Waking up in the Temple of Harmony was a disorienting experience, not least because it was the first time that Sunset had slept in a room by herself for a while. Looking around with bleary eyes, Sunset instinctively reached for her Nova pistol before she remembered where she was.

"Right… temple…" Sunset yawned and checked to make sure that Primrose wasn't lurking in the room somewhere. Satisfied that she was alone, Sunset got up, dressed herself, visited the toilet and made her bed as her mind slowly kicked itself into gear.

Breakfast came next, a simple meal consisting of a magically infused apple from Rivet City and an Enclave nutrient bar, washed down with a bottle of lukewarm Aqua Pura. Just as she started putting her armor on, someone knocked on the door. "Come in."

"Miss Shimmer?" Primrose opened the door just enough to poke her head in. Seeing that Sunset was awake and decent, she pushed the door fully open and bowed low. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Well enough," Sunset replied, deciding not to mention that she hadn't slept well since the last time she was under anaesthesia.

"Would you like me to prepare breakfast for you?" Primrose asked.

Sunset shook her head. "I've eaten. Is anyone else awake?"

"We're all up, we're just waiting on you, you lazy git," Applejack called from the corridor.

"They are indeed all awake, Miss Shimmer," Primrose said evenly, trying hard not to smile. "I assume you do not desire a shower before you go?"

"No, I already had one last night. I don't sweat that much in my sleep." Sunset finished tightening the last straps of her armor, slipped on her Pip-Boy and backpack, and grabbed her weapons before heading out into the corridor.

As Applejack had said, all of the Rainbooms were waiting in the corridor. Unexpectedly, however, none of them were wearing their armour or carrying their weapons except Fluttershy and Rainbow. "What's going on? Why aren't you ready to go?"

"We didn't know that you would be ready to go," Applejack retorted.

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Didn't we agree to meet Moira at opening time?"

"I told you," Rainbow said with a smirk.

"Enough gloating, Rainbow, it's too early in the morning for that crap." Sunset pinched the bridge of her nose before addressing the others. "Go get your armor on, and make sure that you've all had breakfast. I'll meet you downstairs."

Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Primrose fell into step behind Sunset as she made her way downstairs. It was barely eight in the morning, but the lower levels of the Temple were already bustling with Disciples going about their daily business. Sunset greeted them curtly but politely as they stopped and bowed.

When they reached the Temple's main chamber, with the great cauldron burning merrily away, Sunset was relieved to note that the Disciples hadn't yet opened the doors for the day. The less gawping strangers she had to deal with, the better. "How are the freed slaves doing?" Sunset asked as she leaned against a wall.

"Baby Tina is doing well," Primrose replied, assuaging Sunset's greatest fear. "Darla was more than a little suspicious at first, but she did eventually allow our designated wet nurse to take care of Tina for a while, and she managed to get some much-needed sleep. The young man is also doing well."

"What about the other two women?" Fluttershy asked.

Primrose hesitated. "They're about as well as could be expected, really. Both of them were forced to… perform… for the raiders, but thankfully neither of them are pregnant or have any transmitted infections. We're doing what we can to help them." Prim sighed and shook her head. "The older man, Joaquin, is also having difficulty. As far as we can tell, he has been a slave for most of his life. As a result, he's having some trouble adjusting, or even comprehending the fact that he's free."

"That's rough," Rainbow said soberly.

"At least they're safe now." Fluttershy glanced up at the cauldron's magical flames. "We just have to make sure to help everyone we find who's stuck in the same situation.

Rainbow nodded and patted Flashburn's hilt. "Damn right."

Settling into a grim silence, Sunset was glad to see the others coming down the stairs before the mood could get even darker.

"Ready to go?" Applejack asked.

Sunset nodded. "Let's get this over with."

Bidding farewell to Primrose, the Rainbooms left the Temple and made their way back up to Craterside Supply. Not many people were out and about yet, much to Sunset's relief. To her great surprise, however, Adam was waiting for the girls outside the store, free of his armor. "What took you girls so long?" He asked with a cheery grin.

"I figured we'd have to send Fluttershy to your house to show you the way," Sunset replied.

"Nah it was easy," Adam countered. "Just a quick twenty minute walk." He turned to the door and gestured for the girls to follow. "Come on, let's see what the next task is."

Sunset smirked and leaned in to mutter to Fluttershy, "He's getting better with directions."

"His house is barely a five minute walk from here," Fluttershy replied quietly. Sunset had to clamp a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

Moira was busy stacking some things on shelves when everyone entered. "Be with you in juuust a second." She placed the last few items on a shelf and turned, dusting her hands off on her overalls. Her face lit up when she saw who was visiting. "Hey, it's you guys! Ready to finish off the first part of the book?"

"That depends," Sunset replied. "If I remember rightly, you said something about avoiding landmines?"

Moira nodded enthusiastically. "That's right! Landmines are one of the few dangers out there that you can profit from. Disarm it before it blows, and you can sell it for plenty of caps."

"Ah'd hardly call that a good way to make a livin'," Applejack said gruffly. "Good way to get yourself killed, more like."

"The more landmines that get disarmed, though, the better," Pinkie put in. "And the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave kinda have bigger issues to deal with right now."

Applejack scowled and crossed her arms. "Good point."

"That's where the Wasteland Survival Guide comes in," Moira continued. "I want to help people learn how to deal with landmines, whether that means disarming them or just avoiding them in the first place."

"Sounds good to me. What do you need us to do?" Adam asked.

Moira stepped behind the counter and pulled out her file. "I've heard stories about a ghost town that's just full of mines. Traders just call the place 'Minefield'. Sounds like the place for fieldwork!" She flicked through the file, then put it on the counter and turned it so the others could see. A hand drawn map filled half of the page. Moira pointed to a little dot marked 'Minefield'. "Here. I want you to get in, get back, and tell me all about it."

Rainbow frowned at the map. "How far in do you want us to go?"

"Good question." Moira flipped the file back around and skimmed her notes, humming thoughtfully. "There's supposed to be a playground in the center of town. Try getting there, if you can." She smiled sweetly at the group. "Also, I'd be really grateful if you could bring back a mine for my studies."

"That sounds dangerous as all hell," Sunset said flatly.

"On the plus side, if there really are that many mines, then at least we aren't likely to run into raiders or Super Mutants," Twilight offered.

"That's right," Moira agreed. "Everyone avoids the place, saying it's a ghost town, but since ghosts aren't real, you can just focus on the landmines."

Sunset gave the map a dark look. Minefield wasn't exactly close to Megaton. "There's every chance we'll run into trouble when we're heading either there or back. Plus, I'd really like to know who bothered to set up that many mines in the first place, and why."

"Apparently, the town used to be called Ridgefield, until slavers cleared it out, but no-one I've spoken to knows where all of the mines came from." Moira gave Sunset a downcast look. "Does this mean you won't go?"

"No, we'll go," Sunset replied with a sigh. "Who knows, maybe someone is trying to protect some kind of old tech that we can use."

Moira beamed and clapped her hands. "That's the spirit! Go out there, dodge those mines, and make it back here in one piece. I'm sure you'll have some great stories to tell when you get back!"

"As long as none of us lose any limbs," Sunset muttered. "Come on, girls, let's get walking. Adam, fetch your armor and meet us outside the gate. Fluttershy, go with him and keep him on track."

Ignoring Adam's half-hearted grumbling, Sunset and the others went on ahead to the gate. More people were up and about than before, but the outer gates were still closed, so the girls had to shout up to Stockholm to get him to open up. As the turbine roared into life and raised the outer gate, Sunset idly wondered when and where Stockholm actually slept.

A chill breeze greeted the girls outside the gates. The sight of thick black clouds on the horizon, pulsing with occasional green flashes, was more than a little worrying.

"That don't look good," Applejack said grimly.

"I suppose I'll be performing my duties as a gazebo again later," Rarity huffed. "Which way is Minefield?"

Sunset jerked her chin straight ahead. "Up North. It's actually almost on the way to Old Olney. I think we should head to Meresti Trainyard first, so we can at least take cover in the metro if those clouds catch up with us. We'll take stock when we get there."

Applejack nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

A few minutes later, Adam and Fluttershy turned up. After a quick inspection of their equipment, the group got underway. They headed through Springvale first, giving the old raider camp in the concrete building a wide berth, then continuing on until they reached the remains of the river and turning Northwest. After that, the group followed the curve of the river at a distance, making sure to avoid any potential mirelurk nests.

The journey was actually quite peaceful, if one ignored the threat of radioactive weather, right up until the group ran into a robot.

Fluttershy heard it before it came into view. The squad was making their way up a rocky incline when her head suddenly snapped up and she hissed for them to get into cover.

"What do you sense?" Sunset asked under her breath.

"A robot," Fluttershy whispered. "Big, heavy, and I think it has wheels. It sounds like one of the Enclave's sentry bots, but… it's much more creaky and unsteady than the ones at the Air Force Base."

Twilight scurried over to the pair. "It could be an old military model. A lot of old robots are still rolling around, but most of them are degraded and can't tell friend from foe anymore."

"That tracks with what we've seen before." Sunset glanced at Fluttershy. "Where is it?"

Fluttershy pointed to the top of the incline, about forty yards ahead. "Just up there. It's moving perpendicular to us."

"Got it." Sunset turned to the others, using Enclave combat signs to indicate that she wanted Twilight and Rarity to follow, while the others were to take up supporting positions.

Creeping up the incline, Sunset readied her plasma rifle as she heard rickety wheels crossing broken tarmac. She pressed her back against a boulder as she reached the top and peeked out cautiously.

The robot was definitely a sentry bot. It had a bulky torso supported on three solid legs in a pyramid configuration, each tipped with wheels. One of its arms ended in a gatling laser, the other in a boxy missile launcher. The robot's faded green paint job indicated that it was indeed an old military model. Luckily, the dilapidated thing was trundling along blissfully unaware of the girls stalking it.

Sunset gave Rarity a nod, and a moment later a mass of gemstones erupted from the ground beneath the sentry bot, encasing its legs and trapping it in place. Twilight was up next. She ran up to the back of the robot before it could react, used her magic to wrench its rear panel open, and plunged her hands inside. Scant seconds later, the robot let out a soft hum as it powered down.

"Nice work, girls." Sunset checked to make sure that the coast was clear, then called out to the others to let them know that it was safe, "We're clear!" She shouldered her plasma rifle and stepped over to Twilight. "Think you can reprogram it?"

"Not without a terminal," Twilight replied. "If it's still here when we come back, we can bring it back to Megaton and I'll see what I can do."

Sunset nodded. "Good enough for me. Alright, let's keep moving."

As the group moved on, Sunset couldn't help but marvel at how much she and her friends had changed since they had arrived in this world. Admittedly, most of the changes she had noticed were bad: Sunset doubted that she would ever get a good night's sleep again without chemical aid, but everyone was braver, more confident, and more practiced with their powers than ever before.

Moving on, the group reached Meresti Trainyard without any further issues. A small group of raiders was holed up in the shack outside, exactly where the scumbags that had shot Rarity had set up shop, but the men made a quick exit the moment they spotted the Rainbooms approaching.

"That was easy," Rainbow muttered.

"Don't jinx it," Rarity shot.

Sunset immediately checked around for any potential threats, just in case. Fortunately, the area was clear. Fluttershy didn't look concerned either, and Sunset had learned to trust her enhanced senses. Satisfied, Sunset looked back at the approaching black clouds. They were drawing steadily closer, but not enough that they would be overhead before the group reached Minefield. "What do you think, should we take cover here? Or keep moving?"

"How far away is Minefield?" Adam asked.

"About the same distance from here as Megaton is," Fluttershy replied. "As long as there's cover in Minefield, we should be fine."

Pinkie grinned. "If not, our fashion-friendly umbrella has already offered her services!"

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Yes, Pinkie, I have." She checked her Pip-Boy map and started walking around the edge of the Trainyard. "Come along. I'd rather not put off becoming a human parasol for as long as possible, if you don't mind."

Skirting the edge of the Trainyard, the group came across a relatively intact road that wound its way up a shallow slope, heading in roughly the direction they needed to take. Boulders and piles of debris appeared more frequently the higher they climbed. The top of the incline was blocked off by a line of rocky cliffs, crowned with the devastated remains of an overpass.

Luckily, the road snaked between the worst of the obstructions, until finally it reached a narrow gorge that ran right through the cliffs and out on the other side. The group advanced through the gorge cautiously, aware that it would be a perfect spot for an ambush, but nothing occurred as they emerged on the far side of the cliffs.

The landscape ahead sloped downwards this time. Huge pylons were dotted across the hill, with long-dead power cables dangling between them. Beyond that, just past a junction in the road, was a large cluster of old houses and other buildings.

"That must be Minefield," Sunset noted.

"It is," Fluttershy confirmed. "I can see some landmines from here."

Rarity let out a resigned huff. "Wonderful. Well, let's get this over with, shall we?"

"Don't worry, girls, I've got this," Pinkie said brightly, skipping down the hill towards the town. The others shared a look, shrugged, and followed after her.

Most of the buildings in the down were thoroughly ruined, little more than skeletal husks, but a few were relatively intact. On Pinkie's advice, the group followed the road into the town, hoping that the landmines would be easier to spot on patchy tarmac than loose rocks.

Fluttershy wrinkled her nose as the group entered the town. "Ew, this whole place reeks of explosives."

"You can smell explosives?" Rainbow asked in surprise.

"Well, we were told that there were landmines here." Sunset stopped in her tracks and baulked as she spotted the first of said mines. "Oh… fuck."

Dozens of landmines were spread out all over the road, with more on the sidewalks and dessicated grass verges, and almost certainly even more tucked in bushes or behind cars out of immediate sight.

Applejack tipped her hat back and stared at the death trap awaiting them. "This place kinda lives up to its name, huh?"

"Should I just detonate all of those mines from a distance?" Twilight asked. "It would probably be safer."

"The explosions would also probably draw every raider, predator and scavenger within a five mile radius," Sunset replied. "We'll keep that as plan B. Besides, Moira wants one." She glanced at Pinkie. "Will you be able to disarm one?"

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. "Can do! Just stay back and watch." Suiting actions to words, she slowly crept up to the nearest mine, carefully shifting her weight from one foot to another. "Most landmines used in this country are proximity mines, set off when they detect rhythmic vibrations nearby."

"Rhythmic vibrations?" Rarity frowned. "If that's true, wouldn't rain set them off?"

Pinkie shook her head. "Nope. They only detonate when they sense vibrations of certain strengths or frequencies, so rain won't set them off, but footsteps will. So…" As she got closer to the mine, Pinkie got down on her elbows and knees and crawled forward at an excruciatingly slow pace. "I just have to shift my weight slowly and gently."

Everyone else held their breath as Pinkie reached the landmine. She gently reached out and fiddled with something on the mine, then sighed and looked back over her shoulder. "Okay, I've disabled the proximity sensor, so you can come and take a look. Just… don't get too close to any of the other mines."

The others cautiously stepped closer, staying well clear of the other landmines. Pinkie gently picked up the landmine and sat up as they gathered around, pulling a butterfly knife out of her hair. She explained what she was doing as she started prying bits off the mine. "I'm just removing a few components to make it safer to handle. This way I won't accidentally set it off when I hold it upside down."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you are seriously cool when you're this serious," Sunset told her.

"I know, right?" Rainbow agreed. "Plus, taking apart a landmine like this is badass."

A small smile lifted Pinkie's cheeks. "It's just stuff I learned from the Enclave." She flipped the mine over and pointed to a circular component with four little spokes, all covered in black rubber. "This is the pressure plate."

Rainbow nodded sagely. "If you step on a landmine, that's the bit you need to keep the pressure on so you don't blow up."

"That's just crap that the movies made up," Pinkie said flatly as she deftly cut the rubber off the pressure plate. "If you step on a landmine your torso and limbs are getting a divorce, and there's nothing you can do about it." She ignored Rainbow's dumbstruck look and stripped away the last of the rubber. Beneath it was the metal plate itself, painted red, with a tiny silver dot in the center.

"And this little pin is the party pooper." Pinkie pointed at the silver dot with her knife. "Press this pin, and there's going to be some really nasty confetti flying around." She peeled the pressure plate off carefully, revealing a metal button right under the pin. "See? Foot goes on mine, mine squashes plate, plate squashes pin, pin presses button, button sets off explosives."

Sunset leaned closer, enthralled by how intricate and yet deceptively simple the mechanism was. "How are you going to disarm the button?"

"I just need to remove a couple more pieces," Pinkie replied. She worked quickly and efficiently, pulling the bottom panel of the mine off and removing various components from inside and stuffing them into her pockets, until finally all that was left was a yellowish block that filled half of the mine's interior.

"What is that?" Rarity asked.

"It smells like the explosive," Fluttershy said.

Pinkie nodded. "Yep. TNT. It's actually pretty safe to handle now that the reducer and all the other fun stuff has been taken out. I'll just put the panel back on because TNT is toxic and causes skin irritation." She quickly reattached the bottom panel, minus the dangerous gubbins, and casually stuffed the landmine into her pack.

"Okay, that's awesome," Rainbow put in.

"It's awesome, but getting through the whole minefield like this is going to take forever." Sunset crossed her arms as she surveyed the road ahead. "Rainbow, get in the air and see how far away the playground Moira mentioned is."

"On it." Rainbow ponied up and launched herself into the air. "It's not far," she called down. "It's only about a hundred meters up the road. There's a lot of mines between here and there, though."

Sunset swore under her breath. "I don't like this. We're going to be sitting ducks out here if anyone, or anything, comes looking." She glanced at Pinkie. "How fast can you disarm a mine?"

"Not much faster than I just did," Pinkie replied. "Honestly, that's the first real mine I've actually disarmed, all of the others were just training duds. I'm not exactly comfortable rushing it just yet. I like surprises, but I like still being around after the surprise is done."

"You're not the only one." Sunset frowned as she thought. She quite liked the idea of just having Twilight toss landmines into each other to clear a path quickly, but that seemed like a sure-fire way to draw unwanted attention.

Armor creaked as Adam shifted on his feet. Do you think I should just get close enough to set the mines off myself? My armor should be able to take the blast as long as I'm not too close."

"Too risky, and too noisy," Sunset replied.

Twilight hesitantly raised a hand. "I think I have an idea. As long as Pinkie shows me what to do, I might be able to use my magic to disable the proximity sensors on the mines. Then all I have to do is move them off the road, and I'll be able to clear us a path quickly and safely."

"Nice thinkin', Twi," Applejack said appreciatively.

Sunset nodded. "Works for me. Okay, Pinkie, think you can show Twilight what she has to do?"

"Sure thing!" Pinkie carefully crawled over to the next mine. Twilight watched and listened intently as the party girl turned explosives expert disabled the mine's proximity sensor, explaining the steps as she went.

Once the little demo was over, Twilight nodded and turned to the next nearest landmine. She extended her arms, a purple aura surrounded the mine, and it immediately started beeping loudly. Everyone ducked as Twilight yelped and hurled the mine away with her magic. Two explosions tore through the air, the flung mine setting off another one in the distance.

"Welp, I guess everyone around knows that we're here now," Sunset sighed. "Screw it, just toss the damn things."

"Should I throw them anywhere in particular?" Twilight asked.

"Hold on a second," Applejack cut in. "Isn't using magic kinda defeating the object of what Moira wants? Other folk don't have magic like we do."

Sunset rolled her eyes, pulled her plasma rifle off her shoulder, and blasted the nearest landmine until it exploded. "Ordinary people can do that though," she said as the echoes of the blast died down. "We'll just get to the playground, make a note of how the mines are placed, especially any hidden ones we find, then get the hell out of here."

Applejack smirked. "Fair enough. In that case, try tossing the mines so they hit other ones. May as well clear as many of these darn things as we can while we're here."

With Twilight at their head the group made steady progress, every few steps punctuated by at least one or two explosions as mines were picked up and tossed at others further down the road. It didn't take long for the group to find the playground Moira had spoken of; a scorched and rusted set of swings, a merry-go-round, and a slide that had been warped by intense heat. Sunset felt a wave of relief at the fact that there weren't any smaller than average skeletons lying around.

"Alright, this is it." Adam looked around and nodded, apparently satisfied. "Should we turn back, now?"

Sunset stepped over to the merry-go-round and stroked one of the bars, hoping that all of the children that used to use it had managed to escape the nuclear fire that claimed their world. "Yeah, let's go."

Just as she turned to leave, Fluttershy's head snapped up and she whipped around to stare at a half-ruined concrete building. "Hold on, I think I hear-"

Rainbow suddenly cried out in shock and dropped out of the sky just as a loud gunshot echoed through the town.

"Sniper!" Adam yelled.

Sunset darted towards Rainbow as everyone else scattered for cover. She didn't hear the insistent beeping of a landmine until something tackled her off her feet. The blast peppered the area with shrapnel.

"Idiot," Rainbow grunted. She clambered off Sunset and hauled her to her feet.

"Are you alright?" Sunset asked as the two dove behind a nearby car.

"I'm fine," Rainbow replied. "Armor took the hit. It just shocked me." She glanced over the top of the car. "Where's the shoot-"

Another shot rang out, accompanied by a sharp clang from the engine of the car. Sunset and Rainbow shared a terrified look. "Run!"

The two broke out into a sprint. Sunset felt Rainbow grab her, and the world spun as another bullet smacked into the car.

Heat and sound slammed the two out of the air as the car's engine went off like a bomb. Sunset yelped as she crashed onto cracked paving slabs. She forced herself up and looked around for Rainbow, only for another shot to smack her in the back. Luckily, her armor took the blow.

Sunset whipped around, making sure she wasn't near any mines, when a terrified yell caught her attention. She looked up just in time to see a man fall from the top floor of the ruined concrete building. A second later a blast came from the foot of the building, throwing up a cloud of red mist.

Fluttershy stepped into view on the spot the man had fallen from, vamped out and clutching a heavy rifle.

"Is it over?" Sunset called out.

Fluttershy waved a hand. They were clear.

With a heavy sigh, Sunset shouldered her rifle and set about finding the others. It didn't take long. Rarity had secured herself, Applejack, Pinkie and Twilight in a glittering gemstone dome in the middle of the road, effectively shielding all of them from the sniper. Rainbow had a limp from twisting her ankle in the fall, but was otherwise alright, while Adam had somehow managed to get himself tangled in the chains of the old swings.

"You idiot," Rainbow said flatly.

"Yeah, yeah." Adam flexed his arms and snapped the chains. Fluttershy arrived a moment later, gliding down from the concrete building with the sniper rifle still in her arms.

"Any idea who that was?" Sunset asked. "Or why he was shooting at us?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't have a clue, but he has quite a lot of supplies up there. Do you want me to bring them down?"

Sunset nodded. "Sure. Get Twilight to give you a hand. We'll bring the gun as well, we might be able to make some money off of it."

"Actually, um, I was thinking of keeping it," Fluttershy said quietly. "If one of you can teach me how to use it."

Sunset stared at her in surprise. She knew that Fluttershy had already killed on more than one occasion, but something about teaching her friend to use a gun just felt wrong. On the other hand, this world seemed to be trying its level best to kill the Rainbooms. The girls needed every advantage they could get. A vampiric sniper with enhanced senses certainly sounded like a powerful asset. "I'll teach you later. For now, let's just get those supplies and get the hell out of here before those rain clouds show up."

Next Chapter: Chapter 112 - Wasteland Survival Guide: M̶o̶l̶e̶ ̶R̶a̶t̶s̶ Breakdown Estimated time remaining: 19 Hours, 12 Minutes