A cold wind was blowing, the steady rain dripping off the brim of my hat was at the head of a wintry cold front. Nightmare Night wasn't very far off, but it was shaping up to be an early winter...

I occupied myself wondering about that as I trudged along nearly buried country roads leading south, was it just because the weather over the Commonwealth was wild with no pegasi to guide it anymore? Was the S.P.P. tower lost in distance of the drizzly day responsible, maybe whoever was in charge of it wanted to pile a little misery on my head as well as keeping the Commonwealth sealed off from Equestria..

Hell, maybe it was the Lightbringer somehow... The famous savior of the wasteland might not control the Trotson tower, but she ran all the others right? Changing the weather patterns around the one spire out of her control would probably have an effect, even if not a direct one. I hoped that wasn't the case, thinking of some much more successful Stable pony who had actually made a real difference in the world since leaving her own Stable, raining more discomfort on me, whether intentional or not... was adding to my own feelings of failure and self pity compared with her.

From everything Jade and others who knew of the famous mare had told me, she wouldn't be stuck in such a bleak situation. The mare who brought the sky back wouldn't wind up sick or dying in the middle of nowhere, hunted by enemies and only trying to get back to somepony she cared about with no other plans than to die happy. She'd probably find some way out of it, keep fighting, find a miraculous cure just in the nick of time after conquering some horrible dungeon to find it...

I on the other hoof... I felt like death warmed over...

"AHCHOO! H-H-Hey! C-C-Can't y-you f-f-figure s-something o-out... I'm f-f-freezing b-back here!" Fancy whined from behind me, the miserable mare holding a rusting old road sign over her head with her magic, trying pointlessly to keep part of herself dry.

Big damn heroes like the Lightbringer wouldn't end up saddled with enemies as traveling companions either... Let alone petulant, spoiled, whiny enemies...

I glanced back to her shivering in her soaked and all too thin coat, normally the pitiful sight would be enough for me to admit she was right and try to think of something to do to help her, at the moment though I was fairly certain I was in worse shape... Halting my pained, monotonous progress probably wasn't a great idea, getting going again wouldn't be easy. Not that she didn't have a point, being out in this slop was not doing my own health any favors, singlemindedly marching on was just all I could think of.

The area of the northern Commonwealth we were crawling across was mostly wilderness, what was once a smooth country road cutting through a healthy and living forest, was now a cracked and hilly trail winding mostly southeast under the oppressive skeletal branches overhead. If I remembered right the Commonwealth Running of the Leaves course was out in those woods somewhere, though the trees didn't need ponies galloping by to knock the leaves off them anymore...

Sticking to the path slowly being consumed by the forest around us had kept us mainly safe from the local wildlife and other wasteland horrors lurking in the undergrowth. Some of the noises out there quickened my pulse with worry, but whatever roamed in the shadows seemed to avoid the roads for the most part, leaving me to deal with the occassional Radhog or Bloatsprite only.

A tingling on my left made me look up from my dull stare forward, peering around in that direction from the crest of the current hill and off into a thinner bit of woods. There was a scummy looking pond over there, a crumbling warehouse nearby perched over the waters, surrounded by rusting chainlink fences and shells of long shipping carriages. A few of the trailers had big yellow barrels spilling out of the torn containers.

Stumbling closer to the sight made my pip-buck give a lazy tick and flash text in my eyes; Discovered Location: Mass Arcano Fusion Containment Shed and suddenly the tingling made sense... Radiation... that whole pond was probably highly radioactive, and I could feel it...

"I-I-It's a-about t-t-time! A b-b-building to get d-dry in!" Fancy spotted the rough stone structure and tried veering off towards it, forcing me to call after her in a hoarse voice.

"N-Not safe Fancy... radioactive... Probably pretty bad if I can... t-tell from here..."

The slow chatter from her own gilded pip-buck proved me right, she still snorted and stomped in the road behind me, bitching at the helpful warning. "W-WHO C-CARES! I-I-I'm f-freezing! R-Radiation is w-warm isn't it!?"

I sighed and slowed, staring out at the wisps of steam hanging over the pond and nodding. "Yes... and deadly... for you I guess... I don't know about me anymore. I wouldn't risk it but do what you want, there wasn't any radiation medicine left back in the hospital though..."

I scooped up any and all medicines and drugs I spotted on our way out of Mareford Memorial Hospital, but had been unsurprised packets of Rad-Away and tablets of Rad-X were not among them. From what I read they had tried to help as much as they could after the balefire bombs fell, they would have ran right through their stock of rad meds in no time...

That sunk in at least, the prospect of advanced radiation sickness with no medicine to treat it was enough for the old building to stop looking so attractive anyway, though she went right on whining... "T-Then find s-somewhere else! A-A-Anywhere!! Y-You can't be f-feeling good e-either right?!"

My Shrouded Stallion armor was a good deal warmer and more waterproof than what she was wearing, but she had a point... The medical alerts I was doing my best to ignore kept flashing and beeping every time my temperature went up another degree, which had happened a few times since leaving Mareford... how many again? Three? Four?

"Alright, if we find somewhere we can s-stop for a little bit... I w-wouldn't hold your breath though, we're kind of in the boondocks up here, probably nowhere to..." I answered back, my reply slowly drying up when my eyes picked something impossible out beyond a hill to the east. I pointed a shaky hoof that way and croaked an unsure question to Fancy, "D-Do you see that too?"

The former Overmare stopped and squinted out into the rain, following my gesture and actually spotting the same thing. "I-Is that... s-some kinda g-g-giant... robot? O-One of those w-weird ball l-looking ones?"

Ok... so I wasn't completely delirious yet... That really was a giant Mr. Handy out in the distance... I spotted an even rougher and more faded trail leading that way and followed its course, eventually finding where it joined the road we were walking ahead. If it was real, it was a destination. I shoved aside the brief but enjoyable thought of reprogramming the monster sized version of Cogsworth, riding atop its round body and cackling as it smashed and vaporized enemies, carrying me where I wanted to go with ease.

A closer look showed things wrong with the picture, it wasn't a real robot, just something built to look like one that had suffered 200 years of entropy. It tickled a memory somewhere, but my head hurt too much to try digging it loose, instead I kept plodding along, now aiming for the turn off ahead.

"We'll go there then. If nothing else, that thing will keep the rain off us." The change in noise around us made my ears flick and amend that, listening to the increasing patter and pings of sound coming from Fancy's metal sign. "Will keep the sleet off us rather... come on, this way..."

Fancy galloped down the road and right on my tail, impatiently trying to shove me along until she saw the side road I was aiming for. She ran ahead while I stumbled after her, stopping a short distance down the mostly dirt trail at a pair of rotting wooden posts flanking it. By the time I reached her, she had dug around in the middle of the trail and uncovered a faded wooden sign that once arched between the two posts, presumably explaining why there was a giant robot that way.

"R-R-Robronco G-Galleria... N-November 1st-28th... W-What the hell's a g-galleria... a-and is it w-warm?!" She brushed the dirt and leaves away from the old sign, reading it out when I approached and stopped to stare at it in wonder.

Provided the name, even my muddled brain and feverish brain could finally find the memory, the Robronco Galleria... I was so excited to see that exhibit next month when I was a foal, November just never came and I forgot about it. A showcase of Robronco's top of the line robotics, a store disguised as a fair, but still... they were going to have all the newest and coolest robots on display where you could interact with them.

"The Galleria... heh... g-guess I finally get to go after all... With luck, yes it's warm Fancy, come on...."

"S-S-So y-you really are f-from before? B-Before the w-war?" Fancy asked with mild interest, explaining I remembered the Galleria we were slowly approaching required a little backstory, some of which she had apparently already heard somewhere which saved some time.

"Yes, I wanted to go to this place then. There were supposed to be a bunch of showcases and displays, lots of construction before it could open. There's probably something there still if that big fake robot is standing, maybe even some kind of settlement or something..."

The giant Mr. Handy now towered overhead, growing ever larger as we approached the site, climbing what I hoped was the last gentle slope leading that way. These weren't even big hills and I was panting my way up, slogging through the muck at my hooves that sapped my strength with each step.

Fancy stopped at the crest of the hill and stared ahead silently, prancing in place impatiently as I joined her and looked out at the scene below, my pip-buck telling me what I already knew; Discovered Location: Robronco Galleria.

A number of ramshackle buildings did still stand and surround the giant Mr. Handy centerpiece, I pulled out the Last Minute to peer through the gauss rifle's scope at the cluster of ruins ahead, ignoring Fancy's miserable huff and the fuzziness in my vision. Let's see... Iron's Gym, Pony Joe's, Talon's Department Store, Letrotski Lanes and a Robronco outlet ringed the rusting hulk of the huge Mr. Handy. One of the giant construct's multi jointed arms had fallen away, unfortunately smashing another building, but the others were still angled over the grounds below, a closer look through the scope showed a lift platform that went directly up into the belly of the fake robot above.

I looked over the arched entryway and ticket booth leading to the grounds, scanning from there into the area and around it, but couldn't make out much. Nopony was moving around down there, let alone residing there from what I could see, though E.F.S. flickered with green dashes of something just at the edge of its' range. A few corpses dragged off in the mud not far from the focus of my interest made me a little concerned, but those were standing buildings to shelter in if nothing else.

I floated out the gleaming revolver Vengeance and pointed the barrel at the structures ahead unsteadily, trudging down the slippery slope leading to the Galleria entrance and speaking to the mare beside me softly. "O-Ok... place to get dry... B-Be careful, let me take a look first..."

Her hooves kept right on squelching in the mud behind me, but thankfully she remained fairly quiet for her, letting me approach the ticket booth cautiously. Passing by the empty booth put the area more firmly in the range of E.F.S., lighting the compass in my vision with several steady dashes, all green so far anyway.

We crept out into the center of the fairgrounds, angling towards the Pony Joe's diner to the right and the light spilling from its' windows. The Galleria was in pretty rough shape, tattered streamers and faded banners hung limply from each rotting storefront, but the place looked like it had power still somehow.

As we closed in on the ancient diner and the hopeful thought of hot coffee, I made out the residents that E.F.S. had been picking up. The small, modular metal diner rusting to ruin in the middle of nowhere was staffed by robots... just as advertised. I pushed the red metal door open and poked my head in with a sad jingle from overhead, taking in the pink and green checkerboard floors and booths with seated skeletons and rotten meals.

Nothing started immediately attacking me at least... a quick check with S.A.T.S. verified nothing was hostile at the moment and even provided names for the robots inside. A Mr. Handy called 'Crisp' with a number of specialized limbs whirred to itself behind the kitchen, making fresh pots of coffee and pulling baskets of donuts from the fryers behind it, adding to the delicious smells wafting from the building that were making my stomach groan and grumble. A Ponitron with a tray welded to its' chest below the neck given the uninspired name 'Waitron' clomped over to one of the booths, asking if all the corpses there were doing alright or needed anything else before moving on... that wasn't a great sign...

Fancy wasn't as wary of the malfunction or just didn't care, shoving past me and into the diner, shaking herself off in a spray of icy water and planting her forehooves on the counter in front of the cook, shouting out a demand to the robot. "COFFEE! HOT! GIMME NOW!"

The Mr. Handy cook focused its eyestalks on her and gave a spin with its lower body and flailing limbs, answering in a slightly manic tone. "Coffee! Comin' right up! 490 bits please!"

"490?! Prices weren't quite that bad in the end... what's wrong with..." I tried to ask, running a mental diagnostic on the obviously malfunctioning robot before being caught by surprise by its actions.

One mechanical claw snatched up a tall, steaming pot of coffee and the robot spun in a circle on the spot and shouted "Order UP!", forcing me to tackle Fancy before a fan of the boiling liquid flew threw the air right where her face had been. A spatuala tipped limb started flipping up donuts fresh from the fryer behind the counter, flinging the hoops of sizzling dough around haphazardly.

The Waitron added to the chaos, insanely saying "All done with that sir, let me bus your table for you!" before bucking a small, round two pony table to the floor, sending pristine coffee cups flying to shatter on the tiled floor near where Fancy and I huddled under the counter and the stream of donuts flying through the air.

I disentangled myself from the freezing mare under me and pulled her away in a crouch, trying to just get out of the diner without suffering any new injuries. The robots still showed as non-hostile according to E.F.S., but were anything but safe. Fancy struggled and drummed her forelegs on the floor in a tantrum as I pulled her away by one hindleg, screaming her frustration while I pulled open the door and went back out into the sleet.

"NO! I w-w-wanna c-coffee!! Hot d-donuts! A roof! G-Go back in t-there an s-shoot them!" She screeched as I wrenched her out in the muck, letting her go to head towards the largest building, the bowling alley.

"I have a good idea if I d-did that, every robot here would go h-hostile... m-more hostile... Come on, let's try in here, I'll f-figure out a way to fix it..."

She gave me an annoyed pout from the mud, flipping her sopping mane from her eyes angrily before getting up and following along. Fancy didn't have any interest in doing the shooting herself, hopefully taking my warning to heart. I wearily walked over to the steel double doors under the buzzing neon sign reading; Letrotski's Lanes and showing a blue bowling ball striking dirty white pins.

The last thing I expected to hear on opening the doors to the gloomy, windowless space beyond was the familiar sound of a strike, but the crashing echo of pins was unmistakable. It usually wasn't preceded by catapult like zing though, or the sound of the pins clattering across several lanes.

When my eyes adjusted, I gaped for a moment and wondered if the fever was finally causing hallucinations. A tank like Sentry-bot (named Walter according to S.A.T.S.) was rolling around down on the lanes... was that a modified balefire egg launcher on its shoulder!? I'd seen pictures from the war of the zebra weapon before, but never thought to actually see one, let alone one rigged to launch bowling balls with such explosive results...

Fancy rushed ahead again to shake herself off and shiver, catching the attention of the Mr. Handy floating behind the shoe rental counter, causing it to call out sternly. "Lane and shoe rental, 5000 bits!"

"S-S-Stuff y-your b-bits! S-Shut up!" Fancy shook and chattered back, walking past the attendant and further into the dry building.

The huge Sentry-bot spun on its wheels and launched another bowling ball with a twang, the projectile digging a trench and burying itself in the floor at the border between the lanes and the entryway in a crash, inches from Fancy's shaking hoof. The speed she managed to move was almost comical, leaping to the ceiling with a squeal and back to the door trailing a cloud of dust, huddling behind me as a shield.

"NOPONY ROLLS WITHOUT PAYING!" The sentry boomed out and reloaded its bizarre weapon in a series of whirs and clicks.

Ooooookie, dokie, lokie... I backed up nice and slow, shooing Fancy back with my tail and giving my best 'please don't kill me' smile at the heavily armored robot. Thankfully it went back to lobbing strikes down the lanes once we retreated the way we came, another Mr. Handy darting out to reset the pins after each shot of that crazy cannon.

Thinking clearly was difficult enough without Fancy screaming at the sky, the next closest building was the Iron's Gym, but the open walls of the formerly glass fronted structure let me see that probably wouldn't be much better than our first two attempts.

A Mr. Gutsy called 'The Champ' and wearing a corroded belt befitting the name around its round body, viciously pulverized the remains of a punching bag. Even ending in heavy leather boxing gloves instead of claws, the flurry of its multiple limbs had long ago torn the target from a chain swinging overhead.

There were some serious programing failures at work here... I thunked myself in the head repeatedly, trying to muddle through the fever and work the problem. Closing my eyes in a grimace at the headache that just added to, I opened them to the pinpricks of Fancy's green ones twitching in barely contained fury.

She grabbed either side of my head in her hooves and pressed face to face, speaking through gritted teeth and shivering angrily. "DO SOMETHING DAMMIT!!!"

"I'm trying... t-they're m-malfunctioning... have to be c-coordinated from somewhere..." Come on brain work... this shouldn't be that difficult.

After far too long I finally flogged my thoughts into making some kind of sense. I looked over to the 'Robronco Outlet' as a possibility before discounting it, they'd probably have the equipment, but networking all these robots together under some semblance of central control... you'd want a transmitter high up... I held a twitching foreleg up to the giant Mr. Handy above us and swayed in Fancy's manic grip, croaking to her over the sleet. "U-Up there... p-probably..."

She gave a squeaky little sneeze and let me go to charge over to the shelter of the big fake robot, looking back to me falling over in the mud without her holding me up anymore and giving an annoyed groan. It might be just because she was stuck with me, but she did come back and help me towards the round lift that led up into the round metal body of rusty metal plates.

We were close to the open elevator when I noticed a white bodied Ms. Nanny bobbing over, this robot seemed less accidentally homicidal at least, speaking up brightly in a Prench accented voice. "'Alloooo! Welcome to ze Robronco Galleria! Ve are unfortunately not open to ze public, unless vou are ze on-site supervisor ve have been awaiting, I must ask vou to return later si vous plais!"

I gaped at it numbly, unable to think of any reply. Fancy surprised me by stepping forward and taking over smoothly however, maintaining her normally spoiled tone and using it in a bit of acting that had me almost believe her. "O-Of c-c-course I'm the s-supervisor! W-Who else w-would c-c-come out in this w-weather to d-deal with you stupid, b-broken machines! H-Help my t-technician over h-here so h-he can get to work f-fixing you b-bastards!"

The Ms. Nanny's eyestalks panned up and down between us, thinking to itself with a series of clicks that didn't sound healthy, before deciding Fancy was telling the truth and hovering over to me to obey her orders. A pair of metal claws shot out and grabbed my coat by the collar and belt, floating me to the lift with a weak squawk of indignation and giving Fancy a salute. I had to give it to her, she got it to do what she wanted with just her ever flapping mouth, it lacked the finesse of hacking it into total obedience, but was still impressive...

She huddled on the platform with me and hoofed the controls, sending the metal disc up in a grind of gears towards the belly of the Galleria centerpiece. Inside was what I hoped to find, a round office full of computers and equipment to run the attractions and maintain all the robots, ringed in cracked and dirty windows to look down on it all from here.

A semi-circular desk took up the center of the chamber, occupied by a Mr. Gutsy in better shape than most of the robots below. A pile of bones wrapped in the tattered remains of a maintenance jumpsuit was spread in the floor in front of the desk, a bright bit of plastic looped around its bony neck by a frayed cord.

Fancy looked a little worried at the military robot painted Equestrian Army green and pointing a plasma blaster at us as it barked out like a drill sergeant. "Who goes there!? Galleria's closed! Not due to open till November 1st, you are trespassing!"

I gave her a weak nudge and rolled my eyes significantly to the skeleton and the most likely looking console behind the desk, trying to inch my way towards that bright bit of plastic on the lanyard around the bony neck. Letting her handle trying to keep the more heavily armed Mr. Gutsy occupied.

"I-I'm the s-supervisor stupid!! H-H-How c-can I be trespassing?! I'm s-supposed t-to be here a-and deal w-w-with you broken i-idiots!" Fancy rolled right along with her improvised lie, stomping toward robot apparently in charge and jabbing its round metal body with her hoof angrily.

The poor machine sounded confused by the mare chewing it out like she had every right to, letting me scoop up the plastic ID and creep behind its abandoned desk unnoticed. "Supervisor? Error... The Robronco Galleria is directed to be an example of perfect, machine efficiency, operated and supervised solely by Robronco products, minimal pony interference!"

My partner in crime paced the round room in shivering steps, turning the Mr. Gutsy away from me slipping behind its desk and patching my pip-buck to the central terminal. I squinted at the text buzzing by in front of my eyes from the top level of the control system, gesturing with my hooves over the desktop in widening 'stretch it out' signs.

To her credit Fancy kept right on plowing forward, loudly keeping herself the center of attention while I worked as quickly as I could manage. "O-Oh yes, y-you look like you're d-d-doing a great job a-alright! W-When was this place supposed to open?!"

I found the answer in the reports flashing by just as the Mr. Gutsy answered sulkily. "203.7 years ago... Awaiting version 3.921b patch before proceeding to opening to the public on schedule."

That's what the system confirmed too, it was taking me too long to read through it all though. A patch for the robot's off kilter behavior had been downloaded, just not applied yet. From what I could puzzle out, somepony up the chain at Robronco finally figured out having a whole fairground of potentially deadly robots running everything out here on their own, miiiiight not be the best idea... liability wise if nothing else judging by the urgent mails from the Robronco Corporate Legal Division.

The skeletal mare whose ID I used to access the system was a certified Robronco service technician assigned as pony supervisor for the Galleria. Sent to apply the patch and keep an eye on the mechanical workers. Unfortunately for her, she picked the worst possible day to schedule the job and was baked alive in this big, round oven when the bombs fell.

While I extracted the waiting patch, Fancy cornered the original robot supervisor with a sneering laugh. "203.7 years a-ago huh? Little late to open on schedule then isn't it?! T-This is w-why they had to send me, c-c-can't do anything on your own c-can you?! N-Now we're late! It's n-not my fault either! I was... er... c-c-caught in t-traffic! Aaaaaand I c-c-couldn't find the p-place, you haven't e-even kept the sign f-for the turn off up! T-This is a-all your f-fault, m-metal heads are gonna r-roll! J-Just you watch!"

The badgered and beleaguered robot almost seemed to shut down gratefully when the system rebooted, escaping the furious filly who had finally found a target for her ire to really unload on. The lights outside flickered and every mark on E.F.S. held still a moment before everything came back with a hum, the Mr. Gutsy with us returning to its desk, unbothered by me stumbling out of the way guiltily.

I watched it connect itself to the control system anxiously, breathing a shaky sigh of relief when speakers around the fairgrounds crackled to life with the Mr. Gutsy's gruff voice. "Attention, Robronco apologizes for the delay, the Galleria is now open to the public! Please enjoy the exhibits, sample the glorious future of Robronco robotics and what it can do for you!"

Well, I was fairly sure the problem was fixed now... I swept my hat from my brow with a flourish, managing a hoarse "T-Ta... Daaaa...." to Fancy, resulting in me overbalancing and flopping to the blessedly cool, dirty floor in a heap.

When I next pushed my way back to consciousness, I found I was lying on a fairly uncomfortable slab of slate covered in disintegrating green felt. The ancient billiards table in the bar area of the bowling alley wasn't a nice, soft bed, but it was dry and fairly warm. Trying to move weakly from where I found myself showed me why once I could think straight, I was buried under a pile of rags, my black coat and hat were draped over a stool at the bar and dripping dry.

Something shifted beside me, making me vaguely glad I was too weak to leap away in surprise, instead rolling an eye that way to find Fancy's muzzle sticking out of all the ratty clothing covering the two of us. Her teeth were chattering and she pulled me closer, easily pinning me in place over my attempts to move. Only her mouth was exposed, allowing her to slurp at a steaming cup of coffee by the corner pocket before whining next to me.

"S-Stay still! At least that f-f-fever makes you nice an w-warm... H-Here, your coffee's in the side pocket, b-box of donuts up front, just gimme f-five more minutes..." Her sugar coated white muzzle muttered from under a dirty old Robronco licensed apparel jacket. Considering I couldn't pull myself free if I wanted, she was getting her five minutes.

"E-Everything... w-working now?" I croaked and fumbled for the steaming mug on the edge of the table, not trusting my magic to hold it steady enough to sip from and opting for my aching hooves instead.

Fancy's pale forelegs came out from her nest of rags, pulling the jacket down over her head tightly and whining back. "Y-Yes... stupid robots are all better now, doing what I tell them to do, way it's s-supposed to be. Made that g-goofy waiter in the diner bring us hot food in here, grabbed a big pile of stuff from that clothing shop outside too, t-this place is warmest, n-no windows.. Now shut up, g-gimme my f-five minutes.... you owe me f-for making them bring you here."

I supposed she was right, she fooled them into thinking she was the supervisor, she could have taken advantage of that and me passing out to do what she wanted. Instead I was still alive and actually cared for, a little roughly, but still...

"Right... F-Five minutes, you got it. T-Thank you Fancy, for helping..."

She grumbled and muttered in return, but focused on curling into the tightest ball she could right up against my overheated side, the fever baking off me made me an effective little space heater apparently. That left me to look around and try to muddle my way to some degree of clear thought.

My first impulse was the same as it had been when we escaped Marefored Memorial and several times since then, I pulled up the list of locator tags on my pip-buck and started checking them all. Jade's mark came up first, this time holding steady at Trinity Tower, it had appeared in Goodneighbor with Glitter's tag for most of the day until now. Glitter's arrow was still in the relative safety of the fun loving town thankfully, it jittered and moved within that small area, but never left its borders.

Val and Zed's tags had spent most of the day alternating turns in and out of the Trotson Public Library, currently it was Zed's turn to be right on top of the map marker while Val's circled the area in wide loops, making their way toward Goodneighbor too. At least Zed had made it out of there, I hoped he managed to find his brother before all hell broke loose, though it was looking like that wasn't the case with all his trips back in.

I really wished my family were as rich as all those Canterlot ponies always buying the latest and greatest status symbols, in the months before the end it seemed like every snob in the capitol had one of the broadcaster add ons for their pip-bucks, a piece of tech I would currently give a lot to lay my hooves on.

As it was I could only hope someone would still be checking for my own locator tag and eventually see I could be tracked again after disappearing for the past day or so... Jade still wasn't great at using the arcano-tech device on her leg though, Val generally only used it for combat and Zed pretty much ignored his entirely... At least I had long since showed Glitter how to use the locator system, ironically to keep an eye on her map when we had to leave her behind so she could follow our progress and be sure we were safe. I desperately hoped she hadn't given up on me yet...

While I had the pip-buck menus up in front of my eyes, I gulped and forced myself to check the health status screen again, not looking forward to what it was currently complaining about. Let's see; Fever stabilized at 104.8, Moderate Organ Damage, Moderate Tissue Damage, Moderate Nerve Damage, Minor Brain Damage, Major Tumors Detected, Insufficient Caloric Intake, Suppressed Immune System, Increasing Fatigue, Unidentified Blood Toxin, Unidentified Blood Type... The cartoon unicorn with Xs for eyes and its' tongue stuck out summed up how I felt pretty well, while I watched the screen flickered, adding an unsteady pair of static marred wings to the picture and removing them again rapidly.

Chewing on the still warm donuts morosely, I glanced around the bowling alley Fancy had holed up in. The little bar tucked away in the corner was a good place to recover, the bowling alley didn't have windows to let the gusts of freezing air in and had held up fairly well against the elements.

Even better, like most of what I had seen of the Galleria, it had never really been scavenged due to the crazed robots. A battered old Ponitron with a black bowtie bolted to its neck presided over the bar and all the untouched bottles of alcohol behind it, the only customer was a pile of bleached bones propped up in a stool, wearing a once white cowpony hat and sitting in front of a dusty bottle of Sunrise Sarsaparilla.

Wobbily floating a half full bottle of Wild Pegasus over from the bar took way more effort than should be needed to move the light weight 10 feet through the air, but I managed to drag it over to myself without dropping it. Irishing up my coffee helped mask the fiery, amber liquid burning down my throat, leaving a ball of warmth in my guts to spread slowly.

One of Jade's many admonishments about alcohol had been the knowledge it didn't actually make you any warmer despite how it felt, actually it could make you colder physically. I felt justified taking another swig though, if I didn't have places to be in a hurry I'd consider getting full on drunk actually, it would help me forget my situation and numb some of the pain at least.

Looking over the pile of my armor and bags by the bar and tenderly checking my own partly dried mane and tail, I looked to the heap of rags next to me and gave it a weak poke. "R-Really Fancy, thank you... Y-You're not bad at taking care of a sick pony, even with the robots helping..."

The annoyed grunt she answered with held a note of pride despite herself, eventually prompting one green eye to peek out from under a filthy shirt and roll sarcastically. "I-I still need you to help me get back to civilization, n-not like it's that hard to be a nurse. My mom used to take care of me w-when I was sick... I remember h-how it's done."

"Was she nice? S-Seems like it... if you learned how to a-actually be kind when you want..."

Her angry snort made the rags she buried herself under flutter up in a puff of air, her reply actually held a controlled note of sadness in it though. "O-Of course she was! I... I l-loved my mom a-and she loved me! If she hadn't died... She'd still be Overmare and I'd still be happy... all this started when they made me take over her job too soon 'cause she... d-died... T-Though I guess I wouldn't have met my snookieookums..."

"Yeah... If none of this ever happened I'd still have my f-family and wouldn't be... sick..., but I wouldn't have met Jade either. She's worth everything that's happened to me, still wish my family didn't have to suffer too though..."

Fancy's bedraggled golden mane pushed free of her nest of rags and she watched me crawl off the table carefully, still managing to slip off the edge and crash to the floor with a tired groan. She peeked over the side of the pool table as I groaned back to my hooves under her, speaking in a small voice full of wary curiosity.

"What... What's it feel like? T-That potion of theirs, er... like you said, they were gonna use it on me right?... S-Sure looks like I dodged a bullet there... Is it bad?" She asked in frightened fascination, her green eyes continually drawn to the stained bandages wound around my back.

"It's not fun... L-Like feeling yourself getting torn apart and put back together... H-How long was I out anyway? Time is sort of a factor..."

Bundling herself back up in her rag blanket, the former Overmare called after me from her hidey-hole, her tone daring me to complain when she informed me I had lost another couple of hours, time I couldn't get back. From the steady drumming on the roof overhead, it sounded like the weather had graduated from sleet up to hail, so at least we weren't caught out in that.

I sighed and checked the time on my pip-buck, it had been at least a day since Moondancer made me her test subject. According to her, that left six days now before her miserable version of the Impelled Metamorphosis Potion ran its course, maybe less... No matter how much I wanted to, trudging off into a hailstorm would probably take more of that limited time than waiting it out and trying to recuperate.

Shrugging into my saddlebags at the bar, I left my armor to continue drying and snatched up a few more bottles of alcohol. The robotic bartender didn't seem to mind, so my hazy memory of the control system was real, they'd behave themselves now. I plodded out of the corner bar, waving and calling to Fancy hoarsely.

"Get warmed up and rest, I got things to do while we wait on the weather, yell if something new tries to kill us..."

She muttered a sleepy answer in return before her voice trailed off into snores, leaving me to look around the large building alone. It only took a moment to find the restrooms I was looking for and start heading that way. Besides needing to visit the little buck's room for the standard reasons, it was probably the closest to clean I was going to find in here and it had a mirror... The shooting pain in my back needed to be addressed.

A short while later, I sat down with a thump in front of the dirty steel mirror above a trio of cracked and stained sinks, carefully using Best Served to slice through the thick band of stained magical bandages wrapped around my torso. I wished I had a pair of scissors or some other implement that didn't neatly cut me as easily as the cloth strips, my unsteady magic wasn't completely trustworthy at this point and I nicked myself a couple times, adding slow dribbles of blood to the yellowed stains.

Once the mass of cloth fell away, I took a deep breath that dissolved into rattling coughs. That wide strip of bandages had been getting uncomfortably tight and was completely soaked, peeling it away was a relief. The yellowish stains seeping through the magical fabric somewhat spoiled how much better getting out of it felt though...

A few smeared streaks wiping the worst of the dirt from the mirrors let me get all too good a look at my back. I stood alone in the ancient restroom, alternating from looking back over my shoulder to using the warped steel mirror, taking it all in numbly. The lumpy growths spreading from my back down my ribs had grown larger, covered in a film of... gunk... eww... that dribbled down my sides and twitching sporadically.

Oooook... I'd never have Jade's medical skills, but that didn't seem good. Staring at it stupidly made holding on to those donuts a struggle, better to try something more productive, taking a good swig off the bottle of Wild Pegasus for example... I added a vial of Med-X on top of the whiskey, jabbed into my back in an attempt to convince myself it was for medical reasons only, ahhh... that was a bit better...

I used the bundle of discarded bandages to wipe the slime from my sides, wondering too late if the right treatment was to clean it or leave it alone. Oh well, you cleaned wounds in general, I probably couldn't do anything to make my situation worse anyway. The tap below the mirror actually started spraying water in the sink, with a little persuasion from my pipe wrench.

Taking advantage of the moment of privacy, I played with the trickle of water in fascination, realizing again I could tell it was radioactive before my pip-buck gave a warning click. It was hardly the mind blowing sensation Jade seemed to experience, but getting near that stream of sludge with an experimental hoof tingled, a bit like smacking my funnybone.

The water issuing from the rusty tap got as close to clean as it was going to get and I cleaned up as well as I could. I cracked open a clear bottle of grain alcohol I had liberated from the bar and splashed it on my sides liberally. I crammed both forehooves into my mouth to stifle a scream, prancing around the damp room and silently hissing a stream of muffled curses at the burning that caused.

I dribbled a purple healing potion down my back with a whimper when it finally stopped. The worst of the muscle aches and spasms were tapering off thanks to the Med-X taking hold. The powerful painkiller wrapping me up in a pleasant mental fog and making it a lot easier to continue working while staying emotionally detatched.

Mostly anyway... the red eyes in the mirror shimmered wetly back at me while I rewrapped my chest in fresh bandages.

Waiting out the storm took another couple hours, forcing me to find ways to keep myself distracted and busy while Fancy kept right on sleeping without a care. Taking command of the white bodied Ms. Nanny outside gave me a more useful helper though, assisting me in my painful progress without a word of complaint.

My robot assistant floated into the bowling alley with a jingle from the door, bobbing over to the booth in the bar I had taken over and dumping her latest haul nearby, setting a covered tray down on the table after taking the previous one away and giving a salute. "More of ze fried Cram, coffee and donuts sir. Does monsiuer have any more requests?"

I rooted through the pile of junk she had returned with, finding the spark fuse I wanted in the latest box from the Robronco Outlet outside and floating it up to the battered heater I had been working on. Once the final part was slotted in place, the boxy machine gave a shudder and a puff of dark smoke, the heating elements slowly glowing a cheery orange and warming the immediate area.

"P-Put this out in the floor by my friend, then start digging in that wrecked building outside. You said it was an Ironshod's Emporium right? Try to find... find any ammo boxes still intact, as many shotgun shells, .45s, 2mm EC or 10mm rounds as possible that will still fire... Ugh... and tell that cook to keep the food coming..."

Of course the building that had been destroyed by the giant Mr. Handy arm coming down was a gun shop... Anything buried under the debris had been exposed to the elements for decades by the looks of it, not making me hopeful about resupplying my dwindling ammo reserves.

Stacking slices of the greasy canned meat between donuts to make another disgustingly filling sandwich, I dug out a bottle of Sparkle Cola RAD and poured the glowing red beverage into a still usable glass I had found, adding a splash from a bottle from behind the bar in accordance with the dirty 'Mixologist' poster I had pulled from the wall back there. With no milk I couldn't try out the recipe for something called a 'White Zebra' that had been circled in red for whatever reason, but this 'Rum and Sparkle' was pretty good.

Of course that might just be the radioactive red soda... No wonder Jade liked the the RAD variety so much, it tingled on my tongue and all the way down, soothing my indecisive stomach. I munched away mechanically on the pile of fried dough and meat between drinks, sugar and protein... that's what Angel told me to eat.

The first experimental nibbble at a can of uncooked Cram proved her right, I practically inhaled it on the spot and started looking for more after licking the can clean. I had basically gotten used to no longer being a strict vegetarian since coming up to the surface from the Stable, realizing meat had been what I was craving was still a little surprising though.

The whirring from the fan on the repaired heater woke Fancy up, her annoyed grumble cut off when she peeked out to find the source of the noise and tumbled off the pool table with a clatter, goggling at me gratefully as she perched in front of the source of warmth. "A heater?! Sweet Celestia, good work! Ahhhhhh that's so nice... W-What have you been up to?"

"Workin'! Here, found other stuff fer you, wanna drink?"

I balled up a clean and preserved pastel blue bowling shirt and a padded dark blue windbreaker branded with 'Letrotski's Lanes' across the back, tossing the dry clothing to her and waggling one of the number of partially empty bottles of alcohol at her. Returning to the piles of parts and junk spread out on the booth before me and moving on to my next little project, cracking the case on Fancy's stolen Institute M.E.W.

She shrugged into the clothes gratefully, giving me an unsure look, sniffing in my general direction after taking the bottle of amber 'Luna Royale'. "How much have you had already? I'm counting on your help ya know, how are you supposed to protect me if you're drunk?"

"Pssssh... not that much... I serfectly pober... perfectly sober... They had a list of drink recipes see? F-Figured, why not? Ougtha try out stuff I haven't, while I still can... C-Come on, storm's finally passin', we need ta get movin' soon. Got some stuff fer yous to open up too with those non-claw usin' lock pickin' skills. Wanna donut cram-burger?"

Fancy stuck her tongue out at me taking another big bite of my disgusting creation, sipping at her bottle and pulling the heater with her on its squeaky little wheels, nosing around at the pile of loot I had been accumulating on a rather nice embroidered rug from the managers office. It had really tied the room I took it from together, but made a good bundle to drag my finds around with by the tattered tassels.

She eyed the modified B.E.L. I had removed from the Sentry-bot still wheeling down the lanes, my pip-buck labeled the bizarre weapon as 'The Striker' when I detached it and assigned a high value for it. Carrying around the hefty weapon probably wasn't the best use of my limited weight capacity, but Val would find the weird bowling ball launcher hilarious. The thought of the maniacal gleam in her violet eyes sure to show up on receiving the present made it worth lugging around.

Floating the various yellow medical boxes and green ammo boxes I had found around the Galleria to the booth in a field of her golden magic, Fancy sat across from me to start picking the locks, grabbing a loose screwdriver I had found for the purpose back with the ball return and broken pinsetters behind the lanes.

Raising an eyebrow at the small golden trophy I had liberated from the same smashed glass case containing her new shirt and jacket, Fancy squinted at the tiny metal pony on top absently. Reading the plaque below the image of a stallion preparing to release a tiny bowling ball from his foreleg, the shaggy and bearded golden pony matching the name listed.

"Opening Game rolled by Jeffery 'The Dude' Letrotski, October 1st... Why'd you take this thing?" She asked, her tone making it clear she didn't have my knowledge of history, or penchant for collecting junk...

"My dad liked bowling, taught me how when I was little... though we played on lanes with bumpers in the gutters, er... like that one down there."I pointed out the single lane that had the flip up guards for foals engaged and continued with a sigh. "The pony on the trophy was famous Fancy, this was his chain of bowling alleys. U-Used to watch him on tv with dad sometimes... he'll really like the trophy, m-maybe Jade or Glitter can give it to him someday..."

There was a hint of apology in her small voice when she answered quietly, focusing on unlocking the stack of boxes waiting on her skills. "Oh... Ok... T-That's um... nice I guess, you're a real goody-goody though huh? If it was me... er... in your s-situation... I don't think I'd be thinking about others."

"My situation makes thinking of others the only thing that makes sense Fancy. I probably won't be around much longer, the ponies I leave behind should know I cared about them. Whatever happens after I'm gone, they'll still be around and remember me right? Even you will, though I don't expect much in the way of warm reminiscing out of you, maybe you'll end up doing some good in the Commonwealth though huh? Make helping you worth something."

The first yellow medical box I pulled from the restroom walls popped open with a click and Fancy shoved it over, moving on to the next and peeking up at me from above the screwdriver in her mouth, mumbling around it. "Why did you help me anyway? I still don't like you, you stole my Stable from me! If you're really... dying... why would you help an enemy? I don't get it..."

I floated my Rum and Sparkle up in a wobbly toast and drained it, wheezing out an answer in a burning breath. "I know you don't. I don't like you that much either Fancy, the things you did... even being manipulated by Vega, they were bad, hurt a lot of ponies who counted on you as Overmare. Leaving you there to be Moondancer's next test subject though, I couldn't do it. Letting you go through this too wouldn't help anything. I don't expect much out of you, but this way you have a chance to be better, you wouldn't have even that much dead."

She grumbled back in her normal, petulant tone, but wouldn't meet my eyes as she went back to work with the bobbypin. "Whatever... So long as you don't expect anything outta me in return. I-I'm not gonna just magically be your friend and turn into some kinda dogooder like you, just cause you did me a favor... t-that'd be stupid..."

"Yeah... stupid..."

When we finally left the Robronco Galleria, we were in marginally better shape than when we arrived. My fever had dropped a couple degrees after a short time with basic niceties like food, shelter, sleep and alcohol. Fancy was wrapped up in several layers of tattered clothing and had found a cracked set of leather saddlebags, while I had found a fairly warm scarf to add to my own now dry armor.

I flipped through my inventory as we trudged down the cracked asphalt of the highway running south, between the Ms. Nanny excavating the ruins of the demolished Ironshod's and Fancy unlocking every ammo box it had returned with or I had found elsewhere, I had a little more ammo now. Unfortunately at least half of it was unusable, a loose assortment of .308s, .44s, 5.56mms, 12mms and .50 caliber rounds that wouldn't fit any of my weapons.

Most of the robots back at the Galleria were modified to be unable to leave the grounds without a lot of tinkering, the Ms. Nanny I had been using as a gopher was set up differently however. A bit of minimal reprogramming let me send it to Sanctuary with a message for Preston or Sturges, informing them of the empty and now safe cluster of buildings. With not much work this place could be a new settlement for ponies in the Commonwealth, it was essentially an empty, unscavenged town waiting for residents to move in.

Checking over my map as the sun set on our right showed everyone I cared about still miles away in downtown Trotson. My heart skipped a beat on finding Val's marker on this side of the river and heading north, angling directly towards us. Oh thank you Luna... they must have seen my own marker at some point... Jade, Glitter and Zed's marks were still clustered around Goodneighbor, but Val was fastest flying on her own, barring the next unforeseen catastrophe, we'd reach each other in hours.

I had tried unsuccessfully to find out where Fancy wanted to go, where the Institute had snatched her up to begin with presumably. She was being pretty tight lipped with the information though, the lack of complaints about our course the only real hint I had that we were going the right way for her too.

It took some mental gymnastics my baked brain wasn't happy about to figure out her reluctance. If it were Val in place of her own griffon bodyguard Freya, then she'd hang around wherever I disappeared looking for me, as evidenced by Val's activities displayed on my map since I escaped the Institute. If we found Freya, Fancy would have the upper hoof, her snowy white mercenary could take me out easily in my current condition.

If she didn't tell me where she expected to find Freya, I could end up leading her right there and being outnumbered without realizing it. I may have saved her, but I did also kick her out of her Stable... who knew what she'd do if she were suddenly in charge. On the other hoof, if I reached Val first, she probably worried for her own safety, thinking I'd do what she would if our roles were reversed. I'd think logically she'd know that was unlikely considering the alliance that brought us this far, but I couldn't make sense of the crazy mare and what she thought.

All that made for a terse trek together as we slowly approached the outskirts of Trotson and civilization. The country road we were following angled southwest and kept sloping downhill gently, approaching a smaller tributary leading to the main river at the border of the city. I kept catching glimpses of a huge industrial building in the distance through the woods, perched on the other side of the small river that way.

Once the dead forest started thinning out around us, I saw something more interesting closer by. Off the road ahead and huddled in the shadow of a towering elevated road and railway section still standing, was a ramshackle post-war building surrounded by sickly looking crops. Turning in that direction prompted my pip-buck to identify the small settlement for me in a flash of text; Discovered Location: Finch Farm.

There were ponies down there... coming in from a day of work in the fields by the looks of it. An older mare and stallion couple, accompanied by a few more workers judging by the green dashes on my compass.

Fancy ran towards the first other ponies we had run into out here, heedless of any danger in light of the cheery cooking fire burning in front of the hut below. I was forced to speed up uncomfortably to keep up, drawing my 10mm pistol and keeping it floating at my side out of the view of our company watching Fancy approach warily.

The bright yellow earth pony stallion in the dirty overalls pulled a sawed off shotgun in his mouth, covering Fancy with it as she skidded to a halt right in the killzone of the weapon and growling around the trigger in his mouth. "Hold it right there! Told you crazy assholes to just leave us all alone, my buck not enough for you!?"

I slowed to a trot as I approached, pointing my pistol at the armed pony and trying not to make any sudden moves, speaking soothingly to him. "Easy... take it easy sir... I don't think we are who you think we are, we don't mean any harm, just a couple of travelers looking for help. I don't want any trouble ok?"

The farmer pony's... wife? She certainly seemed like it by the way she ran up and smacked the stallion holding the shotgun with her floppy hat, nickering at him and shoving the short barrel of the weapon down with a pale pink hoof. "Ham you put that thing away and stop being foalish! They don't have the burns silly, they're not the Forged. Pretty miserable looking folks is all, come on and warm up by the fire you two, it's safe isn't it dear..."

"Ain't nowhere safe, specially not here with them raiders right over yonder... We're proper ponies here though, you heard her, come on over outta the cold. You don't look so hot young buck, ain't got much, but welcome to do a little barterin' if'n ya want." The stallion she called 'Ham' answered, lowering the shotgun and nodding to the other marks on E.F.S. in the field, signaling the relative safety.

"Thanks Mr.... Ham? Nice to meet you, I'm Fast, my... companion here is Fancy, we appreciate the hospitality sir, ma'am." I gave his wife a grateful bow and tip of my hat, stumbling my way to the fire and bubbling pot of stew hanging over it. "As for trading,.. that's a nice shotgun you have there, don't suppose you have any shells you'd be willing to part with?"

The flat look he gave in answer made it clear that wasn't likely. His wife was more pleasant at least, setting her dusty hat atop her rosy mane and smiling back. "Ain't you a polite one? Nice meetin' you too, don't get ta say that often enough ta company... Name's Rose Finch, my husband Ham an' daughter Goldie, Mr. Spade back there's our farmhoof. Like pullin' teeth ta get Ham ta part with any of them shells I'm sorry ta say, caravans don't come this way that often. Need the ammo ourselves lately, but welcome to do a little dickerin' for whatever else we can manage."

I stashed my pistol away in my bags and approached the fire, my stomach grumbling at the delicious smells wafting from the hanging pot. The older yellow-green stallion Rose pointed out made his way out of the field cautiously, the skinny, warm yellow teenaged filly behind him gave an excited whinny as they drew closer and charged out, running around me in circles to inspect me closely before yelping to her mother in an excited rush.

"Ohmigosh! Mom, Dad, do you know who this is!? It's the Shrouded Stallion!! F-From the radio! Oh wow, i-it's an honor to meet you Mr. Shroud! I heard all about you on the news, is the p-princess with you!? Hey! Maybe he can help us! Save Bull from..." I struggled to keep up with the stream of chatter pouring from the filly, confused by her father stomping his hooves with an annoyed snort to stop her.

"Save him from his own foolishness? Not even the Goddesses can do that, he made his own stupid choice, leave these strangers outta it Goldie!" Ham growled and turned away in a huff, retreating to the wooden shack and tossing things around in there by the sound.

Young Goldie winced at his outburst, whimpering to her mother sadly when she came to comfort her. "B-But... the Shrouded Stallion's a hero... he could help big brother mom... Y-You'll help us, w-won't you Mr. Shroud? Save my brother?"

"Er...." I raised an eyebrow to Rose giving the filly a hug, unsure how to respond to the tearful request.

Rose sighed and flicked her daughter's flank with her dirty red tail, nudging her into cleaning up and ladling out stew while she answered. "I'm sorry sir, you look like that buck from the radio is all, little short for a hero though, no offense... She listens ta all those silly stories, like somepony really just wanders around an helps folks for no reason. Them tales of Princesses an' heroes make fer good listenin', but got her hopes up I'm afraid."

Fancy snorted laughter to herself and dug into the rough wooden bowl of stew Goldie gave her, ignoring the filly's miserable glances over to myself and her mother. Val's marker was on the way... all I had to do was wait and she'd find me eventually, just don't do anything stupid and wait dammit...

"Got her hopes up for what? What's wrong Rose? Save her brother from what?" I groaned as I walked over to the waiting bowl the filly was filling with steaming stew, giving in to my inevitable bad decision and tipping her a wink when I took the offered food in my magic.

Rose's blue eyes shimmered wetly and she pointed a hoof towards the river and the towering smokestacks of the industrial building that way. "Some new gang called the Forged moved in over yonder, took over the old Sausage Ironworks and started makin' things tough around here. M-My son... my buck Bull Finch joined them... Kept talkin' about 'protectin' the family', think he did it ta try ta keep us safe...

Ham ain't hearin' it though, disowned him for throwin' in with damn raiders. Bitching about his precious family heirloom Bull took, his grandpa took it outta that place ta begin with, good riddance far as I'm concerned. Don't let Ham fool ya though, he's worried about our buck too, those fools are crazy, burnin' themselves on purpose..

Ham might be too stubborn ta admit it, but we're all worried about him. Thought about tryin' ta find some of them Minutemare's the last trader this way was talkin' about, but wouldn't know where ta look an don't got much ta pay em fer their help."

I slurped up the hearty vegetable stew and thought, smacking my lips at the mild tingle from the radiation tinged ingredients. Fancy was silently glaring daggers at me with her green eyes, mouthing 'DON'T' when she caught me looking and returning to her food with a scowl.

"Is there a town around here Rose? A little civilization anywhere nearby? My... friend here is looking for her employee she got separated from."

The pink mare nodded smartly and pointed under the trail of crumbling elevated roadway to the southwest. "County Crossing's not far that'a way, lotta caravans pass through there, probably have news or point ya in the right direction."

My pip-buck flashed Map Updated in the corner of my eye and I stood with a nod to Fancy, gesturing that direction wearily. "There you go Fancy, a town. Good luck finding Freya, I'd take you the rest of the way, but I have something stupid to do... I kinda doubt you want to join me, you're welcome to wait if you want."

"What!? W-Who cares about some hick stallion?! You heard her, he joined them! You have to take me to Freya!" She pouted in a frightened wail, her green eyes darting towards the shadow of Sausage Ironworks across the river.

I shrugged in return, walking over to the cautiously hopeful filly Goldie and pushing her chin up from its drooping posture. Puffing my chest out and trying to look heroic was a little difficult while attempting to master the twitching spasms running down my legs, the effect worked well enough at least, lighting a little spark of hope in her amber eyes.

"I'll tell you a secret kiddo, I really am the Shrouded Stallion, and I will help your brother ok?"

The happy gasp that elicited made taking the first shaking step easier, she had hoped for a hero to help her family and I wound up falling into their lap. Maybe Jade's appraisal of my weird cutie mark was right and my special talent really was just being in the right place at the right time, maybe the goddesses themselves brought me here to answer her prayers...

Whatever the reason, I was here and they needed help. Sick or not, dying or not, I couldn't just ignore them. I might not have much time left, but I wasn't going to waste it doing things I'd regret. If I made it back to the others, how could I face Jade or Glitter and hold my head up high, if I just slunk away with my tail tucked here so I could get back to them. My pip-buck put up new text in response to my very bad idea;

Mission Added: Out of the Fire

Objective---
--Rescue Bull Finch
--Eliminate the Forged

Optional Objectives---
--Recover Finch family heirloom

Floating up my pistol and the Last Minute, I tipped my hat to Rose's unsure stare and gave a shaky smile. "It just so happens I'm a member of the Minutemares Mrs. Finch, and we don't charge caps to help ponies who need it. I'll try to find your son and bring him home. If I don't come back... a bright orange griffon is on her way here, flag her down and tell her what happened for me. Oh, and take care of my friend here please, help her get to County Crossing if I can't..."

Fancy looked furious but watched me walk away with a confused look, probably wondering why I'd spare her a thought before leaving. She knew Val was coming now too, if she really expected me to behave like she would if our positions were reversed, I had essentially warned her to get going before that happened.

Rose Finch found her voice as I trudged away towards the river, calling after me in stunned wonder. "W-Why? Why help us for nothing? W-Who does that?!"

Looking back to give her a sad smile, I pointed a trembling hoof at my chest and tried not to sway too much on the spot.

"The Shrouded Stallion, that's who."

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

Roughin' It---------------------
--- You've learned a few survival lessons on your march down from Mareford. You now gain the well rested benefit even when sleeping outside or in rough conditions. You also gain access to a few new recipes for food and drink items, though probably not anything somepony not suffering weird cravings and mutated tastebuds would find appetizing...

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

The Dude's Trophy-----------
---Taking possession of the big Letrotski's trophy grants like, no useful skill bonuses or anything. But all negative effects from alcohol or drug use are halved, so it being useless is just like, a matter of opinion man.

Institute I.M.P. Rank 2----------
---It's been more than a full day since the process started. You now lose 30 health and magic points, as well as suffering -1 to Perception and Agility in addition to Strength and Endurance! You continue to require 25% more food and tire 50% faster than normal.

You do at least gain the benefits of the 'Touched by Taint (2)' perk and do not take immediate damage from radiation. In fact, you gain extra healing while being exposed to it. However, radiation continues to build up in your system as normal.