There are few things more mortifying than realizing that you are wearing a catheter, though Sunset would argue that having said catheter removed is a strong contender. Especially when the only people available to remove it for you are an old man, doctor though he may be, and one of your best friends. Fortunately for Sunset the rest of her friends had already left. That helped mitigate at least some of the embarrassment.

Sunset spent another week in her little room just down the corridor from the clinic, most of which was spent alternating between physiotherapy and bed rest. She’d been given a gentle routine, simple leg and breathing exercises intended to speed her post-operation recovery, that she performed several times a day. She also spent a small amount of time each day walking around the clinic under the watchful eye of Fluttershy.

Doctor Preston later admitted that most people would have been discharged sooner but, given Sunset’s predilection for pushing herself, he’d felt the need to keep her under his watch for a little while longer. Nevertheless, her time recovering was hardly spent idle. Through her friends and the doctor she gathered as much information as she could about Rivet City, the wasteland in general, and any events she’d missed while she was asleep.

It turned out that James had indeed came to Rivet City and spoken to Doctor Li before departing again, heading for something called ‘Project Purity’. Adam had arrived sometime later and, after finding out where his father had gone, had shot off in hot pursuit. There had been no word from either of them since. Sunset hated to admit it, but unless either of them returned to the city it was unlikely that the girls would be able to catch up at this point.

Having come to a similar conclusion, and faced with the daunting prospect of paying off Sunset’s medical bills, the rest of the Rainbooms had decided to look for work. Fortunately their job search was far more successful in the city than it had been in Megaton. Fluttershy had quite obviously taken up a position as a nurse once again, but the others refused to tell Sunset what it was that they did, saying only that they would show her when she was discharged.

Sunset’s offer of trying to help work off their debt was shot down before the thought had even finished forming in her brain.

Eventually, once Doctor Preston was satisfied with her recovery, it was time for Sunset to leave the clinic.

Or, at least, that was the plan.

“Come on, Fluttershy. She’s fine!” Rainbow grumbled.

“I’m still not convinced,” Flutters responded, frowning slightly.

The three were in Sunset’s convalescence room, waiting for her to pick up her few belongings and, apparently, trying to convince Fluttershy that she was actually fit to leave.

Sunset just rolled her eyes and shrugged her leather jacket on, glad to be back in her normal clothes again, “Rainbow’s right, Doctor Preston said I’m good to go.”

“But what if you push things too far and hurt yourself again?”

Rainbow let out an exasperated groan, “She’s only going on a tour of the city, the worst thing she’s going to face are stairs!”

“Look, I promise I’ll be careful, alright?” Sunset cut in quickly as Fluttershy opened her mouth to retort, “Walk but don’t run, take stairs slowly, and don’t lift anything heavier than ten pounds. Exactly what Doctor Preston ordered.” She sighed and slipped her Pip-Boy onto her arm, “Besides, it’s not like I’m going to be wandering around on my own.”

“I suppose,” Fluttershy said slowly, “But I want you to promise that you’ll tell us if anything hurts, okay?”

Sunset nodded, “If I don’t feel right or I need a break I’ll let you know. Pinkie promise.”

Flutters still looked reluctant for a moment, but finally she relented, “Oh… alright then.

“Awww yeah! Come on Sunshim, time for a tour of Rivet City!” Rainbow cried as she yanked the door open.

Sunset couldn’t resist a grin as Fluttershy sighed and shook her head before following the overexcited athlete out into the corridor.

“So… where are we going first?” Sunset asked.

“I was thinking we could go and get some food from where Pinkie works,” Rainbow replied, “Come on, it’s thi-”

“One moment, girls!”

The three turned to see a man hurrying towards them, clad in the armored uniform of the Rivet City Security force. He had close-cropped brown hair and striking blue eyes that seemed to pierce Sunset where she stood.

“Oh, that’s Chief Harkness. He’s head of the security force,” Fluttershy whispered.

Sunset couldn’t help but wonder what the head of security wanted with her. She’d spent her entire time in the city either in her room or in the clinic, and she certainly didn’t think she’d managed to do anything wrong in that time.

“Sunset Shimmer, it’s good to finally see you awake,” Harkness said as he approached.

Sunset raised an eyebrow and planted a hand on her hip, “Been watching me sleep, officer?”

Harkness just gave her a flat look, “I watched the doctors stick you in that room after they’d finished putting you back together if that’s what you mean.”

Sunset couldn’t repress a shiver at the reminder of her near-death experience, “Oh… right.”

“Anyway, I’m glad I caught you before you went wandering. There’s something I want to talk to you about,” Harkness looked around to make sure no-one else was near, then leaned in and lowered his voice, “I know you and your friends all have special abilities, I’ve even seen some of you at work with them, but I’m particularly concerned about your powers, Miss Shimmer. I’m sure you can appreciate how a telepath, such as yourself, might cause certain… ‘complications’ when it comes to matters of security.”

“I don’t have any intention of using my powers on anyone,” Sunset said quickly, “I only use them when I absolutely have to.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear,” Harkness nodded solemnly, then gestured to the Geode around her neck, “Incidentally, Doctor Preston told me where your powers actually come from. As of yet he, myself and Doctor Li are the only ones aboard in the city who know about it, and I’d suggest we keep it that way. The last thing we want is anyone trying to steal one of those things.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“Alright then. In that case I’ll leave you girls to it. Enjoy Rivet City, and don’t go getting into any trouble.”

Harkness gave a curt nod then turned and headed back down the way he came. Sunset stared after him until he went around a corner and out of sight. She turned away with a sigh, only to see Rainbow and Fluttershy staring at her, odd expressions on their faces.

“What’s up?”

Rainbow just raised an eyebrow, “You know he’s way too old for you, right?”

“I… you… I wasn’t trying to flirt with him!” Sunset spluttered, a rosy tint appearing on her cheeks.

“Sure you weren’t,” Rainbow smirked.

“Now now, Rainbow. Sunset’s been through enough without you making fun of her like that,” Fluttershy chided.

Sunset smiled warmly at her, “Thanks, Fluttershy.”

“It’s alright. You’ve had a difficult couple of weeks and you’re on some very strong painkillers, it’s only natural for you to be a little awkward around people at the moment.”

“Er… thanks?”

Rainbow burst into laughter at that, prompting Sunset’s blush to return with a vengeance. Waving away Fluttershy’s stammered apology, she stuffed her hands into her pockets and fell into step behind the other two, Rainbow still sniggering as she led the group away from the clinic.

The corridors and stairways of Rivet City were far more cramped and winding than even those of the Vault. Even so there were a fair number of people out and about. Many of the residents and even the patrolling security officers greeted the girls enthusiastically, several of them making a point of telling Sunset how glad they were to see her finally up and about.

“So what do you think?” Rainbow asked as she led the way down another corridor.

“There people here seem so… nice,” Sunset said slowly, “It sure is different from the reaction we got back at Megaton.”

Rainbow huffed a laugh, “You said it. I guess we can thank Three-Dog for that.”

“The broadcasts he’s been putting out really have helped us fit in,” Fluttershy agreed, “Although, um, it’s a little scary too. Lots of strangers know our names now a-and they keep talking about us and asking us questions.”

“It’s just ‘cause we’re so awesome,” Rainbow smirked as they approached a door marked ‘Marketplace’, a muffled hubbub just audible beyond it, “This is it, Pinkie works at a restaurant in here.” Pausing before the door, she glanced back at Sunset uneasily, “Uh… before we go in there, just remember that Pinkie’s still feeling a little… uuuhhh…”

“Delicate,” Flutters supplied.

Rainbow nodded, “Yeah, what she said. So just… y’know. Be patient with her, okay?”

“I will,” Sunset replied. She still hadn’t been given details about whatever had happened to Pinkie but, given how the rest of her friends had practically begged her not to push the issue, it must have been something bad. Sunset wasn’t exactly happy that she was being left out of the loop, but she respected her friends’ wishes.

Besides, if Rainbow of all people is suggesting patience, it’s probably a good idea to listen to her.

All further thoughts were blown out of Sunset’s mind as Rainbow opened the heavy door and the girls were buffeted by a wave of noise.

“Whoa.”

“Right?” Rainbow grinned.

A short set of steps led down into what must have originally been a ship’s hold or a hangar for one of the aircraft carrier’s planes, none of the girls knew enough about warships to tell, but now it had been converted into a huge, and bustling, market.

Sunset couldn’t help but gawp. Dozens of stalls and stores had been set up in rows throughout the cavernous room, with what looked like hundreds of people crowding around them. She’d never seen this many people gathered in one place in the wastes before. Admittedly she hadn’t really been in the wastes, or even in this world, for very long, but after everything the girls had seen she’d barely imagined there even were this many people left in the wasteland.

Gathering her wits about her, Sunset followed Rainbow and Fluttershy down the steps and into the crowd.

They had barely set foot of the bottom step before people started noticing them. Many of them called out to Rainbow and Fluttershy, then did a double-take when they spotted Sunset behind them. Sunset couldn’t help feeling a little self-conscious at the wave of sound that rippled out from the nearest people as word spread rapidly about the new arrival.

Fluttershy was right, this is kinda scary.

Fortunately no-one actually tried to stop the girls, the crowd content to call out greetings and well wishes as they parted to let them pass.

Rainbow lapped up the attention, waving and sticking her thumbs up at the people they passed. Fluttershy, on the other hand, did her level best to stay out of sight, sliding subtly behind Rainbow. Sunset very nearly copied her, but managed to pluck up the courage to smile shyly and return the people’s greetings, looking around at the stores as she did so.

The first stall they came across was a large one, almost twice the size of most of the others, that sold a plethora of guns and various types of armor, even a suit of powered armor just like that worn by the Brotherhood of Steel soldiers, though it seemed a lot bigger and bulkier than it had when Sunset had first seen it.

I guess the painkillers, blood loss and general shock had something to do with that.

After that there were stalls selling fancy clothes, medical supplies, electrical equipment and batteries, leather goods and assorted junk. Anything and everything a good wasteland survivor could possibly want.

“That’s the one we want, Gary’s Galley!”

Looking where Rainbow pointed, Sunset spotted another large stall at the end of one of the rows. It had two counters running down it’s sides and several tables and chairs set out in an open space between it and the hangar walls. An older gentleman with black hair slowly turning to grey stood manning a register behind one of the counters, while a blonde-haired girl was waiting tables alongside someone that no-one could fail to recognize.

“Hey, Pinkie!” Rainbow called out.

Pinkie looked up and grinned as she spotted her friends approaching. Her hair was still mostly flat, but the ends were slowly curling up and several strands were regaining some of their natural flounce as she walked.

“Hey, girls. Pick a table and I’ll be right over.”

The three nodded and found themselves an empty table. Once she was safely settled between the other two, Fluttershy glanced around quickly before turning to Sunset and speaking in an undertone, “Um, I should probably warn you, some of the food here is a little… um… strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, um, they can’t really grow any crops out here in the wasteland, so they have to make do with what they have.”

“Fair enough, but what about our Vault supplies?”

“We ran out of those days ago,” Rainbow cut in, “Don’t worry, the food tastes fine, it’s just a little… weird. Pinkie will bring something you’ll like.”

Just as Sunset opened her mouth to respond Pinkie appeared and plonked a bottle of water and a bowl down in front of each of them.

“Order up!”

Sunset eyed the food on her tray warily as Pinkie sat with a tray of her own, “Uh, what is it?”

“Cream of iguana soup,” Pinkie replied, “Iguana, carrots and potatoes in a cream made from brahmin milk.”

“It’s pretty good, try it,” Rainbow said, tucking into her own soup.

Still not entirely convinced, Sunset picked up a little piece of meat on her fork. It didn’t look particularly appealing, but it turned out to have a pleasant taste, a delicate flavor with a similar texture to chicken.

“Told you,” Rainbow grinned.

Sunset smiled and shook her head, “Alright, I admit it, this is good. Definitely better than the noodle broth they serve in the clinic.”

“The clinic food isn’t great,” Fluttershy agreed, throwing a quick glance Pinkie’s way, “Um, Pinkie?”

“Yeah?”

“Shouldn’t you be, um, you know… working?”

Pinkie just waved a hand absently, “It’s fine, Gary said I can take a quick break to eat with you three.”

“So you’re a waitress?” Sunset asked.

“And a cook, when it’s not too busy,” Pinkie replied.

“Cool. What about you Rainbow?”

Rainbow swallowed a mouthful of food and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, “I’m sort of a delivery girl. If someone wants a letter or parcel or something delivered to another part of the ship, I’m the one that takes it. Saves them a journey.”

Sunset was about to ask about the others when she felt a light tug on her sleeve. Glancing around she spotted a young girl with vibrant ginger hair, looking up at her hopefully.

“Um, excuse me, miss. Are you Sunset Shimmer?” the girl asked. She broke into an ecstatic grin as Sunset nodded in response, “Mom says you can read minds. Can you really?”

“I suppose I can, in a way,” Sunset replied, smiling at their enthusiasm.

The little girl’s jaw dropped in awe, “Whoa… can you show me?”

Sunset shook her head, smiling sympathetically, “I’m sorry, but the security chief doesn’t want me using my power unless I absolutely have to.”

“Awwww.”

“Chandra!”

“Eep!”

The little girl practically jumped out of her skin as a woman, presumably her mother, emerged from the crowd.

“Sorry about her,” the woman said gruffly as she ruffled Chandra’s hair, “Can’t let her out of my sight without her getting into some sort of trouble.”

Sunset grinned and shook her head, “It’s okay, she wasn’t bothering us.”

Chandra ducked out from under her mother’s hand and scowled up at her, “See? I was just talking to the angel, I wasn’t getting into trouble!”

“First time for everything I suppose,” the woman muttered, then darted forward and grabbed her daughter, tossing her over her shoulder like a sack of apples, “Sorry again.”

Sunset frowned as the woman strode away, ignoring her daughter’s furious protests. Something little Chandra said had raised her concern.

“Did… did she call me an angel?”

“Yep,” Rainbow said flatly.

Fluttershy sighed heavily, “It seems the Church of Atom didn’t believe Applejack when she tried to tell them we weren’t angels.”

“They’ve been spreading the news as far and as fast as they can,” Pinkie added, “A few travelling merchants brought the story here from Megaton and since then it’s spread like crazy.”

“Great,” Sunset groaned, turning back to her soup. She’d barely had another mouthful when a familiar voice called out from behind her.

“Hey, y’all.”

Rainbow’s head shot up at that, “Applejack? I thought you were going to be busy all day fixing those coolant pipes?”

“Ah thought so too,” Applejack replied as she dropped into an empty seat, “Turns out the pipes themselves were fine, it was just the pressure gauge that was busted. Much easier to fix.”

“Do you want me to get you some food?” Pinkie asked.

“Nah, already ate. Thanks anyway.”

“Okey dokey lokey,” Pinkie picked up her bowl and slurped up the last of her cream, letting out an appreciative sigh as she finished, “Well, I’d better get back to work. See you all later.”

The girls quickly said their goodbyes as she trotted off, taking her tray with her.

“So you’re back in maintenance then, Applejack?” Sunset asked.

“Yep. It’s hard work, but it sure is a lot better doing it here than back in that darned Vault,” Applejack replied.

“Speaking of work,” Rainbow pushed her empty bowl away and looked over at Applejack, “Since you finished early do you mind taking over on Sunset’s tour for me? I’ve got a few deliveries to do before the end of the day and the sooner I get them done the better.”

“Sure thing, sugarcube.”

“Sweet! Thanks AJ!”

Applejack turned to Sunset as Rainbow hurried off to get some work done, “Alright, so how much of the city have you seen so far?”

“Not much really. We pretty much came straight here from the clinic,” Sunset replied.

“Hmm. In that case how about we take the scenic route up to the upper decks, show you where Rarity’s been working, then from there we’ll head over to the science lab and say hey to Twilight, that sound okay?”

Sunset nodded, “Sounds good to me. Let me just finish this and we’ll go.”

As soon as the food was finished the tour started up again, Applejack leading the little group out of the marketplace and back into the winding corridors that formed the majority of Rivet City. Sunset kept up as well as she could, taking short breaks whenever her abdomen started getting sore.

She listened intently as Applejack and Fluttershy pointed out the various facilities and institutions of the city, including a bar, a hotel and, to Sunset’s quiet surprise, a museum. There was even a church, though fortunately the faith it served bore very little resemblance to the Cult of Atom, instead being one of the last remnants of an ancient religion that had mostly died out in the wasteland after the bombs fell.

“Well, that’s almost everything,” Applejack said as the girls entered one of the uppermost decks, “Just around the corner here is where Rarit- oof!”

Applejack let out a soft grunt as she collided with a heavy-set man hurrying around the corner, the two rebounding off each other.

“Hey watch where you’re fucking- oh, oh it’s you. Uh, sorry, I guess.” The man’s sudden temper evaporated the second he realized who he’d bumped into. He made to step past Applejack, then stopped abruptly as he spotted Sunset. A look of sheer terror flashed across his face and he retreated several steps, raising his hands as if he were warding off a blow, “I… you… I… uh… I’ve gotta go.”

With a fearful glance at Sunset the man turned and fled down a side corridor, moving as quickly as he could without actually running.

Sunset raised an eyebrow, “What was that about?”

“That was Sister,” Applejack grumbled, “He’s a troublemaker alright, but he always tries to stay on our good side.” She frowned and folded her arms, looking thoughtful, “Never seen him act like that before though, almost looked like he thought you were going to tear a piece out of him.”

“Weird,” Sunset muttered.

“Maybe he thought you were going to read his mind?” Fluttershy suggested.

Sunset shook her head, “I doubt it, I wasn’t anywhere near close enough to touch him.”

Fluttershy tilted her head, thinking, “Um, does anyone other than us actually know that your powers only work by touch?”

Sunset just blinked stupidly, “Huh.”

“Well as long as he doesn’t cause us any problems ah say leave him to it,” Applejack said, straightening her hat and turning the corner, “Come on, Rarity works just down here.”

Sunset and Fluttershy followed her to a door right at the end of the corridor. A curious symbol was painted in the middle of the door, a little plus sign surrounded by eight white stripes in a circle, almost like an asterisk. A heart-shaped knocker sat underneath the symbol, which Applejack used to rap on the door. A few moments later the door creaked open to reveal a mousy little woman, her platinum blonde hair cut into a stylish bob.

“Oh, hello. Are you here to see Rarity?”

Applejack nodded and tipped her hat, “Sure are, Coco. Mind if we come in?”

Coco smiled and stepped aside, “Not at all, please.”

Sunset had to repress a giggle as she entered the room.

There were mannequins everywhere, each of them displaying the highest quality clothes Sunset had seen in the wasteland yet, with several desks and chalkboards scattered around that were covered in designs for suits, dresses and other, less ‘public’ garments. Rarity herself was stood at one of the mannequins, wearing her glasses and eyeing the sleeves of a suit critically.

Trust Rarity to find a fashion boutique in the middle of a post-apocalyptic hellhole.

The fashionista looked up as she heard her friends enter the room, “Applejack? This is a pleasant surprise, I thought you were going to be busy all day?”

Applejack huffed a laugh, “Yeah, well, turned out to be an easier fix than ah thought. Just figured we’d drop in while giving Sunset the tour.”

“Oh of course, and how are you finding the city, darling?” Rarity asked.

“I’m actually a little surprised, it’s more impressive than I expected,” Sunset admitted, “So this is where you work?”

“It certainly is,” Rarity cleared her throat and flicker her hair, striking an elegant pose, “Welcome to the Seaborne Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique and magnifique!”

Coco giggled into her hand, “I still think Miss Germain is going to love that catchphrase.”

Sunset looked at her curiously, “Miss Germain?”

“She’s the proprietress,” Coco clarified, “Miss Germain designs all of the clothes we sell and I help her make them. I wish you could meet her but she and her sister were called away on an urgent business errand not long before you arrived.”

“A business errand?” Fluttershy enquired.

Coco nodded, “Hopefully it’s just another commission from the elites living in Tenpenny Tower, and she won’t be away too long.”

A shiver ran down Sunset’s spine at the mention of Tenpenny Tower. She couldn’t quite remember where she’d heard of t before, but she was sure that it was in no good context. Shrugging it off, she asked, “Don’t you have a stall down in the marketplace?”

“We do sell some of our clothes to Bannon, the proprietor of the Potomac Attire stall, and most of the commissions we get are from people who come directly to us, but sometimes a messenger turns up and Miss Germain gets dragged off to deal with some bigwig who doesn’t want to risk the journey here,” Coco grinned and leaned closer, speaking in a conspiratorial tone, “Sometimes, we even get customers who’ve come all the way from the Commonwealth!”

The Commonwealth, now that’s a name I remember!

Glancing surreptitiously at her friends, Sunset realized that they too remembered the place James had told them about before, where the technologically advanced Institute was said to be located.

The four girls spent several minutes trying to subtly wheedle as much information about the Commonwealth out of Coco as they could, just in case, but sadly she knew very little, other than the fact that the ground was said to be somewhat more fertile there.

After a while they decided to call it quits and go visit Twilight. Saying their goodbyes to Rarity, who still had work to finish, Applejack, Sunset and Fluttershy set off through the corridors once more, heading for the science labs. Given how much the rest of Rivet City had exceeded her expectations, Sunset was expecting to be thoroughly impressed by the laboratories.

They didn’t disappoint.

When they first entered the room the girls found themselves on a metal walkway that ringed the upper level of the room, with several doors leading off to other sections of the ship and short staircases allowing access to the floor below. Generators and containers of all sizes and descriptions dotted the lower level of the room, with masses of pipes running from each of the into the walls and ceiling. Tables were scattered around between them, all of them covered in equipment, experiments or reams and reams of research notes.

All of the equipment was attended to by a score of technicians and scientists, the buzz of their conversations audible even over the hum of the machinery. Twilight easily stood out from the rest of the group, her colorful hair tied up in a messy bun to keep it out of the way. She grinned and waved as she spotted the little group.

As the three made their way down the stairs to the lower level, Sunset noticed another of the scientists turn to see who Twilight was waving at. The woman had dark brown hair that was neatly styled, and had a definite aura of authority. She folded her arms as she spotted the girls, her expression blank.

“Who’s that?” Sunset whispered.

“Doctor Li,” Fluttershy spat.

Ah, the one who tried to pronounce me dead. This should be interesting.

“Easy now, sugarcube. We don’t want to cause another ruckus,” Applejack said soothingly, placing a hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder.

Flutters just grumbled, her expression settling into a scowl.

Twilight didn’t seem to notice, striding straight up to Sunset and pulling her into a gentle hug, “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Pretty good actually.”

“Good, that’s good,” Twilight released the hug and stepped back, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, “So, what do you think of Rivet City?”

Sunset opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted as a raspy voice called out to her.

“Sunset Shimmer, I presume?”

A chill ran down her spine at those words. Trying not to quake at the memory of the last time she'd heard those words, Sunset turned to face the speaker.

An near-bald elderly gentleman stood next to her, wearing a smart grey suit and a thick pair of glasses. An imposing thug in thick, dark clothing was hovering around his shoulder like a bodyguard.

“I am Doctor Zimmer. I wonder if I could borrow a moment of your time?”

Hello again!

Sorry for the delay on this chapter, Christmas shifts are kicking my arse.

Couldn't resist throwing a little nod to a particular nerdy pastime in this chapter!

Anyhoo, I have currently been awake for about twenty seven straight hours and I am going to try and get some sleep, if there are any glaringly obvious mistakes in the chapter, that'll be why. Just give me a shout and I'll fix them.

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