hands over his chest, giving a pointed look.

"Er... no offense?" the acid-haired girl squeaked.

"None taken. But calling soldiers in power armour "tin cans" is one of the quickest way to find out exactly why a punch from one of them can require you to wear prosthetic teeth."

"Sorry..."

"Your ability to run off your mouth has not changed in the slightest, Lemon Zest," Sugarcoat remarked. "And given what I have seen of you in the last hour, you have somehow defied the odds of dying, which, by my calculations, equaled ninety five point zero five eight nine, for seven years. The possibility of this, according to my calculations, equals two point five two three percent."

Silence reigned as everyone stared at the pig-tailed girl.

"Oh ye of little faith, Sugarcoat," Lemon laughed, hugging her fellow Shadowbolt.

"OK," Twilight said, standing up from the table, "I am ready."

"Me too," Sunset said.

"Me as well," Applejack said.

"I am ready," Rarity responded. "Flash, does Sugarcoat need to come along?"

"I'm not sure, I didn't exactly tell Elder Aegis that you had another ally with you. But we have a rule that the less people know where the bunker is, the better."

"I'll stay, then," Sugarcoat said. "Much as I am surprised to say that, I missed you, Lemon Zest."

"Aww, I missed you as well, Sugarcoat," Lemon quickly drew the pig-tailed girl into another hug.

Twilight, Flash, Applejack, Rarity and Spike, along with Flash and three more Paladins, arrived at the bunker of Brotherhood of Steel relatively quickly and without exposure to dangers (several radscorpions did not count when going against a well-armed squad), and entered the safe underground shelter quickly.

As usual, the girls were searched and made to walk through a scanner near the entrance. The device emitted no sound when Twilight, Sunset and Rarity went through it; however, when Applejack's turn came, a loud alarm blared, and red illumination filed the room.

"Biological hazard detected!" shouted a Knight manning the scanner. Immediately, the Paladins leveled their weapons at Applejack, who raised her hands defensively.

"Whoa, chill out!" she cried. "What happened?"

"Applejack," Flash said, "you're carrying a biologically hazardous material on you, it is in your armour compartment."

"Mah compartment?.. Oh, shoot me in the back, Ah totally forgot! We had found a strange container in Trottingham and wanted to show it to you, but with all the mess..."

"Give it here," one of the Paladins came up to her with his hand outstretched, "right fucking now!"

"OK, OK..."

The Knight manning the scanner's control panel shut down the alarm, but none of the Paladins were any less tense. Applejack opened the compartment and quickly gave the container marked "CPAX-12" to the Paladin standing in front of her. As soon as the latter looked at it, he audibly gasped.

"Girl," he said, "you all here to see Elder Aegis? You better go in and tell him right this fucking instant where you found this shit!" he raised the container higher.

"OK... For corn's sake, why did everyone get so jittery all of a sudden?" Applejack asked Flash, as the Paladin turned around and barked the order to transport the container to the bunker's lab.

"No idea, but, judging by the reaction of the guy who took the container from you, whatever you brought was something really bad and you shouldn't have even been able to find it," the ex-rocker muttered darkly. "Could be some very dark government's old secret or something."

"Damn."

Pretty soon, they arrived to the office where Elder Aegis resided. The guards let the girls and Flash in, while the Paladins under the rocker's command remained outside. The leader of the local Brotherhood's chapter was pacing in his office, Ion Titanium standing near him with Star Paladin rank insignia on his T-80b power armour.

"It's never a dull moment with you," the Elder spoke up without preamble. "First you persuade us not to reclaim's Silicon Stone's armour, then you actually deliver power armour to us, then you manage to enter us into an alliance against the White Knives, and now you bring bioweapons into our bunker? Tartarus damn it, if you keep doing this shit, I'll go bald in no time."

"Uh?" Twilight muttered.

"My apologies," the man sat down, inhaling and exhaling loudly, "it's just that you managed to amaze me once again. All that mess in south-western district of Trottingham, all these "zombies", and you being in the thick of it? OK, I know by now that you seem to attract trouble - no offense, but it does seem like that - but getting out of there and massacring thrice-darned hundreds of those pseudo-zombies, and getting a container with what I believe to be a dangerous biological weapon in the process? Frankly, I feel somewhat embarrassed. Back during the war, we never pulled off stuff like that."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. Don't mind an old man's rambling. Just... tell me, right now, just where did you find that container?"

"That was... Stable Hearts Limited building in south-western area."

"Star Paladin Titanium!" Aegis turned to his current second-in-command. "Gather your troops and secure the Stable Hearts Limited HQ in Trottingham! Get everything you can out of there and bring it here!"

"Yes, sir!" the armoured soldier saluted and hastily left the room.

"Thank you for bringing this to our attention," the elderly man turned to the girls again. "This will help us to ensure the safety of the Brotherhood from the most horrific pre-apocalypse inventions of UFE. I hope no one was able to get there before you."

"It didn't seem so," Sunset replied.

"Oh, where are my manners? Ladies, sit down," Aegis pointed to the chairs in front of him.

"Just how are there enough chairs for us?" Sunset asked.

"The security outpost radioed me."

"Oh."

The girls sat down in the chairs offered to them (Applejack sat very carefully, given her mass in power armour).

"Elder Aegis?" Twilight asked. "Just what was in that container that has everyone on the edge?"

"One of the deadliest biological weapons ever made, Miss Sparkle. CPAX-12 stands for "Combat Pathological Agent, Extreme lethality, strain twelve", and is a product of investigations into the Manehatten Massacre."

"We've managed to hack into a terminal that had some scientist's diary in it," Rarity spoke up. "It said CPAX-12 was an improvement of something named Omicron-7?"

"Yes; Omicron-7 was a bioweapon used for Manehatten Massacre."

"And..." Twilight swallowed; she did not like the thought that came to her head, "and UFE government actually wanted an even deadlier weapon? Is Omicron-7 by itself not enough? There were very few survivors from Manehatten, no?"

"Two point five million out of nineteen. Maybe not very, but few alright."

"Why?"

"Well... given that you had suffered from amnesia, I am not surprised you are queasy on this issue. But... many people were very angry after that massacre. You see, although UFE and TODC were bitter enemies on the battlefield, both sides still held themselves to a certain set of rules, and one of those rules was "no WMD attack on civilians", to put it simply. Manehatten Massacre was a gross violation of that rule. TODC command believed that the act, as well as the threat of a repeat of such attack, would force us to yield. Instead, it galvanized the whole society in anger, and calls for vengeance, as well as enhanced security, became common enough that the bill calling for creation of National Security Commissariat was actually passed unanimously - I imagine voting against it would have been political suicide under those circumstances."

"Did the introduction of Commissariat actually help prevent any further attacks like Manehatten Massacre?"

"It did, actually. The unprecedented authority they were granted allowed them to tear through the usual bureaucratic preponas that would have slowed down the process of delivering justice unto the terrorists and their supporters and arrest those guilty within days instead of months or even years. Proving their guilt took merely a week with the almost supra-legal authority NSC was granted. When those guilty of Manehatten Massacre were executed on live TV, Commissariat solidified itself as the defenders of the people. They began a massive sweep of the country, and did indeed manage to discover and stop other sleeping cells that were ready to commit other attacks with Omicron-7 if UFE were to refuse to surrender."

"OK... I think I understand why NSC was allowed the leeway they had. But making an already deadly weapon even deadlier? Was UFE planning to make a return attack similar to Manehatten Massacre?"

"Of that... I am not aware. I don't think UFE government would have tried and done that, although some of the more... savage persons did advocate that sort of a counter-attack. But I have not heard of any big terror attacks with bio-weapons happening on TODC territory, so most likely it did not happen. What the High Command did do in response, however, was to become more... liberal with using bioweapons in combat. Senior Paladin Sentry was on the frontlines in Bovinia, and I believe that after Manehatten Massacre, he and everyone who was there saw a steady increase in the drops of bioweapons. Am I right, Senior Paladin Sentry?"

"Yes, sir, you are," Flash responded. "I think that shortly before they pulled me out of there for an attack on Griffonstone, the drops of bioweapons were almost daily."

"There you go, Miss Sparkle. As for why UFE would want to make a deadlier weapon... a cold, pragmatic matter of weapon's efficiency. Omicron-7, while almost always fatal, could still be counteracted if a special serum - which did exist in UFE in many emergency stocks, since the weapon's composition was not a secret for us - was entered quickly, which is not a quality seeked in a biological weapon - or any weapon of mass destruction, to be honest. Plus, hazmat protection also nullified the threat - as long as the suit remained undamaged, you could walk in Manehatten when infection was still running rampant and not fear anything. UFE, like TODC, actually, wanted a weapon with guaranteed hundred percent lethality, which could bypass the enemy's protection and could not be counteracted by any antidotes."

"I... see," Twilight replied.

Suddenly, a buzzer hidden in Elder's table emitted a harsh sound, prompting the latter to push an intercom's button.

"Yes?"

"Sir, it's Head Scribe Chips," a familiar voice sounded from the speakers. "I have a preliminary report on CPAX-12 container that was brought. Permission to arrive to your office and report in person?"

"Granted, be here ASAP," Aegis released the button. "Head Scribe Chips will be here soon. If you don't mind, he will be present as you explain just what happened in south-western area of Trottingham."

"Fine by me," Twilight responded. Everyone sat in silence until the door opened, letting in a bespectacled young man in a reddish robe in his late twenties.

"Sir," he saluted to Elder Aegis, then turned to Flash and saluted him as well, and smiled as he saw the girls, "Hey, good to see you."

"Same here, Micro Chips," Applejack said.

"What are your preliminary findings, Head Scribe?" Aegis turned to the young man.

"Ah, yes, findings," Micro Chips turned to his CO, "Sir, I have compared a sample of CPAX-12 with a sample of unknown hazardous biomaterials we have acquired in Canterlot outskirts. They are... very similar to each other."

"What?" Flash exclaimed. "The whole Canterlot is covered in CPAX-12?"

"Not... exactly," Micro Chips continued. "The virii from the Canterlot sample are... different. Their DNA does not match the one of the CPAX-12 strain one hundred percent, although there are still many similarities. My best guess is that the unleashed virii mutated under the influence of radiation, and natural selection must have bred out... another strain of the virus, which has a much bigger lifespan and better adaptivity to the surroundings. This would explain why Canterlot remains fatally dangerous to visitors. While the original CPAX-12 strain, when released, dies out after some time when there are no more targets for infection, the mutated strain perseveres for a longer amount of time, and, unfortunately, it appears to have retained its predecessor's abilities in bypassing filters, given that even attempts to infiltrate Canterlot in hazmat suits have failed. Standard hazmat suits appear to be just as useless against the mutated CPAX-12 strain as against the original one."

"And if we are to use a fully isolated hostile environment hazmat suit? Like an AIHES-400?"

"Theoretically, it would help, since a person in an AIHES-400 suit would need to rely only on an internal air supply. As long as the suit is not comprmised, they would be fine. But... sir, this won't be enough. You know that feral ghouls are still present in Canterlot, according to the surveillance from eyebots we control."

"Feral ghouls?" Sunset spoke up. "Shouldn't this mutated CPAX-12 strain be fatal to them as well?"

"It should," Aegis replied, "but our eyebots have noticed that sometimes feral ghouls still wandered around on the outskirts of Canterlot, multiple times. I have no idea why they are immune, but the fact is that they are still present there. That complicates matters. AIHES-400 suits are good at anti-WMD defense, but their suitability for combat is abysmal, and if feral ghouls are there, combat will happen. One good swipe from a feral ghoul will compromise the integrity of the suit, and once that happens, you are dead. To the best of my knowledge, there has not been an antidote developed for CPAX-12, so talking about the antidote for the mutated strain is out of the flipping question. And if there are feral ghouls, there can be non-feral as well, and no one guarantees that they would not be armed or hostile or both. Micro Chips is right, AIHES-400 models won't cut it. We need an advanced military-grade armoured hostile environment suit, or at least try and screw up several of those out of AIHES-400 by slapping armour plates, should the worst come to pass."

"Does such an advanced armoured hazmat suit even exist?" Twilight asked.

"Yes," Micro Chips replied, "there is such a model. Armoured Biological and Chemical Warfare Hazmat Suit, or ABCWHS-600. Problem is, we don't have one in our stocks."

"ABCWHS-600 suits were ready for production only very shortly before the Day of Burning," Aegis took over. "To the best of Brotherhood's knowledge, only one facility has such suits in their stock - Future-Tec industrial complex in Western Canterlot Wastelands. Western chapter of Brotherhood has been trying to access it for several years already, but was met with no success."

"Sir? Do we even need to worry about that?"

"In a minute, Head Scribe. Miss Sparkle, I apologize for the digression with this CPAX-12 business. Have you managed to identify the reason behind this zombie mess?"

"Yes," Twilight replied. "It was a person whom we presume to be a former operative of National Security Commissariat who went rogue. Said person was in possession of a prototype of an advanced version of a pacification device known as "Hypnotron" - we decided to call it Hypnotron Mk. II for convenience - that was created on the order of NSC, and our ally who used to serve in NSC, one Lyra Heartstrings - I believe you should know her, since she had been here once - confirmed that rumours of such a device were too rampant among Commissars for this to be untrue. Unlike the usual Hypnotron, this prototype was specifically designed to rob people of their free will and make them basically slaves to the owner of the Hypnotron Mk. II. The person who obtained it carefully build, shall we say, an army, and when she - it was a she - decided that she could try and establish control of the Wastelands, she decided to make her moves against Brightlight and Horseshoe Highway, with the intent of capturing as many people as possible."

Elder Aegis, Micro Chips and Flash Sentry looked at each other, horrorstruck. The elderly man leaned forward.

"Tell me everything in detail, please," he said.

The girls spent the next forty minutes telling him the version of the adventures that they had agreed to tell anyone not in on the secret of Equestrian magic. The Elder's face displayed shock, amazement, immersion and contemplation, depending on which moment was being told to him right now. Rarity took over for places where Twilight and Sunset were not with them, and Applejack took care not to open her mouth on the stuff they would need to lie about, as she was unarguably the worst liar of the group.

When the girls finished talking, Aegis took out a military-issue flask out of his table, uncapped it and took a swig.

"Tartarus damn it all to Earth's center and back," he said, hiding the bottle. "You are the luckiest girls here. If this... Dazzle person was not so arrogant and did not hold a grudge against you, and had Miss Heartstrings and Miss Drops not assisted, you and Miss Sugarcoat would not have made it. But you did, and you managed to stop what could possibly be the largest threat to the Brotherhood and anyone else in this area. What of the Hypnotron Mk. II prototype?"

"Destroyed," Sunset said. "Thoroughly and utterly. Even if someone were to find its fragments - and we did not really keep track of places where we scattered the scrap that remianed of it - they won't be able to rebuid it."

"Good," Aegis breathed out, "good. The technology like this is better off destroyed, and not be in any hands... maybe not even our hands... But what of your quest, Miss Sparkle? Did you find the item you wanted to?"

"I did," Twilight responded, "but... all it did was trigger a flashback to a building of Canterlot High School and a statue that was in front of it... as well as some other building that I cannot recognize, but it is located somewhere near the Crystal Prep Academy."

"Hmmm... perhaps we may need those ABCWHS-600 suits..." Aegis muttered.

"Sir?" Micro Chips spoke up.

"Everyone except Miss Sparkle and the guards... please leave the room," he said. Everyone was confused, but still obeyed Elder's order. Twilight looked at the backs of her friends, and when the door closed, she turned back to Aegis.

"Why did you want to speak with me one-on-one... not counting the guards?" she asked.

"I am certain that now you will want to pursue the lead in Canterlot after your... mixed result in Trottingham, right?"

"Um..." Twilight desperately thought on her response. Damn it! I still haven't discussed a course of action with Sunset on what to do next! Of course, if I am to try and return home, slim as that hope is, it is reasonable that I might need to return to Canterlot, because it's not like the place where I was dropped off actually has a portal of its own...

"Well," she said, "I haven't really thought on that, but Canterlot now seems to be the only option to regain my lost memories, yes."

"Very well. Given what you have heard of mutated strain of CPAX-12 virus now, though, you realize that without ABCWHS-600 suits it is going to be impossible, right?"

"Right," the lavender-skinned girl replied, unsure of where the Elder was going.

"As I had mentioned, you're basically the reason Brotherhood of Steel exists in the first place, and if you are to ever regain your memories of your scientific achievements, it would be invaluable for us. You have also done a great service to the Brotherhood, several times, now that you have stopped this Dazzle person and ascertained the fate of our missing Paladins... speaking of which, have you managed to obtain their dogtags, by chance?"

"Yes, here," Twilight put the recovered dogtags on the table.

"Excellent. When you are on your way out, head to Knight Sergeant Shelf in the armoury, he will give you a reward in caps for helping us in discovering the fate of our lost soldiers. As I was saying, you have done a lot for Brotherhood, and I believe that you have earned some recognition for it."

"Recognition? But I..."

"Please let me finish, Miss Sparkle. I am not the type of person to leave debts unpaid, and while I might feel a bit... embarrassed, that you have achieved a lot more in a short span of time than my whole Chapter did, I think you need our assistance in getting to Canterlot. But there is a problem - I cannot give you overt support - and you will need it - to an outsider. No matter who you are, neither other Elders nor High Elder Gear will like this. But this obstacle can be bypassed."

Aegis leaned forward, his hands bracing the edges of his table.

"Miss Sparkle, I am offering you a place in the ranks of Brotherhood of Steel."

Silence reigned as Twilight struggled to process what was just said.

OK, didn't see that one coming. Now what? Accept or refuse?

There is not enough information to go by. Learn more first.

"And what will I need to do if I accept?" she asked. "I will need to follow your orders, right?"

"As well as the orders of anyone who outranks you. Normally, you would be ranked as an Initiate, but given your combat prowess, I can easily give you the rank of Knight. Unfortunately, I currently can't justify giving you the rank of Paladin and power armour training. By the Brotherhood's charter, a Knight will need to prove their worth first, regardless of their previous talents."

"What about my friends?"

"I cannot offer them a place in our ranks currently, but you won't be forbidden from having them on your team. The charter insists, however, that they do not access any classified information or technologies Brotherhood may own."

OK, having my friends by my side is a plus. Following others' orders is a minus, and the clause of secrecy is a big minus, but I can bypass that... hopefully.

"You may also get access to Brotherhood's armouries and resupply yourself with energy weapons and armaments. Your friends can as well, but quartermasters will charge a fee from them. You and your friends can also obtain an upgrade for your Pip-Boys that will let you use them as small personal radios."

That's a lot better. Fees are bad, but hopefully we can manage that.

"And what would my first mission be?" Twilight asked. He practically has me now.

"Contact the Western Chapter of Brotherhood of Steel and learn what is needed to access the Future-Tec complex. Secure as many ABCWHS-600 suits as you can and find a way to deliver them back to us. I will provide you with a powerful backpack radio that will allow you to contact this bunker, and you will need to report to me weekly or whenever a situation arises. Should you succeed, then you will need to infiltrate Canterlot, and discover whatever information or technology could be of potential use to Brotherhood of Steel."

This mission offers me the best chance to acttually find Canterlot. Even if going there is not necessary immediately, I will still need to get there. And I think it would be stupid to miss this chance right now...

inhaling deeply, Twilight looked into Aegis' eyes with resolution.

"I accept."

"Why exactly do we need to get into the local ceremonial room?" Sunset asked a Paladin near her that was leading them to the aforementioned place.

"Elder Aegis' orders. He said you needed to see this."

"While he himself is still in his office?"

"He said he is already there."

"Eh? How?"

"There has to be some other exit from his office, that only he can use... Ah, we're here!"

The door opened, and everyone went into the room. The room had a carpet in the middle, and rows of amphitheater seats - benches, to be more exact - on both left and right sides of the room. Several dozens of Scribes, Knights and even Paladins were seated on both sides, and the girls were told to sit there. They went to the rows on the right and chose a bench that was the least occupied.

Two rows of six Paladins stood on each side of the carpet, and Elder Aegis appeared from the door on the far end of the room, standing on the platform which was slightly higher than the entrance and to which several steps led. Behind him, a large banner with the golden sigil of Brotherhood of Steel imposed on the crimson background.

"Brothers and sisters in Steel, and dear guests!" he raised his hands, like a benevolent deity would. "I have gathered you here to celebrate a momentous occasion, the likes of which we have never experienced, and most likely will never experience again!"

These words made every memebr of Brotherhood of Steel pay their utmost attention to the Elder, their curiousity piqued. The girls (and Flash, who was seated nearby) looked at each other, puzzled.

"Before the war started, there was a person, who deeply loved her country, the United Federation of Equestria, but could not offer it anything except her strong and agile mind. But her contribution was one of the greatest boons to the Federation. It advanced us forward, gave us an advantage over our enemies from TODC, and allowed us to survive the Day of Burning and endure the harshness of this post-apocalyptic nightmare of a world for years!"

A burst of cheers erupted at the Elder's last words, prompting him to stop and wait until the emotions died down.

"We believed that this person, our benefactor, perished in atomic flames. We believed so for seven years. But..." waiting for a few seconds, he said, "we were wrong, brothers and sisters."

A pin drop could have been heard in the silence that followed, had it happened.

"This person has been somewhere all these years, but she cannot recall what she did at that time, nor can she remember her true worth. An accident, the nature of which is unknown to either her or us, caused her to lose a number of her memories, and she is struggling to recover them. But Brotherhood of Steel did not help their benefactor, when we found her. Instead, we initially treated her with suspicion and hostility. Yet, our benefactor reached out to us, and helped us on several occasions. But we still have not helped her to regain her memories of the past, and she exposed herself to many dangers, including the most recent incident in Trottingham. She persevered, and neutralized what could have quickly become a threat Brotherhood would be hard-pressed to match, and brought us news of our brothers that fell to this threat. It is time we recognize our debt to the person who has been our ally and benefactor this whole time!"

"Y'all don't think he is..?" Applejack leaned closer to Sunset, who shrugged her soldiers; still, the fiery-haired girl had a suspicion just whom the Elder was speaking of...

"Twilight Sparkle! I, Elder Aegis of Brotherhood of Steel, call you to enter!" the local leader of the Brotherhood put his right hand forward to the bunker door, letting his left hand fall down.

The door opened. Twilight Sparkle went in, flanked by two Paladins on both sides, and walked forward to the Elder, stopping in front of the steps.

"Turn around, Miss Sparkle, and let every Initiate, Scribe, Knight and Paladin see your face!" Aegis commanded, and the lavender-skinned girl obeyed his command, back straight and head held high.

"Behold, Brotherhood, your benefactor, to whom we all owe our lives and gratitude!" the older man's voice thundered across the room. "This person shattered the chains of hostility between us and Appletown and Canterlot Wastelands News, this person has helped us with critically important resources, this person has helped us to defeat White Knives, this person has stopped the zombie attacks of Trottingham! It is time we recognize her efforts, and let her join our fold! Miss Sparkle, turn to me!"

Twilight did as told. A Paladin came to Elder Aegis, holding a sword in his hands, and offered the weapon to his superior. The Elder held the sword in front of him, and Twilight bowed.

This was planned, Sunset realized. he must have told her what to expect and how to behave. But when did she agree to it? Wait... oh, I see. Their "private talk".

"Twilight Sparkle," Aegis touched Twilight's head and back with the sword's flat side, "by the power vested upon me by our High Elder Iron Gear, I, Elder Aegis Mantle, grant you entrance into our fold, and bestow upon you the rank of the Knight of Brotherhood of Steel! Be a friend and a sister to your brothers and sisters in Steel, and death incarnate to the enemies of the Brotherhood! May the Steel be with you, day and night, in peace and in combat, in attack and defense!"

He drew his sword, and Twilight stood straight. The paladin who gave Aegis the ceremonial sword approached Twilight from her left and attached a shoulder pad with Brotherhood's sigil to her armour. As he stepped back, Elder Aegis nodded to Twilight, and she turned around, looking at the faces of surrounding Brotherhood members. Seeing her friends, she gave them a quick smile, and then looked at the Paladins standing in two rows.

"Ad Victoriam!" she declared, raising her right arm parallel to the land and slamming her chest. The Paladins also slammed their chests in perfect sync, making a reverberating metallic sound.

"Let it be known that Knight Twilight Sparkle joined our chapter today!" Elder Aegis declared. "Go in peace, brothers and sisters, and may the Steel be with you!"

Brotherhood members all left the room, and Twilight approached her friends, who were patiently waiting her near the exit.

"Come," she said, "we have to go now. I am sure you have questions, and I will answer them on the way to CWN."

"So," Sunset said, "we have to play fine with Aegis and whoever leads the Western Chapter of the Brotherhood now?" Sunset asked Twilight.

"Basically, yes," Twilight replied.

The group was on their way to the headquarters of Canterlot Wastelands News. Twilight received the caps for the dogtags she had recovered in Trottingham from the bunker'a quartermaster, and the Pip-Boy upgrades for their Pip-Boys that would allow for interpersonal communication. Quartermaster said that the backpack radio for contact with Elder Aegis would be given once they reported they were ready to leave the Northern Canterlot Wastelands, and Twilight decided not to argue.

The group was pleasantly surprised to find that they were allowed to purchase ammunition from the Brotherhood now, although Sunset grumbled quietly at the inflated prices on non-recycled energy batteries and microfusion cells. Applejack also frowned at the price of 5mm ammo for her minigun - two caps for three bullets instead of the standard one cap for one bullet - but still deided not to miss the chance to restock.

"Ya aren't worried that this may go wrong, Twi?" asked the blonde farmer.

"Oh I know that that may go wrong - but honestly, I don't feel we have a choice, Applejack. Since I can't retrace the point where the portal spat me out, the only way I can ascertain what went wrong would be that statue in front of CHS, and you heard Elder Aegis and Micro Chips."

"Yeah, Ah did."

"Doesn't it worry you that the statue might not even be there, as well as the school?" Sunset took over. "Canterlot was the capital of the Federation, and while the school was on the outskirts, I am certain that the city ate more than one bomb, and not necessarily in one place."

"What can you suggest, then?"

"I don't know, maybe find an eyebot and scout with it first?"

"Well, the idea itself is sound, but how will you try and retrace the magic in it?"

"Your counterpart had built a magic scanner that doubled as an absorption device," Rarity spoke up. "Maybe..?"

"No," Sunset said, "Twilight - the human one - has destroyed the device itself and all the blueprints. We thought that the danger of it leaking out to someone with malicious intentions was too high to risk preserving it. Of course, we didn't expect that it would somehow become needed one day..." the girl's expression turned sullen.

"Don't blame yourself, sugarcube," Applejack said. "Neither of ya could know."

"Which means that we can scout ahead with an eyebot, but to sense the magic in the portal, if it's there, we have to be there in person," Twilight said. "I'm sorry I didn't discuss this with you, but I kinda needed to make an on-the-spot decision. I saw that you were shocked."

"It was a pretty sudden surprise, darling," Rarity said. "But I won't begrudge you. After all, it may give you a better chance to return to Equestria."

"Just... we'll need to be careful, Twilight," Sunset said. "I can't say I'm fully against the decision, but I'd rather this mission does not lead to something that will tear us away from our main goal."

"I'm sure we'll find a way to ensure it doesn't."

Their talk stopped as they approached the CWN HQ. The group was quickly let in by the militia and Brotherhood guardians, and they entered the building when Ear Drum told them that the CWN boss waited for them. As they entered the secret lair, they saw that Lemon Zest and Sugarcoat were already there.

"Hey there!" Lemon waved. "How's it going?"

"Good enough," Twilight replied. "Is Vinyl here?"

"Yep, I'm here," the DJ got out from under the table where she was doing something. "What's up?"

"Well, first things first - we've found your flat in Trottingham. And... Octavia left you a message; apparently, it was done shortly before she left to serve the DOI," the equine Princess took out the magneto-optic disk. Vinyl immediately took it and played the recording in one of the machines. Octavia's voice, sad and resigned, filled the whole room again. As everyone listened, Vinyl and Lemon's faces became more and more grim, and Lemon was on the evrge of tears as Octavia's last words played out:

"I'm sorry, girls! I didn't want it to come to this. Vinyl, continue to wub the Tartarus out of everyone, and Lemon, rock the whole world. You two are my best friends, I wouldn't have anyone else as music-writing buddies. Goodbye, girls!"

As a click signified the end of message, Lemon immediately buried her face in Vinyl's shoulder, unable to hold tears.

"Sh-sh-she knew!" the lime-haired girl cried out. "She knew she w-w-would... she would... d-d-d-die! She knew they wouldn't let her off the hook!"

"I know, Lemon," Vinyl whipped off her shades, revealing that her eyes were moist as well, and drew Lemon into a hug. Everyone stood in silence for several minutes until the former Shadowbolt managed to calm down.

"Well that one was a bummer, but... she did not forget us, and I'm happy that she didn't," the DJ put her shades on one of the terminals and turned to Twilight and others. "Thanks, girls. I was... worried that she just up and abandoned us because she got too tired of us, 'cause, well, me and Lemon got along pretty well, and Octy's never been much into rock or dubstep or modern music in general. But... she still considered us friends. I'm happy to know that. Here, it's not much," she gave every girl (plus Sugarcoat) one hundred caps, "but I hope that will help."

"It certainly will," Sugarcoat said, "especially since I have nowhere to live now."

"Did you live in Horseshoe Highway?"

"Shrewd of you. I did. I survived by pure luck - I was with this quartet when zombies hit Horseshoe Highway, and I didn't get turned into one only because Applejack knocked me out in time."

"Eh-heh-heh, sorry 'bout that, sugarcube..." Applejack scratched her neck (not as pleasant when one does it in power armour).

"No need, I did tell you to kill me if I were to turn into one. I'm grateful that you prevented it. And my name is Sugarcoat, not Sugarcube."

"Wha? Ah know that your name's Sugarcoat, but..." Applejack stopped once she saw the pig-tailed girl's smirk.

"Fooled you," Sugarcoat said, and chuckled. The blonde girl groaned.

"Oughta horsewhip you for that one," she grumbled.

"Well," Vinyl said, "you can stay here, if you wish, Sugarcoat. We always need capable defenders, and you certainly qualify. I'm afraid we don't really have a regular salary, more of a bounty, but you can eat and live here."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really!" Lemon beamed at her former classmate. "It would be cool to have you here with us!"

"He-heh... truth be told... sounds attractive. OK, I'm sold. Twilight?" the bespectacled girl turned to the alicorn in human body. "No offense, but that adventure was waaaaaaay above what I can deal with psychologically. And honestly, I don't want to have a repeat of that."

"Neither do we, but trust me - we don't go out of our way to deliberately find trouble."

"What, trouble finds you? That's bullshit."

"Is not. Anyway, I hope you'll do better here."

"So do I."

"OK," Vinyl said, "you five were in Trottingham in the very thick of the zombie mess, weren't you?"

"Yep," Applejack said, we were.

"OK, so what in blazes caused it?"

"Remember those three girls, the Dazzlings, back from the Battle of the Bands? Well, their leader survived and decided to cause some chaos around and bend the world to her will."

"What?" Lemon took off her headphones, while Vinyl spat out several curses.

"Fucking horseshit. You mean it was that girl with orange hair that looked like a wig?"

"Adagio Dazzle; yes, that's her," Sunset said. Vinyl took a chair and sat on it, using its back to rest her hands and head on it.

"Tell me everything..."

Later at night...

"AAARGH!"

Twilight Sparkle panted as she bolted upright. Frantically looking around, she took note of her surroundings, noting with relief that the thing her subconsciousness just tortured her with was not real.

"Stupid piece of griffon crap," she whispered. "Not this pony piss again..."

Quickly throwing her Vault jumpsuit on and making sure to secure a holster with her .44 magnum in it, and spare ammo in the pouch resting on the jumpsuit's belt, she pocketed some caps and left the room where everyone slept.

I need a drink. Drink, drink, where can I find one? Ah, the bar! Hope it's open...

Fortunately for the lavender-skinned girl, it was open, and even more fortunately, it was empty, aside from Hunter Rose standing behind the bar with a half-sleepy expression.

"Oh, hello, beautiful warrior," he said, his face brightening up a little. "How can I help you at this ungodly hour?"

"You have whiskey?" Twilight asked, plopping down on the chair opposite to the bartender.

"Sure do, but, if you'll satisfy this man's curiousity, what drives you to drink this late?"

"Nightmares."

"Oh," Hunter's face gained a sympathetic expression, "I know what you're talking about. I had my fair share of those when I returned from the army."

"So is that drink coming or not?"

"Hang on a sec... is there a specific brand you want?"

"I don't care."

"Well," Hunter picked a bottle from under the table, "this is Stallion's Buck whiskey, one of the best. Pretty rare these days. I don't give it out usually... but I suspect you have been through all levels of Tartarus and back, and giving you sub-par whiskey would be an insult," he poured the drink into the glass and slid it to Twilight, and then picked out another one for himself.

"Do you mind if I enjoy the drink with you?"

"Feel free," Twilight said, and the bartender poured whiskey for himself. Sitting down on a stool, he raised his glass.

"To surviving," he said.

"Good one. To surviving!" the girl replied, and their glasses clinked. Hunter drank all his whiskey in one gulp, while Twilight left half of her drink in her glass.

"Oh my," she grimaced, "that's some fine whiskey."

"Here," Hunter put a small packet of peanuts on the table and opened it, "eat some of those."

Twilight did as told to.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem. Now, let's have a talk. A fighter to a fighter, if you will."

"OK."

"I have seen my fair share of nightmares in the Last War, both when I still was in the army and after I retired, but until I met my wife, Rose Essence. Seeing death on a daily basis changes us. It's inevitable. The thing is - it changes us into what exactly?"

"Is there no certain answer?"

"I'm afraid no. Each human is unique, and each of them will respond to the situation in their own way. Of course, many reactions are quite similar to each other, and one can derive patterns, if they so wish, but there's no universal answer."

"Can't help but wish there was one."

"You and me both."

"What were your nightmares about?"

"Many things. Battles I have participated in, when I was so terrified I was certain I would die, friends dying in front of me, either in battle or, as it happened sometimes, from torture by TODC agents. Those were the general topics. When the Day of Burning happened and I... lost Rose to a fatal chest trauma, I relived that nightmare over and over again for a year, I think. What were your nightmares about, comrade?"

"Well, I saw a nightmare of my friends' deaths once, at the hands of Curve Blade. That was shortly before we destroyed the White Knives. But I also had nightmares about... being evil."

"Hmm. May I learn more details?"

"Eh, why the heck not," Twilight gulped down the rest of her whiskey and popped more peanuts in her mouth. "I remember this dream where I walk around in this dark tunnel, when I see this twisted, broken pile of bodies and limbs, and every human in there starts... screaming at me, that I am a monster and a murderer... and my body acts without my consents, it raises the assault rifle and kills them... and then I see a mirror where my reflection shows an... evil me, for the lack of a better word, and my friends appear behind me, disapopinted and angry... my body tries to attack them, but they shoot me first."

"That's... pretty vivid. Does that repeat or you had more nightmares like this?"

"A similar one - again, many bodies, but instead of me being in the body of the "evil me", I actually talked with my dark version myself. It told me that I was similar to it, that it was a part of me... and at the end, it started... how to put it... molding itself into me, making me feel violated... fortunately, I woke up before it went inside me fully."

"Hmmm. It appears you are facing an inner demon, so to say..."

Twilight involuntarily shuddered at the word "demon" as a memory of Sunset Shimmer putting on the crown with the Element of Magic and undergoing the transformation into a horrific flying monster.

What if I am indeed facing a demon inside me, like Hunter said? she thought.

Then, another thought barged uninvited into her mind:

What if I am turning into a demon myself?

"Hunter?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Do you consider yourself a good man?"

"An interesting question. I would like to believe that I am indeed a good man."

"Even though you killed?"

"Even though I killed, yes. Does my answer sound strange to you?"

"Er..." Twilight paused; she did not expect such a straightforward question. "I can't say that. Just... as far as I can recall, the community I grew up in reacted very negatively to killing, even in self-defense. They preached that killing was the final solution, used only when there was absolutely no other option."

"Your community put a high value on human life. I applaud that," Hunter refilled the glasses and raised his own. "Let's drink to them."

"Let's," Twilight clanked her glass against his and drank everything inside this time. "So, as I was saying, they disliked killing. I can't help but think... if I were to find them again, what would they think of me? Would they accept me? Or reject me and chase me away? I... I actually had a nightmare where I returned, but... but everyone shunned me and chased me away, hatred and malice in their eyes."

"Did that nightmare bother you the most?"

"Yes," Twilight admitted after a small pause. "So I'm curious: how can one call themselves a good man, when they have killed? How can they justify that? I know already about defending others, or preventing something terrible down the line... I wanted to hear something besides that, because those reasons can be twisted for evil deeds just as well."

"How interesting," Hunter refilled their glasses. "It's not a question one can find an universal answer to."

"Do you have your own answer?"

The war veteran put his glass down, keeping silence for several long moments.

"I believe," he said at last, slowly, "that you can remain a good person, even if you have blood on your hands... as long as you do not derive any sick, sadistic pleasure from the death of your foes. Of course, that advice can hardly be followed if, for example, you're trying to avenge someone. It would be hard to not feel pleasure at seeing your nemesis suffer. But still, even if you're out for vengeance, remember - one who fights monsters must ensure they themselves do not become a monster. Fortunately, you have a good group of friends, who will look out for you, and stop you if you go too far."

"To friends, then," Twilight proposed a toast.

"To friends."

Clink! the glasses rang in the emptiness of the bar.

"Oof," Twilight said as she drank, "I'm feeling buzzy..."

"Stallion's Buck is one strong whiskey. Think you had enough?"

"Yep... I think so," the girl slurred, rising to feet and trying to steady herself. "Thanks, Hunter..."

"You're welcome, beautiful. Er, should I help you back to your room?"

"No, no, I'll be fine," Twilight said, and put some caps on the bar. "Don't even think of giving 'em back. And thanks for the talk... I feel easier."

"Again, you're welcome."

Twilight left the bar and made it back to the room where she and her friends were staying for the night, left her things beside her and laid back onto the cot.

My friends will stop me from turning into a monster, she repeated the mantra in her head.

As she began to drop into the realm of dreams, however, a traitorous thought wormed its way:

What if they won't?

The next day...

"Are you ready?" Twilight asked everyone, dressed in her Commissariat assault armour, with Brotherhood of Steel's sigil visible on her left shoulder pad.

Sunset re-checked her laser rifle, and cocked it in her hands.

"Ready," she said.

Applejack stepped into her power armour, and it closed itself around her. The girl took off her Stetson and put on a helmet that Brotherhood of Steel agreed to lend her (thanks to Twilight's clout with Elder Aegis), and took her minigun.

"Ah'm ready," the helmet's vocoder did not erase her accent.

Rarity looked down the telescopic sight on her MSR-90 sniper rifle. Satisfied, she flipped the switch of her Stealth-Boy on and off, shimmering out of sight for a moment and reappearing.

"Ready, darling," she said.

"Very well," she said. "Everyone said their goodbyes?"

Her friends, as well as Big Mac and Apple Bloom, nodded.

"We're ready, Flash," the lavender-skinned girl told her paramour.

"OK. Let's go then," the former rocker said in a business tone.

In order to access the Western Canterlot Wastelands, they had to travel closer to the ruins of Whinnyapolis and use a draisine to travel to the surroundings of Maretonia, where the Western chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel had their headquarters. Aegis' soldiers had previously established control over the railway to Maretonia and the draisine was repurposed as the assault transport, with heavy fifty-cal machine guns located in the front and in the back. Flash Sentry volunteered to help along with three Paladins of his own, which pushed the draisine to its limits.

They arrived at the location without trouble, fortunately, and the Paladins guarding the draisine gave it without further words.

Twilight looked ahead, eyes searching for a threat - as usual - but her thoughts were focused on her future.

What will I find there?

What challenges lie ahead?

Will my morals undergo even more trials? Will I succeed? Or succumb?

Who will be my friend and my enemy there?

These questions plagued her, but she was certain in one thing:

Her friends will be with her, all the way.

Level Up!

New Perk (Twilight Sparkle)

Energetic Girl: You gain permanent +5 bonus to your Energy Weapons skill.

New Perk (Sunset Shimmer)

Squeeze More Health: RegenStim injections restore extra 20% of your health. However, if you inject three RegenStims in one hour, their effectiveness will drop by 50% until you sleep for at least six hours.

Allegiance Perk (Brotherhood of Steel)

Sword of Justice: As long as you are a member of Brotherhood of Steel, you gain +5% Damage bonus and +10% Critical Damage bonus against anyone whom Brotherhood considers their enemies.

Author's Notes:

With this chapter, I finish the Trottingham arc of Fallout: Equestria Girls.

I know that the end is not really epic, but Chapters 28-30 were meant to be the last culmination of this arc, and the rest were a wind-down. Besides, we're far from the end, so there's more epic-ness to follow in the future.

My brain could not stop snapping at me for basically co-opting the plot move from Fallout 3 where the Lone Wanderer joins the Brotherhood of Steel, but on some pondering, I have come to conclusion that not having Twilight join the Brotherhood would make no sense, considering the plans I have for her interaction with the Western chapter of the Brotherhood (and that chapter is different from the one that Aegis leads, mind you) and some other things. I love "badass Twilight" stories, but that would go too far.

Also, I think you are all aware that Hasbro has released several sneak peeks of Legends of Everfree on YouTube. Gotta say, they were... intriguing. But they present a new problem for me - what changes to canon will the new movie bring and how I can co-opt them. I will make a blog post later which will go over the sneak peeks and the trailer, and explain how they influence my story.

Unfortunately, the new movie seems to be throwing a spanner in my work, and not only this one. Gah. I'll explain that last tidbit later in the blog. Here, I will say that recent revisions and information from sneak peeks forced me to start re-planning the plot progression for the next arc of the story, so the updates are quite likely to slow (plus, I haven't played Fallout in ages and my creative mojo ran dry without it, so I'll have to restore it).

Another thing I need to tell you is that the OC/Rainbow Dash and Sci-Twi/Flash shipfics I keep promising will take temporary priority over Fallout: Equestria Girls. I want to release at least one of those before Legends of Everfree comes out. Given that I still need to re-hash some things for this story, this gives me a perfect opportunity to finish them.

Thoughts, comments and criticism are always welcome and fuel me on Stay tuned for the future adventures of Twilight and Co.!