A slow, repeated tugging at my mane gradually woke me up, groggily blinking my eyes and focusing on a zombie inches away from my face. I yelped and pulled away, nearly tipping over the wood and canvas chair I had been set up in, trying to get away before it got bitey. The rotting pony gave a muffled growl around the brush still in its mouth, pressing its hooves on the arms of the seat to balance me again and returned to absently running the grooming instrument through my gray mane.

"Whoa! A-Are you a ghoul? What's going on? What happened? Why are you..."

"Rrrr?" The monosyllabic response cut off my frantic questions, my first thought looked like it was right, this wasn't a ghoul but a feral zombie.

Though if that was the case why was it grooming me instead of biting my face off while I was unconscious? Surely zombies didn't care that much about meal presentation... This undead mare wore a dirty and tattered smock and had no intelligence in its milky eyes beyond the robotic motions it was going through.

Risking a look around I found myself in one of the dressing rooms, seated in front of a lighted vanity loaded with makeup and accoutrements. Maybe this zombie used to be a makeup artist? Jade had told me ghouls lost touch with reality when they went feral, sometimes retaining part of their old lives when not trying to kill any living thing nearby.

Speaking of whom I didn't see the alicorn or Val in the room, causing immediate concern. Hopefully they were simply in another room like this one, undergoing similar treatment. I also didn't see my missing armor or bags nearby, leaving me with only my magic if this zombie became violent and greatly limiting my options to get out of here.

Being this close to a zombie pony was pretty nerve wracking, even if this one was oddly well behaved. Apparently satisfied with my mane she shuffled off to the corner, pointing at a hanger holding a dirty black garment and my new hat on a nearby hook in the wall.

"Uh... y-you want me to put that on?"

A growling grunt was hard to read, but I'd take that as a yes, it looked impatient and like it would much rather be eating me... I tried not to make any sudden moves, crossing the room slowly and floating the ratty clothing off the hanger. At the zombie's grunting insistence I shrugged into the dark outfit, tying the silver scarf around my neck and buttoning the long coat. I floated my hat down when the feral ghoul seemed satisfied, causing a couple things to happen at once to my surprise.

Once the rakish fedora was atop my head I was surrounded in a glow of magic, the bright field reaching out and taking apart nearby rags hanging on a metal rack. The ragged edges of the trenchcoat started mending themselves immediately, the dusty coat cleaning itself and darkening back to a deep, pitch black. The threadbare scarf thickened and adjusted itself, straightening my clumsy knot to its proper appearance. With a final flutter of magic the long coat was totally restored, the wrinkled lapels crisping and my pip-buck chimed, confirming what I now realized looking in the nearby mirror.

Mission Updated: The Shroud's Shroud-----------

Objective--------

--Find the Shrouded Stallion Costume at Hubris Comics
--Return to Sassy Saddles

Despite the bizarre situation I found myself in, I couldn't help an internal squeal of joy, I was wearing the real Shrouded Stallion costume... This was even better than the Nightmare Night costume I had begged for before the world ended and we left for the Stable, admiring it in the smeared mirror in front of me I tugged the hat down with a grin. I really did look like the Shroud, my colors were always right but with the actual outfit the resemblance was striking.

Well if this really was as tough as the hat then I was armored at least, I'd feel better with my weapons returned but it was a start. The zombie mare shambled over to the door out, looking back with a growl before heading out into the hall. Trying to keep it happy I followed along, looking around anxiously for Jade and Val.

A peek over my shoulder towards the second floor showed the Gunner corpses still lying where they fell, a trio of zombies were hunched over the bodies making loud, disgusting, smacking noises, making me look away quickly. These were definitely feral zombie ponies then, worrying me even more for the others, before I was relieved to hear the griffon's angry complaints from a nearby open door to another dressing room.

My escort hissed when I deviated from the course she was leading toward the stairs, it didn't attack however and I wasn't going to be dissuaded from finding my friends. Running into the open room I found both of them being attended by two more zombies, the one with Val kept bringing lightweight, costume armor pieces to her and growling at her refusal to wear the villainous looking outfit.

"No! Knock it off ugly! I ain't wearin' this crap, I want my armor, what'd ya do with it?! Where's the boss!?" Tossing the offered grey bracer away caused the zombie to trot across the room after it and return with it in its mouth, setting it down in the floor before the frustrated griffon.

"Valkyrie, I think we should cooperate with them... They are obviously feral but behaving oddly, going along with them may let us locate Fast sooner." Jade's concerned voice from the corner filled me with relief, looking over to reassure her I was dumbstruck for a moment at her condition.

The zombie attending her had resorted to a stool to reach her mane and was slowly giving it the same treatment I had woken to. It had already managed to get her to put on the selected costume, making me goggle at the sight of her. I had joked about her being a real life Alicorn Angel Blue, whoever was in charge here had taken it seriously though.

Seeing the beautiful alicorn filly stuffed into the cartoon superhero outfit made me forget all about our current odd situation. The costume obviously wasn't made in her size, but for a normal pony actress. Somehow they had managed to cram her into the short blue skirt and sleeveless white sailor blouse though. Her hindlegs were covered in long white stockings, the blue shoes nearby were never going to fit however and had been abandoned. The blue lapel of the shirt had a pale blue neckerchief tied beneath it, clasped at her neck with a guady piece of costume jewelry shaped like a gold trimmed, jeweled heart pendant.

Now that it was finished with her mane the zombie topped the ensemble off with a golden tiara and joined the other, trying to force Val into wearing hers. Left on her own Jade followed the zombie's progress, spotting me staring at her slack jawed from the doorway, rushing over to grab me while I tried to flog my brain into working again.

"Fast! You are safe! W-We just woke up and you were not with us, I was very concerned! I see you found Sassy's costume?"

I had to hit my head to jump start things up there after getting affection from the alicorn in her alluring outfit, "Er! Y-Yeah! Umm.. I woke up the same way, just in a different room. I figured the same as you, as long as these guys weren't feeling chompy I thought it best to cooperate. They're acting pretty weird, they are ferals right? I umm... s-see they dressed you up too...."

Realizing what she was wearing when she charged over to nuzzle at me Jade blushed brightly and shuffled in the small outfit. "O-Oh... yes... T-They are being quite odd aren't they. I d-did not choose this... t-they... they were as insistent as they are still being with Valkyrie. I-It is embarrassing..."

I felt my face heat up to match hers but shook my head rapidly, "No! T-That's awesome! If we get outta here y-you... you gotta keep that Jade, er... j-just for fun..."

The two of us giving each other goofy, shy smiles was put to a stop by Val groaning under the attention of the zombies in the room. "Well glad they put her in somethin' that turns yer crank boss, but I ain't havin' this! We're together now, no reason to play nice! Weird or not, they're still zombies, let's bust some heads, get our gear an' get outta this freakshow!"

"I think we should keep going along with it for right now Val... We still don't have our weapons, or know why they're acting like this. Plus even if we had our stuff, if the ghosts show up again and do that thing like before..."

Speaking of the devil summoned him, this time the ghost was a Steel Ranger, glowing at the edges like before. The voice that issued from it was the same as the pirate earlier though, not amplified or distorted as if it were really coming from a power armor helmet. "There we are, we're just about ready for you upstairs if you want to follow the girls Bolt baby. Aw what's this, our villain isn't in costume yet?! I'm willing to work with your friends Bolt but they gotta show a little professionalism! We're on a tight schedule here, if she won't cooperate we'll have to recast..."

"No! Um... no, she'll be right up! Er, t-this is her first role is all, just give us a second umm... Mr. Haybrams?" I didn't want to know what 'recast' entailed, the pile of corpses in the basement didn't make it sound good. I waved Val into hurrying up and getting it over with while I ventured a guess at the identity of the ghost in front of us.

"Bolt, sweetheart! It's just J.J. between us friends right!? You know I can't say no to you, get our bad guy ready and move your tukhus alright?" The armored ghost disappeared, leaving me slightly better informed.

Val grumbled while she put on the bulky, grey armor costume, but gave in finally. The ghost that had managed to knock all of us out so easily seemed to have convinced her. Jade's horn glowed as she helped pick up the costume pieces and get the griffon dressed, turning back to me with a curious expression. "You know the name of this ghost Fast?"

"I guessed but yeah... Some of the other mail files I read on the terminal downstairs, I think it's the director of the Shroud tv show, J.J. Haybrams. The ghost bit is probably whatever the Institute was testing here, I don't know how it works but it's arcane science, not spirits. Why I think we should keep humoring him for now Val, he's inviting us up to where he is, that's where the controls probably are."

Wearing her spiky, caped armor costume, topped with an ornate horned helmet, Val certainly looked like a villain of the week from the shows I remembered as a foal. I had to stifle a giggle watching her shoo the zombies away from trying to make adjustments while she fumed. "Yeah, really funny boss... Not fair, Blue gets a sexy costume an' I get the bad guy! I'm killin' all these zombies and findin' me something good too. Guess yer right for now, you know all this crap though, yer findin' me some hot nerd costume when we're done."

"Sure Val, I'll find you something you'll like when we get out of this."

Following the zombies up the final flight of stairs we wound up in the large, open fourth floor, surrounded by even more zombies. Several were operating large television cameras on wheels or suspended from the ceiling on metal arms, more held long boom microphones or absently stood by spotlights. One wearing a chef's toque even waited behind a long table full of rotting food and pony limbs, a zombie craft services table?

The bulk of the room and focus of all the zombie workers was painted a nausea inducing green and mostly empty, a few boxes and scaffolds painted the same color were strewn about as well. Most interesting was a small glass window showing a booth on the far side of the room, filled with a lot of blinking lights and arcano tech equipment.

Facing that direction made my pip-buck start chattering angrily, confirming what the soft sigh and smile Jade broke into said, a lot of rads were coming from over there. A ghoul seated in the booth was glowing a bright green, filling the room with the eldritch glow, though there was more green glow in there than just that ghoul could be responsible for.

Spotting us enter, the glowing ghoul leaned forward and spoke into a microphone, his raspy voice filling the set. "Ah, at last we can get started! I gotta say Bolt, I was getting worried we'd never get this production off the ground. Don't get mad, but I even auditioned a few stand ins, none of them worked out at all though. Let me get the stage set up and we'll run through the set up alright?"

Well that explained a basement full of dark colored stallion corpses... I had the feeling his auditions of normal wasteland ponies ended up being lethal for those who didn't make the cut. Getting dragged up here by zombies and ghosts couldn't help their performance, if they had any idea what he wanted out of them at all. He seemed on the verge of being feral himself, not in touch with reality at all but not mindless either. If that were so then he had been killing stallions that resembled the Shroud enough for his purposes for who knows how long, part of him had to know it was wrong too...

I had to nudge Jade to get her attention, her eyes were closed facing the radiation emitting booth with a look of sleepy enjoyment. "How is he able to make all these zombies behave like this? They're all doing what I'm guessing were their jobs before the war..."

"The Director is a Glowing One Fast, a variety of ghoul that has absorbed a great deal of radiation, he was most likely turned while inside that room. There is a quite a lot of it coming from there, it is most distracting... Glowing Ones often don't go completely feral as quickly and can sometimes exert control over normal zombies, pulling them into their own madness."

"Tough bastards too boss, all those rads can give em some nasty surprises..." Val joined the whispered conversation, looking around the room counting the zombies surrounding us.

While I was considering what to do a hum filled the room, the bright green half of the floor glowed brightly for a moment before resolving into a prewar cityscape at night. The effect was impressive, it was as if half the fourth floor was suddenly outside and transported 200 years in the past. The three of us stared wide eyed at the amazing transformation, looking above where the wooden ceiling faded away to a starry night sky, I spotted a number of small, strange fixtures up there glowing faintly.

"Wow... an illusion?" I shot a questioning look over to the ghoul in the booth, flipping switches happily.

"Of course! I showed you this whole set up before Bolt, don't you remember the tutorial?" That confused look he was giving looked dangerous, Jade said confronting ghouls on the edge of going feral could be bad, I didn't want this one losing it suddenly.

"Oh, yeah! Sure I remember J.J. just my friends here don't know about it, er... non-disclosure thing and all. They'd love an explanation before we start."

The excuse gave him something to focus on, shaking his glowing head and giving a broad smile. "Well if they're working with us today they certainly need to know. This is a little gift we're testing out for the eggheads over at C.I.A.T. ladies, the Magical Illusion Projection system, or M.I.P., pretty incredible huh? Lets us film all kinds of shows in our little studio here, no need to go on location or hire a bunch of extras anymore, the system can project all of it in here. Pretty fancy bit of arcano-tech, projectors up in the ceiling create illusions and ties them to shield spells, makes hard light holograms. If I want them to they'll feel real and be as solid as you or I, if I change the settings they'll be like ghosts, can stick your hoof right through em!"

That explained the ghosts downstairs, J.J. may be concerned with using it to make his show but obviously knew how to use the system as an effective weapon as well on some level. Projections of magical light couldn't be hurt, they could send out a different kind of magical energy easily enough though, making each illusion a walking magical energy weapon. If we destroyed all the projectors in the ceiling it would stop them, but those were small targets with no guarantee we were looking at all of them, plus there were obviously more downstairs, not the best way to handle it.

"Ok, if we can all take our places let's do a rehearsal. Had to do a quick rewrite since we're able to do a crossover episode today, gotta tell ya honey, prosthetics did an awesome job, you look like a real live Alicorn Angel! Bolt if you and our special guest star Angel Blue there could take your mark on the street, our villain Miss Steelwing can wait up on the rooftop for her scene. I'll whip up some minions for you two to warm up on and we can get started!" Flicking more controls in the booth caused a number of ponies to appear on the street scene at J.J.'s direction, each dressed in lesser, complimentary versions of Val's outfit.

Trotting over to our spot I held a hoof up to Val, asking for patience while I figured out what to do. Playing along with being actors was keeping this whole bizarre situation peaceful for now, she could tolerate it for awhile longer. Jade looked around nervously at the vacant stares of the illusory minions surrounding us, whispering in my ear.

"W-What are we to do? I do not understand my role..."

"Er... well, if it's like most shows like this... the bad guys will all kinda attack us, sorta one at a time without looking like it. We dodge around, use our sweet kung fu moves to beat them up, work together, maybe take a punch or two..."

She gave a dubious expression and looked around again, "F-Fighting... I do not like fighting Fast..."

"I know, but they're not real remember? Just illusions is all, not even robots. It's all just pretend, besides it's ok if you're not good."

Grumbling she joined me and lowered herself in a ready postion, with both of us in place the ghoul in the booth shouted for props, causing a zombie to come trotting forward holding a silver submachine gun and a large grey broadsword. My relief at being supplied a weapon was fleeting, this looked like the Shroud's signature weapon but it really was just a prop, decidedly non lethal. The sword carried off to Val by the zombie prop master would have been more useful at actually killing, at least she was somewhat armed again.

"Um... hey J.J. I er... actually put in some training at the shooting range to... prepare for the role. Maybe it would look better with a real gun? I have some with my stuff, uh... wherever it all went to?"

That was a good enough excuse to not puncture the director's warped reality, but not get what I was hoping for. "You know it's all movie magic Bolt, we'll stick with the prop gun. Don't worry about your stuff, it's all in the lockers like normal. Alright, here we go, lights! Camera!"

At his order the zombies working the equipment adjusted the spotlights and the ancient cameras lit up and shifted. I glanced up to Val and gave a pointed look over to the lockers he had indicated, our weapons should be a short flight away for the griffon if it came to it. She took my meaning, her violet stare locked on the rusting metal containers. Hopefully they were unlocked, if she had to pick her way in if the zombies got violent it may be too much to handle, at least she had the sword now.

When Haybrams called 'Action!' the illusory minions rushed forward to attack, reacting automatically I dodged the first and brought the useless prop gun up, pointing it at the second. Nothing happened obviously, but the ghostly villain jittered in place like it had been shot and fell to the ground.

Spinning around to hoof the first I looked for how Jade was handling it, concerned to see her dodging frantically away from the pretend bad guys. With a flap of her large wings she bounded up into the air and landed behind them, backing away fearfully. I pointed the prop gun at the one nearest to her, making it fall over 'dead' and shouted to the anxious alicorn.

"It's ok Jade! Pretend! Buck that one, you can do it!"

She gave a grateful, determined look over to me, clenching her eyes shut and giving a titantic buck behind her, sending the holographic pony flying. Jade looked surprised when her blue eyes opened again, though if that was real I had no doubt she would have sent the opponent just as far. Real or not the one sneaking up behind her made me charge out of instinct, tackling it to the ground before it could touch her.

"Alright, cut, cut, cut!" The glowing ghoul shouting in his booth caused all the illusions to stop and reset to the original positions, the one I tackled fading away beneath me.

Jade trotted over and gently lifted me to my hooves, shivering slightly from the experience. "T-This is far too realistic Fast... f-fighting is h-hard for me..."

Val didn't help, groaning from her perch above us. "Oh come on!! Blue gets the sexy outfit and she gets to fight!? How come I didn't get the fun part!?"

"It's ok, you did great Jade. I'll figure a way out of this soon. I need to get in that control room somehow..." I tried to comfort her and scowled over to the booth.

The ghoul in the room in question flipped more controls and gave a disappointed look through the glass. "Ok, that was.... interesting... We're not running lines yet but try to stay in character anyway Bolt, she's Angel Blue right? Blue honey, you're a real beauty, Bolt's a lucky stallion. Angel Blue isn't so timid though ok? Don't be afraid to jump in there and really kick some tail, the illusions won't hurt. Also you're a.... well you're one big filly sweetheart, kinda throwing off the shots. I'll make some adjustments to the bad guys so it reads better, we'll use a little movie magic for when you two appear together. Using a stand in for distance shots will make this a lot easier though, hang on and I'll have it demonstrate what I'd like out of the next take ok?"

A few taps at his controls caused a ghostly duplicate of Jade to appear in front of me, stunning me for a moment staring directly into its own blue eyes, the copy was scaled down to be my height... This was a new experience, I always had to look up to Jade, seeing her down at my level was jarring and I had to take a slow circuit around her doppelganger.

A Jade my size was an interesting novelty, seeing how we lined up as I circled her was odd, taking it in I much preferred the real version though. Looking up to the real thing to tell her so, I caught her staring between me and the double wistfully, her eyes wide and slightly sad, making me rush over to her and give a reassuring nuzzle.

"I... t-that is what I would look like i-if I were n-normal... She is a proper pony's size, the two of you match... y-you do not look small..." That sad whimper was awful, I knew she had issues with her appearance but being faced with what she must imagine for herself must be horrible for her.

"Hey, I love you how you are Jade! I wouldn't want you to look like her, that puny little copy isn't enough Jade for me alright? I'm short and you're ok with that right? You are normal and you are a proper pony, you're perfect the way you are to me."

Sniffling she gave a crushing alicorn hug, turning to watch the copy flit through the air, bounding around and beating the bad guys to a pulp the way J.J. wanted her to. "T-Thank you Fast, hearing you say that always makes me feel better. That image is something I dreamed of for myself for a long time, b-before I met you. I do not think I can even pretend to fight like that however..."

"It's ok, not being able to may help actually. I need to get into that control booth, which means we have to get him to come out. When he does and I can get in I'm gonna turn these illusions on the zombies, I'm guessing they won't behave without him around right?"

"No, without his influence they will revert to mindlessly attacking. Y-You may not go into that chamber though Fast, the radiation is far too strong and all of my medical stores were taken. Unless we can get them first going in there for any length of time is too dangerous for you." Her worried whisper raised a sticky point, without Rad-X or Rad-Away going in there would be a problem.

"It's the only way to deal with these illusions though... I don't think you can handle getting through the control system, er... no offense. Maybe if I'm really quick..."

Pretending to watch the copy's fighting style she shook her head with finality, "No! Just from what I sense coming from in there it is unacceptable Fast. Though I think you are right, I am not skilled enough to take control of the machines inside. I... I can go with you... s-shield you from the radiation enough to be safe... Y-You really are not bothered I am n-not like that image though? If I go with you it... it will become worse..."

Leaning up to kiss her was definitely the way it should be, I simply couldn't imagine Jade being like the double jumping around the stage. "You know I can't lie to you. More of you to love right? If that will work I think it's our best bet, Val will have to be ok on her own for a few minutes but I think she'll be fine. Follow my lead and be ready to get in there."

I caught Val's eye and nodded to the booth, tapping my pip-buck and nudging Jade. It was too much to try to communicate silently but the grinning nod and experimental swing of her prop sword showed she was ready for whatever I had planned. The glowing ghoul had reset the illusions again, making the ones meant to fight Jade even larger than the alicorn filly so they'd look right on camera.

His green eyes rested on her as he spoke into the microphone again. "Think you got it now honey? Feel free to improv, just shoot for that level of action alright?"

Speaking up before she got cornered into answering I shook my head at the booth, "I don't know J.J. it's still kinda confusing. She's... um she's used to doing stage work, maybe you could come out and give a little personal direction? Just show us what you're looking for and I'm sure we'll be good to go. I'd really appreciate it, it'd be a big help..."

Haybrams groaned and pushed out of his seat with a sigh, opening the sliding metal door to the booth, making my pip-buck increase to a roaring chatter immediately. Shuffling out to the stage with us the glowing ghoul shrugged in his tattered, pocketed vest, "Alright, only for you Bolt baby. I know not everypony's comfortable with all this high tech stuff, a little old fashioned director's work always helps right? Now, what we're trying for is...."

"NOW JADE! VAL STAY SAFE!" At my shout the alicorn mare at my side snatched me up in her magic and blasted forward through the air, soaring past J.J. before he realized what was happening and ducking into his abandoned booth.

I slammed a hoof against the door control and locked it, turning back to the open panels in the machinery the bright green glow was emanating from, causing my pip-buck to tick furiously. This equipment must need a lot of power and the reactor fueling it was poorly shielded, if it was at all. Just within these few seconds my rad gauge had started edging out of the blue end of the rainbow dial and up to green.

Jade was right, there was way too much radiation in here to last long, this room was a lot worse than even the balefire bomb crater. Before I had much of a chance to worry about it she tackled me and completely enveloped me in a crushing embrace, wrapping her wings around me tightly and making the angry report of my pip-buck slow to a manageable level as she parked herself in front of the console.

Floating the pip-buck patch cable out between her wings and to the waiting port I glanced up at her, her eyes were heavily lidded and a soft smile of pleasure was on her face as she shuddered around me. "Y-You should hurry Fast... it is very strong in here..."

"What are you doing!?! That's my booth! You are ruining my production!!! You're not Bolt at all are you! You're no better than those stand ins! They tried to ruin my show too! I'll fire you like I did them! I WON'T HAVE MY WORK RUINED!!!" J.J. screeched outside the booth, pounding on the door and snarling. So much for his pleasant demeanor, I had been worried he knew what he was doing when he killed the other stallions we had found, this was proof enough.

Even tapping through the security on the system I could see all the green marks on my compass turning red, the director's rage was infectious and the zombies were going back to their normal behavior in response. I was worried for Val but her booming laughter put me at ease, a fight was much more welcome than playing at being an actress for the tough griffon.

"Alright, that's more like it ya undead buggers! Come an' get me!" Val was leading the grounded zombies on a merry chase around the stage, swooping down and decapitating one with the heavy prop sword while I watched before veering off and making a break for the lockers. A quick tug at the doors showed them to be locked as I feared, the horde charging after her wouldn't give her enough time to pick the locks either so she'd have to make do for now.

That put the pressure on to hack into the system, which was being uncooperative. Institute projects had a higher security level than I was used to dealing with, made more difficult by the distracting, stifled moans from the shuddering filly protecting me from all the radiation. As I finally got through the password a soft pop followed by something small and hard smacking me in the back of the head forced me to look up at her groans.

"Are you ok Jade?" She certainly looked happy, but that was no guarantee in the highly radioactive office.

"F-Fine... just please work q-quickly Fast... I..." another pair of pops came when she gasped suddenly, hitting me in the neck and between the eyes with... a button? Oh... the already tight blouse was losing the battle against her expanding body, a trio of buttons had snapped free revealing the blue expanse of her chest beneath.

"Right! Um.. w-working! Just hang on a second!" Her neckerchief was riding up her neck and looking tight, forcing her to undo the gaudy clasp while I worked. No wonder she was concerned about coming in here after seeing her small illusory double, I had seen the end result of too much radiation once before, not the process itself.

Even through the password the M.I.P. was a convoluted system, a large number of sub menus waited just on the top level, forcing me to scroll through them as quickly as I could while Val kept making diving runs at the zombies chasing her. A slow ripping noise accompanied by Jade's whimpering moans behind me made me lose focus for a second, scrolling past the options for backgrounds and motion capture.

On the plus side her wings now completely covered me, dropping the clicking from my pip-buck down lower with her absorbing even more of the rads before they could cook me. That concern was replaced by Jade gently nibbling at my ears, nearly making me miss the 'Security System' selection as it flashed past my vision. The light panting that came with the unexpected affection was making it incredibly difficult to focus on resetting the targeting parameters.

"Er.. J-Jade.. not that I don't like it, b-but is this the best time..." She was ducking her head down into her own wings with me, planting little kisses all over my head while I worked.

"Mmm.... I... I am s-sorry... I k-know this is inappropriate... b-but please... you must work faster.... nnn.... the radiation is very strong and it feels.... v-veeeery good... H-Having you with me in here is mmm... i-irresistible..."

Another long, purring rip at her side elicited a matching purr from the growing alicorn beauty, making me shake in her grasp and break out in a light sweat, this was getting maddening. Moving around here definitely wasn't a good idea though, the jittering motion just set off fresh gasps and her limbs tightened around me. Rocking in her seat slowly she sent a soft, whispering whimper down to me, "Mmmm.... y-you must not m-move like that Fast..."

A burst of sickly green light from beyond her feathers and a booming noise made me peek out, catching the glowing director sending out some kind of radioactive explosion in his rage. Several of the wounded zombies out there started healing, lurching back up on regenerating limbs Val had hacked off previously, while Jade whinnied in response to the spike in rads through the glass.

Maybe talking would take my mind off the increasingly excited filly ripping her way out of her clothing around me, "I w-wonder if it's possible to overdose on Rad-X and Rad-Away... i-if this is driving you so crazy I s-sorta wish it wasn't lethal to me... O-Or a r-radiation suit... yeah, that'd work right? P-Power armor'd be a l-little too bulky but a rad suit w-would..."

A series of pops from the last of her buttons and at least one clasp on the tiny skirt came with more rips and a sharp yelp of pleasure, "S-S-Stop talking Fast... w-work FASTER!" That commanding goddess voice helped me focus as she shivered and licked my neck, giggling to herself and slowly pressing her bulk down on me against the console. If I didn't get through this now I had the feeling it would simply cease being important to the big blue mare.

Finally! The commands had been rewritten and cobbled together over the centuries, Haybrams had been tinkering with this system over the years as part of his delusions. At last I found a way to tie it to my Eyes Forward Sparkle and activate the default security system, causing a dozen featureless red holograms to appear outside and start blasting the swarming zombies with energy bolts from their blank eyes.

"Alright boss! Great work, gettin' my guns and finishin' these bastards off!" Val screeched happily outside, swooping over to the lockers again and quickly setting to work on the lock while the zombies were otherwise occupied.

Just in time too, Jade had moved on to stroking my chest with her hooves, probing her way lower, making little cooing noises while leaning further down to nuzzle my neck. If I hadn't found it by now I was pretty sure we'd be in trouble, my capacity for rational thought was quickly evaporating under all the attention.

With the zombies being taken care of and a good deal more room to move around in her protective embrace, I turned around to give her a long, passionate kiss drawing out a rumbling moan deep in her throat. Breaking it off reluctantly, and with some difficulty, I took the chance to breathe and stroke her cheek.

She had obviously been trying to refrain from doing just this as it would have made working impossible, now that she could indulge herself she didn't want to stop. Though at least being able to give her my full attention for the moment helped her get control over herself, keeping it all bottled up and trying to let me work was apparently extremely taxing for her.

"Just uh.. just give it a second to finish off the zombies and let me set up the security, then we can get out of here ok? Thanks for protecting me, s-sorry you had to soak up so much radiation to do it, a-are sure you're alright?"

Shuddering as her stockings gave up the ghost and split down the seams, Jade sighed happily. "Oh yes... I am w-wonderful Fast... You... you are sure you do not mind... h-how I am different... You really would not prefer if I were as that illusion showed me?"

Tapping through the last settings to keep the security system running after we left, I grinned goofily up to the stunning alicorn filly surrounding me. "I am totally, 100% sure Jade. Even if you being different hadn't just saved me here, I love you the way you are. This obviously makes you feel good right? That means it's good, period. I'm used to you being bigger than me and like it just fine, being a little more so sometimes isn't anything to be worried or embarrassed about, it can even be fun right?"

Sniffling in poorly disguised relief and joy, Jade peeked out and I heard the door hiss open before she ducked back into the warm cocoon her wings formed, keeping the rads at bay. Cooing softly she pressed me against the console in another deep kiss, pulling away and tickling my ears with her whispered breath.

"Can it? S-Since you seem to like it perhaps I will not try to rid myself of all the extra power too quickly... I did promise Glitter I would think about letting her see me if this happened again anyway, it is not so bad this time. Getting out of this radiation will help, but w-we need to find some time to be alone soon Fast. I insist you... p-prove your sweet words hmm?"

That sultry look she gave as we dashed out of the room and sealed the radioactive control booth behind us made doing as she asked a priority for me. We had been on my side mission long enough and I felt a lot better than I had when I woke up back in Stable 114, making her feel better about her insecurities was always high on my list and only fair after all.

Trotting over to the lockers side by side to join Val let me get a good look at her now, it was a shame her sexy costume had suffered so much damage but maybe Sassy could fix it, and let it out of course. The elastic of the now very short skirt had to be pushed to its absolute limit, but had somehow managed to hold together. It was pinching into her waist and only covered a small portion of her cutie mark, but was still intact. The stockings were a wreck of tattered fabric, but the blouse was still in one piece, just shy the buttons and ripped at the seams a bit.

Even shielded as I had been, my pip-buck displayed the rainbow colored radiation gauge up into the yellow. Jade had taken in enough protecting me she was easily a full head taller than normal, providing a nice view as I was at eye level with her flank and new cutie mark when she pulled ahead to the open lockers, eager to retrieve her coat and medical supplies. Shrugging into the ill fitting lab coat over her tattered costume, Jade dug in her bags and had me take a couple of Rad-Away immediately, passing another over to Val for her exposure to the glowing ghoul.

Tossing the spiky costume armor aside as she peeled it off, Val put her real armor back on with obvious relief, buckling her weapons back under her wings and checking them over thoroughly. I noticed she kept the large broadsword from the outfit, strapping it to her back between her wings and shrugging at my questioning look.

"This thing turned out to be pretty fun boss, needs to be sharpened but was plenty heavy enough to separate zombie heads. Wish it was crazy sharp like your knife though, imagine a sword made outta that stuff..."

That was an interesting thought, shrugging into my own saddlebags over the Shrouded Stallion costume my pip-buck chimed with my inventory restored and I checked to be sure the knife in question was in there, along with everything else. Fancy had found another knife like it somehow to frame me, maybe there were more out there somewhere, though a full sword seemed unlikely.

Looking in the open locker I stared at my old cloak and armor, now unnecessary since we had succeeded in finding Sassy's costume. The pip-buck's inventory management had cataloged the outfit and listed a much higher armor rating than it assigned to the old leather armor. The repair talisman and spells woven throughout meant it would actually keep up with the damage I regularly put my equipment through as well.

Following my gaze Val looked over the old equipment and grinned, "That gives me a good idea boss... maybe buy us a little breathing room from the Gunners for awhile."

"Anything that gets them off our back would be great Val, what is it?"

Scratching her shaggy head, the griffon looked away chuckling. "Er... you may not like it too much, but it should work. You two get busy clearing this place out of anything else you want and I'll set it all up. Oh and go find me my sexy nerd outfit! Blue doesn't get to be the only one who gets somethin' fun boss, pay me!"

"Right... Umm, on it Val. Let's hurry up so we can get back." Jade's continuing absent affection was just one more reason to get out of here as soon as possible, Glitter was waiting and if one group of Gunners found us I didn't want to find out if more could as well.

We were all fairly loaded down when we came out of the alley closest to the Commonwealth Carousel, a more through inspection of the third and fourth floors of Hubris Comics yielded more loot to make off with. Val was even satisfied with her Gildar the Barbarian costume from Swordmares, the fur and chainmail bikini seemed to fit her requirements for payment matching Jade's partly ruined Alicorn Angel costume.

The griffon mercenary's idea had been distasteful to me, but I had to admit it was pretty clever. There was a pile of stallion corpses in the basement that looked vaguely like me already, she had apparently engaged in the grim work of digging through them for a charcoal coated buck and put it in my old armor and cloak. A little creative use of her claws and magical energy weapon made sure the poor pony's cutie mark was illegible, even though his mane was a pale blue the end result was disturbingly effective.

Once she looted all the Gunners she posed them on the third floor at one end of the long hallway, putting my dead double near the stairs to the fourth floor opposite them. The scene wouldn't hold up against a dedicated tracker like Hound, but cursory examination made it look as if I had been cornered and killed by the hit squad. A few more Gunner bodies scattered from there down to the first floor and the doorway outside on the street made a simple trail to follow. Since there wasn't a fiery griffon corpse nearby anyone coming across the staged scene could safely assume Val escaped, looted all the bodies and left, making following her a more difficult proposition without me in tow anymore.

Jade had been clearly bothered seeing the corpse made up specifically to look like a dead me, refusing to look at it and staying very close to me after Val had dumped it in place. The idea of me dead had only increased her desire to shower me with affection on the way back, her anxiety over the very concept heaped on top of her radiation fueled excitement, making the trip very distracting. She had been convinced to fly up and retrieve a few of the illusion projectors for me before we left now safely in my packs, I looked forward to taking them apart to see how they worked when I had free time later. For now I was happy to get out of the rain and back to Glitter, hopefully to find a little time for privacy with the big blue alicorn at my side soon too.

Entering the boutique we were met with Zed sitting before the fire, glancing up at our entrance passively. Sassy and Glitter weren't in here with him, eliciting a brief moment of panic before the foal charged out of the workshop room to the side, holding her hooves out to block the curtained door.

"Daddy! You're back! You found what you wanted? Cool! That's it? It looks just like your toy! Are you happy again? Oh you can't come in here, me an' Sassy are makin' presents!"

Obeying the little filly's demands I sat where I was, not making a move towards the room she was guarding, simply holding my hooves out for her to rush into for a warm hug. Once she charged over I noticed she was wearing a new, rose colored dress, presumably something she and the ghoul mare had been working on while we were gone.

"Yes this is it Glitter, I'm happy, glad you like it. I like your dress, I'm guessing we have Sassy to thank for that?"

Bobbing her head excitedly she beamed and looked back at the tall ghoul coming out of her workshop behind her. "Uh-huh! Miss Sassy's been teachin' me lots about makin' stuff! We're makin' stuff for Miss Jade an' Miss Val an' Zed! So you're not the only one with new armor!"

Smiling as she trotted forward Sassy nodded to us and ruffled the foal's silver mane, "Yes, Glitter here has been an excellent assistant, getting to work again while we waited has been delightful. A foal out in the wasteland should have some protection, you'll be happy to know this dress is well reinforced with my magic, as are the other articles we have been working on. She was quite insistent on making a surprise for all of you, I think you will be pleased with the results. Though... oh dear... did I make a mistake writing down the measurements for you Miss Jade? They can't be right..."

The towering alicorn blushed brightly under the scrutiny, stammering to reply. "N-No... I am sure you have the proper measurements Sassy, t-this is merely a temporary c-condition... I..."

Now that it was pointed out Glitter stared up at her, her pink eyes growing wide as she yelped brightly. "Omigosh! Miss Jade, you're bigger! It really does happen?! Wow!!"

"Y-You are not frightened? This does not bother you Glitter?" Jade's own nervous gaze down at the little filly widened in surprise, part of her anxiously expecting a different reaction.

Jumping up and shaking her head vigorously, Glitter whooped up to her joyously, "No way! That's so cool! You look awesome! I wish I could do that!! An' you got a pretty outfit too! I wanna see!"

Having the little filly prance around her in glee got Jade to turn a shade brighter, though I had to smile at the foal. Her obvious excitement and total acceptance had to help the alicorn princess always concerned about fear and rejection, viewing her unique nature as nothing but a positive hopefully helped put those fears to rest somewhat.

I was proud and grateful to the foal, she got Jade to smile warmly and stand up straight to her full, impressive height, rather than slouch and try to shrink behind her wings as was her habit. She even allowed Glitter to help tug her lab coat off, letting her get a better look at the ripped Angel costume beneath.

"Y-Yes... well I did say I may show you if it happened again, it is a bit embarassing but I am glad you are happy and so... a-accepting Glitter... That makes me feel very relieved, t-thank you. I am afraid the costume I acquired suffered some damage in the process as you can see. If you like it p-perhaps Sassy can repair it for us sometime? We did find you some presents as well though, you can see how it is meant to appear, here you are dear."

Floating a full set of the Alicorn Angels dolls she had managed to find out of her medical box packs on the floor made the foal squeal happily, looking them over in excitement and focusing on the Angel Blue figure, looking between it and the real life version in front of her. "It looks like you Miss Jade! This is great! Thank you so much, they're all pretty but I like the one of you best! I wish your clothes were fixed, then you'd look just like it!"

Rushing forward to give her long legs a tight hug softened Jade's shimmering blue eyes as they teared up, making her sniffle when she leaned down to nuzzle the ecstatic foal awkwardly. Sassy came forward, smiling at the embrace and gently started floating the tattered costume off Jade's blue body. "Well with a request like that I can hardly stand idly by now can I? A simple repair and resize job is nothing to add to the other work waiting for us little one, you can help me fix this and see the result yourself! Your new doll will serve as an excellent guide if you'd bring it along with us. Now that I'm aware of the Princess'... unique needs, I can make a few adjustments to your gift as well that will be most useful."

"Oh! Right! Um.. just give us a little while Miss Jade, I wanna have a present to give you too ok?! And you Val! An' Mr. Zed too!" Reminded of what she had been so excited about to begin with caused Glitter to leap over to Sassy, excitedly dancing in place in front of the curtained door.

Putting on a look of false disappointment I sighed sadly, "What, don't I rate anything? I got things for you too, well... for both of us, but some you'll probably like more."

"You already got a present dad, you're wearin' it duh!" Glitter rolled her eyes at me and gestured to the dark coat and hat I was wearing with a groan, seeing through my wounded expression.

Plopping down in front of the fire beside the zebra, Val looked over with greedy interest. "Wooo.... present for me kiddo? Sweet! Get to work then! I'm gonna go through our haul here, put my feet up for a bit an' have a drink, want one boss?"

Before I could answer Jade dashed over, curling a wing over me and shuffling on the spot anxiously, looking over to Sassy and turning bright red. "Fast does not need to drink with you Valkyrie. W-We are both quite tired.... Miss Saddles, c-could I trouble you for the use of your bedroom for a bit? A short n-nap while you work? Our adventure was most e-exhausting, we n-need a little r-rest... Just for an hour... or two.... p-perhaps three...."

Looking between the two of us Sassy favored us with a sly smirk, waving a hoof to the stairs graciously and nudging her little assistant back to her workshop. "Of course, 'rest' is important isn't it? We'll take our time finishing up, we should be all done in time for an evening meal when you two are... ahem, up and about again."

With a grateful bow as the pair returned to Sassy's workshop, Jade shoved me ahead of her to the stairs hurriedly. My hooves barely touched the steps at her insistent pushing, retreating from Val snickering to herself below. Once upstairs the excited and highly irradiated alicorn beauty dispensed with the formalities, picking me up completely and charging to the unobtrusive bedroom, pulling my hard won Shrouded Stallion armor off in a flurry of magic.

I was practically tossed across the room to the waiting bed as she huffed and locked the door behind her, sauntering over slowly with a smoldering look that made me gulp to myself. "This kinda thing is why I think it's silly for you to be worried when you soak up too much radiation Jade... Y-You're sorta making it a positive association for me here..."

She gave a melodic giggle at that, fluttering up and landing on top of me gently, "Is that so? Well you are doing the same for me... If I have you with me, being different is no longer a source of shame and embarrassment but... s-something that can be very, very enjoyable yes?"

"Yup, very, very, very..."

Burning off all that excess energy took a couple hours after all, made trickier with having to keep it down to a dull roar in the ancient wooden building. The alicorn mare eventually had to muffle herself with the ratty pillows, being hopped up on radiation made her exceedingly excitable and loud, to her mortified discovery. Enjoyable as it was, her being charged by all the rads also made it hard to keep up, by the time we were done she was back to normal and practically glowing with satisfaction, while I was exhausted and actually needed the nap we had excused ourselves with.

Still, I could hear a lot of raucous activity downstairs definitely caused by a foal who had finished her work. Yawning widely I dragged myself up, groaning at the big blue filly humming to herself happily and prancing about while I shrugged back into my new armor. Catching my flat, tired stare and slow, sore movement she looked back with innocent blue eyes, "Whatever is the matter Fast?" she tittered picking up my hat for me from where she had tossed it.

"This part is totally unfair..." I yawned back at her.

Smiling coyly she shook her mussed up mane around her, "Nonsense, I am quite satisfied with this arrangement. Why if we were not expected I believe I could quite happily continue for some time yet. I am sure you would get a second wind after all. Now come along, I am sure a meal will do you wonders and Glitter has been most patient with us."

Trudging downstairs behind her merrily wiggling rump, I caught the smell of a variety of canned foods being heated and passed around the small gathering below, making my stomach wake up even if the rest of me was lagging behind. Val was stretched up on her hindlegs, admiring a new brown leather duster worn over her riot armor to Glitter's delight, catching sight of us descending the curving staircase she grinned and flapped up beside us.

"Check it out boss, yer kid made me somethin' cool! It's armored like your goofy outfit!" The thick leather looked fairly tough on its own, if it had similar spells applied to it then it was a definite improvement to her dark green armor.

"That's great Val, it looks good too. Makes you look less er... Gunner-y... I like it, good job Glitter!"

The pale filly beamed widely at the praise, dashing over to us and pointing to Zed by the fire. "Thanks daddy! Um.. Miss Sassy did most of the work though, but I picked stuff out I thought everybody'd like! Even Mr. Zed likes his!"

Nodding to the foal Zed stood and gestured to his own new addition, a heavy black leather biker jacket, studded with metal spikes. The sleeves were pushed up to make room for his green bangles and it was unzipped, showing his leather breastplate and necklace beneath. "Yes, I must admit your daughter has excellent tastes. Miss Saddles does fine work, I am grateful for the gift both of you, thank you."

Sassy took obvious pleasure at the praise of her skills, smiling gratefully to the griffon and zebra. "Not at all, it is good to work for appreciative customers again. Don't let young Glitter underrate her role either Fast, your foal was a big help. Here you are dear, I know you were most looking forward to these."

Glitter ran over with a gasp, taking a pair of bundles in her mouth and charging back to Jade, quivering with anticipation as the alicorn tore away the simple brown paper wrapping of the first. Inside was the Angel Blue costume, completely restored and clean. There wasn't a lot to the outfit to begin with, but it was clearly resized to fit her normal proportions. Jade floated the repaired garment up and inspected it with a flush, snickering at my stare behind her before returning it to the wrapping and smiling down to glitter.

"Ain't it cool Miss Jade?! You looked really pretty in it even though it was all tore up, now you'll look just like my new doll! Umm... if you want to wear it sometime, so I can see..." Glitter seemed to realize the gift wasn't exactly practical, but she had been excited to see Jade matching the toy we had found for her earlier.

Jade looked on her kindly and patted her silver mane, "It is very nice, I am sure I can wear it for you sometime if you like and we can play with your toys together. I imagine Fast may enjoy that as well so I am sure he appreciates the effort you and Sassy put into it. Do you not Fast?"

"Y-Yes! Good job sweetie, it looks better than when we got it, it'll be fun to see her in it. I grabbed a few of the Alicorn Angel comics while we were there, you can read about them so you know what the toys were for. Did Val show you hers? I found you a few foals costumes too if you want them."

"Really!? You got me costumes too!? Thanks daddy! I can't wait to see them! We could actually dress up for Nightmare Night for real! Some of the ponies at school were talkin' bout what they were gonna wear an... oh... guess we can't go back there for now though huh... But that's ok! W-We can go somewhere else, or just wear em for fun! Don't worry dad!" Her short lived excitement felt bad, I hated she had made friends in Diamond City and couldn't go back in the foreseeable future because of me. She shook it off quickly for my sake though, which did make me feel better and determined not to let it drag me down. Bouncing on her hooves she pointed at the second package in front of Jade excitedly, "Go on Miss Jade! Open the other one! That's the real present I wanted to make for you! Dad's costume was just a bonus!"

Pulling the paper away revealed a long, flowing white garment Jade lifted up in her magic with a happy gasp. A brand new, perfectly clean and properly sized lab coat fluttered in the air in front of her. Smiling widely with glistening eyes she shrugged into it on the spot, giving a luxuriant sigh as the long coat settled on her frame, flowing around her with a proper fit unlike every other coat she had worn. Looking back to her flanks she gave an excited squeal, each side had a small window letting her display her heart and crown cutie mark proudly.

Twirling in the air Jade swooped down and grabbed Glitter in her hooves, giving the little filly her own crushing alicorn hug. I sympathized hearing her wheeze under the affection, she squeezed the breath out of me when she did that, the foal didn't stand a chance. Glitter was small enough to get the additional treatment of soaring up to the ceiling and spinning around in circles enough to make her dizzy, weaving around on the floor when Jade finally landed and released her again.

"Thank you so much Glitter! It is wonderful! I have never had a lab coat that fit so well, and the holes for my mark are so thoughtful! I like my coat but felt bad covering my cutie mark now that I finally have one, your gift is very considerate and well thought out. Thank you as well Sassy!"

Sassy Saddles grinned at the alicorn, taking a great deal of pleasure at her reaction to the gift. "I'm glad you like it so much, a simple garment for a Princess but I will have more time to make proper attire when I reach your kingdom of Sanctuary. Young Glitter has told me much about the place and I think I will be quite happy there, thank you all for the opportunity for a new home! I did add a little something to your gifts beyond the armoring spells, now that I'm aware of your special needs. Those garments will adjust their fit as needed, similar to the enchantment on your pip-buck there. Should you find yourself in the condition you were when you returned, or even more so, you need not worry about them becoming damaged or leaving you with nothing to wear. I took the liberty of applying the spell to the Princess Dress as well, and I assure you any future clothing I tailor for you will have the same spells woven into them."

Jade looked down to the coat and the costume at her hooves with new appreciation, sniffling happily as she stared over to the tall ghoul mare. "T-Thank you! You added the spell to help me manage it, but you are not bothered by my nature either?"

"Of course not dear, I'm a ghoul, who am I to judge? Your problem is actually rather interesting for a tailor like myself, I'm just glad you're happy! Now before we eat... Fast I... I have a gift for you as well... During our talk Mr. Zed informed me you have a pair of unique statues? C-Could I see them?"

Digging in my packs I brought out the Ministry Mare statues and floated them over to the ghoul mare. "Sure Sassy, Zed's pretty interested in them but says it's ok for me to have them. They're kinda special apparently, they've helped me a lot. You didn't have to make me anything though, your Shroud costume is more than enough already, it's really incredible, thanks for letting me have it!"

Sassy held the two small statues in front of her in her own magic for a moment, a sad look on her tired face. "Thank you Fast, it is wonderful to see the entire ensemble together again and worn by a pony who deserves it, a real Shrouded Stallion in this world that needs one. I did not make this gift however, Mr. Zed told me how it was made and I... I think it belongs with you... with them... She has helped me over the centuries as well, here, take it with my blessing. You are a generous soul, fitting I can give this gift to you."

Ducking her head her orange magic drew a small, pale object from the front of her purple dress, floating it up to join the statuettes and sending the three objects back to me. My eyes widened taking in the small treasure she had added between Fluttershy and Applejack. Another statue, this one of a beautiful white mare with a purple mane of cascading curls, posed regally with one hoof up as if waiting to be kissed by a prince, Ministry Mare Rarity... Reading the inscription on the round stand "Be Unwavering" sent a surge of energy through me, restoring my exhausted body and flagging energy as soon as the words rang in my head.

"S-Sassy... this is... a-are you sure?" Seeing the three of them together filled me with that sense of 'rightness', but Sassy actually knew Rarity, she had obviously held onto this precious treasure for a long time, I couldn't just take it from her.

"I am Fast, please do this for me. I never knew how she made it... I always felt like it was a small piece of her watching over me, Zed's explanation makes a great deal of sense, I had sensed a sadness in her before the end... if only I knew... I believe he is correct, they belong together and with a pony worthy of her sacrifice, keep her safe for me, find her other friends so they can be with each other again as she wanted. That would make me very happy." Giving up the little piece of her friend's soul clearly hurt, but she meant it and it would be rude to refuse her heartfelt request. Giving a grateful bow I returned the trio of statues to my pack, promising I'd find a way to do as she asked and find the other three.

With all the gifts exchanged we sat together and ate, letting my pip-buck radio fill the early evening gloom with soft music as we talked and laughed together. With Glitter sitting between Jade and I happily I emptied my bags of some of the loot I had taken from Hubris, sorting it out and showing off my haul to the foal stuffing her face with snack cakes. She didn't properly appreciate my amazing find of The Shrouded Stallion #1, but at least feigned interest seeing how much I enjoyed it, though she was confused why I didn't take it out of the case to read it.

I did flip through some of the others with her, helping her practice her reading and catching her attention with all the pretty pictures. The Alicorn Angels comics were instantly her favorites, setting them on the floor in front of her while she ate and putting her matching toys out to hold the pages and act out the scenes. She kept the blue doll in her lap with her, brushing its mane as she read and snuggling against Jade when she leaned forward to help her sound out the bigger words. The temptation of the real blue alicorn above her became too great to resist eventually, reaching up reticently to brush Jade's cloudy pale mane as they read.

Glancing over to me with wide, warm eyes the alicorn mare held still awkwardly, enjoying the foal's attention and unwilling to interrupt or ruin it. The two of them were navigating a complex relationship together I had no idea how to help with, Glitter clearly loved Jade and looked on her as more and more of a motherly figure, but the blue mare wasn't her deceased mother she missed dearly.

For Jade's part there was no doubt she'd eagerly consider the foal a daughter, being a mother was still something she desperately wished for I couldn't help with. Thinking of that and vague daydreams of a future with Jade, I could see how the leader of the Church of Balefire could be manipulated by the Institute. It wasn't fair I could never have children with the alicorn mare if we wanted eventually, would any price be too high to fix that? What would I do if it meant giving Jade what she dreamed of?

The uncomfortable answer that sprang to mind was 'anything', making me look for some distraction from that sticky line of thought. Settling on Val who was being unusually quiet I trotted over to the griffon, suddenly very interested in whatever she was reading to herself. I hadn't seen her take any books from Hubris and comics didn't really seem her cup of tea. The leather bound folder and rough files it held confirmed that judgement and I sat beside her, leaning in to peek at what held her interest.

Noticing me staring over her shoulder Val raised an eyebrow and spread the papers out for me, "Files I took off'a Hound boss. He was one of the Gunner's best trackers, interesting reading, help keep ahead of them once they get back on our tail. Hound had a lot he was keeping tabs on besides just us too, if we could cash in on bounties it would be pretty useful stuff."

"Oh, I thought you were concentrating pretty hard over here. So what other kind of stuff is in here? If this Hound guy was such a great bounty hunter, who else was he...." Flipping through the papers while I spoke I froze on coming upon a familiar image at the top of a stack of clipped together papers.

Wanted: Krispy Kellog
Former Gunner Mercenary
Breach of Contract
Reward-- 25,000 caps

This poster was brand new... the reward was increased from 10,000 caps too. Nick said new ones showed up when he was spotted somewhere or the Gunners were fishing for leads on him. If one of their best trackers had this though... it was probably because he was hunting him, meaning he had been spotted somewhere... With shaky magic I pulled the clip away, flipping through pages of handwritten notes and maps before floating the poster over to Val, fighting to keep my voice steady.

"Val... Tell me everything you know about this pony..."

Squinting her violet eyes at the image of the cyber-pony Val gave a low whistle, "This guy... He's trouble, what do you want with him boss?"

"To kill him, a lot..."

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

Atomic!------------
Keeping up with a radiation absorbing alicorn filly is hard work! In irradiated areas you gain +25% move and attack speed, +10% Damage resistance and +2 Strength. With excess rad levels your S.A.T.S. spell charge starts regenerating faster as well.

Quest Perk Added!-------------------

Be Unwavering----------
--The generous soul of Rarity helps you endure whatever the wasteland throws at you. You may have different ideas on fashion but you'd both do anything it takes for your friends. You gain +1 Endurance!