Project Purity was unlike anything Luna had ever seen before. It was housed in what must have once been a grand old building, built from stone with huge pillars lining the entrance, but the war and subsequent settlers had clearly left their mark. Metal framework had been installed in sections where the stone had been blown away, and immense steel pipes stretched out of the entrance and over or under a huge metal catwalk, dumping pure, clean water into the adjacent river.

Luna, Trixie and Sonata were all standing on said metal catwalk, watching as people went about their work. There were several Enclave soldiers and scientists around, but there were also a few people wearing pale gray varieties of powered armor, more than a few clad in dark red robes like old-time scholars or monks, and also a handful of people wearing a much lighter type of combat armor and carrying simple machine guns. From what the Enclave had told her, Luna assumed that they were from the Brotherhood of Steel and security officers from a settlement called Rivet City; the two main factions who worked together to get the purifier up and running in the first place.

“What’s that?” Luna turned to see Trixie pointing at something in the river below.

“Some sort of weird horseshoe crab?” Sonata suggested.

Pulling her hood tighter around her head in an attempt to keep the snow away, Luna stepped up alongside them and peered into the water. There was some sort of creature swimming in the river, with only its pale blue shell breaking the surface. Sonata was right that it looked like a horseshoe crab, but it was way bigger than it should have been, and Luna had always thought that they crawled along the bottom of the riverbed rather than swimming on the surface.

A passing woman wearing a scarlet robe chuckled and shook her head. “I still find it weird that you Enclave types have never seen wasteland wildlife before. Those are what we call mirelurks.”

“Mirelurks?” Luna echoed curiously.

The woman stopped and nodded. “Yeah. You’re not actually that far wrong, they’re descended from horseshoe crabs that were mutated by radiation after the bombs fell.” She stepped over to the edge of the catwalk and looked down at the mirelurk swimming lazily around. “Most of the mirelurks in this stretch of the river are dying off, we think they can’t survive in water that isn’t irradiated, but it looks like there’s some that are adapting to it. We’re safe up here, but be careful if you have to go anywhere near the riverside. Those things are lethal.”

“Thanks, we’ll be careful,” Luna assured her, privately hoping that she would never have any reason to go near the riverside.

The woman made to turn away and go about her business, but she did a double-take as she got a glimpse of Luna’s face under the hood. “Wait, your skin… are you another Rainb-”

“On your way, Scribe,” a powerful voice called out through crackling speakers.

The Scribe almost jumped out of her skin and hurried off, squeezing past two power-armored Brotherhood soldiers who were walking side-by-side toward the group.

Luna felt herself tensing as the two approached, but then they parted to reveal a squad of Enclave troopers behind them. President Shoichet and Agent Drops were both safely ensconced in the middle of the group.

“Get behind us please, ladies,” one of the Brotherhood soldiers said, the speaker in his helmet crackling as he spoke. “We’ll take you to the perimeter safely.”

“The perimeter?” Luna asked.

“It’s not currently safe to land a Vertibird close to Rivet City, so we’re going to have to walk,” the President explained. “These Paladins have offered to escort us to the city limits.”

Luna was more than a little concerned about the implication that the journey might be dangerous, especially given that she had Trixie and Sonata to think about, but she kept quiet and simply ushered the two girls into the middle of the group with the President.

“Is it far from here?” Trixie asked, eyeing the falling snow dubiously as the group set off.

“It’s just up the road,” one of the Paladins replied. “If it wasn’t snowing so heavily, you’d be able to see the bow of the ship from just at the end of this walkway.”

Sunset had already mentioned that Rivet City was actually a settlement founded aboard a beached aircraft carrier, but Luna was still having trouble picturing just what such a settlement would look like, and figuring out the logistics of fitting so many people onto a ship and keeping them supplied was enough to make her head spin.

With a shake of her head, Luna put such thoughts from her mind and concentrated on where she was putting her feet. The people in charge of Project Purity had gritted the walkway thoroughly, but there were still enough traces of icy slush around to make footing treacherous. The ramp at the end of the walkway was particularly tricky to get down without slipping.

The moment they stepped off the walkway, the group found themselves in thigh-deep snow. Luna was silently thankful for the power-armored troops in front carving deep furrows for the others to walk through.

“Damn it, what’s with this snow?” Agent Drops cursed as the snowfall thickened until visibility was reduced to barely ten yards. “Is it usually this bad in the Capital Wasteland?”

“No, this is the most snow we’ve had since the Brotherhood first set up shop here,” one of the Paladins replied. “It’s making travel a nightmare, but it’s also making it much less likely that we’re going to be ambushed by Super Mutants or raiders on the way over to Rivet City, so we shouldn’t complain too much right now.”

Luna agreed that avoiding ambushes was desirable, but the idea that there could be groups in the area that would do such a thing was more chilling than the weather.

Silence fell, save for the crunch of snow underfoot as the group continued on. Agent Drops looked deceptively calm and unconcerned, but Luna noticed that her hand never strayed far from her gun holster, and she was subtly looking around a little too much for someone who was trying to be nonchalant. The fact that all of the soldiers were now keeping their weapons up and ready reinforced the sense that danger could be lurking anywhere just out of sight.

Soon enough, the path started to slope upwards. Luna took the opportunity to remind the girls to watch their steps. A hidden rock or hole could prove just as dangerous as a hidden enemy under the wrong circumstances, but even a twisted ankle was something to avoid if at all possible. Trixie was so bundled up that her response was muffled, but Sonata nodded and cheerfully agreed, snow gathering in her hair as she ambled along with a vapid smile on her face. The siren looked for all the world as if she was out for a casual stroll.

“Aren’t you cold?” Luna asked.

“Nope,” Sonata replied brightly. “I like snow, and the cold reminds me of home.” Her tone was happy enough, and the sirens had done some awful things in the past, but Luna still felt a twinge of pity for her. Homesickness wasn’t pleasant.

A loud metallic creak off to the right caught everyone’s attention. Squinting hard, Luna could just about make out a dark mass rising above the group.

“It’s just the sound of the bow settling. It isn’t rooted to the ground like the rest of the ship yet, so it shifts slightly every now and again,” one of the Paladins explained.

Continuing on, the dark metal of the bow was soon replaced with far cleaner-looking steel. The snow was too thick for Luna to make out much, but she assumed that it was the main body of Rivet City. The ground leveled off a short way further on. Barely moments later, a large squat structure loomed suddenly out of the snow ahead.

The structure appeared to be made out of battered old steel. Around the base of it, several small shelters had been cobbled together out of what looked like scrap metal. A handful of people wearing some sort of combat armor were gathered around burning oil drums in the largest shelter. They all looked up as the group approached, then one of them sighed and reluctantly stepped away from the fire. “Hey there. You two Brotherhood guys can go on up, but what business does the Enclave have here?”

One of the Paladins stepped forward and raised a hand in greeting. “President Shoichet and her entourage are here to speak to Elder Lyons and the Rivet City Council. Us two are just here to provide an escort.”

“Fair enough.” The guard turned to face the Enclave personnel, clearly not interested in the Enclave’s new leader. “I don’t know if any of you have been here before, but we have strict restrictions on who we let in. Your soldiers will have to wait out here with us.”

“That’s fine,” President Shoichet replied, though Luna noticed that Agent Drops tensed up slightly at the suggestion. Ignoring her bodyguard, the President addressed her troops, “You heard him, wait here and get some rest until we get back.”

As the soldiers relaxed and stomped towards the various shelters, the guard beckoned to the women and gestured for them to follow him.

The guard led the smaller group into the structure and up a ramp inside. The ramp wound up through a few floors, all of which had even more guards inside chatting and working on paperwork of some sort. When they reached the top of the structure, which was mercifully clear of snow, the guard pressed a button on an intercom and spoke quickly into it.

While the guard was speaking, Trixie sidled up to Luna and whispered anxiously, “Why won’t they let the soldiers up with us?”

“I assume it’s for security reasons,” Luna whispered back. “I doubt the residents here feel comfortable letting in lots of armed strangers.” Trixie nodded, apparently mollified, so Luna turned her attention back to their surroundings. She looked around curiously, wondering how exactly they were going to get aboard the ship. Her question was answered seconds later as, with a faint whir of machinery, a gleaming metal bridge slowly shifted into view through the snow and slid into place against the structure.

“Alright, if you all head across, the officers on the other side will let you in,” the guard said.

President Schoichet thanked the guard and took the lead across the bridge, forcing Agent Drops to hurry after her while the others followed at a slightly more sedate pace. At first, Luna felt a little worried that the bridge would flex horribly under their weight but, to her relieved surprise, it turned out to be a lot more stable than expected. A trio of guards were standing next to a pair of doors at the end of the bridge. All of them stared in blatant curiosity at Sonata, then eyed the other two, who had their hoods up, with naked suspicion.

“We’re visitors from the Enclave, here to speak to your Council and Elder Lyons of the Brotherhood of Steel,” the President announced, snapping the three men out of their thoughts.

“Do they know that you’re coming?” One of them asked.

“Elder Lyons was informed that I would be coming soon, so she will be expecting me,” President Shoichet replied. “As for your Council, they weren’t originally going to be part of this meeting. However, given that the Brotherhood of Steel is now more closely tied to Rivet City, and we are going to be discussing urgent military matters, I believe that they will want to be part of the discussion. Also, I’ll need this letter delivered to Sunset Shimmer as soon as physically possible.” She pulled a letter out of her pocket and held it out to the guards.

The three guards shared a concerned look. “I’ll take them to the security lounge,” one of them offered. “Murray, get on the intercom and have Chief Harkness meet us there; he’s got the authority to get the other councilors together if he thinks it’s necessary, then get that letter to Knight-Captain Shimmer. Ladies, this way, please.”

Agent Drops bristled at the guard’s less than respectful tone, but the President silenced her with a look and fell into step behind the man as he opened the door into the city.

Once inside, all of the women gasped in awe at the sight of the magical phenomena that filled the interior. The guard looked back at them with a stern frown, only for his eyes to almost pop out of his skull as he saw Luna and Trixie taking their hoods down. “The three of you really are-” He snapped his mouth shut, then sighed and directed the group past a narrow staircase in the middle of the room to a door opposite. “Come on, the T-Port to the tower is this way.”

“T-Port?” Agent Drops pressed.

“Teleporter,” the guard replied flatly as he led the way through cramped corridors. “We’ve got magic teleporters all over the ship to make traveling easier.”

Luna felt a thrill of excitement at the prospect of using a magical teleporter. Her eagerness vanished just as quickly as she realized that Sonata was about to have access to the magic as well. A quick glance showed that, thankfully, the thought didn’t seem to have occurred to the siren yet. Luna considered warning her not to do anything, but decided that it would be smarter not to give Sonata the idea in the first place and resolved to just keep an eye on her.

After a short walk, the guard stopped outside a door marked with a stylized purple star. He reached for the handle, but before he could touch it someone opened it from the other side.

“Oh, sorry, Officer Gregory. Didn’t see you there.” A young man wearing patchwork clothes stepped through the door with a quick apology, then froze in shock when he saw Luna, Trixie and Sonata.

“On your way, Jimmy,” Officer Gregory said firmly.

Jimmy ignored him entirely. “More Goddesses?”

Officer Gregory frowned at him. “They’re not-”

“Are you more Sapphire Knights?” Jimmy asked eagerly, to Luna’s complete bewilderment. “Were you summoned by the Shimmering Goddess when she called down her wrath upon the Citadel?”

“Jimmy! We need to use the T-Port, so shift your ass!” Officer Gregory snapped. Jimmy apologized profusely and practically ran away down the corridor, making the officer sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose.

“The local cultists are probably going to go fucking feral after this,” he muttered.

Luna stared down the corridor after the odd man. “What was he-”

“It’s best if you speak to Chief Harkness first,” Officer Gregory said quickly, holding the door open and gesturing for the women to enter.

Luna wasn’t happy about being brushed off like that, but there was little that she could do about it for the moment, so she just bit her tongue and shooed the girls in after Agent Drops and President Schoichet.

The T-Port turned out to be a large room, with a glowing purple circle that reminded Luna of Twilight’s magic covering the floor at the far end. A row of road work signs formed a makeshift fence in front of the circle, along with what Luna was shocked to realize was a battered old traffic light. A security officer was standing next to the traffic light, a technician was sitting at a desk on one side of the room typing away on a terminal, and a row of empty chairs sat opposite; presumably in case a queue formed. Both occupants of the room did a double-take when they saw the group.

“I’ve got a priority transfer for T-Port 3,” Officer Gregory said without preamble as he entered the room.

To her credit, the technician immediately got to work typing commands into her terminal. “Current charge is seventy four percent; enough for one trip of six people but we’ll have to refuel afterwards.” A few seconds later the traffic light switched from red to green. “T-Port 3 is clear and ready. You’re good to go.”

Officer Gregory gave a satisfied nod and stepped onto the circle. “Okay, everyone join me on the circle. Make sure that your arms and legs are completely within the boundary.”

Agent Drops scowled and turned to the President, but her expression brooked no argument as she stepped confidently onto the circle. Luna waited until Sonata and Trixie were safely situated before joining them herself, her heart beating just a little faster in anticipation. She had barely stepped fully into the circle before there was a loud bang and the world flashed purple.

The sudden transition made everyone except Luna and Officer yelp in surprise. Admittedly, the only reason that Luna didn’t cry out was through sheer luck rather than any fortitude, but she wasn’t about to tell any of the others. Blinking to clear the last few purple spots from her eyes, she saw that they were in an almost identical room, except the technician was an old man with dark brown skin and iron-gray hair. Out of the corner of her eye, Luna saw Agent Drops relax and slowly take her hand away from her sidearm

“Enclave and more Rainbooms? This is turning into one hell of a weird day,” the waiting security officer noted.

“Tell me about it,” Officer Gregory grumbled. “If you see the Chief, let him know that we’re in the lounge.”

The technician and security officer both agreed, so Officer Gregory led the group out of the room and into the corridors outside. Luna braced herself for a trek through the corridors, or at least a meeting with more oddballs, but Gregory just took the group to the room right next door to the T-Port. Inside were several mismatched sets of tables and chairs, a fridge, and a handful of electrical appliances on a counter in the corner. Half a dozen security officers looked around as the group entered.

“You must be the visitors I was told about.” One of the officers said as he stood up from one of the tables, making Officer Gregory straighten up. “Thanks, Greg, I’ll take it from here. You can rest for a minute then head back to your post.” Agent Drops visibly tensed as the officer stepped over to the President and offered his hand. “I’m Chief Harkness, head of Rivet City Security and a member of our Council. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise,” the President replied with an easy smile. “I’m President Shoichet of the Enclave. I’m afraid I have some important matters to discuss with both the Council and Elder Lyons of the Brotherhood of Steel.”

Chief Harkness nodded and stepped back, letting Agent Drops relax a little. “Yes, my officers relayed it to me through the intercom. I’ve already sent runners to the other Council members and Elder Lyons.” He glanced at Luna, Trixie, and Sonata. “I’m going to assume that you three are from the same reality as the Rainbooms?”

“Did Sunset tell you about us?” Luna asked, mildly surprised.

“Call it an educated guess,” Harkness replied. “The Council Room is ready, so we can wait there for the others to arrive if you wish, but I’m afraid the room isn’t big enough for all of us plus the Rainbooms.”

Luna glanced sidelong at Becky, who gave her a subtle nod. This was something that they had discussed beforehand. “Myself, Sonata and Trixie would actually prefer to meet with the Rainbooms separately, if that’s alright?” Sonata grimaced at the suggestion, but her attempts to get out of it, reasonable as they were under the circumstances, had been shot down in the Vertibird. Even after Sunset’s reaction, Luna believed that the Rainbooms deserved the benefit of the doubt.

“Meeting the Rainbooms separately would definitely make things easier.” Harkness looked to the President. “Do you need Knight-Captain Shimmer to attend the meeting with the Council?”

“Not unless she wants to,” President Shoichet replied.

“Not likely this time around, but we’ll give her the option.” Harkness turned to one of the security officers near the fridge. “Hey, Danvers, get Murray on the intercom and tell him to let her know about the Council meeting. If she wants to attend, that’s fine, but I doubt she will.” He waited for Danvers to do so, and she relayed back that Murray was on his way to the clinic to deliver the letter and wouldn’t be long.

Luna felt a twinge of fear at the mention of the clinic. “Is Sunset injured?”

“She wasn’t when I spoke to her earlier today, so I assume that she’s checking up on Knight-Sergeant Dash,” Harkness replied, though that far from allayed Luna’s concerns. Seeing her expression, he held a hand up and explained before she could cut in, “I don’t know the full details, but I can assure you that it’s nothing life-threatening in any way. You have my word.”

Being forced to rely on the word of a stranger didn’t particularly sit well with Luna, not when it came to her students’ health, but there wasn’t much that she could do about it for the time being. Besides, Sunset had vouched for Harkness’ integrity. “Alright, where should we go to meet the Rainbooms?”

Harkness opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again and hummed thoughtfully. “We’ll figure something out once we hear back from Murray. For now… should we postpone the meeting, or would you three prefer to wait here, and I’ll escort President Shoichet to the Council Room?”

“We’re fine with that,” Luna replied. She glanced at the President, who gave her a nod.

“That would probably be best, I’d rather not put this meeting off for too long,” she added. “The Brotherhood’s circumstances require addressing as soon as possible.”

Something in the President’s words or her tone made Harkness stiffen slightly. “We’ll head there right now. It shouldn’t take long for the others to arrive. Danvers, make sure our guests are comfortable while they wait.” Danvers eagerly agreed as Harkness stepped over to the door. President Shoichet offered Luna and the girls a quick goodbye before she and Agent Drops followed the security chief out of the room.

The suddenness of the departure left Luna a little wrongfooted, but she quickly pulled herself together when she realized that all eyes were now on her. Thankfully, Danvers barked at the other officers to go back to minding their own business before offering seats and refreshments. The only radiation-free drinks available were chilled water, but it was better than nothing.

Unfortunately, despite Danvers’ remonstration, the other security officers were still sneaking glances at the three visitors. Even Danvers herself was subtly watching them over her drink. Luna sighed internally and decided that talking was better than being ogled in silence. “So… how old is this place?”

What followed was a lengthy and occasionally baffling conversation with the security officers. The security officers offered up information about Rivet City, other nearby settlements, the Brotherhood of Steel, and the wasteland itself, while the visiting trio told them about their own world, CHS, what the Rainbooms were like before they were thrown into the wasteland, and what they knew of the Enclave.

The security officers were all intensely interested when they discovered that Sonata was from Equestria itself, but Luna stopped her from telling them too much despite her own interest in the subject, largely to protect the siren from accidentally incriminating herself in some way. Danvers was keeping the officers from discussing certain things as well, saying that it was best if the Rainbooms explained them, but Luna picked up enough to gather that a cult had grown up around the Equestrian magic that was now spreading through the wasteland. The thought was more than a little worrying. Fanaticism was dangerous.

Eventually, Officer Murray arrived back at the lounge, sighing heavily as he entered.

“What took you so long, did you wander around the whole ship?” Danvers teased.

“Near enough. T-Port 7 is down, and there’s maintenance going on in the main stairwell near the clinic. I had to take the long way around,” Murray replied with a huff before turning to Luna and the girls. “I spoke to Kni-, I mean, Paladin Shimmer, and she’s gathering the Rainbooms for a meeting now. Do you want me to take you down there?”

Next Chapter: Chapter 154 - Moons and Rainbows Estimated time remaining: 10 Hours, 54 Minutes