A large group of Regulators were leaving their HQ as the Rainbooms returned, accompanied by Uncle Leo. Every last one of them did a double-take when they spotted the Rainbooms with a random Super Mutant, but they at least had the presence of mind to keep their weapons holstered when they saw that the girls weren’t concerned.

“Where the heck is everyone goin’?” Applejack asked.

“No idea,” Sunset replied. Even as they watched, the Regulators split into smaller teams and all went off in separate directions, trudging through the snow with stoic determination. One small team walked right past the girls, tipping their hats in greeting and gratefully stepping into the cleared trench that the Rainbooms had left through the snow. None of them looked at all tense or concerned, at least not obviously so, so Sunset just nodded back and continued on to the HQ building.

Inside, Sunset was surprised to see Michelle sulking on a chair in the corner while Big Mac comforted her. As soon as the Rainbooms walked in, Michelle launched herself out of the chair and slammed full-force into Applejack again. “You saved her! You saved her!”

“Am I the only one getting deja vu here?” Pinkie asked flatly.

“Nope,” Mac said simply as he strode over. He gave Uncle Leo a suspicious look, then casually grabbed Michelle by the scruff of her jacket and pulled her off Applejack as he addressed Sunset, “Chief Cruz says she wants to speak to you as soon as you get back.”

Sunset nodded, avoiding looking at the petulant teenager dangling from his fist. “Thanks, we’ll head straight up.”

“I shall wait outside, if that is alright. I do not wish to disrupt your discussion with my presence,” Uncle Leo put in, getting a stunned double-take from Michelle as if she hadn’t actually noticed him until that point.

“Of course, darling. We shan’t be long,” Rarity assured him. Neither Mac nor Michelle looked particularly happy about it, but they didn’t dare gainsay her either.

As the girls headed up the stairs, Twilight said in an undertone, “You know, I’m a little surprised that they’re not stuck to Ashleigh like glue right now.”

Applejack snorted softly. “Ah’ll bet you anythin’ that they were stuck to her, right up until Michelle got kicked out for gettin’ too excited and not lettin’ her rest.”

“That sounds about right,” Rarity added wryly.

Voices were coming from Cruz’s office when the girls approached. The door was open, with Sonora at her desk, Rainbow and her counterpart both sitting in mismatched chairs against the wall, and Ashleigh lying on the cot with her arm over her face. All of them looked up when Sunset knocked.

“Welcome back, ladies,” Sonora said with a grin as she rose from her seat. “I need to thank you for rescuin’ our sister here. I hear that you even dealt a massive blow to the local Super Mutants while you were at it.”

“Yeah, we did some damage to them,” Sunset said absently, but her attention was drawn to Rainbow’s counterpart. She was tall, lean, of African American descent, and had her dark brown hair pulled back in a scruffy ponytail. She had also had both of her arms replaced with bionic prosthetics; one below the elbow, the other disappearing beneath her sleeve.

The woman noticed Sunset’s gaze and smirked. “Pretty sweet, ain’t they? Name’s Dash.” She jerked a thumb at Rainbow. “Turns out this awesome bitch is like a mirror-me, or something. How cool is that?”

“It’s pretty cool. I wish I’d known sooner,” Rainbow said with an accusatory glare at Fluttershy.

To her credit, Fluttershy didn’t back down. “Dash needed rest, and she wouldn’t have gotten any if I had told you who she was,” she said bluntly.

“I don’t need rest, I’m fine!” Dash exclaimed indignantly, though her point was undermined by the fact that she winced curled in on herself when she tried to sit up straighter.

Sonora glared at her. “You took a bullet to the thigh and got another one stuck in your ribs. You can either take it easy, or I’ll have you sedated again.”

Ignoring how potentially confusing having two Dashes was going to be, Sunset glanced back at Ashliegh, who still hadn’t moved. “What about her? How’s she doing?”

“She’ll be alright, thanks to you lot,” Sonora replied. “The doc checked her out as soon as Rainbow brought her in. She’s got a broken collarbone, a few torn ligaments, and she’s lost a lot of blood from a nasty puncture wound in her abdomen, but the patch job that the girl from Big Town and Knight-Sergeant Fluttershy gave her should help her pull through without too much trouble. The doctor was impressed with your work.” Sonora gave Fluttershy an approving nod.

Sunset assumed that her use of Fluttershy’s rank was a good sign, or at least perhaps a mark of respect. Still, she wasn’t going to let her guard down until she knew what the woman intended for Applejack.

“If you don’t mind me asking, where was everyone going?” Rarity asked.

Sonora smiled and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her desk. “I don’t mind tellin’ you, but first, I need to have a quick word with Applejack.”

There was a sharp intake of breath from the others, as if they had forgotten why they had come to see the Regulators in the first place. Only Applejack looked unfazed as she stepped forward, but Rainbow cut in sharply before anyone else could speak, “Hold on, you can’t seriously still be planning on punishing Applejack after all of this?!”

“Punishin’? What the hell are you talkin’ about?” Sonora asked, sounding genuinely bewildered.

The girls were equally as confused. “Well, that’s why Sheriff Simms sent me here, ‘cause Ah killed Moriarty.”

“I know,” Sonora said flatly. “Moriarty has been a thorn in Simms’ side for years, but the asshole had so many of Megaton’s residents under his thumb and covered his tracks carefully enough that Simms couldn’t touch him,” she explained. “Moriarty screwed up with you girls, though. He tried a direct attack on one of you, the rest of you found out and traced it back to him, and Applejack gave him what he deserved.”

“But you… Ah… Ah murdered him!!” Applejack blurted out.

Dash snorted loudly. “Jesus, you brahmin-fucking southern belles are all as dumb as shit. He fucked with you, so you fucked him up. How the hell is that murder?”

Sonora closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Let me get this straight: You came out here assumin’ that you were gonna be punished, went out and rescued people from a Super Mutant fortress, taught those people how to defend themselves properly, and still came back here to get your punishment?” She gave Applejack a dumfounded look. “Are you tryin’ to win some competition on who can be the most righteous fucker in the wasteland or somethin’?”

“Wha- of course Ah ain’t! What the hell kind of question is that?!” Applejack exclaimed in indignation.

Sonara let out a dry chuckle. “You and Ashleigh really are the same person. The two of you are so sincere it’s almost painful.” She sighed and looked Applejack in the eye. “No, I’m not gonna punish you. The old laws died with the old world, but that doesn’t mean that there can’t be justice. The wasteland needs people who are willin’ to stand up and defend ordinary peace-lovin’ folk against the scum who’re out to do them wrong. That’s where the Regulators come in, and that’s where Simms and I think that you come in.”

The other Rainbooms all turned shocked stares on Applejack, who looked completely and utterly floored by what she was hearing. “Y’all want me to be a Regulator?” She asked in disbelief. Sonora just nodded. Applejack frowned for a moment as she considered. Sunset wasn’t surprised to see her shake her head a moment later.

“If you’re concerned about having conflictin’ issues with the Brotherhood of Steel, I promise, you’ll have full autonomy,” Sonora assured her. “Besides, I’m willin’ to bet that the main reason that you’re with the Brotherhood is to help the people of the wastes, right?”

“Not exactly.” Applejack took a deep breath, looking at the floor as she said, “Ah can’t accept because it weren’t a clean kill. It wasn’t justice, it was revenge, plain and simple.”

None of the girls knew what to say to that. Dash and Rainbow both looked like they wanted to say something, but were waiting to see what Sonora’s reaction was.

“Like that fuckin’ matters,” a weak voice said. It took Sunset a second to realize that it was Ashleigh that had spoken rather than Applejack. The injured woman slowly turned her head to peek out from under her arm. “We’ve all done some dark shit when things get personal.”

Applejack opened her mouth to argue, but Sonora cut her off, “I’ve already heard everythin’ from Simms, and we both think that you’re the sort of person that we could trust as a Regulator. If you don’t want to, or don’t think you’re right for it, we won’t push you.” Sonora nodded towards the door. “All of you are more than welcome to stay the night if you want, so take your time and think it over. For now, though, I’m goin’ to have to ask you to give these two some space so they can get some darn rest before the doc barks my ear off.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 170 - Guiding The Flock Estimated time remaining: 7 Hours, 46 Minutes