Without the raiders holding the nearby bridge this area was actually a pretty nice part of town. Sitting here at what was a pretty tasteful riverfront diner with the caravan waiting to cross the river, enjoying a pleasant lunch with Jade and Glitter at a fairly intact outdoor dining table, I could almost imagine it was still before the war. The occasional scream or explosion from the far side of the bridge kind of ruined the illusion, but it was still nice.

The slightly sticky set of components I kept turning to under the table and fiddling with definitely didn't belong either, they intruded on the enjoyable little fantasy where the three of us were just having a nice family lunch together, I couldn't keep my mind off them though. I had been allowed to view the synth that attacked me back in Hexington this morning before we left and brought what I could carry that wouldn't rot.

The whole process had been pretty grisly, robots shouldn't need to have a doctor like Jade on hoof to help me with but this one did. The alicorn medic had deftly sliced the organic components of the synth away to let me get to the machine underneath. Even knowing it was a very fancy robot I had fought with my breakfast while she worked, it was very realistic...

"Fast, stop playing with that horrible thing under the table..." Jade's admonishment made me jump and sit up straight, getting a giggle from Glitter around a mouthful of cake.

"S-sorry... can't help it... Putting it away now." She glowered at me until I had the components wrapped back in the cloth I took them from and stashed in my bags again. Disgusting as it was the parts I had been examining were so advanced it was crazy, I had pulled both a healing and repair talisman from the torso that were generations ahead of even the absolute best I ever read about in the Big Book of Arcane Science.

"And have you learned anything useful yet? I must admit I am curious, the biological part of it was most interesting, does the robot part compare?"

"Yeah, it's almost too much for me to figure out but some things still look the same. What really bothered me though was its flanks..." The alicorn mare shifted uncomfortably darting an unconscious glance at her own blank flank hidden beneath her coat. "Sorry! Didn't mean... just... I know she had a cutie mark before, it would be noticeable if she didn't trying to blend in right? How could she not now? I expected it to be like a decal or something, not just... gone..."

"She did have one before dad, it was a dessert, I remember seein' it in the mayor's office!" Her name had been Tart, leave it to Glitter to have memorized the sweet based cutie mark.

"I knew it, thank you Glitter. See, she had one before but now it's gone... That mare from the memories Virescent showed you said something about researching cutie marks Jade, I think the one it had was... real? Something more than just a sticker anyway. It's weird, I don't like it."

Our new zebra companion Zed looked down from his strange pose, perfectly balanced on his hindlegs on the railing above the river, watching ominous looking hulks floating by just beneath the surface. "Certain dark magic can remove a glyph mark... one of your cutie marks, it is possible that is what happened. With no tether such a captured mark would return to its origin or fade away."

Could you put a real cutie mark on a robot? The whole idea was disturbing. My musing was cut short by Val swooping back from across the bridge and landing next to us, dumping a heavy sack of loot to the ground and flopping into a free chair, popping open a beer with her claws. She had been clearing the last of the raiders with AssaultJack and insisted on checking the entire span for mines and other booby traps, so we had taken lunch waiting for her to finish.

"Alright boss, all clear. Somethin' you ougth'a see though," I raised an eyebrow to the griffon questioningly but she just pointed to the bridge. "Other side, we can take a look together, all good into town now, left the robot with her."

"Her?"

Groaning Val took a long pull on her beer, "Don't freak out ok, she's been there awhile, figured she'd wait. The robot's right there after all."

"Val... is there something I need to know..."

"Ugh! Fine, they had a prisoner ok? Wasn't gonna just let em loose till I talked to ya, not like she's goin' anywhere! You guys got a break!" Huffing at me leaping up she finished her drink and flapped out of her seat, shoving the rest of the caravan up and into moving.

I ran ahead while everyone else got ready again, grumbling at her flying along beside me. "They had a prisoner and you just left them there?! Why!?"

"Well... they could be one of those synth things... an' she's locked in a cage..."

"Val! You pick locks!"

"She's kinda annoying too though... mouthy..."

I could see the boxy cage hanging from the bridge archway on the side of the river I was approaching. A pony was indeed up there, hindlegs dangling through the bars above the gleaming AssaultJack robot. "Valkyrie! Go get her out of there! Please!"

"Fiiiiiine..." She didn't sound happy but did swoop ahead of me and clung to the cage, raking at the lock with her dark claws. The rusty cage swung open as I skidded to a halt below, sending the mare inside tumbling out to land right on me. "Whoops... good catch boss!"

"Owww.... y-you alright Miss?" Whoever this was she wasn't a pegasus unfortunately, she was rubbing her rump but not getting off my back...

"Ouch, sure I'm great, thanks pal. That griffon a friend of yours? Her and that robot ruined my story, told her if I wanted out like that I could'a just..." Whatever she could have done was cut off with a surprised "eep!" as Jade caught up and yanked her off me in a field of her magic, leaving me groaning on the pavement.

"Fast! What are you doing? What did I say about allowing other mares close?" Her narrowed blue gaze pinned the newly freed prisoner as they both hovered in the air above me.

I could at least get a look now. A unicorn mare winced down at me with one deep brown eye open, a small dark cap topped her warm black mane. She wore a red leather coat over her pale pink hide and had a cutie mark of a... a newspaper? Were there such things anymore?

"Hey easy Blue, your buck there just caught me is all. I was just sayin' if I.... wait... Blue... wings... horn..." she struggled in the air to spin on me, getting a better wide eyed look, "Black... cloak... Stable barding... it's you!"

"Ummm... me?"

"You! Both of you! The Princess and the Shroud! Ha! Been hanging up there all night waiting, these fools were totally spooked, saying the Shrouded Stallion said to open the bridge, that he'd be back today. Sorta let em catch me with the idea they could get ransom from Diamond City, like they'd pay to get me back, pfft! Worth it though, you two are real!?" She sounded completely unconcerned with the raiders that were only recently removed from the bridge.

"Er, yeah, last I checked we're real. Are you? You're saying you let them take you hostage?"

The strange mare drifted lazily through the air as Jade landed beside me, rolling her eyes and laughing. "Sure! The whole hanging the cage up thing was kinda annoying but I coulda picked the lock any time I wanted. The chance to get the story though? Been waitin' on Luna's avenger all this time, though you're kinda... short, for a mythical bringer of divine wrath and all..."

The blue-white field of magic around her popped like a bubble, dropping her to the street at Jade's hooves as she glowered down at her, "Fast is just fine as he is. If you need no assistance we will be on our way." She huffed and stuck her nose up in the air, trotting over to me and nudging me away from the odd mare with her wing.

"Awww hold on, wait! Sorry! No offense really! Just not what I expected is all, that's why I'm out here though, to get to the truth behind the fiction! Though you... you er... measure up completely, don't you there Princess?"

Furling a wing around me Jade picked up the pace, heading towards the caravan crossing the bridge towards us as she whispered in my ear. "T-this mare is quite rude Fast. We should not engage her prattling, I do not like her..."

"Don't let it get to you, you're fine the way you are too Jade. Weird to let herself be caught though isn't it?"

Val had been fluttering overhead near enough to hear and eyed the unicorn still tailing us, "Told ya boss, why I left her in there. Like I said... mouthy."

"For once Valkyrie and I are in perfect agreement. Just ignore her Fast." Trying to keep up with the long legged filly was tiring and the stream of questions following us was getting distracting.

"Please, just hang on! Are you really a princess Blue? Your little buck friend your knight? How many other alicorns are in the Commonwealth? The Shroud there really take out all of the Thundega raiders single hoofed at your command? Did you turn into a giant fire breathing monster and smash the Church of Balefire? Where's this kingdom of Sanctuary?" Oh thank Luna, Dusty and the caravan were just ahead, Jade was shifting gears up to a full gallop shoving me along breathlessly.

Ducking behind the carts only made the curious mare pause long enough to greet Dusty with familiarity, "Dusty! Glad to see your crew can take the short route again! Have some questions for you once I'm done with this lot!"

"Piper Penmare! Be careful, don't want to mess with these folks, regular royalty they are. Awful lucrative for me and Rusty too, have to take their side if you make yourself a nuisance girl!" The trader chuckled but let her by with a wave, dammit.

Jade was counting on this Piper being held up by the caravan and paused, shifting on her hooves indecisively looking for some escape. That gave Piper enough time to charge forward and tackle me, pinning me to the ground. The angry gasp that got from the alicorn just made her grin slyly and wiggle on top of me.

"Oh? You don't like this Princess? Care to answer some questions then?"

"N-no! Get off of Fast this instant!" Her magic sprang up around her and pulled at the unicorn but she was ready now, wrapping all four legs around me and dragging me along with her to Jade's frustration.

"Come on Blue! I'll give him back for just a few minutes of your time!"

Val had her pistol out and aimed but the slippery mare kept me between them making the griffon scowl at her, "Give the word boss!"

I had to shake my head as wheezing out an answer around the mare's grip seemed like it would only make things worse. The caravan ponies looked like they found this whole exchange hilarious and knew the strange unicorn well enough, she was pushy but didn't seem dangerous. Though whatever look she was giving Jade behind me was making her furious.

"If you don't want to spare just a moment of your busy day I can ask him instead Blue! Lots of questions for both of you, I bet he's a lot more cooperative hmm?" Whatever she was doing her breath was right in my ear making me flush.

"ENOUGH!"

The booming goddess voice shocked even the crass mare into loosening her grip, as soon as she flinched I was yanked away and this Piper remained where she was. I had to duck under Jade's outstretched wings to take in her twitching glare at the unicorn floating helplessly above her. A gentle touch to her shoulder calmed her panting while I waved Val off from unleashing explosive death. Even Glitter scowled up at weird unicorn mare once she charged up with Zed following along in her wake.

Rusty Clank angled his heavily loaded cart around the others in the caravan and managed to defuse the situation thankfully, "Easy there everypony. Miss Jade try to forgive Piper here, no social graces whatsoever but she's a good pony. Filly's just news crazy, looking at Diamond City's number one reporter mare there. She's one of my few contacts in that town, appreciate it if you could cut her some slack fer me?"

Rusty asking her was enough to calm Jade down, mostly. She floated Piper far away from us and lowered her none to gently to the ground again, shifting between us and nodding to Val who was watching closely this time. I really doubted this reporter mare was a synth, but the experience was fresh enough Val was as leery as the alicorn when it came to letting anypony just come running up.

"I do not wish to answer questions, especially of a reporter. Do not grab Fast again Miss, I do not like it."

She was being watched too close for surprise to work again so Piper merely pouted and started prattling on again from a distance. "Come on, we just got off on the wrong hoof. Sorry, I was just playing around a little, anything for the story right? The public has a right to know! Just a few questions!"

I had to try to consider the situation calmly as the others didn't seem inclined to, except for Zed, but he wasn't speaking up one way or the other. Rusty vouched for her along with the others in the caravan, she was pushy but so far had been solely focused on her story, she really was a reporter? Like reporters before the war? She went so far as to be captured intentionally and wait here for us, because of all the rumors in the Commonwealth now thanks to my theatrics... If she was willing to go this far for her story I kinda doubted she'd stop, hell she probably couldn't stop herself if she wanted.

If our experience in Hexington taught me anything it was knowing locals in a new town was worth it, Diamond City was the center of the Commonwealth and a complete unknown to me. What better source of information could you ask for than a reporter? What's more her questions so far showed she was pretty good at getting information, even if they hadn't been entirely accurate she knew a lot of what we had been up to. Somepony that good at digging up dirt on just us was a pony I wanted to talk to about the Institute...

"Alright Piper, Jade's kinda shy but I'm willing to talk..." A pen and notepad floated out from the mare's coat before I could even continue the thought. "Whoa! Easy, I was thinking more of a quid pro quo type of thing, you get a question, I get a question. We were all heading to Diamond City, you live there right? We could use a friend in the town and there's things I'd like to know, does that sound fair?"

Her happy nodding sent her mane flying around her as she cantered forward under Jade and Val's dubious stares. "An exclusive interview with the Shrouded Stallion? Sure! Bet you'll need help getting in though, I want two questions for each of yours, I am a reporter after all so I'm bound to have more right?"

I groaned but agreed, it would keep her from pestering Jade for now and according to my pip-buck we still had a decent walk ahead of us to Diamond City. I could already see a lot of uncomfortable talking ahead but it would fill the time.

As soon as we put the river behind us the city of Trotson proper started closing in around us, making me keep glancing around nervously. Piper and the caravan members all explained this route was kept fairly safe by Diamond City guards but the narrow streets and progressively taller ruined buildings made for a lot of hiding places. Even with E.F.S. the thought of hordes of zombie ponies or wasteland monsters in the tight quarters was enough to make me anxious.

Most buildings were old three and four story brick affairs, stacked together so tightly in twisting patterns that even the balefire bombs hadn't knocked them down. Rusting hulks of carriages had been cleared at the tightest spots in our way as we walked south so it was fairly smooth going, glances down side streets and alleys we passed showed just how much of a maze it would be if we weren't traveling a known trade route though.

My brain felt wrung dry by the mare nattering in my ear the whole way, not only did she never run out of questions but they were smart. As soon as she had one answer to work off of she launched more from her initial foray. She also hadn't stuck to the rules, asking so many branching questions I had only gotten a few basic ones out about Diamond City.

Jade looked annoyed at the mare walking at my side but refused to get close to the manic reporter. Instead she had sent Glitter forward with instructions to keep between us, which the foal followed like a mission from Celestia. I was grateful for the help, the little filly was much better at all this talking business and her boisterous interjections let me think.

"Alright, just so I'm totally sure here... you're really from before the war?! You were alive back then?" Once Piper had gotten around to asking about my Stable barding one thing had led to another and she found her new sticking point.

"I was Glitter's age but yes, I was around back then."

"And this Stable... 111, you weren't the only one? There's a whole Stable worth of prewar ponies!? That's what this Sanctuary place is?!"

"No, I'm the only one. The others were taken... I'm trying to find out what happened to them and get them back. My turn, what do you know about the Institute Piper? They took my Stable, my family, I want them back."

"Yeah! An' they tried ta' kill dad for gettin' rid of the mean mayor! They're bad so we're gonna get em!" Glitter stamped her hooves and scowled, my hatred of the Institute was hers as far as she was concerned.

Piper's eyes lit up at the mention of the shadowy group that spread such misery everywhere I encountered them. "The Institute! Reeeeally! That just happens to be a pet project of mine Fast, I've probably got more info on them than anypony you're likely to run into. Three whole file cabinets of stuff back home, prewar records, first hand stories, recordings, everything! Buy any of it up I can and crawled all over the old C.I.A.T. campus back across the river myself more than once."

"Back across the river? It was back there?" Don't tell me we walked right by without ever knowing, I had wanted to investigate the place.

"Sure was, don't you know? Why things get so fancy and nice over on that end, campus was a few blocks off in Manebridge. For wanting to find em you don't know much do you? Lucky you ran into me, preeminent expert on the Institute at your service. Guess I can let you see my stuff, you didn't miss much at the school anyway, wherever they are now it ain't there."

My pip-buck map could have been a little more informative, letting me know names once I actually found a place was useful but a simple marker would have pointed me in the right direction. At the thought and Piper's explanation an alert crossed my vision, Map Marker Added... better late than never... Manebridge was where the two Brotherhood ponies Val and I had met at Watt's said they were, checking the map showed the marker for Manebridge Police H.Q. fairly near the new one for the Commonwealth Institute of Arcane Technology. Well, we'd go that way to get back to Sanctuary eventually, next time we were that way I had a couple places to visit now.

"So why are you so interested in the Institute Piper? Other than the obvious I guess."

"Because they're the boogeyman of the Commonwealth! Everything bad out there has ponies whispering about the Institute! They have their hooves in everything, hell synths run Diamond City!"

"They do!?"

"Ok... maybe I can't prove that one, but still! Ponies go missing all the time and the Governor doesn't do a thing. Sweeps it all under the rug and says there's nothing to worry about, no such thing as the Institute or synths when anypony knows that's not true! Like the night of the broken mask didn't happen in our own city! Mark my words, the ponies in charge of Diamond City aren't ponies at all, they're all synths!"

That seemed like a pretty outrageous claim but Piper looked like she completely believed it. Just from what I knew unfortunately I couldn't discount it either, if Diamond City was the capital of the Commonwealth wasteland the Institute would be meddling with it. The reporter pony's personality may be a little abrasive but running into her was probably a good thing.

"Daddy look! Is that it Miss Piper?!" Glitter's excited shout roused me from my thoughts and I followed her pointing hoof up the street.

Piper nodded and gave the little filly a wink, "Sure is kid, Diamond City, great green jewel of the Commonwealth. You guys take in the sight, I'll go ahead and work on getting you in. No running off now! Still not done and plan on getting an interview with the princess back there too!"

We had come around yet another bend in the winding streets and now had a straight view of a huge, squat brick structure. More than one floor or so up the walls we could see transitioned to green metal and the corner entryway that had come into view was built of the same. Tattered banners fluttered from the high walls, evenly spaced just within view and each showing three blue diamonds. Directly in front of the angled entry was a large light green copper statue of a very attractive unicorn mare posed coquettishly, her frozen curled mane and tail cascading around her and a carved cutie mark that matched all the banners.

The street ahead around the entrance was crowded with a wide variety of what looked like other caravans and travelers, ponies, ghouls, zebras, griffons, even a couple buffalo could be spotted milling around from here. A large number of guards mixed in the crowd as well, easy to make out in their baseball uniforms and pads, each carried a bat around like a sword on their back along with their other more lethal weaponry.

Rusty told us he wasn't welcome inside the city, apparently ghouls and other 'undesirables' like himself did a lot of business just outside the gates here. He hadn't been all that clear why he wasn't welcome, other than the general impression the residents were a bit stuck up. I didn't like the idea though, Rusty was a good pony, why shouldn't he be allowed in?

With Piper moved away Jade trotted up and joined me in trying to hold Glitter back from simply bolting off towards all the excitement. The gates had a definite flea market mixed with carnival atmosphere that was irresistible for the foal and she goggled at all the sights as we approached, stopping to stare up at the grand statue looming over us.

"Who's this dad? She's really pretty isn't she!" Her pink eyes were wide taking in the fetching representation.

Jade raised an eyebrow at me cooly, "Answer her Fast, do you think so as well?"

Oh no, I wasn't going to be tripped up that easily at the forced casualness of her question. "This is Ministry Mare Rarity, yeah she is. I used to think she was the prettiest mare in all of Equestria Glitter, now I'd have to say second prettiest though." A kiss up to the alicorn's cheek made her whinny happily as Glitter rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out.

"Eww... She's a Ministry Mare? Like the other ones from all the posters? How come I never seen her picture like them?"

Come to think of it that was a good question, I knew Rarity from before the war, everypony knew her back then. Just going off the evidence left behind 200 years later though she didn't show up all over the place like the others. "I don't know Glitter, hers was the Ministry of Image, you'd think she'd have lots of posters too with a name like that and her as the Ministry Mare in charge. Funny for this to be here too, this place was a ball field if I remember right."

Rusty had caught up to us staring and chuckled in his gravelly voice, "Weren't a big sports pony were you Fast? Trotson Red Hooves played here, Rarity was like their unofficial mascot, designed their uniforms every year for em. Poor bastards never won but they looked good doin' it. Fans were loyal as all get out too, if the team loved the Ministry Mare then they all did too, lots o' fashion and culture in this part o' town fer her visits, even a branch o' her own boutique."

Zed had managed to seemingly appear from nowhere at my back, gazing up at the statue and startling me when he actually decided to speak. "This Ministry Mare of yours did things that would surprise all of you. I must admit my respect for her, image is exactly all you know, the truth is much more. The strength to remain uncorrupted by things she was exposed to is indeed rare."

The quiet zebra stallion liked a pony mare? Granted if you were going to pick just one I could see it being this one. It didn't sound like Zed just found her physically attractive though, he seemed to know things that made Rarity something special in his view. I tried to get him to elaborate but just got met with a mysterious look before he wandered off silently, making friends with the stony zebra was not going to be easy...

"You folks take care of yourselves ya' hear? Never felt that bad bout not being allowed in this place, can be dangerous. Got a few standin' orders to fill with some contacts out here an' some more dickering to do for our stock. Might take a bit but you should be able to do the town up right with a good amount o' caps in yer pockets, I'll make sure yer cut gets to ya." The old ghoul clapped me on the back and stuck a hoof out.

Returning the gesture I smiled at him, back in the Stable I would never have thought I'd be friends with a dead pony but I really liked Rusty. Parting like this was surprisingly painful, "Thanks Rusty, for everything really. We'll see each other again soon right?"

"Ya better! Missus was already makin' plans fer yer next visit! Hopin' ta watch yer filly again too! You be good little one, take care o' yer daddy fer us right? Bunch'a greedy snobs round here, he'll need ya ta keep 'im from goin' broke!"

Glitter gave him a squishy hug and waved excitedly as he headed off to do his trading, "I will Rusty! Don't worry! Say hi to Copper for me!"

Catching sight of Piper waving at us by a guard in a fancier uniform at the gate cut short any ideas about looking around, if she could get us in the city we should go ahead while the getting was good. If Diamond City was so selective about who they let in I had to wonder how our strange group would fare, an alicorn, a griffon, a zebra, a killer robot and two plain old ponies... it sounded like the setup for a bizarre joke... As we approached I was glad we had the hyperactive reporter on our side.

"See there, just like I told you Mat! A princess, big as day! You know delegations from other towns are welcome and they got me vouching for them, let's move it, chop, chop!" Piper was slick alright.

The guard eyed us dubiously a moment, "A zebra Piper? Not against the rules but..."

"Hey, you wanna argue with royalty be my guest! I'm sure all those noble snobs will understand you turning away a real princess seeing how you don't approve of who she keeps as part of her retinue. You are the expert after all, I'll write an article so everypony knows your good reasons, don't worry!"

"Alright! Jeez Piper you win! Welcome to Diamond City folks, you got your own know it all guide so explaining the rules is on her. Keep out of trouble and enjoy your stay Princess."

Jade flushed nervously under the attention but a gentle nudge got her to go along with it, "Oh! Y-yes... umm... t-thank you sir, we will!" She skittered past the guard huddling next to me and whispered in my ear once we were past. "I do not like perpetuating your story Fast... a-all the attention... I am not..."

"You are one now, Princess of Sanctuary. I know you don't like being in the pubic eye like that, but it works. I told you, you were always a princess to me, this is just letting others see what I do. I'm right here with you ok?" She muttered nervously but contented herself nuzzling me as we walked through the wide doors into the dark interior of the building, a light at the end of a long tunnel marked Diamond City waiting for us.

Exiting the tunnel left me blinking in the bright afternoon sun at the spectacle in front of us and the text in my vision;

Mission Updated- Diamond City Blues

-Objectives
--Reach Diamond City
--Find Nick Hearts n' Hooves

-Optional Objective
--Clear the bridge to Diamond City

A whole city had grown up in the old ball field. The tunnel exited midway up the stands behind where home plate used to be, the stairs lead down from our perch to the field which was filled with a variety of shops and stands. An eatery of some kind occupied the center of the field over the pitcher's mound, the bulk of it looked like a huge Sparkle Cola bottle taken from a billboard and shoppers could sit at the counter letting the market flow around them.

Beyond the obvious storefronts the field was filled with alleys of ramshackle homes and buildings, these stretched up to other stairways like this one up into the stands. The outfield was a makeshift farm, just what I could see through the buildings was covered in crops and had ponies working out there. A tall metal tower peeked up from far right field too, neon letters currently dark in the sunshine spelled out D.C.R. with the three diamond logo below. Fancier homes were built up into the stands themselves overlooking the field below and walkways stretched off from our current vantage to either side leading to these.

The truly jaw dropping sight however was above even these luxurious homes, ramps from the upper decks led directly above the field where there was a small cloud town... Mom had taken me to one before when I was Glitter's age to visit my grandparents so it was familiar at least, seeing the graceful architecture hanging above us here was a shock though. The sky was actually crowded with pegasi flying about, up to the fluffy homes or around the city itself. I hadn't realized how I had grown used to no longer seeing them around anymore until I was faced with a view closer to the world before the war, as many pegasi as earth ponies and unicorns.

Glitter actually gave voice to the thoughts running through my head while I stared, "Pegasuses! Lookit all of em dad! There's buildings made of clouds up there!!"

"Pegasi Glitter, the plural is Pegasi. Would you like to see?" Jade smiled down to the wide eyed foal and floated Glitter to her back at her enthusiastic nodding, "We will be right back Fast, I will merely take a short trip around."

I waved numbly at them as the little filly squealed from the alicorn's back, zooming up to inspect the cloud structures. Val gave a nudge and bolted up after them, pulling agile loops around Jade's slow, stately progress and scattering the local pegasi residents out of her way ahead of them.

Piper and Zed were standing with me watching the spectacle, the reporter mare grinned over and shut my gaping mouth for me. "Quite a sight huh? Friends tell me there's all kinds of abandoned cloud ruins up there in the sky, old Grand Pegasus Enclave had strict population controls so they had more buildings than ponies. Locals managed to guide some of the smaller ones down here once the sky opened up. Only good for pegasus residents of course, but helped smooth the transition, all the new pegasus folk weren't taking up valuable real estate down here."

"It... It's been a long time since I saw any... Val said there were pegasi here she didn't mind, thought most ponies didn't like them though?"

"Well these aren't really Enclave ponies, most of them up there never knew what the world was like here on the surface so they're not too bad. Once they found out and the skies opened up lots came down and started living together with us again. Though their position here now has a lot to do with just a few Dashites over the years the sky was closed." Piper explained sagely as we walked down the stairs to the field but I had to ask about that word.

"Dashites? Er... wow that takes some getting used to, you really have some weird blind spots don't you Fast? Dashites are from before the Lightbringer, the Enclave stayed up there behind the clouds telling the pegasi everything was shit down here. Any of them that dared question that or suggest they come down and help during those 200 years... they got exiled, branded with the mark of Rainbow Dash, hence Dashites.

During all that time seeing a pegasus down here was pretty damn rare, they could never go back home but being able to fly and all gave em some advantages living down here. One pretty smart Dashite bout 60 years ago or so started a successful business as a courier, made a bunch of caps, bought himself a cushy spot here in Diamond City back when it was coming up. His family kept up the racket and have become pillars of the community, even helped mend fences when the sky opened and all the newbie pegasi came down. Made a tidy profit opening trade with the sky too, more powerful than ever nowadays."

Having a local reporter as a guide was definitely informative, I was still just marveling at seeing so many pegasi again after such a long absence but there seemed to be quite a bit of history there. We had made our way down to the cola bottle eatery I now saw was run by a Ponitron in a chef's toque for some reason, at our approach the robot had turned to speak to us.

"Nani Shimasu Ka?" Wha? Whatever that was it wasn't what I expected the synthetic voice to rattle off.

"Just say yes or no, that's all he says." Piper didn't seem to find the robot odd anyway.

"Umm... I can probably fix that..."

What?! No! Takahashi is a local fixture, he's tradition! Everypony knows what he means, you'd never hear the end of it if you actually fixed it."

I'd never been asked to leave something broken before... trying to comprehend the logic involved was at least interrupted before I blew a fuse by Jade, Val and Glitter landing nearby. The happy little filly pranced around us ecstatic from her tour, "Daddy did you see! We did a loop! There was stores up there too, I wanted to go in but Miss Jade said no, can't I?!"

"I am sorry Glitter, it is not a matter of being disallowed. You cannot stand on those structures without sinking through them." Jade gave a concise explanation to the disappointed earth pony but I could actually help here for once.

"Actually one of the very few spells I know can let you walk up there Glitter, we can try it later if you want."

"Really!?"

Even the alicorn looked impressed at that, she had me beat in magic across the board normally. "Really, I think I could only manage the cloud walking spell cause mom's a pegasus, in my blood already. Er... long as it still works I guess, haven't tried it since the whole... lightning... thing..."

Reminded of one of the reasons we had come here Jade frowned and spotted the clinic nearby, "All the more reason to get you checked as soon as possible Fast, playing around with complicated spells is inadvisable when your magic is still unpredictable. I will speak with the local doctor and schedule an appointment for you."

I wasn't looking forward to that, as long as I didn't know one way or the other why my magic had gotten so uncontrollable I could keep believing it wasn't because I had suffered some strange mutation. I wasn't going to get to argue however, Jade had already trotted off to do as promised, finding out was becoming inevitable...

I could try to take my mind off it as long as possible though, this was a busy city to explore. I had to promise Piper we'd stop by her nearby home to continue her precious interview but she seemed satisfied. She even tempted Glitter with meeting her sister, a pale lavender filly she pointed out near the entrance stairs advertising papers.

Zed had managed to disappear again somehow, I had to put a bell around his neck or something... Glancing around the market I spotted him walking off down a dark side alley with a number of signs, one of which looked sort of like the squiggly mark on his flank, zebra writing? Well he always showed back up when he felt like it, I really doubted he needed a babysitter, I just wished he was a little friendlier.

A neon sign above the painted zebra mark pointed to the same alley, reading "Hearts n' Hooves Detective Agency", that was somewhere I wanted to go. Following my gaze Val nodded, "Oh yeah, Nick! Hafta go give him a talking to boss, wanna go or..."

The invitation was unfortunately interrupted by Jade returning happily and nudging me up, "This doctor is much nicer than Scalpel, she will see you immediately Fast. Isn't that wonderful? Come along, I wish to return to our conversation and see to your health."

"But... Detective..." Anything to put this off, I looked to Val for help but she just smirked and scooted Glitter to her.

"We can handle talkin' to Nick boss. You heard yer mare, yer health is important an' all that. C'mon kiddo you'll like this guy, he's neat!" The foal and traitorous griffon wandered off with AssaultJack following behind, leaving me alone to try to come up with some excuse.

"Umm... d-don't you wanna look around a little Jade? They got a lot of cool shops! Er... look is that a sign for a school? I bet you wanna talk to them about the Followers right? You want to start a school in Sanctuary..."

She did glance at the arrow shaped sign with temptation for a moment, but quickly saw through the ruse and simply picked me up in her magic. "Perhaps later. We should not keep the good doctor waiting Fast. You are going. Now."

The Diamond City Surgery Center was nice enough I could almost forget it wasn't a prewar doctor's office. We had passed through an open exam area off the market for simple purchases and healing into a very clean and well kept back room. I had been left on one of the recovery beds, my horn hooked up to a fancier version of the machine back in Jade's clinic in Sanctuary while the two doctors conferred.

I wasn't alone back here but the other ponies under treatment weren't very good at conversation, two giggled and even spontaneously broke into song with each other, having a grand old time despite being strapped down to their beds. A third was technically awake but it was hard to tell, they lay drooping on their bed, rolling an eye back to the other patients when they got especially silly with a lazy grin on their face.

I really hated doctors visits, having Jade take care of me was one thing but being poked and prodded by anypony else wasn't worth it. The two medical ponies finally came back in through a curtained room in the back, still chatting happily back and forth about doctor type things I guess. The light yellow unicorn mare wore a lab coat even cleaner than Jade's and pulled a pencil from her styled light brown mane, scribbling on a clipboard floating nearby as she looked over the machine I was hooked to. Jade stayed at her side looking concerned but confident as the mare's magic probed at me.

"Right then, Mr. Times, I'm Doctor Cotton Swab, we've been having problems with our magic yes? Your marefriend has filled me in on your condition and provided excellent records, I rarely have so much to work with you know. Stable ponies are infrequent, you appear to be in excellent health despite all the signs of recent trauma. I would thank a talented doctor who obviously cares a great deal about you hmm?" The praise from the older mare made Jade flush and whinny, pleased with herself.

"I thank the goddesses for her every day doc. So... what's the deal, let's get this over with I guess..."

Dr. Swab smiled and started pulling the leads off my horn gently, "Now, now, no reason to be so glum. As I said, you are in excellent health, Dr. Jade here was right to be concerned with possible mutation but I see no signs of such really. Your physiology is a tad interesting, exposure to strange magic over a very long period, she told me of your... unique Stable however. I would be quite interested in examining one of these stasis pods of yours, could be medically useful like my auto-doc back there if it was working properly."

She gestured to the rear of the treatment area and a large booth that did in fact look somewhat similar to the stasis pods back in the Stable. I had been looking it over while they were gone and itching to tinker with it, the mention that it wasn't working right made me really interested now. "I could probably do something about that doc..."

"Yes, one of the topics of conversation we were discussing. You know him quite well don't you Dr. Jade?"

The alicorn doctor smiled and puffed up with pride, "I like to think so yes, he is predictable on certain subjects."

"Just as you said, well Mr. Times your mare here has already worked out a deal for your services in that regard, accurately guessing your behavior. Consider the treatment free provided you can repair it. This includes purging what taint is in your system, very minor contamination don't worry. I'd venture you did more damage to yourself using Hydra than all of your exposure to the wasteland."

Both of them stepped back letting me hop down from the bed eyeing the piece of tech waiting for me. "Umm... that's great? What about my magic though?"

Cotton glanced over her clipboard again and nodded reassured, "From everything Jade has explained and your records here I would guess it is simply a unique combination of factors. Traumatic events like having a lightning strike channeled directly into your horn have been known to awaken latent potential before. I'm personally interested in seeing if the effect is as dramatic as your doctor has described, but there is little I can do for the problem."

Opening the rear of the auto-doc I sighed with relief, no mutation, good. That had been hanging over my head since leaving Sanctuary, I was still stuck with a cannon in my head but it could be worse. "Thanks doc, guess I'll learn to live with it, that's a weight off my shoulders anyway."

"I said I couldn't do much Mr. Times, not that there was nothing to be done. You have a magical problem, not a medical one. Diamond City has an extensive magic shop, Rare Magic, the wizard pony Corona there can help you much better than I can. I have written a note explaining the situation attached to your aptitude chart, I believe you'll find a visit there most useful." Dr. Swab floated the papers up from her clipboard and over to Jade as I tinkered with the machine, they had worked this out already apparently.

Jade took the note and pulled me out of the panel for a hug, "See, nothing to worry about. I will find the others and share the good news. Continue your work Fast, the doctor recommended a place to stay I will inquire about. Perhaps you two can find other subjects to discuss while I am away." She nodded pointedly to the senseless ponies on the other beds nearby before trotting out humming to herself.

Pulling the fried healing talisman from the auto-doc I wondered about that, Jade and the other doctor seemed to get along well, what else had they been discussing? A questioning stare at the doctor around the bulky contraption for a few moments made her shuffle and sigh.

"Your mare tells me you are... good at fixing problems Mr. Times..."

I cocked an eyebrow at her watching her checking her other patients kindly, "So I've been told, it's just Fast please Doctor. I take it you have a problem?"

"Yes... er... Then call me Cotton please. I am taking a bit of a risk asking you but the current situation is unacceptable, and Dr. Jade said you were trustworthy... What would you say is wrong with these ponies?" She gestured to the two giggling fools who tracked her waving hoof slowly.

"Umm... I'm not a medical pony, if I had to guess I'd say drugs?" It seemed a safe bet, they weren't in their right mind that was certain.

"Just so. There is a certain black market in Diamond City trafficking in such things. Normally I would not stick my snout in, ponies will do what they want to regardless of my opinion. This however is something new, two previously unknown drugs have started showing up and dealing with them is taxing my resources. I have complained to the authorities to no avail, those profiting from this epidemic are well protected it would seem." A distasteful frown crossed her face as she crossed over to the third comatose pony.

"New drugs?" Maybe Diamond City wasn't so squeaky clean as the initial impression suggested...

"Dawn and Dusk, both cause intense euphoria and suggestibility, they are highly addictive as well. They aren't your typical wasteland party favors either, very pure, very complicated. As their name suggests one is a stimulant, the other a depressant."

Considering the problem I dug around in the parts I had in my bags, healing talismans were hard to come by but I did have the advanced one I took out of the synth corpse, maybe it would work... It fit the slot anyway and the machine seemed to accept it, I walked around to the console and patched my pip-buck in turning to the doctor. "You want me to what? Stop these new drugs from coming in?"

Cotton nodded enthusiastically, "Optimally yes, though I don't know where they're coming from... Drugs like these would be from a major manufacturer though, a big operation. Just exposing them or finding evidence of who's behind it would help but Jade was of the opinion you tend to solve issues like this more... permanently..."

The alicorn's vote of confidence was always nice, she must really like the doctor to put the idea to her though. If these new drugs were such a problem I would want to do something about it, a greedy griffon in my head had to pipe up though. "Not that I necessarily disagree doctor, or am looking for a reward, but why should I help? Like you said, ponies do what they want to, I can't make them not want to take drugs."

"No, there will always be those who do such things and I deal with the problems left by it. I am having to spend a lot of time and resources dealing with this new wave though, my normal treatments for addiction are not very effective. If I weren't wasting so much on this I would have more to use elsewhere, say with helping your mare's ideas about these Followers of the Apocalypse perhaps? Donating medical care and supplies to Hexington for another? If profit was a motive then the kind of facility and ingredients needed to make these drugs would be valuable and useful in making real medicine instead if they were to be... liberated..."

Oh she was clever alright... she knew just what to dangle in front of me. I doubted this line of conversation had come from Jade either, she was too trusting of fellow healers to have considered things like profit. If doing this helped with Jade's hopes for the Followers in the Commonwealth though... plus the ponies in Hex did need medical help with radiation always being a concern.

Checking my pip-buck's readout on the auto-doc displayed it was now working at... 172% efficiency?! Wow... this synth healing talisman was more advanced than I thought. I disconnected the patch cable and shut the panel in the back, "Alright Doctor, I'll see what I can do about your problem. I do expect if I can help you'll do the same in return though."

"Of course Fast, happy to hear it!" My view of her smiling face was partially obscured by new text in my vision;

Mission Added- Benign Intervention

Objective-
---Discover the source of Dawn and Dusk

I didn't get to wander far outside the Surgery Center before Jade landed next to me, she had found the others quickly enough and sent them on to the lodging, letting Glitter handle the room rental and check in since she demonstrated such skill in that regard already. As we walked she brought a jingling pouch out of her medical box saddlebags and held it out to me, my share of the caps Rusty had promised. Whistling at the large sum now displayed in my pip-buck inventory I took another look around the market with fresh funds burning a hole in my bags.

There were a lot of luxury stores here that Hexington had no time for, only the basics of food, medicine, weapons and armor were really available there. Diamond City on the other hand had so many stores it was dizzying, just strolling along we passed a clothing store with pretty fancy wares on display and a hair salon where I could see a regal looking older mare having her hooves done.

The local weapon and armor merchants both had a large amount of high class goods out to be viewed I looked over idly while we walked, seeing a missile launcher just sitting out behind the counter was a little jarring. They even had a second weapon shop that looked to focus exclusively on magical energy weapons with a pegasus behind the counter, not really my cup of tea but I did still have Glitter's small M.E.W. Righteous Authority to think of. Having spare ammo and parts for it would let us have a practice session with it, Val knew magical weapons so she could teach her how to use it properly if the need ever arose.

Up ahead a dark, star and diamond spangled tent and drapes marked the magic shop. The sign above the entry was magical, brightly lit even in the afternoon sun, the words "Rare Magic" in dancing purple letters was ringed my marching blue diamonds. Personally I found the shop next door more interesting, a simple painted sign with seven circles read "Absolutely Everything" and actually seemed accurate given the mountain of junk visible near the pegasus at the counter, but Jade swept me along to the magic shop first.

We ducked in through the heavy drapes together into the dim room completely crammed with books and scrolls, what little available space not taken up by spells was decorated by both Ministry Mare Twilight like I'd expect in a magic shop, but also Ministry Mare Rarity. The mare at the counter was a dressed in flowing dark blue robes speckled with lighter blue diamonds over her white coat and had a short orange mane. Looking up from the thick tome in front of her she adjusted his glasses and spoke up excitedly, "Customers! Welcome to Rare Magic! I'm Corona Light, how can I help you two today?"

Considering my lifetime of bad experiences with learning magic I wasn't too enthusiastic about trying again as an adult. Jade pushed past me while I grumbled and turned over the note from the doctor, letting the wizard pony read it before answering. "As you can see there my friend needs help getting control over his magic, Dr. Swab seemed sure you could help?"

Corona mouthed silently reading the note again and held up the aptitude chart in a field of red-orange magic, her pale blue-green eyes widening as she took in the spikes and jags that made no sense to me. "Oh my, fascinating... Yes I believe I understand the problem, one moment!"

Trotting out from behind the counter a flurry of books started flying off the shelves and stacking themselves near her while she muttered to herself, some of those looked suspiciously like books for unicorn foals... I glowered up at one of the first posters of Rarity I had ever seen in the wasteland and tried to ignore all the activity.

"Look at all the books Fast, aren't you excited?" Jade touched me with her wing lightly drawing my attention to the growing stack.

"They're beginners books... cantrips for foals..."

The wizard pony turned and shook her head, "Oh no! Well... yes... but all magic is good! Besides from what I see here this is just the thing, you have never been good at magic Mr. Times?"

"No..."

"Thus you need to start with the basics! There's nothing to be embarassed about, I've read of this kind of thing happening before. Most unicorns have to work and study over many years, strengthening their magic as they go. In cases like this however, you have suddenly had a great deal of power unlocked at once, but have none of the practice needed to control it, that's all! Simple exercises young unicorns go through should help you get a handle on it over time. I also offer lessons in magic, judging by your chart here and Cotton's notes I would be interested in having you as a student if you like, at your convenience of course!"

The colorful basic books were bad enough, personal lessons though? I just wasn't good at magic, I went through this as a foal already and gave up. I muttered noncommittally but Jade nodded and accepted on my behalf as we left the tent, dammit...

Jade led the way towards the local hotel called the Dugout Inn, the name wasn't that clever considering it really was built in the dugout for the field. Val and Glitter were waiting for us at one of the tables sitting outside with Zed who had found the two of them while we were busy. The three were eating along with a few other patrons out here so we joined them, not having to wait long for the young earth pony waitress to take our orders.

Glitter prodded the objectionable vegetables on her plate and cheerfully told us all of the interesting things she had seen thus far in town, Val had been fairly silent however forcing me to ask about her detective friend, startling her from her woolgathering. "Huh? Oh... yeah about that boss... Er, got kinda a favor to ask..."

"Favor? Is everything ok?" Val usually didn't ask for things, either simply said what she was doing or took what she wanted.

"Well I went to see Nick but he's gone... like really gone. His secretary was pretty worried about him, said he's been missing way too long on a case. Look boss... they're good folks, they helped me out when I really needed it. I know it's not really our problem but... could we...."

"Let's go find him Val." By now I'd think the griffon wouldn't look quite so surprised, if her friend needed help of course that's what we should do.

"Don't ya wanna know stuff? Like where? Or if it'll be dangerous or nothin?"

"You asked, that's enough for me Val."

The softening gaze I got was just added to by Jade nodding primly beside me, "I agree, if this friend of yours needs help we should do so Valkyrie."

"I go where the dark pony goes." Zed wasn't raring to go or anything but stated his intentions in a matter of fact tone.

Glitter gulped a mouthful of food down and bounced up in her seat, "Yeah Auntie Val, let's go save your friend!"

Dark claws ruffled the foals mane as Val smiled and shoved her back down to her seat, "Sorry squirt, little too dangerous for you I think. 'Preciate the offer though, means a lot... er from all of ya. You do probably wanna know a little about this though ok?" I nodded for her to go on and started scarfing down the friend apple dish the waitress brought out.

"Alright, so Nick got hired to go look for some noble brat wantin' to be a big shot, fell in with the wrong crowd. Gang called the Trigger Jewels, been makin' a name fer themselves lately. Should'a been an easy job but they got some kinda base out in the old metro tunnels outside of town. Been movin' up in the world from what I hear, were just some piddly little gaggle of raiders last time I was around here. Prolly won't be that easy if they got Nick boss, ya sure...."

I had to choke down the rest of my meal quickly to answer but this was obviously important to the mercenary, we were going as soon as possible. As I swallowed the last bite to answer my pip-buck updated matching my own resolve;

Mission Updated- Diamond City Blues

Objectives-
---Track down the Trigger Jewels
---Find Nick Hearts n' Hooves

Glitter hadn't been happy at being left at the inn but showing her where we were headed on the map appeased her and she had AssaultJack as a babysitter, letting her look around Diamond City safely. The entrance to the Trotson subway system the arrow on my E.F.S. pointed towards wasn't all that far from the city, with luck we wouldn't be gone long. It had barely gotten fully dark by the time we arrived, sneaking a look out from an alley towards the desiccated park with the stairs heading underground.

The few members of the Trigger Jewels gang we had run into so far were an odd bunch, not the raiders I had gotten used to seeing out here who were vicious and savage ponies, these were more of a criminal bent. Crime kind of required a degree of civilization, you had to have laws to break and care about doing so, I still wasn't sure if the difference made them better or worse.

They were better equipped, the favored weapons so far were shotguns, machine guns and revolvers in much better repair than the crude pipe weapons and other firearms raiders typically used. Strangely enough they were snazzy dressers too... every one of the gang we ran into doing patrols in their territory wore fairly clean suits or dresses and hats under their varied armor. For all the trappings of society however they were just as violent as any raider, attacking on sight and ruining any hopes I had of talking first. Worse yet they worked together better than raiders, employing actual tactics and covering each other.

Spotting a break in the patrols around the stairwell Zed and I dashed out from our cover and silently dispatched two guards each, leaving the entrance to the subway open. Val was anxious to join in and go after the ponies who held her friend the detective but so far Zed and I were making our way with no fuss. I was amazed again at how the zebra could take ponies apart with his bare hooves while I relied on the silenced pistol.

No more red showed up on my Eyes Forward Sparkle so I waved the others out of hiding, walking down the decaying stone stairs cautiously as they crossed the street to join us. Zed stopped and turned to me before they caught up with a flat expression.

"This cannot be how you do things normally?"

"Huh? Er... how do you mean, going well so far right?" He picked odd times to speak up.

"I mean just wandering about and getting involved in things, I had assumed you must have some plan and wished to follow you after the Church of Balefire. So far you have simply let things come as they may and now we are here after some stranger."

"I don't do long term planning well ok? Stuff just... happens... I have vague ideas and make it up as I go. And we're not after some stranger, it's a friend of Val's that needs help. He's a detective too, he can probably help find your brother maybe..."

The stern zebra glowered at me silently as the others joined us and I headed down the stairs to escape. Having my lack of leadership pointed out was a real confidence destroyer, I had plans... sort of... I wasn't totally focused on Zed's one area of interest that's all, considering I was after a mysterious organization that was all over the Commonwealth I thought my random approach was doing pretty well...

The gaggle of gang members playing cards by the wreck of a subway train distracted the dour line of thought and Val got her chance to take the direct approach, blasting the game to pieces before they had a chance to dive for their nearby weapons. The noise caught the attention of more of them down here though, red marks were jittering all around on my E.F.S. making me dive for cover from a heavyset stallion in a blue suit spraying the platform with machinegun fire.

Several gang members were hiding in a platform diner across the tracks and jumping up to send shots our way over the counter. They never saw Zed slip through the door leading to the back area they were in though and the amount of lead in the air started dropping dramatically as he mowed through them. Val was sending blazing red lines of magic throughout the station picking off any that moved, letting me dart from my cover behind a cracked, tile covered pillar and turn my attention to the large clump of red down the tracks.

A hole in the side of the subway tunnel was illuminated by flickering emergency lights and another half dozen gang members were spilling from it into the partially flooded tunnel towards the sounds of fighting. They were bunched up and down a narrow approach running up the tracks... I was supposed to practice to get this under control... Taking advantage of the situation I focused down the tunnel and unloaded the lightning spell, throwing myself back several feet.

KRAKA-THOOM!

The water dribbling from the pipes above and pooling at their hooves made the crackling spell impossible to miss, the entire group jittered on the spot before falling to the puddles below them smoking. That only took a little more than half my magic this time, maybe the wizard Corona was right and I could get a handle on this eventually. Val dropped the last enemy with her pistol, catching them gaping from the window of the rusty subway car at their friends sudden electric death.

"Nice shot boss! I love when you do that!" Val swooped over to me struggling back up to my hooves and looked all around for more threats, E.F.S. showed nothing nearby though and I knew she saw the same.

Jade trotted over and checked us all for injuries but things were going pretty smooth so far with all three of us wading into them, her horn glowed only briefly at an oozing wound on Val's flank closing it quickly. "I had hoped you would practice with the books we purchased Fast... not with that spell. Though you did seem to control it somewhat better, congratulations."

Zed looked totally untouched even though he had been right up in their faces, most of the advantages of ranged weapons disappeared with the zebra closing distance so easily. He was unperturbed as usual but his raised eyebrow as he crossed the tracks could practically be slack jawed amazement on anyone else. "You did not use that at the church..."

Trotting forward past Val as she looted the bodies I stuck my head in the hole the gang members had poured out of, calling to the zebra over my shoulder. "It's kinda difficult to use, in case you didn't notice. Don't count on it for anything alright?"

I clicked my pip-buck light on to head down the gently sloping tunnel, this didn't look like part of the subway system, the sides were rough and earthen. I had assumed the Trigger Jewels just made their hideout in the subway itself, it seemed defensible enough, though I guess you could travel the rail lines if they were open enough to get here. This side tunnel on the other hoof was something else entirely.

Coming around a bend in the tunnel to a large open chamber I froze and had my answer... This would account for everything bothering me about this gang. The fancy clothes and weaponry and the caps required for such, the sudden rise in power and fame from what Val said had been an unremarkable gang before...

There was a large gear shaped hole in the rock and concrete wall ahead of me, a huge metal door was rolled mostly to the side beyond the entryway but I could see the numbers printed on it from its position.

Stable 114.

New Perk Added!--------------------------

Jury Rigging-------------
--- You posses the amazing ability to repair any item with a roughly similar item. Fix an anti materiel rifle with a hunting rifle, a magical energy weapon with a flashlight and some jewels, even power armor with metal armor and duct tape. How does it work? Nopony knows... except you.

Reputation Change!---------------------

Diamond City-- Neutral
----You've made it to the great green jewel of the Commonwealth and been allowed entry. The big city has a lot to take in and ponies to meet so you're an unknown now, the ponies you've met so far and have agreed to help will probably change that soon though. For now you're just another rube from the boonies.