Sunset slowly raised her hands, gesturing for the others to do so too. She was glad that these people were at least willing to talk before they started shooting, but she didn’t want to push her luck, “My name’s Sunset Shimmer and these are my friends. We don’t want any trouble, we’re just looking for Galaxy News.”

One of the soldiers took a few steps forward, keeping his gun trained on Sunset. She assumed he was the Knight-Sergeant who had spoken. When he spoke again, the speakers in his helmet added an electric crackle to his voice.

“What’s your business with Galaxy News Radio?”

“We’re looking for two friends of ours, Adam and James, we heard they stopped there recently.” Sunset replied quickly.

The sergeant just stared at her for a moment, the blank features of his helmet making her uncomfortable, “That’s impossible, those two have been down in Vault eighty seven for the last ten years.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow at that, “Don’t you mean Vault one-oh-one? And it was twenty years, not ten.”

The sergeant nodded curtly, “So you do know them, good. The question is, how? And why are you chasing after them?”

“We spent some time in the vault ourselves. We were working on a project with James but he left before we could finish it and we still need his help. As for Adam…” Sunset shrugged, “I guess, we just want to make sure he’s okay, and that he finds his father safely.” She shifted her feet awkwardly, “So… would you mind pointing your guns somewhere else?”

The sergeant glanced over his shoulder and nodded to his squad mates, who lowered their weapons. Turning back to Sunset, the sergeant slung his gun over his shoulder and reached up to tug off his helmet, revealing sharp, angular features and vivid, swept-back ginger hair.

Sunset blinked in surprise as she realized the sergeant was a woman.

“Sorry about that, the super mutants have been pressing us hard and Talon Company are being even more of a pain in our asses than usual. Having a group of mutants of a kind we’ve never seen before turn up out of nowhere, well, can’t be too careful y’know.”

“It’s fine, we understand.” Sunset sighed, relaxing slightly now that the guns were pointed away from her group, “Is there any chance you could tell us the way to Galaxy News, Sergeant… uh…?”

“Knight-Sergeant Metzger,” the sergeant huffed, shaking her head, “I’m sorry, but there’s no way we can let such a large group of unknowns wander around unauthorized. We’ll have to escort you to the outpost.”

“You sure about that Sarge? They don’t exactly look like much of a threat,” one of the other soldiers piped up, his gaze lingering on Rarity’s brace.

Metzger rolled her eyes, “Can it, Hill. I don’t care how dangerous they look, I’m not in the mood for taking any chances out here.”

“Actually, I think we’re all fine with being escorted at the moment,” Sunset admitted, as the others nodded and voiced their agreement, “Safety in numbers.”

“After the kinda stuff we saw on the way over here, ah’m just glad you didn’t decide to shoot first and ask questions later,” Applejack said flatly.

“Honestly? I considered it,” Metzger said darkly, “I guess it’s your lucky day.”

“Gee, thanks,” Rainbow muttered.

“Just come with me. And no funny business, or else.” Cramming her helmet back on, Metzger turned and headed down a nearby bombed-out street, gesturing for the girls to follow. The other soldiers fell into step around the group, one on either side of the girls and two bringing up the rear, constantly peering around and keeping an eye out for danger. That such heavily armed and armored people were so wary did not reassure Sunset in the slightest.

As Metzger led them into a winding alleyway, Sunset took the opportunity to sidle up next to her, “So… if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly is the Brotherhood of Steel?”

“James didn’t tell you anything?” Metzger asked. Sunset just shook her head.

“The Overseer forbade anyone from talking about the outside world,” Twilight supplied.

Metzger sighed, “The Brotherhood of Steel is a military order, descended from the remnants of the old United States Armed Forces and members of the scientific community. We do what we can to protect the good people of the Capital Wasteland, and rediscover the lost technology of our forefathers.”

“Whoa, so you guys are like, actual soldiers!?” Rainbow cried, “That’s… so… awesome!” Her starry-eyed gaze flicked from one soldier to the next as she spoke rapidly, “Are you guys recruiting? Where can I get some of that armor? What kinds of guns are those? Do you get any-”

“Rainbow! Simmer down will you, we ain’t here to join an army.” Applejack interrupted.

“Besides, we should probably be quiet. We don’t want to attract any trouble.” Twilight said nervously.

“You’re not wrong, but we should be fine here. This area was cleared out yesterday,” Metzger said as they stepped out of the alleyway.

A small, open space lay in front of them. A trashed car was sat next to a pair of children’s climbing frames, one shaped like an old space rocket and the other a stereotypical UFO. Directly across from the girls was a heavily damaged school building. The shattered entrance doors were guarded by a pair of armored soldiers, the words ‘EARLY DAWN EL ME T RY’ visible on the wall above.

Sunset flinched as she spotted a pile of corpses just a few paces away from the doors. Each of them resembled the huge body the girls had found down in the Metro system. As they watched, another pair of soldiers shoved the door open and dragged a hulking corpse out, dumping it on the pile before heading back into the school.

Seeing the girls’ disgusted looks one of their escorting soldiers, Sunset thought it was Hill, nodded and spoke up, “Yeah, those are super mutants. Tough bastards, but they aren’t too bright.”

“So kinda like Applejack?”

None of the other girls could resist a snort at that, despite the seething glare that Applejack leveled at Rainbow.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” she growled.

“It means you’re dumb, duh.” Rainbow grinned, most unwisely in Sunset’s opinion. She swore she could almost hear Applejack’s blood pressure rising.

Suddenly Hill snorted with laughter, “Oh man, you’re just like Fleet and Misty.”

“Oh screw you, Hill.”

“The hell they are!”

“Cut the chatter you lot,” Metzger cut in, shouldering the door open and leading the group inside the school. The roof was completely gone and the building was in a shambles, but the corridor at least was clear of any debris. There were a few intact doors left inside, but Metzger ignored all of them as she led the group further in, “And Hill, quit using nicknames when we’re on patrol or Sentinel Lyons is going to jam her foot up-”

The rest of her words were drowned out by an explosion that rocked the whole building.

There were shouts and yells from further inside, followed by another blast and the distinctive clatter of gunfire.

“I thought the school was supposed to be secure?” Hill snarled.

“Apparently not anymore!” Metzger snapped. Glancing over her shoulder, she gestured to the two guards, “You two! You’re with us, and keep it tight. Find the point of entry and secure it!”

“What should we do?” Sunset called as she ripped her pistol from it’s holster.

“Stay back and stay out of our way. We don’t want any friendly fire incidents,” Metzger scooted to the end of the corridor, then peeked around the corner. Poking her rifle around, there was a sharp, electric crack as a bright red beam lanced out from the end of it.

“Laser guns!?” Rainbow gazed longingly after the soldiers as they followed Metzger around the corner.

“Focus, Rainbow,” Sunset said firmly, warily checking their surroundings, “I think we should head back to that alleyway, just in case.”

“Won’t we be safer inside?” Twilight asked.

Applejack shook her head, “No, ah think Sunset’s right about this. Those super mutants are huge, ah don’t fancy getting up close and personal with a bunch of them in here.”

“Surely the alley will be just as cramped though?” Rarity asked.

“True but it’s not as open,” Sunset replied, glancing up at the ledges and broken floors above their heads, “Plus, it means it’ll be easier to run back to the subway if we have to.” She flinched as the sounds of gunfire suddenly got much more intense, “Come on, let’s get out of here before we get caught up in that.”

The girls all turned to leave the building, but before they could take more than a few steps another explosion ripped through a nearby wall. Dust and smoke swept through the corridor as chunks of masonry whizzed lethally through the air. As the girls stumbled back coughing and spluttering, something huge loomed through the clouds of dust.

The super mutant chuckled as it stepped through the hole in the wall, clutching a solid wooden board tipped with rusted nails in one meaty fist. Sunset didn’t need the necklace of human fingers it wore to tell her that this creature was not friendly.

Before anyone else could react Rainbow darted in front of the mutant and jammed her knife into it’s chest.

“Take THAT you… big… uh…” She stared in horror at the blade that had barely sank into the mutant’s ribs, then slowly looked up into it’s face, “Oh crap.”

There was a blur as Rainbow suddenly disappeared just before the mutant’s nailboard swept through where she’d been standing. The mutant blinked for a moment, wondering where it’s foe had gone, then absently reached up to tug the knife out of it’s rib and casually tossed it aside.

Taking advantage of it’s distraction, Sunset whipped her pistol up and fired several rounds into the creature. The super mutant just grunted in pain and looked over to it’s new attacker. She kept firing until the gun clicked empty, fear rising in her throat as the mutant charged at her, drawing it’s nailboard back for a strike. At the last second Sunset was shunted aside as Applejack lunged forward, bringing her shotgun to bear.

With an echoing blast the mutant’s skull was blown apart, blood and gore splattering everywhere as it’s corpse crashed to the floor, forcing the two girls to skip backwards to avoid getting crushed.

“Look out!”

Both flinched as a huge gemstone appeared out of nowhere in front of them. A split-second later there was a sudden gunshot and a loud crack as a bullet ricocheted off the gem, a spider-web of small cracks spreading out from where it hit.
Sunset blanched as she saw a second super mutant lumbering through the hole, this one clutching a rifle.

“I’m going to break you!” the mutant cried in a deep guttural voice, racking the slide on its rifle.

“The heck you are!” Applejack yelled back, ducking out from behind the gem and firing at it.

The super mutant reeled and dropped it’s rifle as the buckshot took it in the shoulder, but it did not fall. Roaring in pain and fury, the mutant charged straight at the group.

Click.

Blank shock flitted across Applejack’s face as she realized she was out of ammunition. Sunset leapt forward to drag her out of harms way, but it was too late.

The super mutant slammed into the gemstone like a freight train, smashing it to pieces and barreling into the girls behind. Sunset’s ribs exploded with agony as the mutant knocked both her and Applejack clean off their feet. Dazed and gasping for breath, Sunset could only watch as the super mutant thundered past and into the middle of the group.

There was a chorus of screams and yells as the girls scattered, desperately trying to avoid the roaring mutant, which in turn was grasping and throwing punches around wildly, thankfully not connecting with anyone.

Clenching her teeth, Sunset tried to force herself to her feet, grasping for her gun as she did so. An agonized shriek brought her head snapping back up.

The super mutant had Fluttershy by the hair. With a harsh yank it dragged her to her knees in front of it.
Sunset managed to stagger to her feet just as the mutant raised its fist. There was no way she could intervene in time.

“YOU LET HER GO!”

Sunset’s hair wafted in the breeze as something hurtled past at an impossible speed.

Rainbow was little more than a blur as she kicked off a wall, launching herself through the air towards the super mutant. She reached out and struck the mutant with something as she sailed past then tucked and rolled smoothly to her feet as she landed on the other side, skidding slightly from the sheer momentum.

The mutant let go of Fluttershy as it stumbled back a step. Then another. Finally it slowly toppled backwards, landing flat on its back with a heavy thump. Sunset gasped as she spotted the knife sticking out of its eye socket.

“Not so tough now are you?” Rainbow spat. Her voice softened as she looked over at Fluttershy, “You okay, Flutters?”
Fluttershy barely had time to nod before the air behind them erupted into a crescendo of cracks, pops and hisses. Sunset span around, terrified that more mutants had stormed out of the hole.

Some had certainly tried, but two of the Brotherhood soldiers had returned to the girls, slaughtering the mutants with their potent laser weaponry. Sunset shivered as she beheld the three slightly smoking corpses piled in the gap.

“Heard the screams, are you girls alright?”

Sunset sighed as she recognized the voice as Metzger’s. She nodded and flashed a thumbs up, too out of breath for speech.

Metzger didn’t respond. She was already turning to head back to the main fire-fight that could still be heard raging deeper in the building, when something small clattered around the corner and rolled to their feet.

Almost before it had stopped moving Rainbow was there, grabbing the grenade and hurling it through the hole in the wall. A second later there was a muffled explosion followed by a puff of grit and bloody chunks.

“Enough with the grenades already!” she yelled.

Metzger looked back where the grenade had come from, then, satisfied that no more were incoming, glanced over her shoulder at Rainbow, “Nice save. Thanks.”

“Hey, what can I say, I’m awe-”

“UP HIGH!” Sunset screamed.

Another super mutant had stomped into view on a ledge above the group. This one was wearing crudely shaped metal plates all over it’s body, and lugged a weapon Sunset had only ever seen in cheesy action flicks.

A minigun.

The mutant roared with laughter as it pointed the gun down at the girls, the barrels whirring as it warmed up.
Sunset dashed forward without thinking, tackling Applejack through the nearest door. Rarity and Pinkie dove through after them a second later. Sunset looked back in horror as a storm of bullets shredded the corridor. She desperately hoped that the others had managed to avoid that, but didn’t have long to worry as something huge dropped from above and landed with a crash in the middle of the four.

The new super mutant sent Sunset sprawling with a casual buffet from its forearm then lashed out at Pinkie with its nailboard, forcing her to leap out of the way. Before the mutant could strike again a gemstone smacked it in the face.

“Leave her alone you ugly brute!” Rarity snarled as she flung another gem.

The mutant was ready for it.

Batting the gemstone away with its free hand, the mutant turned and hurled its nailboard with a grunt. Rarity managed to dodge the flying wood, but barely had time to surround herself with a gemstone cocoon before the super mutant was on her. The glittering shield shuddered and cracked as the mutant rained blows down upon it, eager to rip apart the girl cowering within.

“RARITY!”

The super mutant turned at the shout, just in time for Applejack to swing her shotgun like a baseball bat, smashing it across the monster’s face. The gun fell to pieces as the mutant staggered, blood pouring from its forehead.

Tossing aside the remnants of the shotgun, Applejack dropped into a crouch and drove her fist through the super mutant’s knee, snapping it like a twig. As the mutant toppled, howling in agony, Applejack surged upright and threw all of her strength into a mighty right hook.

Her fist shattered the mutant’s skull, blood, bone and brain matter exploding outwards from the force of her punch.
Sunset felt her gorge rising as she watched the headless corpse hit the floor in a bloody mess. Rarity’s gems slowly faded from view revealing the fashionista herself, retching quietly on the floor. Applejack just stood and stared at her fist. Indescribable gore dripped silently from her arm.

Shoving all of her fear and disgust aside for the moment, Sunset hauled herself painfully to her feet, her ribs and gut both burning with agony. Short bursts from the minigun were still chewing up the corridor outside, but she could hear Rainbow taunting the super mutant in between, so she was sure that at least one of the others was safe. A touch on her arm made Sunset flinch, but she relaxed when she saw that it was just Pinkie.

“What do we do now?” Pinkie asked quietly.

Sunset just shook her head, “I don’t know, but we have to try and get rid of that big gun somehow.”

Glancing around, she spotted a staircase in the corner of the room. She trudged over and looked up. It seemed to go right up to the floor the super mutant was on. Bit by bit, a plan started to piece itself together in Sunset’s mind, but she’d need help to pull it off, “Hey, Rarity, Applejack, I’ve got an idea, do you think you’re up for it?”

Applejack turned and blinked at her dumbly, “Huh… wha…?” Pulled from her dark reverie, she shook herself and ran a clean hand over her face, “Ah… ah’m fine. Rarity?”

“I… urgh… one second,” she said quietly. With a few deep breaths she stood and turned, determinedly not looking at the messy corpse lying a few feet from her, “Okay, I’m good.”

Applejack nodded and managed a small smile, “Alright sugarcube, what do you have in… uh, Pinkie? What the heck are you doing?”

Pinkie smiled nervously as the others turned to look at her, an open bottle of Nuka-Cola clutched in her hands, “I didn’t want to do this but… we have to stop that gun.” Before the others could stop her she took a small sip from the bottle, “Bleh! It’s flat.”

“Pinkie! That’s radioactive!” Sunset yelled.

“I know,” Pinkie replied grimly as a bright pink glow suffused the remaining cola. Without another word she turned and darted out into the corridor.

“Eat THIS you meanie!”

There was a searing pink flash as a colossal blast rocked the building.

Sunset, Applejack and Rarity shared a shocked look, then hurried out of the door. Pinkie stood in the middle of the corridor, her hair deflated and a look of abject horror on her face as she stared up at where the super mutant had been. Heart pounding, Sunset turned to follow her gaze, then clapped a hand over her mouth at the sight that awaited her.

The super mutant’s corpse was slumped on the floor. The entire front of the mutant’s body had been vaporized, leaving the glistening remnants of its internal organs exposed. As the girls watched, several chunks of intestine uncoiled and slopped out, landing with wet splats on the floor below.

That was too much for Sunset. She lurched over and planted her hands on her knees as she vomited, barely missing her own feet.

Gasping for breath, she vaguely realized that the sounds of gunfire had stopped. It seemed the battle was over. She glanced up as a hand was laid on her shoulder.

“Are, um… are you okay?” Fluttershy asked shakily. She looked ready to bolt or break down at any moment.

Forcing a smile, Sunset straightened up, though she couldn’t stop her own voice from shaking as she replied, “I’m fine, don’t worry. Are you okay?”

“Oh, um, yes. Rainbow grabbed me and Twilight and… and got us back outside before we could get hurt.”

“And I’d like to know how she managed that.”

Metzger stepped out of a doorway, glancing up at the mangled mutant, “One second you were standing right next to me, then the next you were back outside with those two.” She tilted her head as she turned to Pinkie, “And what the hell did you throw at that thing?!”

Sunset sighed heavily, “It’s a long story. I’ll explain everything, but can we get somewhere safer first, please?”

Metzger gave her a long look. After a while she shrugged, “Hey, you killed some Frankensteins and saved some lives, that’s good enough for me. Come on, Galaxy News is just through here.”

Exhausted and in agony, Sunset paused just long enough to make sure the rest of the girls were alright before she fell into step behind the Knight-Sergeant.

The girls followed Metzger in silence, each trying to come to terms with the hell they’d managed to wander into. Guilt weighed heavily on Sunset’s heart as she trudged through the corridors. As much as the others would deny it, Sunset couldn’t help but think that all of this was her fault.

The abundance of mutant corpses did nothing to improve her mood.

Dozens of them lay where they fell. Most were intact, but a few were left in various states of dismemberment. The girls tried to avoid looking at them wherever they could. For Sunset, this meant she spent most of the journey watching the soldiers.

The group passed several other Brotherhood of Steel soldiers going about their business on their way through the school. Some of them spared the girls a glance as they went past, but none of them spoke and their expressions were hidden beneath their helmets. Most quickly turned back to whatever they were doing, far more concerned with checking on each other and making sure the super mutants were all definitely dead or routed than whatever oddballs Metzger was escorting.

Eventually the girls were led through an archway and out into an open plaza.

A squat concrete building dominated the far side of the plaza. A stylized, brass representation of a radio mast under the letters GNR decorated the front of it.

Finally. Now we can get some answers.

More mutant corpses were strewn around the plaza, but one in particular grabbed the girls’ attention, slumped over a brass monument in the shape of a planet.

“Whoa…” Rainbow breathed

“What the heck is that thing!?” Applejack cried, “That’s got to be nearly twenty feet tall!”

Sunset’s eyes were wide as she stared at the massive corpse, “How did you manage to bring that thing down? And what happened to it’s head!?”

Metzger huffed a laugh at their reactions. “We call them Behemoth’s. Luckily they’re pretty damn rare, ” she explained as she stepped around a mutant corpse, “I wish I could say it was my squad that took it out, but that one was all your friend Adam.”
Rainbow gaped at her, “No way!”

Sunset shared her amazement. Given that he was alone and had even less fighting experience than the girls, she’d been worried how he’d manage to survive in the wasteland. Apparently by turning into some sort of ultimate badass!

Tearing her gaze away from the behemoth, Sunset spotted two soldiers coming down the steps in front to GNR to greet them. The one in front was the only soldier Sunset had seen so far without a helmet in sight, her clean blonde hair pulled back into a messy bun. Metzger stopped and made an odd salute as the soldier approached, clenching a fist over her heart.

“Sentinel Lyons!”

“At ease Knight-Sergeant,” Lyons responded, eyeing the girls with interest, “What’s the situation?”

“Ma’am, the school building has been re-secured and the route from here to Tenleytown Station is clear.”

“Great. Davis, send out two squads to perform a sweep of the immediate area, make sure the Uglies are routed.”

“Yes, Sentinel!” the soldier clenched a fist over his heart before jogging over to the school building.

“And who exactly are these girls?” Lyons asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m not entirely sure Ma’am, we found them crawling out of Tenleytown,” Metzger replied. “But they did help us drive off the super mutants, and this one saved my life,” she jabbed a thumb in Rainbow’s direction, “They know James and his son, and they're looking for them. They were hoping Three-Dog would be able to tell them where they went.”

Lyons ran an appraising eye over the group, “You’re sure they’re not a threat?”

“Positive Ma’am.”

“We don’t want any trouble,” Sunset said quietly, wincing at the mounting pain in her torso, “We just want to find James, and figure out a way back home.”

A sympathetic look crossed Lyons’ face, “You look rough, you got medical supplies?”

“Oh, um, yes miss,” Fluttershy replied softly.

“Alright then. Metzger, gather your squad and resume patrols until our scheduled reinforcements arrive. The rest of you come with me, I’ll take you in to Three-Dog. You can explain everything to us while you patch yourselves up.”

“Thank you,” Sunset breathed gratefully.

As the rest of the girls followed Sentinel Lyons into the building, Metzger pulled off her helmet and held out a hand, holding Rainbow back.

“Hey, thanks for saving my ass back there.”

“Heh, no problem,” Rainbow grinned.

Metzger grinned back at her, “What’s your name, kid?”

“Rainbow Dash.”

“Bullshit.”

“What? That’s my name!”

Metzger chuckled at that, “Well your parents definitely picked the right fucking name.”

“Heh, yeah,” Rainbow extended a hand, “Take care out there, Knight-Sergeant.”

Metzger smirked and took the proffered hand, “Kelly, it’s Kelly Metzger. But my friends call me Spitfire.”

A new chapter is here! Hope you enjoy!

Comments and criticisms are appreciated and, as always, thanks for reading!