Sunset gazed around the room the girls were occupying during their stay in Rivet City. It had originally been used as a storage room, but when the Rainbooms had turned up out of nowhere the random bits and pieces had been moved out and a handful of beds shoved in instead. The girls were stuck sharing beds again, but that wasn’t too much of an issue. Now that Sunset was moving in with them she had been granted a bed of her own on account of her injury.

“Is everything alright, dear?” Rarity asked.

Sunset blinked, pulled from her reverie, “I’m fine, just… thinking.”

“What’s on your mind, sugarcube?” Applejack called from where she was preparing for bed.

“Magic,” Sunset sighed.

Twilight looked up from her Pip-Boy, “Doctor Li?”

“Yeah.”

“She’ll be fine. I mean, I get that she’s freaked out about ponying up, but it’s not like it’s ever hurt any of us,” Rainbow chimed in. “Besides, it’s her own stupid fault for even trying those tests in the first place.”

“We did try to warn her,” Fluttershy said quietly. Pinkie nodded solemnly in agreement.

Sunset glanced around at each of her friends, “I’m probably going to regret asking this but… what exactly happened during those tests?”

The Rainbooms, minus their leader, were currently gathered in one of the testing rooms just off the main science lab. Accompanying the girls were Doctor Li and another scientist, a middle-aged woman with brown hair and a severe look named Anna Holt.

“I would like to thank each of you once again for agreeing to this,” Doctor Li said brightly.

“I still think this is a very bad idea,” Twilight muttered.

“Both I and the rest of the Council are aware of your concerns,” Doctor Li insisted, “That is why we are merely performing a basic analysis of your technology-”

“Magic!”

“I’ll believe that when I see it. Either way you yourselves admitted that such an analysis has been done before.”

Applejack nodded slowly, “Yeah, by Sunset. And she didn’t find out anything useful.”

“If you just wait for her to wake up, she’ll tell you the same thing herself,” Fluttershy muttered, glowering at the doctor from behind her fringe. Doctor Li just shook her head sadly. That was an argument they had already had, more than once.

Anna rolled her eyes, “We appreciate that Miss Shimmer may have been unsuccessful, but both Doctor Li and myself have far more experience tackling problems in multiple scientific fields.”

Doctor Li winced as the girls bristled at the disparagement of their absent friend. “We just want to run some simple tests, nothing invasive or dangerous, I promise. The worst that will happen is that we won’t find anything. If that ends up being the case you have full rights to say ‘I told you so’.”

“Ah’ll bear that in mind,” Applejack muttered, “Alright. Who do you want first?”

“Fluttershy, if she doesn’t mind.”

Fluttershy flinched and looked around wildly in alarm, “W-why me?”

“I suppose out of all of us your magic is probably the least dangerous,” Rarity mused.

“It’s also one of the most useful, at least for those of us living in the wastes,” Doctor Li added. “If we could manage to communicate with and tame even a fraction of the wasteland’s fauna, it would give people’s chances of survival out there an incredible boost.”

Fluttershy scowled at Doctor Li for a moment longer, but she relented nonetheless, “What do you need me to do.”

“Just stand in the center of the room please.”

As soon as Fluttershy was situated Doctor Li and Anna pulled a series of cables and electrodes from a bulky machine set into the wall and started attaching them to the young nurse.

“Some of these will measure your bio-metrics, such as your heart rate and brain activity,” Doctor Li explained, “The rest will be monitoring any electromagnetic or nuclear radiation that is generated while you do your thing.”

“Um, okay.” Fluttershy squeaked and blushed as Anna reached up her dress to attach electrodes to her thighs.

Once the connections were done the doctors checked the settings on the machine. Satisfied that everything was set up correctly, Doctor Li turned to Fluttershy.

“Now, I’d like you to bring your wings out. I assume you are able to do that at will?” Fluttershy nodded nervously. Grinning, Doctor Li and Anna each pulled a set of goggles over their eyes. “Excellent. Whenever you are ready then.”

Fluttershy glanced worriedly at the rest of the girls, who all quickly backed away as far as they could go, then gripped her geode tightly. A warm yellow glow quickly spread out to envelop her body. Her hair lengthened, wings sprouted from her back and her dress morphed into a beautiful purple and blue gown.

The doctors’ eyes widened at the magical display.

“Nanotechnology. It has to be,” Doctor Li breathed.

“Um. Doctor?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

“Either that or it’s some form of ultra-fast genetic manipulation,” Anna said, not paying attention.

Flutters frowned and spoke a little more firmly, “Doctor?”

Doctor Li shook her head, “Genetic manipulation wouldn’t explain the alteration to her clothes.”

“Unless they have a biological component?”

“That seems unlikely. What would be the poi-”

“Doctor!”

The doctors both jumped at Fluttershy’s shout, then looked around as she jabbed a finger at the machine set in the wall. The screens on it were an incandescent pink, and growing brighter every second.

“Oh sh-”

The two barely managed to throw themselves out of the way as the screens exploded outward, releasing a swarm of shining butterflies into the room.

Doctor Li gaped as the butterflies fluttered all over the place, one of them perching itself on top of her head.
Fluttershy arched an eyebrow with glacial slowness, giving Doctor Li a look of utter contempt.

“We told you so.”

“No way! You said that?” Sunset gasped.

Fluttershy nodded meekly as the others laughed, “I was, um, a little mad at her.”

“Still are last ah checked,” Applejack chuckled.

Sunset smirked as the young nurse shrugged noncommittally, “So what happened to the butterflies?”

“They’re still down there for now, until we can figure out what to do with them,” Twilight replied, “I make sure Doctor Li takes some nutrient water in for them every day,. Right now they’re probably safer and better off than most of the people out in the wastes.”

“Probably,” Sunset agreed. “So what happened next?”

The group had relocated to the next room along the corridor, a testing room identical to the previous one.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Applejack asked as the doctors strapped electrodes to her, “Ah’d have thought you would have given up after what happened with Fluttershy.”

Doctor Li frowned as she joined Anna at the console, “That was… unexpected. But we did get some readings off the machine, so we’re going to continue and see if we can corroborate those readings with the ones we’ll get off you.”

“If you say so.”

“I think you were right before, it must be nanotechnology to work like that,” Anna said brightly, “Maybe the butterfly thing was some sort of crazy fail-safe? To prevent people from studying it?”

“We’ll soon find out,” Doctor Li muttered. “Applejack? If you would?”

Applejack sighed and tapped her geode, “Alright, but don’t say ah didn’t warn you.”

An orange glow surrounded the farm girl as she ponied up. The glow spread rapidly from Applejack to the electrodes, down the cables and on to the machine.

Everyone stared in awe as leaves started growing out of the cables. A moment later branches burst forth from the machine, somehow fusing with and growing from the metal. Magically glowing apples sprouted from the branches, all different colors popping out and swelling to an impressive size over the course of just a few seconds.

Anna and Doctor Li just stared bemusedly at the computer-apple-tree hybrid.

“Uh…”

“Well ah’ll be,” Applejack planted her hands on her hips, grinning at the tree-thing. “Ah’m calling him Mac!”

Sunset gave her a flat look, “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Rarity sighed as the others groaned at the memory.

“Yep, Rivet City’s own Little Macintosh!” Applejack beamed.

There was a moment of silence as the rest of the Rainbooms stared at the apple-crazed farmer. Finally the silence was broken by Twilight.

“Anyway…”

“I’m afraid I really must protest, Doctor,” Rarity huffed.

The group was in another test room, this time with a certain fashionista hooked up to the machine.

“We’re not stopping until we get some consistent results,” Doctor said firmly.

“It’s technology. Just advanced technology. You’re not crazy.” Anna kept mumbling repeatedly under her breath.

Fluttershy, standing against the wall with the others, leaned a little closer to Twilight. “What do you think will happen?” she half-whispered.

"I have no idea."

“Five caps says the computer turns to crystal,” Rainbow said quietly.

Applejack smirked, “You’re on.”

“Count me in,” Pinkie added.

Doctor Li ignored them, her eyes glued to the machine as Rarity ponied up. Several seconds passed and, aside from an odd crackling sound filling the room, nothing whatsoever happened to the machine.

“Different results… again…” Doctor Li suddenly grinned manically, “But nothing strange happened. No anomalies! No physical impossibilities! We DID IT!”

Anna tapped her on the shoulder lightly, “Uh, you might want to take a look around.”

“What, why?” Doctor Li’s jaw dropped as she turned to look.

The rest of the room was covered in glittering gemstones. A thick layer of crystal over the lights doused the room in a kaleidoscope of refracted colors.

Only the computer and attached cables remained untouched.

“Oh come on!” Rainbow cried.

Sunset shook her head in disbelief, “Wow… this all sounds even worse than the first time I tried to study your magic.”

Rainbow snorted and burst out laughing, “Oh man, that’s nothing. Wait until you hear what happened with Twilight!”

“Just how many of these rooms are there?” Rarity asked.

Applejack shrugged, “Beats me. Probably the whole corridor.”

Yet another testing room had been appropriated. Once again the girls were lined up against a wall, this time watching as Doctor Li attached the various wires and electrodes to Twilight, who was remaining oddly silent throughout. Anna was lurking near the computer, her gaze flicking nervously from Twilight to the screen and back.

Rarity frowned as she watched the doctors get ready, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the first time Twilight’s magic has been tested?”

“I think it is, actually,” Fluttershy replied.

Rainbow grinned, “This should be fun.”

As soon as the last of the electrodes was attached, Doctor Li hurried over to stand next to Anna.

“Alright, Twilight. Begin.”

Twilight gave the girls one last look, then rolled her eyes and gripped her geode. Both doctors watched warily as a purple aura infused her body. Wings appeared, clothes changed and hair lengthened, but nothing else happened.

Anna and Doctor Li both sighed as the glow from Twilight’s transformation slowly faded.

Just as the two relaxed there was a sudden pulse of light. In a flash of purple Twilight’s magic zipped down the cables and into the computer. A split-second later it radiated out to encompass the two scientists. Both screamed as they were hoisted into the air, floating around and tumbling end over end as if gravity had decided to take a day off.

Twilight grimaced, “And that’s how we found out that Anna is, apparently, not a fan of underwear.”

“Also she shaves, like, everything. Including down there,” Rainbow added, gesturing vaguely at her crotch.

“Really, Rainbow Dash. Do you have to be so vulgar?” Rarity huffed.

“What? I’m not the one who took a razor blade to my privates. Imagine if your hand slipped.”

“Ah’m trying not too,” Applejack muttered, crossing her legs tightly.

Fluttershy shivered, “That actually happened to one of our patients, back in the vault.”

That got a collective wince from the entire group.

Rarity chuckled awkwardly, “Moving swiftly on…”

“This is a terrible idea,” Rarity said flatly.

“Ah’m inclined to agree with you,” Applejack muttered.

The girls had been relocated again, given that the computer in the last room still hadn’t stopped glowing and levitating anything that came close. Rainbow Dash was the subject this time, and the girls were more than a little concerned about how she was, in her own words, going to ‘make this one epic’.

“I-I think we should stop this, Doctor,” Anna suggested, her cheeks still tinged pink. “We haven’t gotten any consistent readings at all and this is all starting to scare me.”

“No. I am not stopping now!” Doctor Li snarled. Her hair was an absolute mess and her eyes were twitching at random intervals. Cramming her goggles on her face, she joined Anna at the computer and turned to face Rainbow. “Do it!”

Rainbow grinned evilly and tweaked a dial on her Pip-Boy. A second later a very familiar beat blared out from its speakers.

“Oh dear,” Fluttershy breathed.

The girls started edging towards the door as Rainbow shredded on an imaginary guitar and belted out the lyrics to Awesome As I Wanna Be.

Doctor Li seemed fixated on the machine, but Anna stared in horror as Rainbow ponied up, multi-hued magical energy sparking out from her body and racing down the cables.

“Fuck that!”

She and the girls gave up all restraint as they darted for the door. The second they were all out and in the corridor Applejack slammed the door behind them. Not a moment too soon either, as a hollow boom rocked the ship.

Silence reigned as dust and little flakes of rust trickled from the ceiling. The girls and Anna shared a worried look as they wondered if things had just gone terribly wrong. They all sighed with relief as they heard Rainbow’s sudden cackling, and a few moments later the door slowly swung open.

Rainbow tottered out, doubled over and laughing fit to burst. Doctor Li trudged out after her, covered from head to toe in multi-colored goop. The remains of the computer could just about be seen in the room behind her, more of the freaky fluid spurting out of it in jets.

Doctor Li slowly reached up to pry her goggles off her face. She looked just about ready to burst into tears.

“Are… are you alright, sugarcube?” Applejack asked softly.

The doctor opened her mouth to reply, then spluttered as some of the gunk dripped onto her tongue. Her face contorted with agony and what little of her skin that could be seen suddenly blazed a bright, angry red.

“Ho… hot! Water! Water!”

Doctor Li clamped her hands over her mouth and looked around wildly for water before turning and sprinting out of the corridor towards the main lab.

“Will she be alright?” Anna asked.

“Um, probably?” Fluttershy replied.

“… Chief Harkness is going to go ballistic, isn’t he?” Rarity asked quietly.

“Probably,” Twilight echoed.

Pinkie tilted her head curiously, “When do you think she’ll notice that she has wings?”

A sudden, shrill shriek tore through the air.

“Ah’d say right about now.”

A bit of a light-hearted chapter this time around.
Back to the more serious stuff next time.

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