This is nice.

The gentle breeze, the waves rolling against the cliffs, the wind chimes ringing softly in the leaves.

It’s nice.

Calm.

Soothing.

The pain is gone now.

Or maybe there never was any pain?

Was there pain? Or wasn’t there?

Meh, who cares?

Maybe I should ask Celestia, since she’s stood right there on that book.

Oh, wait. That’s a bat-pony.

I wonder what that beeping sound is?

Sunset’s eyes slowly cracked open as she woke up.

She glanced around sluggishly, trying to figure out where she was.

Sunset seemed to be in a small room, but her vision was blocked by a folding screen that separated her from the rest of the room. The walls, ceiling and floor around her were all made of some dull, grey metal. The annoying beeping sound turned out to be a heart monitor, stationed next to a little bedside table with a jug of water and a few glasses on top.

Giving up on the room, Sunset turned her attention to herself instead. She was on a gurney of some sort, with thin sheets pulled up to her chest and her arms resting on top. Sunset grimaced at the needles and tubes poking out of the one arm, then did a double-take as she spotted the simple grey tank top she was wearing, the bright colors of her Geode sticking out like a sore thumb against it.

Where the heck did that come from? Hang on a second…

Reluctantly, Sunset peeled back the blanket with her non-perforated arm and lifted her top slightly. Thick medical dressings coated the left side of her belly.

“Great,” Sunset shook her head and pulled the blanket back up, shivering slightly. Figuring it was time to find out where she was, and where her friends were, she decided to try calling out, “Hello? Is anyone there?”

Sunset heard footsteps approaching, and a moment later a young woman in a typical white lab-coat appeared around the screen. She had shoulder-length brown hair and sparkling blue eyes that widened when she spotted Sunset staring back, “Oh, you’re awake!” The woman stepped over and knelt next to the gurney, “I’m Doctor Janice Kaplinski, how’re you feeling?”

“Uh… kinda thirsty?” Sunset replied.

Janice nodded and reached over to grab the jug of water and a glass off the bedside table. Sunset tried to sit up, but hissed at a twinge of pain from her stomach.

“You probably shouldn’t try to sit up right now, don’t want to pop your stitches,” Janice said with a wince, “Here, let me help.”

With Janice’s help, Sunset was just able to lift her head enough so she could drink without choking or spilling anything. Once she was finished she dropped her head back onto the pillow, “Thanks. Where am I? Are my friends okay? What happened?”

“Your friends are safe and unharmed,” Janice said reassuringly, “It’s… er… probably best if I let Doctor Preston explain the rest. Just give me a moment and I’ll go and find him for you, okay?”

Sunset just nodded as Janice disappeared back behind the screen. A moment later there was a metallic clank and the sound of a heavy door closing announced her departure. A shiver ran down her spine as she went over Janice’s words again in her mind. Clearly she’d had surgery of some sort, but she still had no idea just how bad things had actually gotten.

Sunset wasn’t left to stew for long, as only a couple of minutes later the door opened again and a man stepped around the screen. He looked to be easily in his fifties, his kindly, bespectacled face framed by grey hair with a matching beard and mustache. He had a clipboard under one arm and, like Janice, wore a long lab-coat.

“Good afternoon, I’m Doctor Preston,” the Doctor smiled as he wheeled a chair over to the gurney and settled himself on it, “I understand you may have some questions about what’s happened but I’d just like to go through a few things first if that’s alright with you?”

Sunset nodded hesitantly.

“Good, good. Now, can you tell me your name please?”

“Sunset Shimmer.”

Doctor Preston made a note on his clipboard, “Good. And where are you from, Sunset?”

“Uh… Vault one-oh-one.”

“I see, and where were did you come from before that?”

“Canterlot High,” Sunset replied cautiously.

“And before that?”

Sunset eyed him warily, wondering just how much he knew, “Equestria…?”

Another note on the clipboard, “And can you remember what you were? Back in Equestria?”

Sunset raised an eyebrow, but nevertheless felt herself relax slightly. Three-Dog hadn’t mentioned anything about Equestria in his radio broadcast, which meant that Doctor Preston must have spoken to her friends, “I was a unicorn. Princess Celestia’s personal student.”

Preston tried to repress a smile as he made another note, “One last question, what’s the last thing you remember before waking up here?”

Sunset frowned as she thought back, “We… we were running through the tunnels. Applejack was carrying me. I think I remember there being some feral ghouls but…”

“That matches up with what your friends told me,” Preston nodded, “Excellent. You’ve been unconscious for quite some time and your brain had been starved of oxygen for a little longer than I’m comfortable with, but it doesn’t seem to have had any major effect.”

“Wait, starved of oxygen? What do mean?!”

“You were in a very bad way when your friends brought you here. You had lost a frankly alarming amount of blood and your kidney had degraded severely, it was incredibly difficult to repair. Honestly I would have removed it if I thought you would survive the procedure.”

Sunset couldn’t repress a shiver at that.

Doctor Preston smiled reassuringly at her, “Don’t worry. Rivet City still has a small stock of pre-war experimental hydrogel for use in emergencies. That helped seal the wound quite nicely. There will probably be some impairment in the function of that kidney, even after you’ve fully healed, but your other one should pick up the slack without any problems. ”

Sunset nodded slowly as the Doctor stood and pulled a small torch out of a pocket, “Now I’d like to give you a quick once-over, just to make sure everything’s in order. Would you mind removing your Geode while I do so?”

“You know about my Geode?” Sunset asked, surprised.

“Your friends explained it to me. You needn’t worry, the only people who know are myself and Doctor Li. Your secret is safe with us.”

Sunset hesitated for a moment, then reached up and slipped the Geode off with her good hand, reaching over to place it on the bedside table. As soon as that was done Doctor Preston got to work. Sunset tried to stay as still as possible while he checked her over, shining the torch in her eyes, checking her pulse and listening to her chest with a stethoscope. After that he started testing her limbs, making sure she could still feel and move them properly. Finally he turned his attention to her abdomen, gently pressing in different areas and asking if she felt any pain or discomfort.

“So… um… you seem to have accepted the whole ‘I used to be a unicorn’ thing quite easily,” Sunset stated, trying to distract herself from the fingers tracing across her belly.

The doctor hummed softly, “I was skeptical at first, even after I saw some of your friends’ abilities. Does this hurt at all?”

Sunset shook her head, “What changed your mind?”

“Doctor Li was adamant that your ’magic’ was actually some form of advanced technology. In order to prove this she made the mistake of trying to analyse it.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, your friends did try to warn her that your previous attempt at doing just that hadn’t quite gone to plan,” Doctor Preston chuckled, “After witnessing the aftermath of that little farce the Council has, quite wisely, put a complete ban on all magical experimentation within the bounds of Rivet City, and I have decided to try and keep a more open mind about things.”

Sunset smiled up at him, but before she could say anything the door was suddenly slammed open. A moment later a familiar face darted around the screen, clad in another lab-coat and wearing her hair up in a tight bun.

“Sunset!”

“Hey, Fluttershy. Ho-”

Any more speech was cut off as Fluttershy burst into tears and dropped to her knees next to the gurney, throwing her arms around Sunset in an awkward attempt at a hug.

“Well you seem to be healing nicely, so I’ll let you both catch up,” Doctor Preston said softly as he stood, giving Fluttershy a quick pat on the shoulder before he left.

Careful not to nudge the needles in her arm, Sunset reached up to awkwardly hug Fluttershy back, patting her head with her good arm, “Hey, it’s okay Flutters. I’m okay.”

The two stayed like that for a little while, Sunset bemusedly doing her best to comfort the young nurse as she bawled her eyes out. She was more than a little discomfited herself at Fluttershy’s reaction. I must have been in more trouble than I thought.

Fluttershy eventually managed to get herself under control, perching herself on Doctor Preston’s chair and roughly drying her eyes on her sleeve, “I-I’m sorry. Are you alright? Are you in any pain?”

Sunset smiled and shook her head, “I’m fine. I actually feel pretty great!”

“Oh thank goodness!” Fluttershy sagged with relief. She rubbed her eyes again and leaned forward to check the tubes entering Sunset’s arm, “You’re on a low dose of Med-X along with the fluids and medication at the moment, but now that you’re awake we can always up the dosage if you need it.”

“Okay, thanks,” Sunset idly fiddled with the bottom of her top, “So, uh, how is everyone?”

“Everyone’s been… stressed. Dealing with the feral ghouls was bad enough but after what happened to you during the surgery…” Fluttershy shuddered and shook her head, “I think everyone will just be glad to know that you’re finally awake.”

Sunset frowned at that, “What do you mean? What happened during the surgery?”

Fluttershy froze, her eyes widening, “Di… didn’t Doctor Preston tell you what happened?”

“He told me he was in a bad way when we arrived and that the surgery was difficult but that’s about it,” Sunset looked at the young nurse expectantly, but didn’t get a response. “Fluttershy, what happened during the surgery?” she pressed.

Flutters sighed and looked away, knotting her hands in her lap, “You… weren’t breathing when we arrived. Luckily we managed to resuscitate you when we got to the clinic and Janice set up a blood transfusion while the other doctors worked, but partway through the surgery your…” She closed her eyes, tears streamed silently down her face once more, “Your heart stopped.”

Sunset felt the blood drain from her face.

“The doctors were still patching you up, so I started the chest compression's. They managed to close the wound, but we couldn’t get your heart started again,” Fluttershy choked back a sob, “I kept going. You were fixed, you had the blood, but you just wouldn’t come back. Doctor Li tried to… tried to call time of death…”

Sunset reached out to clasp her hand as the young nurse broke down again. The heart monitor betrayed her own racing pulse as the full realization hit of just how close to the brink she had been.

“Fluttershy listen to me. I’m alive, okay? You brought me back,” she urged, half trying to convince herself, “You brought me back, and I can never thank you enough for that.”

Fluttershy shook her head slowly, “I couldn’t give up. I couldn’t let you go I just couldn’t I-”

“Hey, hey. It’s alright, I promise,” Sunset said softly as Fluttershy leaned over for another hug.

Focused on trying not to break down herself, Sunset barely heard the scrape of the door over Fluttershy’s quiet sobbing. She managed a wobbly smile as another familiar figure stepped around the curtain.

“Whoa, you look rough.”

Sunset rolled her eyes, “Nice to see you too, Rainbow.”

Rainbow smirked and moved to crouch next to Fluttershy, “Hey, I call it like I see it. I’ve told the others you’re awake, they’re on their way up now. How are you feeling?”

“Eh, pretty good I guess, all things considered.”

“Awesome, how about you Flutters?”

Fluttershy just nodded silently, her arms still wrapped awkwardly around Sunset.

“What about you and the girls?” Sunset asked, “Fluttershy told me everyone’s been stressed.”

Rainbow rubbed her neck awkwardly, “Heh, yeah. It’s been… kinda crazy. How, uh, how much do you remember? About the journey here?”

Sunset shook her head, “Not much. I remember speaking to Maddy, getting carried by Applejack, you nearly getting shot by those turrets-”

“Of course you do,” Rainbow mumbled.

“-and I think I remember us running into some feral ghouls? But it all gets fuzzy after that.”

“Huh, so you don’t remember that huge horde of ghouls we fought?”

“Horde of them?” Sunset asked.

“I don’t really remember much of that either,” Fluttershy said, peeling herself away from Sunset, “I was too busy making sure you were okay.”

“Lucky you,” Rainbow muttered, “That was one heck of a fight though.”

Sunset listened intently as Rainbow described everything that happened after they left the cavern with the turrets. The first group of ghouls they encountered, the horde, the collapse of the station and then finally the men that accosted them as they tried to leave. She could hardly believe everything she heard. Probably wouldn’t have believed some of it if Fluttershy hadn’t been there to confirm, Rainbow was known to exaggerate sometimes after all.

“That’s insane,” Sunset muttered when the tale was finished.

Rainbow nodded in agreement. “We were pretty lucky really. The only reason security even let us on board without a fuss was because they’d heard about us on the radio.”

“I just can’t believe you had to go through all of that,” Sunset said softly. She shook her head and looked up at Rainbow, “Is everyone coping alright?”

“I’m, um, I’m alright. I’m just glad we all made it here,” Fluttershy replied.

“I’m totally fine. Yep, totally not having nightmares or anything,” Rainbow chuckled nervously, “Applejack’s been playing it cool, but I think she’s having trouble too.”

“Rarity and Twilight have been keeping themselves busy, but I know they’re having nightmares too,” Fluttershy added, “And Pinkie’s… well…”

“Being Pinkie?” Sunset supplied.

Fluttershy and Rainbow shared an uneasy look.

“Not exactly,” Rainbow said slowly.

“What do you mean?”

The conversation was interrupted by the sound of the door opening yet again. Rainbow stood and shifted the curtain aside to reveal the rest of the Rainbooms trooping into the room.

“Sunset!”

“You’re alright!”

Sunset smiled as the girls hurried to her side, talking over each other as she reassured them that she was on the mend. Rarity looked mostly the same as always, aside from the fact that her arm brace had finally been taken off. Applejack had swapped her usual outfit for a set of heavy-duty work overalls, with her sort-of-stolen Vault-issued tool belt worn over the top. Twilight was once again clad in a long lab-coat, her hair tied sloppily back and a set of goggles perched precariously on her forehead. Lastly, there was Pinkie.

Sunset could hardly believe the change that had came over her party-loving friend.

Pinkie’s hair had lost all of it’s usual puff, laying straight and flat in a sensible ponytail. Her boisterous exuberance was gone without a trace, replaced with a quiet and unassuming demeanor that gave Fluttershy a run for her money. Worse than that was her expression. Pinkie smiled and replied when spoken to but, just once, Sunset saw the mask slip, the forced cheeriness replaced by a haunted and broken look that had no right being on the face of someone so bright and cheerful.

“Pinkie? Are you o-”

“Yep! I’m fine!” Pinkie yelped, an unconvincing smile plastered on her face once again, “I’m just glad you’re finally awake, you’ve been asleep for so long!”

Sunset considered pressing the issue for a moment, but she let it slide. If Pinkie didn’t want to talk yet, she wouldn’t force her. Besides, Pinkie had reminded her of something.

“Speaking of, how long have I been out cold for? Something tells me it’s been more than just a few hours.”

“A few hours?” Rarity glanced uneasily at the others, “Darling, you’ve been comatose for almost a week.”

“A WEEK!?” A painful twinge from her abdomen had Sunset instantly regretting her outburst.

Applejack nodded solemnly, “Yep, so right now you’re going to take it easy and do exactly what the doctor tells you. Is that clear?” Sunset just nodded meekly, “Good, ’cause as soon as the doc says you’re good to go we’re going to have a little discussion about that ridiculous stunt you pulled.”

“Awww….”

Tara huffed as she stared at the terminal in front of her. It was bad enough that Colonel Autumn was constantly trying to catch her alone to try and squeeze more details about Project Exodus out of her, but now the rest of the higher ups had gotten wind of the President’s secret project and were trying to stick their noses in.

Stupid politicians. Senator Devall isn’t too bad, but I swear if Senator Prince tries to force his way in one more time I’m going to grab that little ex fifty one Blaster and ram it up his pompous-

“Hi, Tara. How’s it going?”

Tara nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice behind her. Whirling around, she relaxed as she saw Becky closing the door.

“Whoa, you okay there?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tara sighed and turned back to the terminal, “Sorry. I’m just a little on edge. These results are taking forever to come through.”

“What results?”

Tara nodded towards the sealed experiment chamber off to the side. Blast-resistant and radiation-proof, it was perfect for running tests on items of unknown origin and function, “The old readings from artifact ex fifty one dash one four.”

There was a pause as Becky tried to remember which item she was on about, “The signal detector thingy?”

“The signal detector thingy,” Tara echoed, “At least, I think that’s what it is. I’m just running it a diagnostic to make sure all of the signal data matches what we have on record, but it’s taking so damned loooong!”

She huffed and slumped over on the desk, then smiled as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind, “Sunny… what are you doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing?”

Tara could hear the smile in Becky’s voice. She giggled as she felt a little nibble on her ear, “Stop that. Sienna will be back soon, what if she catches us again?”

“Doesn’t that just make it interesting?”

“Maybe…” Tara grinned and turned her head slightly to plant a kiss on Becky’s lips.

Becky raised an eyebrow at that, “Now who’s misbehaving?”

“Oh, shut up and kiss me, Sunny.”

Becky quickly complied, turning Tara’s chair around and kissing her hungrily. Tara couldn’t resist a moan as Becky straddled her lap and hooked their legs together.

Both girls jumped as the door suddenly opened, Becky flailing for a moment as she tried to leap away.

They looked around to see another of the doctors who been assigned to Project Exodus. Clad in the standard-issue Enclave lab-coat, her jet-black hair was tied back in bunches and she was wearing a set of protective goggles over the top of her usual pink-framed glasses.

“Hello Doctors.”

“Hello, Doctor Bohn,” Becky forced out through gritted teeth.

Tara giggled nervously, “Hi, Sienna.”

Sienna just gave them a deadpan stare, “I suppose I should just be glad that you’re clothed this time.”

“Hey, we were clothed last time too!” Becky shot, her and Tara both blushing furiously.

“A lab-coat and shoes does not count as being clothed, especially when the coat is open and there’s nothing else underneath,” Sienna retorted, “Also, you don’t seem to have noticed that the diagnostic on the signal detector thingy is finished.”

Tara gasped and span her chair back around to face the terminal. Sure enough, the results of the diagnostic had popped up on the screen. “Perfect! Okay, let’s have a look.”

Becky sighed and turned to Sienna as her partner buried her nose in the diagnostic report, “So, what did the President say?”

“Doctors Evans and Pickering have both been assigned to Project Exodus, as requested,” Sienna replied, “Senator Devall has also been nominated to oversee our budget and resource management alongside Doctor Turner.”

“That’s a relief,” Becky muttered. Between the two of them, she was sure that Turner and Devall would be able keep the project’ requirements safe from outside interference.

“Could you two take a look at this for me?” Tara called suddenly.

Becky and Sienna glanced at each other for a moment, then stepped over to the terminal.

“What’s up?” Becky asked.

Tara pointed at the screen, “This is the most recent signal the detector picked up, aside from the electricity we’re using to test it,” she turned to frown at the other two, “This signal was detected just over a month ago.”

“That’s impossible, the detector has been in secure storage for the last four months,” Sienna replied.

“Wait a minute,” Becky said slowly, “Isn’t that around the estimated time that the Rainbooms’ portal allegedly brought them here?”

Tara nodded, “Yes, at least according to our calculations and the radio reports we’ve intercepted.”

Sienna’s eyes widened, “Are you saying this signal was generated by the portal opening?”

“I think so,” Tara replied, “And if what we’ve heard on the radio is true, that means this signal right here is either a kind of radiation we’ve never encountered before or it’s… well… magic.”

The three woman stared at the screen in awestruck silence.

“Is there any way we can open a dialogue with the Rainbooms?” Sienna asked eventually.

Becky frowned and tilted her head, “I don’t know. Our intel suggests that their current location is the settlement known as Rivet City. They’ve been there almost a week now.”

Tara pushed herself out of her chair and scurried over to the secure intercom, “Mister President? This is Doctor Strong.”

After a moment there was a buzz and a tinny voice crackled out from the intercom, “Doctor Strong? This is quite a surprise. What can I do for you?”

“We’ve found something important. At least I think it’s important, I mean it could be nothing. Not that I think it’s nothing. I think it’s really important! But I don’t want to give you the wrong idea or-”

“Please, calm down, Doctor Strong. What have you found?”

Tara took a deep breath before replying, “A signal. It may prove our alpha delta pi tau hypothesis.”

“That is fantastic news, Doctor Strong! What do you need to prove this hypothesis?”

“We need to scour all Enclave records, to see if there is any other example of this particular signal being detected at any point in the past,” Tara paused and glanced back at Becky and Sienna, “Also… we would like to know if there is any possibility of us being able to open a dialogue the alpha delta pi tau subjects.”

“…you want to contact the Rainbooms?”

“Yes, sir.”

There was a brief pause on the line as the President considered the request.

“Very well.”

Nestled deep in Evergreen Mills, inside a winding cave system that extended out from the old foundry, two men were on the hunt. The caves were the home of a makeshift bazaar that had been set up by an enterprising raider crew some time ago, to cater to others of their ilk.

The men shoved their way through the crowd of carousing raiders, making their way to their chosen targets.

“Alright, this is Jack’s place,” Blades said as he stopped next to one tunnel, “You comin’ with?”

Crawler shook his head, “Nah. I’m going to head on up to Madame’s, see if I can’t find myself some good pussy.”

“I though you fucked that slave chick back in Paradise Falls?”

“I said good pussy. That stupid bitch didn’t have a fucking clue what she was doing.” Crawler smirked as he turned to leave.

Blades huffed a laugh, “Alright fine. Just make sure you don’t spend all your caps, you still need a new fucking gun yet!”

“I know, I know!”

Turning down the tunnel, Blades was still chuckling to himself as he made his way around the corner and into the general store. The store was little more than a small cave lined with wooden counters and shelves that contained the stock.

Only two people were in the store at the moment, a woman browsing by one of the counters and the proprietor himself.
Bald as a cue ball save for a spectacular handlebar mustache, ‘Smiling’ Jack was one of the busiest and best traders in the wasteland. If you needed something, chances were he could get it. Friendly and jovial, there was always some idiot that saw him as an easy target, too stupid to realize that no weak little sap could ever survive in the shit-hole that was Evergreen Mills, let alone run a successful shop.

Jack took great pleasure in introducing those idiots to the business end of his customized shotgun.

“Hey! Jack!” Blades called as he entered.

Jack looked up and grinned as he spotted who was calling, “Well I’ll be damned! Blades you son of a bitch, I thought you were dead!”

Blades grinned back as he strolled over to Jack and leaned against the counter, “Sorry to disappoint.”

Jack laughed and clapped him on the back, “Shit, I ain’t disappointed! You always bring in the good stuff!” He stepped back and rested his hands on the counter, “So what can I do for you? You selling or buying?”

“Buying. And I’ve got a favor to ask,” Blades pulled his caps pouch out of his pants and threw it on the counter “I’m looking for a crew, and all of the best hardware you’ve got.”

“I like the sound of this,” Jack smirked as he emptied the caps out and started counting, “You got a big job lined up?”

Blades nodded curtly, “Yeah. I want to take down the Rainbooms.”

“Hah, you’re a fucking riot,” When Blades didn’t respond Jack stopped counting, the smirk sliding from his face, “You… you’re fucking serious.”

“Deadly fucking serious.”

“You’re crazy,” Jack said flatly, “Have you even heard about the shit Three-Dog says they can do? I don’t know if it’s true or not but either way yo-”

“It’s true,” Blades cut in, “Me and Crawler ran into them a little while back. They killed Gilda and Ice, but I managed to make one of them bleed at least.”

“Shit…”

“I’m in.”

Blades and Jack both turned to face the woman. She’d stopped browsing and was leaning against the counter, her arms folded under her chest as she watched the men. Lithe and beautiful, she had long, slicked-back blonde hair and was wearing a pair of rugged shorts with a ripped tank top. There was a stylized lightning bolt and wings stitched over her left breast.

Blades shook himself as he realized he was staring, “I… uh… what?”

The woman smirked at him, “The name’s Lightning. You said you’re after the Rainbooms, and I’m looking for a challenge.” Her smirk spread into an evil grin, “Like I said, I’m in.”

Another chapter for you!

Originally this chapter was going to be called Lesson Learned, then I ended up changing things slightly and adding an extra scene so I went with the new title.

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