The flooded streets of central Boston were packed with the washout of buildings and debree. Sand and dirt ebbing in from the tide and broken down sea wall, refuse and collapsed floors from skyscrapers spilling out their guts packed the sidewalks, making only the center of the road accessible. Along a few roads, there were boats that drifted in during a high tide, or during a large storm that thrashed buildings along the waterfront, and settled on the streets, leaning against a building or laid down.

The ponies, Serin Copper, Hollow Point, and Warner all trotted single file, close together and ears standing upright and tense to listen for any signs of life.

Lead by Curie, she followed an old map of Boston programmed into her brain, picking out the most direct route, while re-evaluating paths based on blocked roads, traffic, and construction work on the road. Her thought processes registered the beams and moldy drywall, desks and office chairs, cement blocks and glass littering the streets as construction, which was all filed away in her GPS.

It was eerily quiet, how whole blocks were devoid of any movement. No birds, or mirelurks, they halted for a moment when they saw a raider dressed in black pants and boots, with pads of armor over his chest, walking the opposite direction at a cross street two blocks away from them, but no contact was made. A similar instance of a female raider, her wild black hair, shoulders length, brown shirt and grey pants, carrying a plasma rifle, was standing in the middle of the crossroads, but didn't do anything else but raise her chin and stare at them as they passed by.

"Where is everyone?" Copper asked, head tilting up to the buildings around them, hoping to hear some other forms of movement or life. The ancient skyscrapers groaned like trees shifting in a light breeze, failing metal supports bearing the brunt of excess weight.

From what signs still remaining, they found their way to Mass Bay Medical, fifteen blocks from the U.S.S Constitution. Here the roads were in better condition, it wasn't as claustrophobic as making their way through the packed streets. While water was still pooled along the road in some areas, and there were plenty of alleys and side roads clear enough to where they could take to escape danger if it came at them.

"Such destruction." Curie said, wiping all the unnecessary data from her memory banks, the decades she spent in the same spot, unmoving and preserving energy waiting for Nate to arrive were all deleted. "Surely something must of survived."

Eyeing the Mass Bay Medical Center on the corner of Stuart and Kneeland Street, the ponies pointed to the Gunner's X-ed out skull with stitched mouth.

"Those skulls, we should be ready." Hollow Point said pointing to the painted markings. Readying a hunting rifle, Warner levitated a laser pistol into the air, Copper was ready to grab a machete slung around his neck. Curie looked to the others bearing weapons and how they tried appearing more fierce, and remained alert for anyone who might act hostile towards them.

Coming around the building to the main entrance, they saw fortifications set up by the Gunners, but no one was actively outside. They circled the building completely, passing the emergency entrance where a old rusted ambulance was sitting on its rims, and seeing more Gunner's skulls, but no signs of life.

After making a complete circle, they chanced going in the front door. The waiting lobby was mostly clear, aside from a few skeletons let to decompose in the chairs and benches, but there was also the whirring of a metal turret. "What, are they still having breakfast?" Warner whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Shush."

Curie floated herself over to behind the receiving desk, internally frowning at the wrecked monitors. Not a data port to connect to in sight, she went past the open elevator doors and was caught in the line of sight by the motion activated turret.
Darting out of the way before being shot in the siding, the other ponies jumped at the sound of the bullets racing out of the elevator.

"Found the turret." Copper said, creeping closer to the doors edge. Peering around the corner, he poked his head in and out to get a quick glance before the motion sensor detected him. "Warner. Use your magic to pick it up and spin it around."

"Swap places with me." Getting closer to take a glimpse of the turret, Warner nodded. "Okay, got it." Spinning the turret around to face the walls, it was still active, but facing away from them.

After the ponies passed through the hallway leading to the rooms of the hospital, Warner spoke up. "Wait, I got an idea. Everyone behind me."

"What are you going to do?"

"Just watch." Warner said proudly, hoisting the turret in front of them.

Picking the turret up again, he kinetically leveled it, facing the barrel away from anyone. The machine buzzed, but didn't fire. Holding the turret in front of him like a shield, a smug grin came across his face as he thought about using the Gunner's weapon against them.

"This'll keep anyone we come across busy for a few seconds while we get to cover," He said.

"You're going to get us all shot." Hollow Point said distastefully, not liking the idea of playing around with floating guns that could go off at any moment.

"It's going to work."

"Curie," Copper said, getting her attention. "What are we looking for to cure our coats?"

"A hospital such as this will have on on-site pharmacy. I spent decades studying disease cultures, vous mange will be curable through anti-parasitic topical gel or cream, and a week's worth of anti-bactieral medication. Both are fairly easy to manufacture, even if I need to result to a less powerful, but still effective home remedy. But if not here, there are veterinary clinics not far from here that will surely have what we need. Man put much effort into caring for their animal companions."

Copper itched at Curie's diagnosis, "Ugh," Warner said, rolling his eyes. "Again with the animal."

"Ponies were only on Earth for a short time before the Great War, Warner," Copper said. "Not many humans actually knew about us. The best people did were those Giddy-Ups to integrate them to the idea of us. Besides, she's talking about dogs and cats."

"What, am I supposed to be impressed they made robots that looked like us?" Warner replied.

"Think about it, if the humans with the Giddy-ups rolled out their models, and made them more widespread, people would've been more accepting of ponies."

"Would'a, should'a, could'a, no denying we went through hell to get here." Hollow Point said.

Curie breezed through the examination offices, noticing the guns and ammo laid out, sleeping rolls behind the desks, two more Gunner skull paintings. She looked at the old reports and files, opening cupboards and drawers to view medical records.

"Do you smell that?" Warner asked, "Someone's cooking."

"I smell it too. Someone's here." Copper said, following the scent down the hospital corridor.

Turning her attention away from a degrading magazine left on the counter, Curie followed the ponies as they went down the hall leading towards the cafeteria. They moved quietly, taking extra careful steps to not let their feet clop noisily against the floor. The wide doors were forced open from garbage, dirt and ceiling debris, but they saw a man over a roasting pot and a fire, cooking a breakfast bean stew. He wore Gunner's green garbs, and on the ground there was a rifle.

Warner motioned for the others to get ready, floating the turret out and aiming it at the Gunner.

When the turret didn't activate, the Gunner noticed the movement and was surprised, "What-" He began to say, when suddenly the turret flew at him. He warded against it by raising his arms, and the turret crashed into him, knocking him sideways. He was up off the ground when suddenly the turret kicked into action and started spitting out bullets. The Gunner jumped away like he was shot, his muscles spasmed after every gunshot he heard.

Hollow Point fired her hunting rifle, striking him in the chest. "Warner, get rid of the damn turret!"

Hoisting the turret, and flinging it into the wall, it broke into pieces, machine parts spilling out as the gun barrel bent in.

Crossing into the cafeteria, Hollow Point stood over the Gunner, and shot again, executing him.

"Copper, take his gun and his sling."

"On it."

"Warner, why wasn't the turret working?"

"I think it needs to be on the ground for it to work."

"Figures. Hear anyone else coming after all that noise?"

They all paused to listen to the air, but it seems like there was no one else coming to investigate the outburst of noise.

"Alright, either way, we shouldn't stay long. That looks like a lot of food, and I don't see or hear many people yet. We made a lot of noise, and no one's come running. That leads me to believe that we walked in on a Gunner base while they're all out. Where? For how long? I don't know, but we need to get out of here before they come back."

"Sounds like a plan."

\111/

Abraham Finch didn't respond well to his son's, Jake, death, when Thunderstruck, Nick, and Dart returned to his farm. He saw the Shishkebab, the flaming sword and silently held out hope that his son would return with the group. Instead, his eyes got real wide, and he looked down at the pony he bought, and then his face scrunched up. Kicking Golden Grain, his voice exploded out of his mouth and he shouted, "Go on! Beat it!" Kicking again he shoved the pony away. "Leave! All of you! Get out of here! Take the metal and the stupid horse and get the hell off my damn property!"

His face was red as he shouted, "GET OUT OF HERE!" Golden Grain was shocked, unsure if it was right to leave him and join the new group, even if it was part of the deal, or console the grieving man even after he kicked him.

Throwing down his gun, he grabbed a rake and went out into his crop patches, digging up long lines in the earth. Ranting to himself, about how he would need to work twice as hard, twice as long, all because his son ran away. How he'd never find a moments rest...

"Hey!" Thunderstruck called out, "Your son died, but it still ain't right to treat Golden Grain like that!"

\111/

Nothing else worthwhile came from the remaining time at Abraham Finch's Farm. In the shadow of an overpass, with the Gunner's killed off, the Forged slaughtered, the Mutants ambushed, there was a raider group further to the North to contend with, and now the Revere Beach Raiders.

Thunderstruck didn't pay them any more mind, however, "At least he let you keep the sword," Golden Grain said.

"After what he did to you, I wasn't giving it back to him anyway."

"He was displacing his rage at the loss of his son," Nick said. "But even though he honored the deal in the worst way, he ended up losing everything he saw as important in his life. His son, the sword, and now you, Golden. So, newcomer, tell us about yourself. You feeling alright joining this little crew?"

"He didn't kick me that hard, so I'll be alright. I was just startled when he did. I was even more surprised he didn't try keeping me." Golden Grain said. "Why did you all come this way to get me anyway? What's the long term plan?"

"I'd been wondering about that myself, since you two are partially responsible for killing off the last people who owned me," Dart questioned.

"We reconnect with some other ponies and humans who we can trust," Thunderstruck said. "Then we'll be off setting up own own community North of Concord. Scavenging the town, setting up homes for ourselves, it's a good spot of land. Not too many critters roaming around that can't be shooed away; other farms in the area, if what I'm told is true. The down side is that everything from Lexington and Concord is all about to be taken by one single gang, however Nate, the human, is working on setting up some kind of deal with them so we wont get raided. This gang probably expects tribute, just like any other, but we'll have the opportunity to build up homesteads and trade. Longer term then that, I'm searching the Commonwealth for other ponies from Nuka-World and doing whatever I can to free them."

"Tell me Dart, Golden, Thunder," Nick inquired, "You're all from Nuka-World, correct? How big is this place? How many raiders are there?"

"Huge. It's an amusement park from before the bombs, there's three raider clans, all jammed in there." Dart replied. "Hard to tell, last year, 300 of us, 500 raiders. We actually outnumbered the original settlers there who joined us, there were only about a hundred or so of them. But now, I imagine there's more raiders, less ponies from being either sold off, or killed. The settlers got turned into slaves, so... the numbers could've gone either way for them; I guess?"

"Yeah, we're all from there, but..." Golden Grain began, then trailed off.

"It's painful to remember how good we had it before the raiders showed up. Trading one group for another doesn't sound appealing, but it's all we can do right now. Better than Nuka-World, but not as good as being free." Dart spoke, sensing Golden's apprehension.

"Raiders from places at Nuka-World don't stop just because there's mountains in the way. This gang, whoever your human friend is dealing with, better be stronger than them and the Gunners, otherwise they'll get swallowed up, just like everything else around there," Dart said.

"Nate and his friend are better than strong, they're smart, and resourceful. The human saved my life, healed me, and let me go, no strings attached. There aren't many humans I trust to do the same." Thunderstruck said.

"If there's no strings attached, then why are you helping him?" Dart asked.

"Not many humans will treat you like a human, this one does. The only other ones who did that are all dead or slaves, I work with what I got." Thunderstruck said, pulling her head back towards the road in front of them. "For now, we check out what the mutants left behind at the satellite array in Revere before the raiders get smart enough to pick through it themselves. After that, then We'll go to the ship and rest."

\111/

While making their way through the examination rooms, they came across doors blocked from collapsed ceiling debris, and needed to circle around to a fitness center, and climb their way up to the second floor. It was as they reached the second floor, they saw movement through the building's windows, a whole team of raiders, rushing by in pairs.

Seven pairs, eight pairs, the raiders were all rushing for the same entrance to come in behind them. "Oh shoot, there's a lot of people coming this way." Copper said, "We need to move or hide. Now!"

Rushing through patient rooms, finding walls torn down, collapsed, hallways blocked, the Mass Bay Medical building was only navigable by taking a winding route. Climbing higher onto the third floor, they came across doors to the E.R. area. "Most non-pharma medicines, if there are any remaining will be in this area." Curie said, trying the double doors but they were sealed shut. "Huh, locked. Perhaps we must find a doctor to open the doors for us?"

They all froze when they heard a different noise, a loud engine roaring, turbines spinning, a whine filling the air. It grew louder and louder, when suddenly the building shook. A vertibird landed on the roof of the hospital and the whirring blades were sending tiny tremors through the building.

"That doesn't sound good."

"Hollow Point, you're a better shot than me, take this pistol, and go back to see if the raiders are coming this way. Copper, help me get these doors open."

Warner examined the doors, they were locked, and he thought it might be worth picking, but they didn't have time. Hollow Point was gone for less than half a minute before rushing back to them.

"Okay, quick, help me buck the lock off. Everypony on three." Turning their back to the doors, "One, two, THREE."

Slamming their hooves into the emergency room door, it broke the wooden board around the lock, but there was rubble blocking the doors. The kicked again, and shoved what they could aside, "Heave! and HEAVE!" Wide enough for them and Curie to slip through, they crawled into the E.R. section, then shoved the door back closed, piling whatever they could on top to block any potential followers.

\111/

With Gunners landing on the roof, the vertibird only stayed long enough for them to disembark before taking to the air again. When they were clear, the pilot took off from the building.

Crocodile, the captain of these eight Gunners was aware of the thirty raiders swarming the building. With superior firepower, and sufficient knowledge of the accessible areas and layout of the Mass Bay Medical Hospital, they were sure to drive the raiders away.

What happened was a five hour shoot-out. Starting on the first floor, the Gunners shot five raiders dead before they could organize themselves inside mount a counter-strike.

Raiders armed with rifles, against Gunners with semi-automatics, the raiders came prepared on this rush, heavily armored, some carrying shields big enough to cover their body and hide behind. Thick enough to block bullets, there was a small line of raiders hiding single file behind the shield carriers and shooting forwards as a hail of bullets sailed all around them. One wrong step was enough to get their foot blown off, elbow grazed, or head scalp shot clean through.

Hearing the gunshots for half an hour straight, firing every few seconds, then absolutely nothing. No sounds, no footsteps, it was hard to tell if people were breathing, and then one rifle would go off, and everyone would hear a loud bang, followed by the return rapid fire.

With the E.R. section blocked off, Curie and the ponies remained silent and hidden for the first hour, fearing the fight would come through and reach them. Then, the second hour, they only moved around when the firing occured, then froze when the bullets stopped. They didn't want their hoofsteps to be confused for another Gunner or raider, and draw attention to themselves.

They drew away from the doors, and searched the rest of the E.R. from top to bottom, pooling everything they found at the nurses station.

While most of the rooms were filled with skeletons, some with empty I.V. bags loosely hanging nearby, there was still medicine littered everywhere. They moved closer to the surgery wing next to the E.R., and found a broken Auto-Doc, but Curie was able to plug herself in and collect all the files she could. There were medical textbooks which were still in readable condition, and carefully packed away, knowing they were valuable.

Hour three, they heard knocking, the raiders were trying to find a different route through the hospital to get behind the Gunners. This continued for fifteen minutes, and while everyone tried remained quiet as possible, they quickly put everything they could together and loaded it onto their backs.

After the raiders knocking realized they couldn't get through the doors, they tried finding weaker walls. From the ground to midway-up the walls it was tile, with a rail running the length of the hallway at waist-height for support. Above the rail was painted drywall. There were a few loud crunches of tile being shattered and torn off the wall, but the walls were thick with wood, metal rebar, insulation, concrete, and electrical wiring.

The only other way out or into the wing was an elevator shaft with a ladder that could take them up to the roof or down to the ground floor, or through the windows.

Finally, in what sounded like desperate pounding, amidst gunfire and shouting, a raider blindly threw himself into a wall and breached the area Curie and the ponies were in. The supports were weak enough, and ceiling tiles rained down, but a raider made it through.

The raider was shot, and shrapnel from chipped tile was blasted into his face, neck, and shoulders. He was taking cover when a bullet ricocheted off the walls, spraying tile everywhere, and lost sight for a few moments. He was shaking, too much to actually feel the full amount of pain he was in, but everywhere hurt. His face felt burnt, eyes cloudy, ears ringing, it was hard to hear. His lips were dried and cracked, stomach growling from lack off food, and his legs felt still like wooden branches about to snap.

He looked around, seeing the ponies running away from him, but he didn't register what was happening. He only felt the warm blood coming from his cold body, and the chest wound, right below the shoulder, above his lungs, otherwise he'd be bleeding a lot more.

Copper, Warner, and Hollow Point all ran as fast as they could, leaving Curie behind.

Tore into his ribs and muscles, the bullet didn't have an exit wound. Still lodged in there was a 5.56 mm round, but it still hurt to breathe. Bone bits shattered inwards, making every movement feel like a stabbing lance of pain directly into his nerves.

Taking a saline solution, and a roll of gauze tape, Curie went up to the raider and scanned him. "Monsieur, you need medical attention." He raised his gun, but dropped it when he began coughing, painful wracking coughs that made his chest wound bleed more. The gun was empty anyway, but Curie carefully slid it to just out of his reach.

"Take my claw, Monsieur, I will help you to a table to remove the bullet in your chest."

"What are-" He couldn't stop coughing, wheezing and then doubling over as the intense pain made him give up on speaking. He didn't want to move, he just wanted to lay there on the floor until the pain stopped.

"I've never done this before, but the Auto-Doc here is a fast teacher, and I need the experience. I will assist you to your feet and we will go into the closest room, less than five meters from here. Are you ready? Alright, here we go." Wrapping her arm underneath his arms, Curie pulled him up onto his feet, and he cried out, painfully aware of how bad things were for him now. Fear gripped him, the fear of dying.

"Do not worry, everything I need to operate on you, is here in this room."

Moving into a room, Curie laid the man down on the medical gurney bed, and quickly washed the wound and surrounding area. Illuminating the wound, it was in his upper-right torso.

"Med-X?" The raider begged.

Curie looked over her supplies, limited in manpower, and equipment, she knew humans sometimes needed med-x to numb the patient during surgery to reduce the pain. X-rays were needed to see depth and extent of the wound, but she at the rate of bleeding the raider was showing, she could draw a few conclusions that the bullet struck bone and broke it, with it being lodged within.

The first priority however was stopping the bleeding. Curie wished she had more articulate apendages, fingers, to be even more accurate, but shoving the bleeding wound full of cotton gauze with one claw, she pulled the strip up and continued to apply pressure while withdrawing one claw and swapping it with the other holding the gauze, all until the wound was plugged up. The man howled, biting his teeth, trying to keep his body from thrashing around, but painfully crying through restraint.

Applying a small dose in the chest region, it helped lower the man's heart rate and knock him out.

Doing a cursory scan of the ward, there was a mobile X-ray machine available. Film that was found and placed at the nurses station by the ponies was easy to grab, and to get the machine working would require a power source.

Wheeling the mobile x-ray to the man, and providing her own power as a source, she snapped pictures from the sides and top down of the chest area to build a 3-d map in her head.

From around her, the gunfight between the raiders and the Gunners picked up again, and this time one of the sides used a makeshift explosive, a small bomb as far as Curie could tell, caused by the tremors sent through the building.

Pulling bits of bone, and sucking away blood with a small vacuum tube, carefully peeling back tissue and spreading the muscle not to agitate it more than it was already, she pulled the bullet free, causing more blood to come out. Clamping the wound shut, she needed to reattach the torn artery, and using microneedles, thread, and robotic precision, she sewed and lashed the two bleeding ends together, then slowly removed the clamps to check circulation.

Probing for any more bones, there were cracked rib bones she set back into place and used a medical adhesive to bind them together. Using adhesive to seal the wound, she proceeded to sewing the muscle back together, then finally the skin on top.

In ninety minutes, she did a fast and dirty surgery, that with luck, wouldn't become infected.

With a bit of satisfaction coming through at her own handiwork, she turned to sanitize her self, then ventured out into the hospital, looking for anybody else who needed help.

In some cases dragging people, as most couldn't stand, others, she brought in limping with their toes shot off, or bullets in their legs. She brought nine raiders that were still alive and operated on each one of them, cataloguing and forming a surgical database of her experience.

Of the nine people Curie brought into the cordoned off area, three died, one in transit to the E.R., one while she was mid-op, and the third waiting as she was operating on someone else. After the other six raiders were seen to, she still did the proper dissection and analyzed the wounds on the corpses to understand the injuries and how she might of gone about performing the surgery.

It was a curious thing, to feel the weight of a human organ. So much potential, she was in awe of the life force within each one that all humans carried.

When Curie was finished, she wiped herself off, and saw to make sure every bit of her was sanitized. Taking the X-ray machine apart, she disassembled it and took the lens and components, outfitting them to her own body.

Of the few who were conscious, one female raider tried stopping her as she made to leave.

"Hey, medical robot, you're valuable."

"My name is Curie, not valuable. If that is what you see me as, then you do not see what I can accomplish for many people all over the world who are suffering. Where all of humanity's knowledge is eroding, all it takes to rebuild is for someone like yourself to stop focusing on what is and isn't valuable, and focus on what's important."

Curie gestured around the E.R., pointing to other raiders resting after their surgeries, "There are six of your companions in all different states of agony or recovery, who would not be alive if you said my time is more valuable than theirs. I am leaving, I gained much knowledge and experience, and will dispense no offerings to those who wish to inhibit my growth. If you think you can stop me, then you do not realize how close to death you are, nor do you know what I am truly capable of when threatened. Now, Good Day, Madame, and Bonne Chance."

\111/

Next Chapter: Ch. 75 A Genuine Dead Head November 7th Estimated time remaining: 12 Hours, 20 Minutes