Luna anxiously paced up and down the suite she shared with Trixie and Sonata. Three days had passed since the battles across the wastes but, since Elder Lyons was injured, Star Paladin Cross had kept them and the Ranbooms at Project Purity for debriefing. Now, finally, they were being brought back to Rivet City.

A tentative knock on the door had Luna practically dive across the room. She wrenched the door open and sighed with relief when she saw a thoroughly dejected-looking Sonata and Trixie outside. “Thank Harmony, you’re both alright! Get in here and warm up, I’ve got a heater going.”

Trixie hurried in and crouched next to the portable heater Luna had borrowed, moaning softly as she held her hands out to it, while Sonata slunk in and sat on her bed with a sheepish expression. Luna closed the door and eyed the two carefully. Sonata had healed quickly, her bruises mostly faded already, while Trixie looked fine save for some faint shadows under her eyes. They weren’t injured.

“Have you both eaten, or should I have something sent up for you?” Luna asked.

Sonata looked at her in surprise. “You aren’t going to tell us off?”

“I heard that the Rainbooms and Star Paladin Cross had already taken care of that,” Luna replied, though really she felt that getting wrapped up in a real battle was punishment enough, at least for Trixie. “So, food?”

“Star Paladin Cross made us eat before we left,” Trixie replied.

Luna nodded curtly. “Good.” She sat on the edge of her own bed and fixed the girls with a serious look. “Now, we need to talk.”

“I thought you weren’t going to tell us off?!” Sonata exclaimed.

“I’m not, but we still need to have a discussion,” Luna told her. “We’ve all seen first-hand now just how awful this world can be.”

Trixie grimaced and wrapped her arms around herself. “We already knew it was going to be bad.”

“True, but I don’t think anything could have prepared us for just how horrific a real battle actually is. It certainly took me by surprise,” Luna admitted. “My point is, you don’t have to bear any of this yourselves. All three of us have been through the same ordeal. I know I say this a lot as a teacher, but I do understand what you’re going through. If you need to talk, or vent, or just want a quiet drink and some company, I’ll be here.”

There was nothing in Sonata’s expression except mild confusion, but Trixie at least gave a solemn nod. Luna wondered what exactly was going through their minds. She wanted to help them, but this was way beyond anything she had learned as a teacher. Just as she was about to get the girls to promise that they wouldn’t do anything so reckless again, not in this world anyway, someone knocked loudly on the door.

Luna bit back a sigh as she stood up. Justifiably cautious, she braced herself and opened the door a crack. “Rainbow Dash!” She exclaimed as she pulled the door wide open.

It was actually a little odd seeing Rainbow without her sparkly armor on or her sword strapped to her hip. Instead, the athlete had a steel baseball bat in one hand, some sort of crystal stave topped with a magnificent pearl in the other, and a heavy-looking sack tied across her back. “Hey, just coming up to check on you all and drop this stuff off before the bigwig meeting.”

“I appreciate it,” Luna said truthfully as she let Rainbow in and closed the door. “Um, what is all of that?”

“Gifts from Megaton,” Rainbow replied with a conflicted expression. “The Temple of Harmony and the Church of Atom started a collection as soon as they heard about you three over the radio.”

The reason for her concern was suddenly abundantly clear. “Aren’t they the groups that worship you girls as goddesses?” Luna asked warily.

“The Temple says we’re goddesses, the Church says we’re angels, and they’re applying that logic to the three of you as well,” Rainbow clarified. “Don’t get any ideas,” she added with a glance at Sonata.

Luna stared uneasily at the sack. “I, uh… don’t know how I feel about-”

“Taking advantage of people’s faith? Yeah, it’s messed up, but so is everything else in this world,” Rainbow agreed with a fatalistic shrug. “We tried explaining that we’re not goddesses or angels, but the Disciples don’t care either way, so screw it. It’s better than letting them turn into over-religious nutbags. If it makes you feel any better, this first thing is actually a present from the mirelurks outside.”

“The mirelurks?!” Luna stared in pure bewilderment at the stave that Rainbow held out to her. “What is it?”

Rainbow shrugged. “I’m pretty sure it’s the spike you threw at the mutant ghoul. Don’t ask me where the pearl came from, I think the mirelurks added that bit themselves.” She smirked at Luna’s hesitation. “I’ve already shown it to the others. It’s definitely not any of our magic, so it’s probably meant for you.”

Having a magic item of her own was a scary prospect, but one that Luna had secretly been wishing for ever since she had first learned about Equestrian magic. Her heart pounded as she reached out and took the stave.

Nothing happened. She had expected, or hoped, that something significant would happen when she gripped the stave, but there was nothing. No ponying up, no flash of power, not even a tiny flicker of magic.

“That was boring,” Sonata noted.

“It isn’t a Geode, and I’m not a magical creature from a mythical land,” Luna said, trying to hide her own disappointment as she put the stave down on her bed. For a second, she thought she saw the pearl glimmer out of the corner of her eye, but when she looked again there was nothing unusual about it.

The sound of metal and glass clinking together filled the room as Rainbow gently placed the sack on the floor. “You’re not gonna like this next part, Vice-Principal, but there are a few weapons in here. No guns, just this baseball bat and a couple of backup things.”

Luna raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Why would someone use a baseball bat as a weapon in a place like this? I’m sure it could do some serious damage to whoever gets hit with it, but wouldn’t a gun be far more useful?” Taking a melee weapon onto a wasteland battlefield seemed like a terrible idea without something like Rainbow’s super speed to even out the drawbacks.

“Not everyone can get hold of a gun,” Rainbow replied with a shrug. “The Brotherhood and the Enclave make sure that all of their troops have access to guns, but they’re the best-equipped factions in the entire Capital Wasteland. I don’t think even Rivet City has managed to stockpile enough guns for all of their security officers. Plus, it’s always good to have something on you that doesn’t need ammo.”

“Good point.” Luna held a hand out for the bat, mostly because Sonata was eyeing it up eagerly. She gasped as a shiver ran through her fingers the instant she touched it.

“Feels weird, right?” Rainbow smirked. “The Disciples call it Excalibat. One of their newer members apparently found it in a frozen lake not far from a place called the Republic of Dave.” She checked her Pip-Boy and sighed. “I’ve got to go, the meeting’s due to start any minute. There’s more stuff in the sack, just be careful with it. The rest of the Rainbooms can teach you about the stuff you haven’t used before if you want. See you later!”

The trio said goodbye as Rainbow hurried out of the room.

“Let’s see what else we’ve got!” Sonata exclaimed eagerly.

Luna let out an exasperated sigh as she put the Excalibat down and stepped over to the sack. The first surprise was right on top; a polished Pip-Boy just like the ones the Rainbooms wore. Underneath that was a whole bunch of random bits and pieces.

There were several glass syringes that Luna sincerely hoped were medicinal, a handful of cherry bombs, a bundle of bobby pins, a torch, a few boxy fist-sized objects that she suspected were batteries of some kind, a selection of small paint tins, a Big Book of Science, several glass bottles of water, and a trio of handmade blankets. Finally, right at the bottom of the sack, were what Luna had been dreading; an extendable police baton, and an intimidatingly large combat knife in a leather sheath.

“Oh, I call dibs on those!” Sonata half-shouted over Luna’s shoulder, making her jump out of her skin.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Luna spat.

“Awww, come on!” Sonata whined. “Trixie got a cool knife, and you’ve got Excalibat and that Tide Staff!”

Hearing that Trixie had a knife of any variety was deeply concerning, but it was the last comment that gave Luna pause. “What do you mean, tide staff?”

Sonata rolled her eyes. “It’s a magic stick topped with a pearl given to you by a sea creature. What else could it be?”

Luna was thrown off by the matter-of-fact way she had said it, but swiftly pulled herself together. “In any case, you’re not going out into the wastes again under any circumstances, so you won’t be needing any weapons.”

Trixie winced as Sonata gave a triumphant grin. “Actually, the Brotherhood said they might ask for my help again in future, since my magic is so powerful,” the siren said in an annoyingly smug tone. “So I will be needing those two. Rainbow did say it’s good to have back-ups.”

Resisting the urge to clench her fists, Luna took a deep breath and pulled the sack shut. “We’ll discuss it later. For now, Trixie, what does Sonata mean by you having a ‘cool knife’?”

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