Sunset lay curled up in a ball, hands clamped over her ears in a futile attempt to block out the awful ringing in her head. At a touch on her shoulder, she looked up to see Twilight mouthing something.

“What?”

“Are you alright?”

Sunset nodded slowly as the ringing in her ears started to fade.

“What was that?”

“A booby trap.” Sunset replied. She winced as she sat up. Her bare arms and legs were bleeding from dozens of little cuts, but thanks to Pinkie she’d been far enough from the blast to avoid any real damage.

That thought brought her head whipping up. She spotted Pinkie kneeling a few feet away. Fluttershy was crouched next to her, checking her pupils with a little torch. Luckily Pinkie seemed fine, rummaging a finger through her ear and muttering ‘mawp’ under her breath repeatedly. Nearby, Applejack and Rarity were helping Rainbow to her feet.

“Is everyone alright?” Sunset called anxiously.

Applejack looked round and nodded. “We’re fine sugarcube, it was only you three who caught the edge of the blast.” She turned back to Rainbow, helping her lean against the wall. "No harm done."

“Speak for yourself, my shoulder is killing me!” Rainbow hissed. She reached a hand around to rub at her backside, “And why does my butt hurt so m-” Rainbow’s eyes suddenly bulged. She turned jerkily to look at Flutters. “Uh, F-Fluttershy?”

“What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked, looking around curiously.

Even in the dim light of the tunnel, Sunset could see the blush creeping across Rainbow’s face. “There‘s s-something in my b-butt.”

Sunset’s brain stalled for a moment. The girls all stared blankly at Rainbow as they tried to wrap their heads around what she’d just said.

“Uh, come again?” Applejack asked.

Fluttershy directed her torch at Rainbow’s posterior. A single, small piece of shrapnel poked out from her butt-cheek.

Sunset managed to suppress a snort with difficulty. Applejack, however, failed miserably.

So did Rarity.

“I hate you both.” Rainbow grumbled.

“I’m sorry darling,” Rarity tittered as Applejack roared with laughter, “But you have to admit, if it had happened to one of us you would most certainly be laughing too.”

“Yeah yeah.”

“You really shouldn’t tease like that girls.” Fluttershy said reproachfully.

“It’s fine Flutters,” Rainbow muttered, “Heh, it is kinda funny.”

“If you say so.” Fluttershy scooted over to inspect the wound. “I’m going to need you to hold still for this, we don’t want to dislodge the shrapnel and damage any more nerves or blood vessels.”

“Butt vessels!” Pinkie cried suddenly, earning a chuckle from the others.

“Welcome back.” Sunset grinned. “Nice work dodging that blast, are you feeling okay?”

“I didn’t, but I’m okay anyway! Just a little heavy.”

“Heavy? What do you…”

Sunset trailed off as Pinkie sprang to her feet, grabbed her hair and, with an awful clattering sound, started shaking it madly. There was a deluge of shrapnel, grit and dust from the depths of the pink fluff, accompanied by an umbrella hat, three cans of whipped cream, a squeaky rubber chicken and a little box marked ‘alligator treats’.

Sunset just stared as Pinkie started stuffing the whipped cream back into her hair. “Somehow that explains absolutely everything and nothing whatsoever, and that concerns me.”

“I’m concerned that that sentence made sense to me.” Twilight responded.

“And I’m concerned about the piece of metal stuck in my butt.” Rainbow deadpanned. “Can we get rid of it now please?”

“Of course Rainbow. Twilight, could you assist me please?” Fluttershy asked.

“Sure!”

Flutters looked around at each of the others. “Um, maybe the rest of you should go on ahead for the moment.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Huh? Why’s that?”

Fluttershy blushed slightly, “Um, well, I can’t remove the shrapnel or treat the wound properly while it’s covered.”

“So? Oh.” Sunset’s eyes widened as she realized what Fluttershy meant.

“What? What do you mean?” Rainbow asked.

“It’s nothing!” Sunset said quickly, “Come on, we sho-”

“She means she needs you to drop your undies so she can fix you silly!” Pinkie interrupted.

Rainbow rolled her eyed. “Ha ha, real funny.”

Fluttershy’s blush deepened. “Actually she’s, um, she’s right. I need to see how deep the wound is and make sure the surrounding tissue isn’t damaged. I can’t do that if your clothes are in the way.” She tapped a finger against her chin. “Although I suppose if you’re wearing a thong it won’t be as much of a problem.”

“I’m not wearing a thong!” Rainbow cried, her blush returning in full force. She shook her head and sighed heavily, “Alright fine, let‘s just get this over with. You girls mind going on ahead or something?”

Applejack nodded, still smiling slightly. “Sure thing sugarcube.”

“Of course darling.” Rarity said, “Come along girls, let’s give them some privacy.”

“Okay, we’ll go scout out the tunnel ahead,” Sunset fiddled with a knob on her Pip-Boy as she headed back towards the ramp, “I’d suggest turning on our Pip-Boy lights, just in case there are any more traps.”

Applejack smacked a palm to her forehead. “Aw dang it, now why didn’t we think of that before.”

“Actually, I did.” Sunset admitted, “I just thought it would be better if we left them off in case we attracted the mirelurks.”

“Fat lot of good that did us.” Applejack grumbled.

“In her defense darling, we really weren’t expecting traps like that.” Rarity added, switching her light on too. “Oh good grief that is disgusting!”

Standing at the top of the ramp, a subway track stretched away in front of them. Sprawled across the tracks was the sundered corpse of another mirelurk. Chunks of shell and entrails were scattered about, along with several of it’s limbs.

“Well at least we didn’t have to fight that one.” Applejack noted.

“I just hope we don’t get caught by whatever did that to it.” Sunset said quietly as she stepped around the corpse. Her eyes widened as she spotted something a little further ahead. “Everyone stop moving!”

The other three froze where they stood, Pinkie still with her foot in the air. Applejack turned to her slowly.

“What is it? Did you spot another trap?”

Sunset nodded and pointed. A bear trap was placed in the middle of the tracks, just past the mirelurk’s corpse. The dark metal was well camouflaged against the concrete floor. Sunset shivered, if her light hadn’t been on she would’ve walked right into it. She stooped to pick up a chunk of debris and, aiming carefully, tossed it onto the trap’s switch. A loud snap echoed down the tunnel.

Applejack gave a low whistle. “Talk about a welcome mat, ah get the feeling the Family ain’t too keen on visitors.”

“I‘m inclined to agree darling.” Rarity replied, “Though these traps could be intended to keep those ghastly mirelurks at bay.”

“Good point.”

“Hey, do you girls see that?” Pinkie asked suddenly, pointing ahead.

Sunset peered into the darkness. She could just make out a little red light glowing eerily, near one of the walls. The girls edged carefully closer, illuminating a small, circular object. Sunset raised her Pip-Boy, angling the light for a better view. “Is… is that a landmine?”

“It certainly appears to be,” Rarity said quietly, “Might I suggest sticking to the other side of the tracks?”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Applejack stepped forward, then stopped abruptly. “Shoot, there’s another one over here.”

Sunset looked from one mine to the other. “There’s plenty of space down the middle. As long as we don’t step on them or knock anything onto them, we should be fine.”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie started strolling down the tracks, humming tunelessly and carefully placing each foot directly ion front of the other. As she made to pass the first landmine it suddenly started emitting a low, electronic beeping. Pinkie glanced in horror at the mine, then turned and belted back down the path. “Hot potato hot potato!”

The girls all threw themselves away from the mine, Pinkie diving headfirst back over the mirelurk’s corpse. A split second later a small explosion tore through the air. The girls were pelted by stones and specks of broken concrete, but luckily no-one was hurt.

“What the heck was that!” Twilight cried as she crested the top of the ramp.

“A landmine.” Sunset replied flatly.

“Seriously, more explosives?” Rainbow asked, limping along behind.

Applejack nodded as she rearranged her hat. “Yup. How’s the butt sugarcube?”

“Sore, but I‘ll live.”

“She’ll be okay, the wound wasn't very deep.” Flutters said, zipping up her nursing kit. “Are there any more mines around?”

“Sadly yes.” Rarity sighed. “At least one more.”

“Oh come on!” Rainbow yelled, “How many times are we almost going to get blown up today!?”

Pinkie popped up from behind the dead mirelurk. “Right? I love a loud bang as much as the next girl but this is starting to get ridiculous, even by my standards.” The others just stared at her. “What? What did I say?”

Rarity coughed delicately, “Yes, well, moving swiftly on. Do you think we can get safely past the other landmine now?”

“Shouldn’t we be fine as long as we don’t step on it?” Twilight asked.

“That’s what we thought, but apparently they’re proximity mines.” Sunset grumbled, folding her arms.

Twilight’s face lit up at that. “Fascinating! How do you think they work? Oooh maybe it measures variations in air density? Or vibrations through the floor? Or maybe they have some kind of-”

“Hey, here’s an idea.” Applejack cut in, “Twilight, you reckon you can use your magic to toss that thing down the tunnel away from us?”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure that would set it off.”

Applejack shrugged, “Well, yeah, but at least the blast would be way down there instead of up here next to us.”

Twilight just shook her head. “I’m don’t think that would be a good idea. We don’t know if there are any more landmines further down. We‘d risk setting off a chain reaction which, in a confined space like this, would probably be a very bad idea.”

“Do you think we can walk around it?” Fluttershy asked.

Sunset tilted her head, thinking hard. “Probably. The first one didn’t go off until Pinkie got fairly close to it, but I’d feel safer if we detonated it now, along with any more we come across, just in case we need to make a quick exit back down this way.” She hummed softly as she turned to Twilight, “Throwing it wouldn’t be safe, but do you think you could just pick it up and move it along with us?”

Twilight frowned at the mine, it‘s little light glowing ominously. “I guess that would work, but what if my magic sets it off?”

“We’re far enough away that the first one didn’t cause any damage, so from this distance we should be fine if the second one detonates too.”

“Just make sure you put it back down before it goes off.” Rainbow added.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “If it explodes in midair it’ll have a bigger blast, seriously you’ve never heard of a daisy cutter?” She scowled as the others all stared at her in shock. “What? I read about them in a Daring Do book and figured I’d look it up.”

“That explains it.” Sunset smirked.

“Uh, explains what exactly?” Applejack asked.

“If an explosive is detonated above ground the shock-wave reflects off the floor, effectively increasing the blast radius.” Twilight rattled off, “I can’t believe I forgot about that, thanks Rainbow!”

Rainbow puffed herself up. “See, I’m awesome even when I‘m injured.”

“Yes yes, very well done darling, now can we please get this over with?” Rarity huffed.

“Right, here we go.” Twilight gripped her geode and stretched out a hand. The moment the glow of her magic surrounded the mine it started to beep loudly, prompting her to release it instantly. Everyone quickly ducked as yet another explosion assaulted their ears.

“Ah swear if ah find just one more bomb ah’m not going to be held responsible for what ah do to those darn Family folks.” Applejack muttered.

Sunset sighed heavily. “Well, at least the path is clear now.”

Sunset led the girls cautiously down the tracks. Aside from another bear trap, found and disarmed by Applejack, the girls didn’t encounter any more booby traps until they came to a turnoff. Another tunnel opened up on their left, a wrecked subway train left to rust on the tracks. Past the tunnel the tracks continued up a slight incline to a set of huge doors, dim sunlight streaming in through the windows.

“Which way do you reckon?” Applejack asked.

Sunset stepped carefully over to the ruined train, taking a look past it. The way was narrow, but they’d fit if they all went single file. “I think we should go this way, there’s more shelter underground, especially if it’s a gang we’re looking for. Besides, look at that.” Sunset pointed up at a small sign.

“Meresti Station.” Rarity read aloud.

“An old subway station.” Sunset grinned, “Sounds like a good place for a hideout.”

“I have a quick question, um, if that’s okay?” Fluttershy said quietly.

Sunset turned to the young nurse. “What’s up?”

Flutters hunched slightly, averting her eyes. “What do we do if the Family aren’t um, friendly?”

“Good question dear.” Rarity replied, “Honestly I would prefer if we could find a diplomatic solution, but, well, the Family might not be willing to negotiate.”

“We’ll just talk. As long as they’re willing to speak to us, I know we can sort things out peacefully.” Sunset said firmly.

“And, uh, what if they don’t want to talk?” Applejack asked.

Sunset took a deep breath, her face set. “If things get dangerous, we escape. Simple as that.”

“Uh, I know I’m awesome and all, but I’m not really up to running much at the moment.” Rainbow admitted, rubbing her neck nervously.

“Don’t sweat it sugarcube, ah got your back.” Applejack said, nodding to Rainbow.

“One last thing.” Sunset looked around at each of the others, “Let’s try and remember not to use our magic on front of these people.”

“Why not? It totally worked back in Arefu!” Rainbow smirked.

“I wouldn’t really say it worked as such.” Rarity blushed slightly.

“We terrified those poor people.” Fluttershy huffed.

Sunset nodded somberly, “Scaring people is bad enough, but we don’t want to accidentally provoke anyone either. The last thing we need is to end up being the targets of some sort of witch hunt.”

“Ah, yeah, that would suck.” Rainbow agreed.

Sunset sighed and straightened up. “Okay, let’s do this.”

She started off down the tunnel, walking alongside the old train with the others falling into step behind. Sunset kept her Pip-Boy held high, scanning the floor ahead with her eyes. She stopped abruptly as she reached the end of the train.

“What’s wrong Sunset?” Twilight asked.

“Tripwire.” Sunset replied, gesturing to the rope in front of her feet. She pointed ahead, “And look what it’s attached to.”
Twilight peeked past Sunset. Just ahead was another wrecked train. Something was tucked between the train and the tunnel wall, planted atop a small pile of rubble. Twilight squinted, struggling to make out what it was. She gasped as realized it was a gun, pointed directly at the group.

“Wait here.” Sunset whispered, gingerly stepping over the tripwire. Once she was clear she quickly moved to the gun, careful to stay out of the way of the barrel. Up close, she saw that it was some kind of shotgun, with a large drum magazine. It had been bolted to the stand, a wire was tied around the trigger and connected to several microfusion cells, acting as a battery. The moment someone nudged that tripwire, the shotgun would blast them right in the chest.

Sunset slipped off her pack and pulled out her Vault tool belt. “Applejack, can you come over here a second? And watch out for that tripwire!” she called.

“Sure thing sugarcube!” Applejack squeezed past the others, tiptoed over the tripwire and stepped up next to Sunset. “What do you need?”

Between the two of them the two girls managed to disarm the rigged shotgun and prise it off the stand. The microfusion cells were given to Twilight, in case she found a use for them. Applejack was adamant that she wanted to keep the shotgun, even if they did only find four shells in it.

“Ah’m telling you, it just makes sense!”

“Do you even know how to use that thing?” Sunset asked.

“Ah’ll just have to practice, same as you with that pistol.”

“I’ve got to admit, AJ does have a point.” Rainbow said, “A shotgun will come in handy if we run into any more mirelurks.”

Sunset glared at the two of the for a moment, but she saw the sense of what they were saying. “Fine, but be careful with it. And make sure you don’t point it at anyone, even accidentally. Just, keep it pointed at the floor.”

“Ah hear you.” Applejack said happily, flicking the shotgun’s safety on and obligingly pointing it at the floor.

The girls made their way down past the second train, keeping an eye out for any more traps. Sunset spotted another tripwire near the end of the train, this one attached to a heavy weight, designed to swing down and smash into who or whatever disturbed the wire. A barrel full of flames and a low wall of sandbags sat just ahead of them.

“Looks like we’ve found the Family’s hideout.” Sunset called over her shoulder, “Stand back a second.”

Sunset got down on her belly, making sure she was flat to the floor. Holding her breath, she reached out and flicked the tripwire. The weight swung down and over her, the breeze of it’s passing rustled her hair. Once it had stopped swinging she stood and motioned for the others to follow.

“Don’t move!”

Sunset whipped around, startled by the sudden shout. Past the sandbags the tracks dropped down a short ramp. A wrecked subway car blocked the way ahead. Someone had erected a barrier of sandbags in front of it, flanked by two burning oil drums. A man was stood behind the sandbags, pointing his gun at Sunset.

“This area’s off limits to everyone but the Family, where the hell do you think you’re going?”

A bit of a short chapter this time around.

Due to a few unforeseen health issues (aren't they all?) and some irl commitments I've managed to burn through my buffer a bit quicker than expected. I'll still aim to upload a chapter every Tuesday but if I get any more unexpected drains on my time I may have to push it back to a chapter every fortnight until I can build a decent buffer back up.

Of course that's all if's and maybe's at the moment. For now, new chapter! Comments and Criticisms are appreciated and, as always, thanks for reading.