Explaining the mechanics of how magic worked to a complete newbie for what felt like the hundredth time was… boring, at least as far as Sunset was concerned. Adam, Pinkie, and Rainbow had already departed for the Temple, leaving just Sunset and Twilight to give Moira a rundown.

Luckily, Twilight found the process to be particularly enjoyable, meaning Sunset was able to simply sit on a stool and let her mind wander, only chiming in whenever she felt like it. Letting her mind linger on the events of the last few days was intolerable, however, so Sunset tried to think of something else.

As she watched Twilight and Moira eagerly discussing this world's natural background magical field, and how Equestrian magic interacted with it, Sunset's thoughts drifted to the odd relationship between Becky and Tara.

It wasn't as if she didn't understand the attraction: Twilight's intellect and dorky nerdiness were certainly appealing, but Sunset had never seen her as anything more than a friend. Evidently, Becky had seen something more. A lot more, if some of the comments Becky had made at the Adams Air Force Base were to be believed. Sunset smirked at the thought of what Becky would think of Tara in Brotherhood field uniforms. They were hardly flattering clothes when it came to one's figure.

"Uh… Sunset?"

Twilight's voice slowly percolated into Sunset's skull. She blinked, then blushed furiously as she realized that she had been absently staring at her friend's backside while smirking. "What's up? Are we done?" She said quickly, trying to gloss over the awkward moment.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, but let it slide. "Yes, we're done. We were just going to ask if you think we should try the next task today or not."

"That depends on what the task is," Sunset replied.

Moira checked her file. "Next is magical creatures, how they've been changed and how to deal with them. I've already got some stuff on how Super Mutants, feral ghouls and Deathclaws have been affected, thanks to the Brotherhood of Steel, but I suspect that there's other beasties out there that we haven't encountered yet." She leaned forward and planted her elbows on the countertop. "I've heard traders saying that they've seen some really weird creatures up near the Greener Pastures disposal site. I was hoping that you could take a look for me."

Sunset considered for a moment. Traveling through the snow was going to slow them down. "How far away is the site?"

"Not far from Old Olney," Moira replied. She turned the file towards them and pointed to a spot on her map. "See?"

A quick glance revealed that the disposal site was indeed just a short way southwest of Old Olney, near what Moira had marked as a diner. "We should be able to make it," Sunset said. "What do you want us to do, exactly?"

Moira hummed thoughtfully. "I'd prefer it if you could get into the disposal site itself, have a poke around, and find out what sort of creatures we're dealing with, but it's supposed to be very radioactive there. It is where they used to dump toxic and nuclear waste, after all."

"That'll be risky for us," Twilight put in.

"I know," Moira replied with a dejected sigh. "In that case, I've heard that there are some unusual creatures hanging out in the nearby diner, too, so if you can just check that out and tell me what you find, that would be great."

Sunset stared at the map, considering their options. "We'll bring Fluttershy with us. She's better with animals than anyone else, and she'll be able to tell us whether it's safe to have a look in the disposal site."

"Either way, we're going to have to leave soon if we want to get back before dark," Twilight pointed out.

"Good point." Sunset sighed and stood up. "Alright, let's grab the others and get moving."

Saying a quick goodbye to Moira, Sunset and Twilight made their way carefully down to the Temple. Rather worryingly, the snow still wasn't easing up.

"If this gets any heavier, we're going to be stuck here in Megaton until a Vertibird comes around," Sunset noted.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Twilight said quietly.

To the girls' surprise, both the Temple's welcome room and the main hall were full of residents and Disciples, the former seeking somewhere warm to socialise now that Moriarty's was out of commission for the time being, and the latter doing their best to accommodate them.

"Lady Shimmer!" Primrose pushed through the crowd to get to the pair. She blushed as she spotted Twilight as well. "A-and Lady Sparkle, of course. I'm sorry it's so crowded, but we didn't feel right forcing people to stand outside in such inclement weather."

"It's fine, you made the right choice," Sunset replied. "Are the rest of the Rainbooms here?"

Primrose nodded. "Yes, Lady Shimmer. They are all in Lady Rarity's room save for Fluttershy, who is in her own room with, er, Adam."

Sunset's eyes widened at that little revelation, but she managed to keep herself from smirking. "Ok, we're going to be heading back out in a minute, is our armor ready?"

"I'll have it brought up to you," Primrose replied.

"Awesome, thanks." Sunset carefully made her way through the crowd, making sure that Twilight didn't get hemmed in behind her. Thankfully, it was far less crowded once they got upstairs to the areas where non-Disciples weren't permitted.

When they reached the top floor, Sunset bit her lip in an attempt to resist the urge to knock on Fluttershy's door, and walked over to Rarity's instead.

As expected, everyone was inside except Adam and Fluttershy. Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow were all sitting cross-legged on the bed, while Rarity herself was sitting at a table using a bulky old sewing machine that she had evidently brought from the Citadel, though how she had managed to fit the thing in her pack was anybody's guess. A wardrobe sat open next to the table, displaying all sorts of garments from the outfit Rarity had first worn to the wastes, to Brotherhood uniforms and dresses, to thin strips of fabric that could charitably be called underwear.

Sunset took it as a good sign that Applejack was sneaking subtle glances at those particular underclothes. At least she wasn't feeling too down on herself. "Hey, are you all okay?" Sunset asked.

"Us three are fine," Applejack replied. "What about you, Rares?"

"I'm well enough, thank you." Rarity sighed and turned to face the others, flexing her left fingers in their glove. "I apologize for not being on top form this morning, I was just feeling a little delicate after last night."

"That's more than understandable," Sunset replied. Now that she was here, she was having second thoughts about dragging everyone away from Rarity and Applejack when they were down and out. Still, she had to ask. "So, Moira has a new task for us. The only problem is that it's a fair distance away, so we'll have to leave now if we want to get back before dark. Is anyone up for it, or should we put it off for tomorrow?"

Rarity stood and stretched. "Actually, I'd like to come along, if that's alright?"

"Are you sure?" Applejack asked, giving her a surprised look.

"Absolutely," Rarity replied. "I'm sorry, darling, but I need to get out and feel some fresh air on my face, or I'm going to go crazy."

Applejack nodded and grumbled her acceptance, prompting Rainbow to throw an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll stick around here with you so you don't get too bored," Rainbow said brightly. "Plus, we'll have Fluttershy, so that'll be three of us."

"Actually, Fluttershy is going to be pretty much essential for this job," Sunset cut in in an apologetic tone. "We're looking out for magical wildlife, so we'll need her abilities. Once she's done with Adam, anyway."

The others giggled and blushed, though their mouths all snapped shut as the door opened and Fluttershy stepped in, followed by Adam. "Oh, hello, is everything alright?" Fluttershy asked.

Sunset struggled to keep a straight face. "We're all good, what about you two?"

"I'm okay, thanks, but Adam has a bit of a nasty bruise," Fluttershy replied blithely.

Rainbow coughed as she tried to hold back a laugh. "Maybe you shouldn't be so rough with him, next time, unless he likes it that way."

"If so, Ah've got some rope you can borrow," Applejack added, earning snorts and choked-back laughter from the others, along with confused looks from Adam and Fluttershy.

"What are you talking about?" Adam asked.

Pinkie grinned and rummaged around in her hair. After a second, she pulled out a pie and a can of whipped cream, shook up the cream, then stabbed it into the pie and sprayed it full. Sunset just stared at her in blank confusion, but Applejack and Rainbow both burst into fits of astonished laughter, while Rarity and Fluttershy both turned crimson.

"We were not doing anything like that," Fluttershy said in a voice of determined calm. "Adam received a nasty bruise from getting rattled around in his armor after he was attacked by a magic mutant. I tended to it, gave him some painkillers, and had my scheduled portion of blood while I was in my room. You perverts."

Adam did a double-take at the last couple of words. "Hold up, what did they think we were doing?"

"Fornicating," Rarity replied quietly.

"Which is probably a posh way of saying fucking," Rainbow clarified. Adam blushed furiously and tried to stammer out a denial, making her grin widely. "Yeah, no, there's no way those two have boned yet."

Applejack snorted. "None of us have done anythin' like that yet." Sunset, Fluttershy, and Rarity all pointedly avoided looking at each other. "Besides, boyfriend or no, Ah still don't reckon that Flutters'll be the first to have a bedroom rodeo."

"I'd appreciate it if we could steer this conversation away from bedroom activities," Fluttershy said through gritted teeth. Adam nodded vigorously, though Sunset noted that he was shuffling to stand further behind Flutters and hunching over slightly.

Pinkie shrugged. "You never know, Fluttershy might be second, but she can't be first, that was Sunset."

"How the fuck do you know about that?!" Sunset blurted out before she could stop herself.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Applejack slowly arched an eyebrow. "Uh, Sunset? Have you-"

"We need to leave asap if we want to get back before dark," Sunset cut in quickly. "Fluttershy, we're going to be studying animals, so we'll need your help, and Rainbow and Applejack are staying here, so who else is coming?"

Adam, Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie all immediately voiced their assent. "Hold on, you can't just drop a bombshell like that and leave!" Rainbow exclaimed, Applejack nodding along in eager agreement.

"Too late, it's a long journey and we've got to get back before dark," Sunset said loudly as she turned to the door. "We'll see you two later!" She hurried out of the room and back downstairs before anyone else could even move. Luckily for Sunset, she ran into Primrose and a couple of other Disciples bringing her and Twilight's armor up for them. They helped Sunset put hers on at top speed, and agreed to let the others know that she would be waiting in the welcome room for them.

Embarrassment stung Sunset's cheeks. She couldn't believe that she had outed herself like that, instead of just brushing it off as Pinkie being random. Thankfully, her demeanor must have been giving off the impression that she wanted to be left alone, as none of the residents or Disciples dared to come anywhere near her, despite how crowded the Temple was.

It didn't take long for the others to come downstairs, all clad in their armor save for Adam. Rarity had also thoughtfully provided gloves and scarves for everyone, and she offered Sunset a pair as she entered the room.

"Thanks," Sunset said gratefully.

"Don't mention it," Rarity replied. "So, where exactly are we off to?"

Sunset showed them the marker in her Pip-Boy map. "There's a diner just southwest of Old Olney. If it's safe enough, we're also to try and check out the Greener Pastures disposal site just slightly to the west. Apparently, odd creatures have been sighted at both locations. Moira wants us to check it out and see if they've been affected by magic."

"The old diner between Old Olney and Greener Pastures?" One of the locals asked, clearly eavesdropping. "You want to be careful up there, the trade caravans call it the Grisly Diner. It's a raider hotspot."

"Really? Huh, thanks, we'll be careful." Sunset smiled and nodded in appreciation before turning back to the others. "You heard him, we might be walking into another raider hideout, so keep your eyes open out there."

With the basic plan outlined, the group left the Temple and headed up to the gates, Fluttershy and Adam making a quick detour to his house to pick up his power armor. The town gates were already open to allow a trade caravan in, forcing the group to stand aside to give the pack Brahmin room to pass. The caravan guards, intent on getting themselves and their animals somewhere warm as soon as possible, didn't seem to even notice the girls.

As soon as they were out of Megaton, Sunset led the group towards Springvale and past the Holy Light Monastery. Unlike the journey to Old Olney, the Rainbooms were intent on following as straight a path as possible to their destination, only making detours to avoid any threats that Fluttershy detected. Such threats were, admittedly, few and far between thanks to the weather, but the ability to avoid problems altogether was something the others were incredibly grateful for.

Even so, the journey wasn't easy. The snow was only getting heavier as time passed, until the group was wading through drifts that reached up to their knees in places. Only Adam had an easy time of it, his power armor allowing him to soldier on as if the rising snow was no more hindrance than a mild breeze. After an hour of struggling, the girls gave up and simply followed in the trenches he left behind, calling out directions to make sure he stayed on the right track.

Eventually, the squad found themselves climbing a gentle slope up towards a small stereotypical old timey diner, clearly the Grisly Diner they were looking for.

"Alright, everyone, keep your eyes peeled," Sunset warned them. "Fluttershy, can you sense anyone?"

Fluttershy nodded grimly. "Eight people, as far as I can tell. There's five lurking in cover just to the west, and another three hiding just behind the diner. I think they're planning on ambushing us as soon as we go inside."

"Copy that." Sunset subtly glanced over at a collection of snow-covered boulders about fifty yards to the west. "If they've prepared an ambush, then they must know we're here, though the question is how?" She frowned suspiciously at the undisturbed snow in front of the diner's door.

"No footprints," Rarity noted, clearly thinking along the same lines.

"Exactly. Something screwy is going on," Sunset muttered.

Pinkie bit her lip anxiously. "Uh, aren't we supposed to be looking for freaky animals?"

"Remember the minotaur at the library?" Sunset asked. "The raiders might be the animals."

"Ew, good point," Pinkie said with a grimace. "Okay, what's the plan?"

Sunset gave a nasty grin. "Simple, we spring the trap, and if those fuckers are stupid enough to actually attack us, then we assault the ambush."

"Sounds good to me, but they'll probably have booby-trapped the diner," Adam put in. "Me and Fluttershy will head inside, the rest of you get ready to take care of any idiots who try to attack us."

"Got it," Sunset replied. She knelt down and braced her plasma rifle against her shoulder, Pinkie doing the same with her Party Cannon, while Twilight and Rarity took up ready stances so they could unleash their powers at a moment's notice.

Seeing that they were ready, Fluttershy slung her sniper rifle across her back and drew Vampire's Edge instead. Sunset nodded once to them as the pair stalked towards the diner, then turned her attention back to the boulders the raiders were lurking behind.

For several long seconds, the only sound was the crunching of snow beneath feet, then Fluttershy suddenly hissed in warning, "Landmine!" Swift footsteps kicked snow aside, followed by a series of muffled blasts as a handful of landmines went off.

The noise almost made Sunset look around, but she forced herself to focus as whoops and cheers rang out from the boulders. Five raiders, each of them sporting a set of feathered wings, leapt up into the boulders and brandished their weapons. The moment of posturing cost them dearly as Pinkie fired her Party Cannon.

Blood, limbs, and dislodged snow flew in all directions. When the air cleared, only two stunned raiders were still moving. Rarity and Sunset put them down with ease.

Shouts from the diner snatched Sunset's attention and made her whip around, just in time to see Adam take out the last raider by blasting right through the thin walls of the diner.

"Well, that was nice and easy," Rarity said cheerfully.

"Yeah, for a change," Sunset agreed. She walked over to one of the dead raiders and nudged the corpse with her boot. His wings were laid out slightly differently to a pegasus', and he had curved talons jutting out from where his fingernails should have been. "Griffons. Can't say I was expecting that."

Pinkie and Rarity stepped up next to her. "It seems you were right about the raiders being the animals," Rarity said. "I can imagine that the local caravans were terrified when these brutes started attacking."

"I wouldn't call them brutes," a familiar voice called out, making everyone whip around and raise their weapons in startled surprise. A young woman was leaning casually against the diner wall, drinking Nuka-Cola through a straw. Her curly mess of violently pink hair was a dead giveaway as to whose otherworldly counterpart she was. "They were some of my best customers."

"Diane Pinkamena Pie," Pinkie said in an even tone.

"Oooo, looks like someone remembers me from our last meeting outside Little Lamplight," Diane said cheerfully. She flicked a lock of her hair and grinned. "Lookie lookie, after last time, I started finding these really weird crystals that were talking to me, but without actually talking, and when I gathered up enough of them, they did this!" She flicked her hair again. "Isn't that crazy?"

Pinkie nodded slowly. "Yeah. Real crazy," she replied in an even tone. Sunset noticed with a jolt that although Pinkie didn't have her Party Cannon up and ready, she was still keeping it pointed directly at Diane's face, a little too obviously for it to be unintentional.

"What do you mean, they were customers?" Adam asked suspiciously.

"I'd sell stuff and they'd buy it, silly!" Diane replied, still grinning widely.

Rarity crossed her arms and scowled. "These people were raiders, and they just attempted to ambush us!"

Diane gave a nonchalant shrug. "They've never been mean to me. Oh well, I've still got Andale and Little Lamplight, so I won't put in a complaint this time. Hey, do you guys mind if I get first dibs on the stuff they've left behind?" She jabbed a thumb towards the diner's entrance. "I kinda need to offset my losses."

"Sure, go nuts," Sunset replied.

"Can do!" Diane exclaimed loudly.

Sunset shook her head and turned away, checking her Pip-Boy map. "Come on, girls, let's check out Greener Pastures."

The others quickly agreed and moved to follow her.

"Oh, Pinkie?" Everyone turned at Diane's call, only to snap their weapons up when they saw her standing right next to Pinkie, holding a submachine gun in one hand and pressing it against Pinkie's head. "Look! I can do that too!"

"I suggest that you lower that gun," Rarity snarled. "Now."

"Okie dokie lokie!" Diane casually whipped the gun away and stuffed it into her hair. "Oh well, I guess I'll see you guys again sometime soon! Bye bye!" Still beaming, she turned and skipped back to the diner, humming a jaunty little tune as she went.

Sunset lowered her rifle and placed a hand on Pinkie's shoulder. "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine, let's just get the fuck out of here," Pinkie replied quietly. "Which way?"

Sunset nodded and decided to let it slide for now, "Almost due west," she replied, pointing down a nearby slope. A thick bank of fog sat incongruously in the middle of what looked like a valley, looking almost like a cloud had decided to drop down to earth.

Fluttershy frowned at the sight of it. "That doesn't look right. Do you think it's more magic?"

"Probably," Sunset admitted. "If so, I guess that must be what's mutating the local wildlife. Come on, let's take a closer look."

Despite the potential danger ahead, everyone walked quickly down the slope towards the ominous bank of fog.

As they walked, Fluttershy sidled up to Sunset, glancing worriedly back over her shoulder. "That wasn't right. How did she manage to sneak up on us? I couldn't even hear her heartbeat until she spoke."

"She's bad news. Really bad news," Pinkie put in.

"I believe you," Sunset said truthfully. "There's definitely something weird going on there." She sighed and shot Pinkie a guilty look. "Still, I hate to say it, but she's not our problem right now."

"That's fine," Pinkie replied. "Trust me, the less we have to do with her, the happier I'll be."

The girls quietened down as they approached the unusual fog. Sunset could feel Equestrian magic roiling around in it, each step making it clearer and clearer to some sense that she couldn't quite describe. As if to punctuate her thoughts, a faint green light flashed within, proving that magic was indeed at work within the fog.

"That doesn't look promising," Rarity muttered.

"No. No it doesn't," Sunset agreed. Just as she was about to plunge into the fog, her Pip-Boy started ticking wildly, making her backpedal as quickly as she could. "Crap! I forgot that this place is radioactive."

The others backed away warily, except Fluttershy. "I guess this is where I come in," she said almost casually.

"What are you talking about?" Rarity asked.

Fluttershy just shrugged. "I'm technically a more specialised Super Mutant. Radiation isn't a problem for me."

"You're not going in that fog alone," Adam said flatly. "I'm coming in with you."

"Like hell you are. Radiation may heal you to an extent, but you're not immune to radiation poisoning, and we don't have time to wait fifteen minutes for the Rad-X to kick in." Fluttershy cocked her head to the side, listening intently. "Besides, I don't think we have to go in. Something is coming to us."

Sunset raised her plasma rifle, ready to engage any monster that came barreling out of the fog, only to be surprised as an oversized fly buzzed lazily into view. It's body was an astonishingly bright blue, and it had a sickeningly bloated abdomen.

"Ugh, a bloatfly," Adam grumbled. "They're horrible things. They hunt by literally firing their own barbed little larvae up to a dozen feet or so, and they're usually perfectly happy attacking people. I've never seen one that color before, though."

The group watched curiously as the bloatfly, contrary to what Adam said, completely ignored the lot of them and settled down on a snow-covered rock. It scampered awkwardly down into the ground, then started eating something that had clearly been buried by the constant snowfall.

"I don't think this one is interested in attacking," Pinkie said.

Sunset shook her head. "Nah, I think we're- what the hell?!"

Apparently done with its meal, the bloatfly climbed back onto the boulder. Its proboscis bulged and flexed obscenely then it vomited up a thick wad of foul brown goo. Even as the group watched in horrified fascination, the goo rippled and changed shape until it morphed into another bloatfly, identical to its parent in every way except color.

"That's not a bloatfly, it's a fucking mutant parasprite!" Sunset exclaimed.

Rarity took a few tentative steps back. "That's not a good thing, is it?"

Sunset shook her head. "No. Back in Equestria, those things eat everything that's edible and reproduce at a terrifying rate, not stopping until they've consumed every single scrap of food in the area. We need to warn people to stay the hell away from this place."

"On a related note, we should probably leave as soon as possible. Now, in fact," Fluttershy suggested, backing away from the fog quickly enough to worry the others. "There's more of them coming. A lot more."

The group shared a dumbfounded look, then turned and belted up the hill as quickly as they could move. Sunset glanced back over her shoulder as she ran. A colossal swarm of parasprites slowly came into view, massing right at the very edge of the fog, but not moving any further. A little flash of relief flickered through her at the revelation that the parasprites apparently didn't want to leave the fog, but it was quickly stifled by a much darker realization.

If the parasprites ever did decide to leave the fog, and displayed a liking for the same kind of food as their bloatfly cousins, then the wasteland was in deep shit.

Next Chapter: Chapter 120 - Wasteland Survival Guide: Crystal Finish Estimated time remaining: 16 Hours, 36 Minutes