Good evening everybody, that was Countess Coloratura and I'm Traveling Miles, hope all my listeners had a good day, I sure did! Got a letter this afternoon that really set my mind at ease, a certain friend of the station is just fine, which was a big relief for me and a lot of other Diamond City locals. Turns out all those Gunners vacating the northwest edge of the Commonwealth wasn't because they got the pony they were after, but because the Kingdom of Sanctuary makes the call if they get to operate in their territory now.

Now just hearing a friend is ok is plenty good enough, but it doesn't stop there folks. Would you all believe me if I said I actually had a fan? That's right, guess I must be doing something right since I heard from a honest to goodness fan of the station out there! I'm not just bragging though everybody, ok maybe a little... but not entirely! See this particular fan sent something in for me, or our mutual friend did, either way I'm not complaining and neither should you, hot in my hooves is a new addition to our playlist here on Diamond City Radio!

I've already listened to it a dozen times and I know you'll love it, seems like the Commonwealth has our very own Velvet Remedy somewhere out there, this mare is really that good! If we're really lucky maybe we'll hear some more from this new talent, I'm taking a break tonight to go beg for more like this anyway. Take a listen and I dare anypony to disagree, here's the fabulous Magnolia with Goddess Bless the Child.

Soaring over the Commonwealth on Jade's back with Glitter clutched before me, the three of us hummed along with the soft melody playing from my pip-buck as the first stars began peeking out in the early evening sky. We had been flying most of the day, taking short breaks occasionally before continuing ever east and towards the river below. Val had been happy to actually get to fly to travel, usually we were somewhat ground bound thanks to me, Glitter, Zed and AssaultJack, having three extra fliers who were inordinately strong made the trip as easy as having our own sky carriage though.

Jade subtly put a bit of extra distance between us and her sisters before calling over her shoulder at the sweet music, "Miles seems pleased, it sounds as though sister Magnolia may get to meet the DJ pony after all. I am glad you put such effort into helping my sister Fast, she has an amazing talent and seems so happy, thank you for encouraging her."

"Of course! She's your family right? You're worried about them being alone and hiding, anything I can do to help get them out with everypony else is worth doing. Everybody who hears it loves her singing, that'll help everyone learn the alicorns are worth knowing and want to be friends!"

Following the trio of her sisters as they started descending towards a large, crumbling obelisk in the distance, Jade nodded hopefully. "That would be easier if they were allowed to visit other towns, I believe that is the Bunker Hill place they spoke of, they said they had a place to camp nearby but I wish they would all join us."

Glitter bobbed her head rapidly in agreement and crossed her hooves, "Me too! I think it's silly they won't go in other towns! They liked home! Why can't they Miss Jade?"

"Their leader has forbidden it dear, with luck perhaps we will convince her otherwise, but for now they wish to follow the rules... mostly... Magnolia intends to visit briefly I believe, that will be nice will it not?" The foal didn't look convinced, but accepted the explanation as we drifted down to land on a tall apartment building in sight of Bunker Hill.

Following Zed's lead I hoped down to stretch on the rooftop and take a look around, the zebra didn't like being a passenger but couldn't argue with the distance we had made and Ivy had been careful carrying him. Peri dropped the heavy AssaultJack robot off with little difficulty and joined her sisters while I took in the view across the river. The three alicorns had pointed out which of the towering buildings over there was Trinity Tower as the skyline came into view that afternoon, learning it had been a M.A.S. hub just made me more interested in the skyscraper I looked over again.

"I still don't get why we're stopping here, it doesn't look that far away, couldn't we make it in a few more hours?"

Val padded over to the edge of the roof with me and shook her head, "Nope. Trust us boss, stopping here's the best bet. You don't wanna go flyin' in downtown Trotson at night, freakin' bloodwings make it waaaay too much of a hassle. Bunker Hill's not a bad spot anyway boss, lots of caravans come through, never know what you'll find. Got a deal with the Gunners like Sanctuary too, shouldn't have to worry bout them for the night. Can't wait to get over towards Goodneighbor though, been itchin fer some fun like that!"

This wasn't the first time the griffon had expressed gleeful anticipation for reaching the glowing lights she pointed out across the river, the city was too dense to get a look at where the marker on my map pointed for Goodneighbor, but I could tell there was something big over there. Every time I asked Val what she was looking forward to she just smirked and deflected though, didn't want to 'ruin the surprise'. Zed was interested in going there and Trinity Tower for his own reasons as well, any leads on the Church of Balefire were welcome, and the town was supposed to have a lot of ghouls like Hexington, making it a likely spot.

Ivy opened the roof access door and gestured to the stairwell beyond, "This building is a bit of a safehouse for us when we're traveling, we stay on the top floor which is well stocked and comfortable if you wish to join us. Though I understand contacting new settlements falls under sister Jade's new responsibilities as a princess."

"Yes, we should visit this Bunker Hill and speak with the ponies in charge there sister. I do wish you would change your mind and come with us instead, they are neighbors of yours, you should make yourselves known to them. Come join us if you reconsider Ivy, otherwise we will return in the morning to leave." Jade gave convincing Ivy one more try on our way past her to the stairs, I gave Magnolia a wink and followed along, slowly making our way down and out of the tall building.

Bunker Hill was, as the name implied, on a large hill, the pale obelisk easily dominating the local area and making a good landmark for miles. The monument was surrounded by a tall fence made of assorted junk, the square of choked streets around it had been maintained and blocked off strategically as well, adding to the defenses and limiting the number of approaches.

A wide set of cracked concrete steps led up to the main gate of the town, at our approach a a tan earth pony mare with a short yellow mane gestured with a sawed off shotgun to punctuate her shouted question. "Far enough strangers, you caravaners or raiders?"

"Um... neither? We're just traveling and were hoping to stop here for the night. I'm Fast and this is Princess Jade from Sanctuary."

With a grin the middle aged mare tucked the shotgun away into her dirty suit jacket and waved us forward. "Oh-ho, the famous Princess! Heard about you folks, you know Dusty Hooves right? Come on in!"

"Dusty? Is he here?" I knew the caravan pony got around, he told us he came this way when the bridge to Diamond City was still closed.

"Nah, just missed him making the Goodneighbor leg of his route a couple days ago. Him and his Crimson Caravan crew had some good stories this time around though, you all cropped up a few times. Welcome to Bunker Hill, I'm Kettle Corn, kinda the mayor around here. Though honestly it's more like being a caravan manager still, we just don't move is all." The mayor smiled at her own joke, clearly well practiced and used often.

"That is a shame, it would have been nice to see Mr. Hooves again. I am glad he spoke well of us, I am indeed the P-princess of Sanctuary, you have a lovely town Mayor Corn. Since we are here perhaps y-you could speak with my Fast about an alliance of some kind between or communities? We are trying to help bring the Commonwealth together and have several other..." Jade still wasn't coming right out and calling herself a princess when meeting somepony, but she tried to fill the part when it came to the work of representing Sanctuary out in the wasteland.

Kettle's hoof held up to her face interrupted her diplomatic attempt and the mayor shook her head. "Not meaning any offense Princess, but we put our faith in the Minutemares before and were disappointed. Glad to hear you're bringing them back, but we rely on ourselves now, be a long time before we trust anyone else again."

I didn't like the crestfallen look that brought to Jade's blue eyes, but as far as I could tell the mayor really did mean it kindly. I gave her an encouraging nuzzle and tried to console her, "It's ok, can't win em all. I bet we can still help each other out even if Mayor Corn doesn't want a real alliance, one of your new recruits could come for the Followers too right?"

That got the blue alicorn to brighten up and give a determined whinny. "Yes of course, I understand if you don't wish to rely on us yet, but I am sure we can still be friends. We are here to visit others we hope to befriend as well in this area, er... h-how do you feel about my kind Mayor?"

Kettle gave a pleasant smile and shrugged towards the river, "You mean the ones across the way there? Never been any trouble, little stand offish, like to keep to themselves. Hear they help some of the caravans passing by their tower if they see trouble and feel like it. They don't come here, though not cause they ain't welcome mind you! We take everybody but slavers and raiders in Bunker Hill, caps is caps."

Val snorted and grinned at the mayor, "That's my philosophy! What Blue wants ta ask is if one of them were to show up, you wouldn't turn em away right? Quit beatin' round the bush princess, want me a drink after all that flyin'"

"Course not, long as they follow the same rules as everyone else. Now, market's open if you got caps to spend, believe Cricket is our only caravaner in town right now, rooms to rent at the Raviolli's bar. Come find me if you have any trouble there yer highness!" Kettle pointed out the general directions for the market and bar in the small town, the place didn't seem big enough to worry about getting lost in, but we nodded gratefully and started walking towards the promised rooms to rent.

Working our way around the huge obelisk and surrounding scaffolding revealed the entrance to the large stone market building, several stalls were set up in there and Val flapped off immediately, shouting over her shoulder as she went. "Hey there's Cricket alright, awesome! I'll be along in a few boss, that mare sells the best boomsticks!"

The skinny, pale yellow unicorn she was making a beeline towards looked a little twitchy, but did have an amazing assortment of firepower lined up on the counters near her spot. Judging by the shelves and space I had to guess the building was part of the obelisk monument, a large gift shop or small museum maybe. It definitely had the feel of a big store now, a dirty colt swept the tiled floors and the shelves were in pretty good order.

The place looked pretty empty at the moment, only the weapons merchant Val was greeting, a light blue mare running what looked like a more permanent shop, and a bunch of empty counters and shelves scattered about. Caravan ponies must set up shop in all the empty space when they were in town, if it worked like the makeshift market back home, this place must see a lot of business on a good day.

Judging by the general layout of the town it seemed like everything was geared around a similar model as the market, there was a lot of empty space, fenced areas with only a lonely brahmim or two that could hold a lot more, simple housing that looked infrequently used bearing a sign or logo for a caravan company, next to sturdier structures that could only house a family of ponies or so. The population of this place must fluctuate with the caravans, only a few local residents versus a little or a lot of outsiders depending when it was.

The open air bar ahead of us was only lightly occupied now too, what looked like a few caravan guards scattered among the battered tables sitting in front of the patchwork steel building. A rough wooden counter took up the long side of the building facing the town, where a pair of stallions were tending bar and arguing back and forth under a wooden sign reading simply, 'Raviolli's'.

Renting a few rooms was done around the ongoing conversation neither pony would abandon in the face of customers. The comfortable back and forth between them, similar colors and voices giving away they were father and son before the older orange stallion confirmed it. "Here ya go mac, three rooms. Hey sorry ta drag you in to this but somepony's gotta get some sense through my son's thick head, tell him that Railroad's all a buncha nonsense pal."

"Railroad? What's that? Sorry, I was only half listening and came in at the end, sounded like it was between you two."

The heavy set pony tipped his cap in my direction as he hoofed over the keys to our lodging, my ignorance as good as an answer for him that he threw up to the younger orange stallion. "See there, this buck's never even heard of em Cheese! Thanks buddy, name's Stuffed Raviolli, preciate settin' him straight. Whole thing's a fairy tale, anything ta do with those Institute monsters is ta be avoided anyway."

"Wait Institute!? Hold on, what are you talking about now?"

The younger Raviolli rolled his brown eyes and pointed at Jade behind me. "Way to not pay attention to the customers pop, course he don't know nothin, they're from that Sanctuary place way up north. Notice the big blue princess yet? Jeez, sorry mister, Princess, we were just talkin' bout that group that helps those synth things, the Railroad. Since they're some of the only ones actually fighting against the Institute I was sayin they're probably good."

"Helps synths? Help them what? There's a group that fights the Institute out here?" This conversation had grabbed my attention now, I'd never heard of anyone else fighting the mad scientists.

"Don't get yer hopes up pal, they're just stories is all. There's not some super secret group of ponies fighting the even more secret group of bad ponies. Sides, all the tales I heard were more bout helpin' them fakes the Institute makes like they were real folks, not about fightin' em." Stuffed tried to let the hope in my voice down easy, his son answered right back however.

"They're secret cause they're fightin' the Institute, they'd get wiped out otherwise! What I heard is some of those fake ponies the Institute makes don't want to do what they're told, that their makers did too good a job on em and they're basically real. The Railroad's posed to help sneak em away, tries to do what they can against the Institute." Young Cheese looked like he believed what he was telling me, a group trying to help the robots though?

"Where is this Railroad group? How do you join or talk to them?"

Cheese replied in a hushed tone, spreading his hooves wide as he spoke. "Nopony knoooooows... You don't find them, they find you kinda thing I think. I bet it'd be cool to join them though!"

I'd press for more, but this was really little more than idle gossip between father and son. If there was a group trying to stand against the Institute, I'd like to talk to them, find out what they knew and maybe share what I did. Just what little Cheese had said about them was enough to give me misgivings about such a group though, if they existed.

Jade summed up my own thoughts on the matter pretty well with her curious question to the younger Raviolli. "You say they help synthetic ponies, I do not understand why. Are there not enough living ponies out there who need help already? Why help robots?"

The portly Stuffed jumped at her point, waving a hoof to the big blue mare watching with interest. "There, you see son! The pretty filly's a proper princess alright, that's the big question. Worryin' about helping a buncha robots when there's real folks who need it, pssh! Thank ya miss, that right there's why we're a Minutemare family all the way back to my grandpa. Can't tell ya how glad I was to hear the group's comin' back strong, can see why with a princess like yerself in charge! You just consider me at yer service, don't care what Kettle says bout the Minutemares, I'ma loyal supporter yer highness!"

A blushing smile from the alicorn made both Raviolli's join in a bow to her, setting aside their argument to listen to her raptly. "T-Thank you very much sir, though I am h-hardly in charge. The Minutemares are run by hardworking ponies like yourself, trying to make a difference, I simply try to assist them as I can. Though if you truly wish to offer your service... I am not above making a small request... My sister may join us later, w-would that be alright?"

Cheese's eyes got wide and he leapt forward, overriding his father's answer in his excitement. "Sister?! You mean... oh wow, another one of... I mean... a pony like you Princess? Is it one of them across the river?! They'd really come?!"

Nodding sweetly to the buck, Jade returned her attention to his father hopefully. "Y-Yes... an alicorn like myself, they have concerns about showing up in towns. Would it be alright sir? She will be no trouble if she does, I would greatly appreciate the favor..."

Glitter had been following along, whipping out a tactical deployment of her puppy eyes to the older stallion as she begged up to him. "Pleeeeease Mister! She's really nice, an' pretty, an she can sing reeeeally good!"

Stuffed looked to flush a bit as he grabbed at his hat, holding it to his chest while he nodded rapidly to the pair waiting with bated breath. "Of course! S-Said we're a loyal Minutemare family, an' I meant it little lady! Be an honor ta do the Princess a favor, wish grandpa was around ta see this! Anything you need, you just say the word!"

The purple flash on top of a building beyond the walls of Bunker Hill showed our guest had slipped off already. I was glad both for the good reception from the Raviolli's and for the light traffic in the settlement at the moment. If we had been unlucky at the place was packed to maximum capacity with several caravans, this would be a lot more difficult. With so few ponies in town this was a pretty good chance for Magnolia though, she had done well in Sanctuary and there were a lot more residents there. Checking my pip-buck showed the locator tag I had been tracking on the move, so we'd better get ready.

Sitting up in the top of the tower obelisk that dominated the town gave a great view of the surrounding area, letting me keep an eye out on the skies through the broken walls at the top. The spiral staircase that went up the monument was quite the climb, so I started early while Jade and Glitter attended Magnolia back in our room. The purple alicorn was nervous and a little frightened breaking the rules her leader had set forth, I really hoped I wasn't encouraging her to get in trouble later, but she was determined now.

A sniper's nest had been set up here at the top of the obelisk, not much more than a metal chair and a lockbox for ammo, but I appreciated the spot professionally. Sitting up here with enough ammunition, I could pick off anyone trying to approach Bunker Hill from a long ways off. The chair wasn't exactly comfortable, but the stacked boxes and junk gave me something to fill my time with while I waited.

This had been the Shattered Hoof Memorial, according to a stack of pamphlets I found tucked away in one old box. Apparently I was right and the market downstairs had at least partly been a gift shop before, some of the stock had been stashed up here at some point, letting me read up on the greatest hero of the war, Big Macintosh.

Blatantly commercializing the stallion who sacrificed himself to save Princess Celestia seemed wrong to me, but the gift shop looked like it had done a brisk business in Big Mac knick knacks. I dug up a tattered poster of the large stallion and his marauders raising the Equestrian flag, looped red ribbons with a big green half apple pin holding them in shape, a stuffed Big Mac toy still in decent condition among a moldy dozen that hadn't fared so well, even a single Big Mac action figure in a tattered and rotting box.

Despite my distaste about making money on a hero, the action figure grabbed my interest and I wiped the grime away from the packaging to look it over. 'Whistlin' Arcano-toys- Heroes of Equestria Series: Big Mac' was barely legible across the top, the back of the box showed faded pictures of others as well, but none were available among the junk up here. Too bad, having a full set of all nine Marauders or some of the others on the package would be neat.

The Sergeant Big Mac toy was obviously the rare best of the lot and I tore the packaging away to take the figure with me, along with the stuffed doll for Glitter and some of the best looking ribbons. Given the condition of the stuff I didn't think the small items would really be missed. I was peeling all the accessories from the box and holstering the tiny rifle to the toy, totally not playing with it.... honest, when a shout from beyond the window gave me a guilty jump.

"Fast? Hey there you are! Thought that was you up there, been waiting long?!" Traveling Miles looked a little tired, but was wearing a big smile as he glided down towards my perch in the monument.

I zipped my new toys to my bags quickly and gave a wave as Miles hovered just outside. "Hey Miles! Haven't been here long no, just amusing myself. Saw your tag coming so knew it wouldn't be much of a wait, thanks for coming, make the trip alright?"

Miles looked to the pip-buck on his own hoof and grinned, "Tell me about it, was happy to come meet you away from D.C. when I got your letter, but having this thing and knowing for sure you were here sure was nice! Trip was easy, need to get a little exercise anyway, long as you're not down in the water then the river's a safe route to take. So come on, where's this singer Fast! I gotta hear her, you got any more recordings?!"

"Easy there Miles, she's here and yeah I got another holotape. Come on, she's at our room here, lemme trudge back down all these stairs, I don't get to take the fast way."

The lanky pegasus pranced in midair impatiently and darted down when I turned to start walking. The trip down gave me a minute to think and figure out how to approach this, playing matchmaker really wasn't a job for the socially inept... When I reached the bottom I found Val had spotted the young dashite waiting outside, she currently had him in a headlock and was giving him affectionate noogies, ruffling his lank brown mane.

"Mr. big celebrity came after all huh! Thought you might be too good fer us criminal types, got yerself a fan now an' everything!" Miles struggled weakly in the griffon's grip, but he wasn't going anywhere if she didn't want him to.

"Ow! Come on Val! Quit makin' fun, nopony thinks you and Fast are criminals! Nopony that matters anyway, the nobles back home are still awful mad at you guys though, why I don't mind coming out to see you. That and this Magnolia, come on let's go! What's she like? Does she sound that good live? She's really a fan of mine?" Miles somehow managed to keep up a barrage of questions while Val dragged him along with her in my wake, the griffon snickering to herself as we approached the bar.

"Yes she listens to you all the time Miles, your work really helped her out and she's excited to meet you. I... didn't tell you a few important things about her, er... guess I'll let you see for yourself. She's pretty nervous though ok? Technically she's not supposed to be here and... uh... here, it'll be easier to just talk to her. Try not to spook her I guess..."

The tan DJ pony gave a confused shrug and tried to smooth his mane back out when Val released him, straightening his red and white jacket anxiously when the door to our room inched open at my knocking. One of Glitter's big pink eyes peeked out of the crack and the foal gave a delighted squeal to the room before bounding out. "He's here! Hiya Mr. Miles! You're gonna love this, she looks so pretty!"

Jade followed the little filly to the door, wrapping a wing around Miles in a grateful hug. "Hello Miles, it is good to see you again! Thank you for coming, I do appreciate it quite a bit. Magnolia? Come on out sister, it is alright."

"Y-You are sure? This is a-acceptable?" The meek voice drifting out of the room behind Jade caught Miles' complete focus, the questioning look at the word 'sister' wiped away as soon as he heard it.

"Wow that's her alright! Your voice sounds beautiful just talking like normal Miss Magnolia! I gotta tell you I loved the song you sent! I'm glad for the chance to get to... meet... you..." The DJ's excited gushing trailed off as the encouragement got a very nervous looking purple alicorn to trot forward and fill the doorway beside Jade.

Magnolia looked amazing, the work Jade and Glitter had done preparing her made her stunning even fidgeting anxiously and stroking her long reddish mane in her hooves, mussing a bit of the obvious brushing that had gone into it. Sassy Saddles back home had been thrilled to have a sister of Jade's in need of her skills, the slinky red sequined dress she made sparkled in the dim lights and reflected in Miles' wide eyes.

Considering Ivy hadn't cared for the blue Peri taking to wearing a Minutemare hat everywhere, I had Jade hang on to the gift for her sister. Clothes were a normal pony thing and therefore somewhat taboo among the Trinity Tower alicorns. Judging the effect here though, that seemed an incredibly silly rule, she wasn't Jade but she was gorgeous and Miles looked like he fully appreciated it.

Magnolia seemed to have frozen on the spot, her green eyes wide and darting all over the lanky pegasus below her, lingering on the dashite mark on his flanks. A gentle nudge from Jade got her to shake her head and snap out of it, daintily holding a hoof out that only shook a little. "I-I-It is an honor to meet you Mr. Miles, I'm a big fan... I'm glad you l-liked my singing! Umm... oh, Magnolia! I-I am... though I guess you knew... er... S-Sorry to not tell you I am..."

"Princess!" Miles' sudden yelp made her flinch, but he grabbed her offered hoof and started shaking it frantically, his mouth able to form more words after blurting out the one. "I mean! Er.. A-Alicorn! Jade's sister? So you a pretty... sorry! p-princess too? G-Guess not, you look like one though! Wow! So you sang... oh Celestia, this is great! Nopony ever hears from you here in the Commonwealth, who woulda thought you were hiding such a talent! You're a fan of me? Why?! I'm a fan of yours! You are totally incredible! Just your voice is but now I wish I ran a tv station instead of radio! N-Not that they work anymore... I'm rambling aren't I? S-Sorry! Just... wow... Umm... Hi! I'm Miles!"

Judging by the shades of red the two of them were turning, and the goofy smiles they were exchanging, this was going well. I could only hope I didn't look quite so oblivious and infatuated with Jade, though if so I could understand Val's imitation gagging when she declared we were being too sappy.

The promise of Magnolia getting the opportunity to sing live for the bar downstairs was enough to get the two of them moving again. The purple alicorn had gotten to enjoy performing back in Sanctuary, and having only half a dozen audience members in this strange place was enough for her to be comfortable. Miles was beside himself at the prospect of hearing her perform directly, taking the seat closest to where she stood and waiting with a decidedly lovestruck expression for her to start.

The effect of the alicorn's clear, ringing voice was the same here as it was in Sanctuary, ponies from around the settlement were drawn in like moths to a flame. Mr. Raviolli was looking like he was glad he agreed to Jade's simple request, the mare singing near the bar was sending business through the roof, even though the town wasn't that crowded. More than once I overheard him lament how well they'd be doing if several caravans were in town and they had such an act performing.

Magnolia took several breaks between songs, sitting with Miles and engaging in animated conversations that grew warmer as the evening progressed. The DJ pony clapped and whistled the hardest after each song, the alicorn looking more comfortable each time she rushed back to her seat and less willing to go when the calls for more grew louder.

They had put up the pretense of chatting with us at first, but we were sitting away from Miles' spot and giving them their space for a reason. Soon enough we were entirely forgotten, watching while we ate a meal Mr. Raviolli sent our way free of charge for bringing the singer to his establishment.

Jade and Glitter gave cute little squeals to each other and clapped their hooves together in front of their faces excitedly, spying Miles touching Magnolia's hoof as part of his smiling point in their conversation. Groaning at the display, Val tipped her beer back and sat it down empty with a clink. "Ugh, stop starin' at em you two! Yer embarassin us here!"

"I am not staring..." Considering Jade's big, sparkly blue eyes never left the couple, that wasn't really very convincing.

"Come on both of you, Val's right, we're supposed to give them their space right?"

The big blue alicorn had to practically tear her gaze away, consoling herself with wrapping me up in a tight embrace and nuzzling happily. "Very well, I am excited for her though. She is so happy, I am certain being with normal ponies is right now. We just need to sway the others and this will surely help. Thank you so much Fast! Perhaps I will just have to demonstrate how to proceed for her hmm?" The long kiss I got would probably make Miles' head explode if Magnolia followed the example, but I definitely liked it.

Her sister calling out this would be her last song got Jade to break off, leaving me lightheaded while she turned her attention to the sweet, upbeat song ringing out in the crisp fall air, the selection making her smile broadly;

Even Zed hummed along softly, his grey eyes closed in appreciation. "I enjoy this one, it had become a favorite back in Sanctuary. Do you have it recorded yet Fast?"

"Yup, was going to give it to Miles to play on the radio, don't think it'll take any persuasion. You can have a copy if you want Zed, I've got several on my pip-buck, just not enough blank holotapes to..."

A loud whine overhead cut off my reply and the melodious singing, everyone gathered in this small corner of Bunker Hill looked up in surprise at the source of the noise. Banking through a slow turn a Vertibuck flew by above us, losing altitude gradually as it came in for a landing somewhere outside the walls.

I spotted a lot of tense looks on the faces of the other patrons as everypony seemed to get up at once and rush off in different directions. There were quite a few shouts of thanks to Magnolia returning to her seat in confusion, but the concert was definitely off now. Miles had gotten a pretty sour look when he spotted the prewar vehicle swoop by, but wiped it away with a smile when Magnolia returned, getting to his hooves and nodding our way.

"Looks like I get a little news to go along with all the music huh? Must be how my listeners feel, I feel bad interrupting the songs now. Want to go see what the big Brotherhood wants with this little burg?" There was a hard edge hiding in the DJ's carefully controlled voice, taking a look at his burned flanks I could only guess what he was feeling, seeing a vehicle from his former home down here.

"Right, let's go find out Miles, interested myself."

Most of the crowd listening at the bar had moved to the main gate by the time we got there, along with the guards who had listened from the walls now holding a lot of weapons at the ready. The small group of Brotherhood of Friendship ponies were stopped at the entrance and in the middle of an escalating argument with Kettle Corn we had to push forward to make out.

Given the firepower they brought with them, if the armored guests wanted in bad enough they would get in however. Two heavy suits of Steel Ranger armor flanked a tall green unicorn stallion, wearing a fancier version of the Scribe uniform a young earth pony buck beside him wore. At the rear and front of the group were two pegasi in Shadowbolt power armor, the black, insectile gear broken up by the red trim and three applemarks, matching what had been applied to the Steel Ranger suits.

The older stallion in the funny Scribe outfit adjusted his glasses and huffed, clearly put out by the reception and how his conversation with the mayor here had been going. "You are being very unpleasant and unreasonable miss. This is a Steel Ranger installation, we have every right to enter and our mission requires we do so."

Kettle snorted and stomped forward, held back by the leading pegasus' armored stare and forced to shout a reply back around the guard. "Don't gimme that, place WAS a Steel Ranger hideout, a long, looooong time ago. You don't get to come strolling on in and claim it nearly 200 years later! It's our town, you got no rights here so get back in your fancy flyin' machine and skedaddle!"

Having a pair of alicorns and one pushy griffon helped get us to the front of the crowd to watch the back and forth, though the blue and purple mares weren't exactly subtle even in the midst of the mob. Their heads sticking up above all the others caught the attention of the Shadowbolt guard, causing them to leap back and turn on the magical energy weapons under their armored wings in warning. "Halt! Monsters, stay back!"

Magnolia flinched and Jade merely sighed sadly, threatening either was a seriously bad move on the armored pony's part. I liked Paladin Dance and Scribe Summer well enough, that didn't give all of their comrades a pass though. Tromping forward to get in the way, I was surprised Miles had flown up and beat me to it, glaring at the blank stare of the dark garbed pegasus. "They're not monsters! You take that back, Enclave asshole!"

"Agree with my friend there, nopony calls her that, apologize..." I was surprised hearing Miles angry, but we were in sync on this subject. Pointing back to the blue alicorn watching sadly, I tried to burn a hole through that ugly mask with my scowl, actually making the heavily armed pegasus falter a step.

The jumpy guard wasn't doing his group any favors with the crowd, nopony here appreciated their commentary either. The mob pressed forward with several angry shouts directed at the Brotherhood.

"Yeah! Don't ya outsiders know nothin! This one's a Princess!"

"T'other one's mighty good singer! Gave us a free show!"

"They're our guests! You ain't in charge here!"

"You leave! They stay!"

"You heard em, we like them, we don't like you. I'd suggest you be on your way." Kettle Corn quieted the crowd with her agreement, planting her hooves and standing defiantly in the way of the armored group.

Jade trotted forward to join me, touching my shoulder lightly with a wing while raising the other for attention from the onlookers. "Now, now.. it is a-alright... I am not insulted, some ponies feel that way about my kind, if I am not angry you should not be either. Perhaps we could find a peaceful solution to this problem instead of sending these Brotherhood members away out of hoof? I have met others of their order, I believe they do want to help the Commonwealth. Let us talk calmly and work together, try to be better ponies, yes?"

The kind voice of reason from a princess had the desired effect, relaxing a lot of tension in the gathering as all eyes were drawn to the beautiful blue alicorn. I noticed Miles and many in the crowd were still glaring at the armored pegasus right along with me, but most were calmed by Jade imploring for their better natures. The tiny foal hiding at Jade's long legs and sticking her tongue out at the offending pegasus kind of detracted from the regal effect though.

A lot of shuffling papers drew my eye over to the buck wearing a uniform identical to Scribe Wind's, rooting around in his heavy looking packs and pulling folders and clipboards out, reading frantically before leaning over to the unicorn in charge beside him. "Sir! I b-believe this is the one we got the reports on! Um... y-yes Princess Jade of Sanctuary, here it is! The dark one beside her is the one from Paladin Dance's report, the potential recruit."

The skinny stallion lifted the offered folder in his pale green magic, his orange eyes skimming back and forth across the page. Nodding to himself, the Brotherhood pony in charge stepped forward and gave a polite bow. "Of course, Mr. Times isn't it? Your mare the famous Princess Jade, daughter Platinum Glitter, guard Valkyrie Bloodtail, zebra... I see Dance was thorough as always. I'm Proctor Pop Quiz, pleased to make your acquaintance. I apologize for Lieutenant Dawn, as does she, doesn't she..."

The black armor gave a hiss and the bug like helmet slid back, revealing a very sour looking red pegasus mare with a braided brown mane, her dark amber eyes refusing to look up as she grumbled. "Yes sir... I... apologize to the alicorn."

"Both of them!" Miles shook as he yelled to the fellow pegasus, oblivious to the soft smile that was bringing to Magnolia's face behind him.

"I don't take orders from Dashites! I'm not gon..." The shouted reply was cut short by Proctor Quiz giving a forceful cough, brooking no argument without saying a word. The lieutenant grimaced and continued through gritted teeth, "F-Fine... I apologize to both of them..."

"Excellent! Please Forgive Lt. Dawn, some of our pegasi friends have gotten a bit twitchy about your kind since arriving, stories about monstrous alicorns most unlike yourself, kidnappings and attacks, they are under stress. I thank you for trying to play the moderator for us Princess, we really don't want any trouble, but we do need access to the bunker beneath this town. We're not trying to take it over for the Brotherhood however, I'd be happy to work something out with the residents that will get us out of their manes as soon as possible, that doesn't entail reporting a failure back to the Prydwen." Proctor Quiz was polite and obviously didn't share his lieutenant's disdain for alicorns, given how easily he shook Jade's hoof and gave a grateful bow with a kiss to the offered appendage, putting a mark in his favor for me.

"Bunker? So this place has a Steel Ranger base under it? What is it you guys want Proctor Quiz? Maybe we can help."

Glancing over at Mayor Kettle who was engaged in whispered conversation with a few residents and a white guard stallion from the bar, Proctor Quiz nodded hopefully. "I certainly hope so Mr. Times, Paladin Dance expressed a glowing recommendation of your abilities in that regard. There is indeed an ancient Steel Ranger installation here, where the name Bunker Hill comes from I assume. It went silent shortly after the war however, thus the lack of a local chapter in the Commonwealth. We were sent to inspect the bunker, find out what happened if we could, search for usable equipment, download the computer system if nothing else. If we could be allowed entry for just awhile, we could get to the computers and leave when we're done."

Kettle Corn trotted up to join us as the Proctor was finishing up, her ear had been flicking our way the whole time and it seemed she caught enough. An older pink stallion in a dark suit and the pale guard followed behind her silently, looking us over as she spoke. "Nopony goes down to the Ranger bunker, we use the tunnels leading to it and tapped into the water and power, but the base is sealed. You just want the computers, not planning on sticking around where you ain't wanted?"

"Of course not madame, if we are unwelcome we will be happy to leave when our mission is done. Though I won't lie and say our order wouldn't like to occupy the base, we could offer protection for your town in exchange?" Pop Quiz ventured but was instantly shut down.

"Don't need protection, learned our lesson with the Minutemares when they fell apart, we rely on ourselves and this is our town. You open that base back up... we're taking it when you're done, that's fair trade for letting you take what you want and go." Kettle put her offer on the table with the look of a shrewd caravan negotiator.

Proctor Quiz seemed to balk for a moment and consider, finally giving a sigh and shrugging. "I suppose that is fair, we can get to work immediately and be gone before you know it. Thank you for your help Mr. Times, Princess, I do..."

"Oh no, you're not going down there alone to get up to Luna knows what. Princess Jade, you want to help us get along, want our towns to be friends? I hear you're the adventuring type, we'll agree to this if your group goes with them, keeps them outta trouble yeah?" Kettle crossed her hooves with finality, looking at Jade stammering at being put on the spot.

"Us? I... B-but my sister..." The worried look Jade sent Magnolia softened a bit, spotting the purple alicorn standing beside Miles and whispering in his ear.

The DJ pegasus relieved her concern entirely, nodding at the quiet conversation in his ear and fluttering up a few feet off the ground with the violet mare. "Umm... It's ok Miss Jade, we were just talking about taking a fly around town if that's alright with you? I kinda don't like the guests in town right now anyway, I'd much rather get a little fresh air with Magnolia here. You guys do what you need to and I'll bring her back safe in a little while, how's that?"

Both Jade and Glitter squeed to each other and looked delighted at the idea. Personally I was almost jealous of the pegasus, flying around together as a date like thing sounded fun. Jade was always happy to give me a lift, but actually flying with her seemed much better than riding along as baggage.

As her sister's chaperone Jade bobbed her head happily and waved them off, returning her attention to the two groups waiting for her reply. "Very well, we will accompany the Brotherhood into this bunker as a neutral party. You see, working together was not so difficult after all."

Neither the Brotherhood or the Bunker Hill residents looked convinced at her encouragement, but Kettle and her escorts led the way into the settlement and the rest of us followed. My pip-buck chimed and threw text up in my vision as we left, responding to Jade's agreement to help;

Mission Added--------------------

Shadow of Steel---
Objective--
--Investigate Bunker Hill Base
--Help Brotherhood download base computers

"Don't dead, open inside?"

"I believe it is meant to be read top to bottom, first one door then the other Fast. So 'Don't open, dead inside'" Jade kindly cleared up my confusion at the weird typography failure I was staring at.

A series of basements and tunnels Kettle led us through had brought us here, a large steel door with the cryptic message written sloppily in what I wished I didn't know was blood. E.F.S. had shown quite a few green marks down here with us during the trip, but we hadn't seen anyone else, making me curious what the residents of Bunker Hill did with all this underground space. Other than storage of course, but all the stacked crates and barrels had slowly given way to dust and disuse as we grew closer to the big door bearing the winged sword over the apple shape and gears of the Steel Rangers logo.

As if the scrawled message on the portal wasn't ominous enough, a quick inspection showed the locking mechanism had been disabled and shot apparently, whoever wrote that wasn't kidding about not opening this door. Proctor Quiz sent his young scribe forward to start repairing the entrance, a few minutes of his nervous fumbling was too much to watch though and I politely took over.

"Any idea what happened in there? Who did this to the door and wrote this Kettle?"

Mayor Kettle Corn shrugged and pointed at the bloody message. "Door said not to open it, we haven't tried too hard. Cleaned up the skeleton of the pony who wrote it, dying whilst writing a message in yer own blood tends to make an impression, so we took it serious. We tied into the water and power systems without having to go inside, was plenty for us."

Val had shoved the young scribe watching me work out of her way, rubbing her claws together greedily and tittering in anticipation. "Now this is a date I can get behind boss, was gettin' bored watchin' Blue and the kid play matchmaker. Steel Ranger bunker sittin' untouched all this time, imagine the loot!"

"I think it belongs to the town Val, or the Brotherhood, we're just helping out."

"Bah! Finders fee boss, they want us to help with who knows what in here, we get a cut. You just don't worry yer pretty head about it, business stuff boss." Val waved my concerns away and focused on the door, considering she wasn't being very quiet about her intentions and wasn't being contradicted, I could only assume she had a point.

Hooking a spare spark battery to the repaired circuit was annoying, I still wasn't anywhere close to the kind of control to use my magic for this kind of fix though. The trickle of power did the job, opening the thick sliding door with a sickly sounding hiss, revealing a dark hallway beyond.

"Ok Glitter, you can wait here with AssaultJack or go back up to the room, it's starting to get late anyway and we've got more traveling to do tomorrow." The little filly pouted at the declaration, but doors with blood scrawled messages from dying ponies were not for her.

"Ugh! Fine daddy, I'll wait, like always... never let me have fun with you... Come on AJ, let's go explorin' an wait for Mr. Miles an' Magnolia!" If she thought I left her to go have fun when we did things like this, we needed to have a serious talk. She didn't seem that put out this time though, the glares she kept sending at Lt. Dawn probably had something to do with that.

Gathering with the half dozen Brotherhood ponies, Kettle Corn shook my hoof and gave Jade a curtsy, nudging the dirty white unicorn guard with her over to the group. "Thanks again for helping us out here. Don't have a lot of spare guards to take off patrol for this little errand, but Drift here volunteered to lend a hoof. I've got work to get back to, but Mr. Stock will wait here for you to return. You all be careful alright?"

The older pink stallion took a seat on the crumbling stone stairs and tipped his black hat to us, watching us walk into the echoing steel hallway as Kettle and Glitter left behind him. The young scribe Butterscotch had managed to get the lights to come on down the hall, revealing a lot of dust, blackened bloodstains and a few skeletons waiting ahead of us.

Moving into formation, one suit of Steel Ranger and Shadowbolt armor took up postion behind us, while Lt. Dawn and the other Ranger took the front, sandwiching the rest of us protectively as we kept going. A rusting sign ahead pointed to a sliding door the pair on point opened and led us through, entering what was a security station off the main hallway.

There was evidence of more death in here, but still no sign of what had caused it. The room was lined with lockers and storage chests Val started rifling through excitedly, this was the staging point for trips up to the surface according to Pop Quiz, so the chances for ammo or usable gear were good.

Proctor Quiz was huddled over his scribe sitting at an active terminal, flipping through his assorted paperwork to bring up the proper passwords and gain access. While the others spread out I wandered that way, more interested in what happened here than any leftover treasures.

"Sorry sir, last entry here just lists a standard patrol outside a few years after the war. Says there was a weapons malfunction and a casualty, nothing unusual for how things were back then." Scribe Butterscotch kept tapping away at the terminal, reading over his shoulder I could see there wasn't much there though.

Coughing for attention, Pop Quiz patted his scribe's head and turned to the room. "Alright, according to our records the Elder's chambers are on the bottom level, that will give us the access we need. Everypony keep your eyes open for any clues or dangers, plenty of bases didn't survive long after the war but we don't know why this one went dark, I expect all of you to exercise extreme caution here."

Val was roundly ignoring the Brotherhood pony in charge, stuffing her pockets with a variety of ammo from the lockers and pestering Zed into holding more before we left. She shrugged at the Bunker Hill guard Drift's raised eyebrow and resumed cramming more rounds into Zed's leather jacket when he waved her on with a smile. I stopped on the way out to wait for Jade, absorbed in her examination of one of the skeletons in the room.

"Can you tell what happened to them?"

The alicorn doctor was never squeamish around corpses, peering at this one closely and turning some of the bones around in her magic as she answered. "Ballistic firearms, signs of concussive damage from explosives... It appears death finally came from a great deal of weight pressing down on the chest, see all the snapped ribs in this small area Fast?

Hearing secondhoof about her work, like when she explained in excruciating detail what all was involved in dissecting Kellogg's corpse, was enough to make me queasy. By this point I would have thought I'd be as comfortable as she obviously was, considering how many dead I was good at making. But I was no medic and found staring at the damage she pointed out with interest a little creepy, putting on a faltering, forced smile and nodding.

"Ok... so big fight, then somepony... stepped on them?"

Jade gave an amused little snort that slowly turned into a contemplative hum, holding her own hoof up to the shattered ribcage and giving me a proud look. "I would not have thought so initially, too much weight. You may be correct though Fast, that is what it looks like. I knew you paid attention when I explain medical teachings to you and Glitter!"

"R-Right... always paying attention, totally get that stuff... so somepony really did step on them?" I'd take a good guess getting me some unwarranted praise. I'd listen to Jade read anything, that didn't mean having her recite articles from the Canterlot Journal of Internal Medicine actually stuck though.

Lowering her voice to a whisper she leaned close as we joined the others and kept going down the musty hallways. "If they were wearing a suit of power armor like the Rangers here? Yes, I would say that is likely. I do not wish to insult these Brotherhood ponies by putting forward the theory of betrayal in this chapter quite yet however."

Lt. Dawn's amplified yelp of "Contact!" broke me from taking in the death left in this place with Jade's theory in mind. The armored Brotherhood soldiers moved smoothly, readying their weapons and changing positions to cover ahead of us where a red mark had appeared on my E.F.S.

Jade and I were silently encouraged back with the quiet guard Drift, Proctor Quiz and his scribe, while Val and Zed refused to be moved from just behind the forward guard of armor. Judging by the mark on my compass, whatever was hostile in here was in the door marked as a barracks. The metal bunks within had been tossed around from the center of what looked like an explosion and rusted where they landed, a fairly clear path from the door quickly became cluttered with obstacles.

Several of the lights near the detonation point of the ancient battle were out, hiding the direction Eyes Forward Sparkle was giving from view until the four power armored ponies spotlights came on, pinning the enemy under the harsh lights. A rusty suit of power armor was milling around facing the dark corner, a couple quiet gasps from the Brotherhood ponies sounded out as Lt. Dawn cautiously approached and called out. "Easy there soldier... we're here to help, who are you, what happened here?"

"Be careful Lieutenant... It's not safe, E.F.S. shows red..." Even without the helpful mark in my vision something about the armor was raising my hackles, it looked.... wrong... Judging by the rust that suit hadn't been serviced since this place was sealed up, the servos were giving some very unpleasant whines and clicks as well, setting the repair-pony in me on edge just hearing it.

The lieutenant hissed over her shoulder at me in annoyance, "I know it does! Willing to bet the system in my suit is more advanced than yours, it's still a Ranger, gotta try to get through to them. There, that's it, turn around and let's talk ok?"

The way it was moving was what was really bothering me, slowly turning to Lt. Dawn inching towards it, something was simply unnatural about how it moved, almost robot like... That was it. I knew how robots moved, the comparison wouldn't let go now that I thought of it, not like a pony moving like a robot, no like a robot period...

"Lt. Dawn, get away from it!" The alarm bells going off in my head lent enough urgency to my voice it seemed to sink in for the others, Val, Zed and Guard Drift were instantly on guard while the others paused.

Even Dawn had stopped to turn on me, exasperation coming out through the speakers in her helmet. "What is your problem civilian!? I don't care if you got a recommendation from Dance, you're not one of us yet and if you were I'd teach you proper respect for your superiors. You're just a freelancer now though and I know what I'm do..."

While she berated me the rusty power armor had completed its turn, the front now fully in view under the lights of the other armored troops, standing behind Lt. Dawn who finally noticed the change in everyone else and looked back with a gasp. This suit had seen some heavy action, scorched burns and melted plates of armor covered the front, several large components were missing as well, including a large portion of the helmet. Dawn stared straight up into the gap in the steel face and the blackened skull underneath, stammering at the horror as the minigun at its side started spinning up to speed with a grind of old gears.

"Blast it!!!" The Lieutenant could get mad at me for giving orders later, the view of that dead face and other bones visible through the gaps in the armor freaked me right the fuck out. That wasn't a ghoul, not even a feral zombie, that was a dead pony in armor that was still moving, and not friendly...

Val cared only that I gave the word, not about how anyone else took it. As soon as I said shoot, she started blazing away with her red M.E.W., melting the helmet into slag, unfortunately to little effect as the minigun started firing anyway. The instant violence and spray of 5mm rounds pinging off their armor snapped the Brotherhood members out of their shock, sending a barrage of fire back that blew off or melted more large portions of the armor.

Whatever was wrong with that suit, the repair talisman was definitely out. The damage it was taking wasn't being restored as it should be, leading to it being in the condition it was to begin with I was sure. Despite that weakness it wasn't stopping either, power armor was made to take a licking and keep on ticking, it was much tougher than the pony inside and since that apparently wasn't an issue here...

I had to dash out from Jade's blue shield where I had taken cover with our city guard escort, scrambling over the ruined bedframes to get a clear line of fire and shouting over the cacophony of weapons filling the room. "Everypony look out! Incoming!"

KRACKA-THOOM!!

Narrowing down the range on my lightning spell still wasn't very precise, once I had a clear enough view I managed not to fry every suit of power armor in the room anyway, keeping it down to just the rusting one that fell to the ground in a heap and a cloud of pulverized bone. Lt. Dawn shook as she stood up from her cover, her head swinging from the dead armor to me repeatedly, flinching when Zed passed her to inspect the remains quietly.

Zed closed his eyes for a moment over the corpse, breathing deeply before they opened again and glanced at the Lieutenant's way before addressing me. "This is not necromancy."

"W-What was that!? How!? W-Why..." She shivered out a shocked series of questions mirrored on the faces of her troops.

Her incomplete questions were put to a sharp stop by the clanks and siren like wails echoing down the halls outside the door, E.F.S. was lighting up all around us with the noise, giving me a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"I don't know, but I'm guessing it's what happened to this place and I think there's more of them. You probably do have the better Eyes Forward Sparkle system in that armor though, tell me what you think Lt. Dawn..."

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

Certified Robronco Tech-Pony-------------
--Your knowledge of robotic and technical components allows you to break them more easily and salvage their mechanical corpses. You have a +20% chance to score critical hits against robots or power armor, and you'll also find more useful components on those you destroy.

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

Sgt. Big Mac!----
--The souvenir shop figure of Equestria's greatest hero imparts a bit of the Sarge's military skills! You gain +10 to the Small Guns skills!

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

Bunker Hill-- Neutral
Despite your wanted status out in the Commonwealth, the trading town of Bunker Hill accepts nearly everybody. They don't seem open to being an allied settlement, but maybe helping them out will improve their opinion.