Watching Applejack stand easily, barely twenty seconds after being injected with some form of advanced stimpak, Sunset couldn’t help but marvel at the efficiency of the Enclave’s medicine.

“So, how do you feel?” Doctor Bohn asked.

Applejack looked curiously at her belly and gently prodded her bruise, “That’s amazing! Ah barely feel a thing!”

Doctor Bohn nodded and packed away her first aid kit, “Good. Just remember to take it easy. If you push yourself too much you’ll only regret it later.”

“Sure thing, Doc,” Applejack replied.

“Are you sure there’s no internal damage?” Fluttershy asked.

“Positive,” Doctor Bohn replied firmly. “There’s no swelling, no numbness or excessive pain, and the Auto-doc didn’t detect any perforations or ruptures in her internal organs. She just has a nasty bruise.”

“I must say, that’s quite a relief,” Rarity sighed, much to the agreement of the others.

“And you’re certain that Fluttershy doesn’t have a concussion?” Sunset asked suspiciously.

Doctor Bohn gave her a flat look, “We want you girls to trust us. Lying about any injuries you have and waiting for one of you to pass out halfway through the tour wouldn’t exactly help our cause.”

“Sienna,” Doctor Strong said warningly.

“It’s fine, she has a point,” Sunset admitted. As tempting as it was to argue just for the sake of it, she knew it wouldn’t get her anywhere. Until they could get their geodes back, and find a safe way back to their friends, the girls would have to play nice. “So, what happens now?”

“It’s up to you,” Doctor Strong replied. “You can have some breakfast first, if you’d like, or we could give you a tour of the facility and answer some of the questions you undoubtedly have. Or, if you just want to take some time to acclimate, we can leave you alone and give you some space to think.”

“I vote breakfast,” Rainbow exclaimed, her hunger evident.

“Me too,” Pinkie added. The rest of the girls quickly agreed.

Doctor Strong nodded, “Very well. If you’ll kindly follow me, the dining hall is just down the corridor.”

The doctors left the room first, with the girls filing out after them. Sunset looked around as she stepped out into the corridor, intending to memorize the layout of the area but she didn’t see anything remarkable. Simple metal hatches lined the corridor, but that was it.

Falling into step behind the scientists, Rarity eyed the concrete walls with distaste. “Are all of your facilities this charming?” she asked sarcastically.

“Pretty much, but this one isn’t actually an Enclave facility,” Doctor Shoichet replied.

Doctor Strong glanced back over her shoulder, “I assume you know about the war that created the wasteland?” The girls nodded. “Before the bombs fell, this place belonged to a corporation called RobCo Industries. They were a computer and robotics corporation that had several ties with the government. This facility was originally a factory and maintenance depot, but shortly before the war it was repurposed as a retrofitting station.”

“If this place ain’t one of yours, then what the heck did you bring us here for?” Applejack asked.

Doctor Shoichet shrugged, “We occupied this building because it contained useful resources. It was also considered a suitable neutral ground where we and, through us, the Enclave could engage in peaceful talks with you girls in a less intimidating environment.”

Sienna rolled her eyes, “Then Colonel Autumn got involved and took things from intimidating to outright hostile in the space of a few minutes.”

“Colonel Autumn was never supposed to have anything to do with this project,” Shoichet grumbled.

Rainbow snorted, “So, what? You were just going to invite us over for a chat and hope we didn’t find out how twisted the rest of you are?”

Sunset struggled to repress a vindictive smirk as the three doctors winced.

“That’s… not quite how I’d put it,” Doctor Shoichet said delicately.

“Ah bet it ain’t,” Applejack muttered.

The group lapsed into an awkward silence after that. Sunset desperately wanted to talk privately with her friends, to try and figure what their best course of action should be, but there was no chance of that happening while the scientists or their little robot were around.

“Um, here’s the canteen,” Doctor Strong said finally, pushing open a set of double doors.

The canteen was long and wide. Several tables with attached benches stretched the length of the room, all of which had clearly been recently cleaned. At the far end of the canteen was a small worktop with a sink and some cupboards, and next to those was a portable generator hooked up to a small refrigeration unit. Bowls, plates and boxes of cereal were lined up on the worktop.

Doctor Strong gestured towards the food, “Help yourselves. There’s milk and fruit in the refrigerator and there’s canned food in the cupboards. It’s not brilliant I’m afraid. We brought all of the supplies we could from our main headquarters, but our food budget wasn’t big enough to cover anything particularly fancy.”

“I’ll grab something too, I haven’t had breakfast yet,” Sienna said, striding forward and helping herself to the cereal. The Rainbooms swiftly followed suit.

Grabbing herself a bowl of cereal too, Sunset leaned against the worktop with a sigh. If the doc’s eating it too, I guess it can’t be drugged or anything. She blinked in surprise as she tasted the first bite, “Is this almond milk?”

Doctor Strong nodded, “Plant-based products are easier for us to grow in a sealed environment. Almonds in particular require a lot of water to grow, but we have extensive water recycling and reclamation systems. The Enclave does have a stock of real milk too, from livestock kept at specially designed facilities around the country, but it’s very much a luxury item. Is there anything else about the Enclave you want to know?”

“What happened to our friends from Project Purity?” Rainbow asked instantly.

Doctor Strong shook her head sadly, “I’m sorry, but I really have no idea.”

“Find out,” Sunset said firmly. “Until we know they’re safe, you’re not getting anything from us. That is not negotiable.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” Doctor Strong replied. “They should all be fine. I don’t think even Colonel Autumn would harm unarmed scientists.”

“Adam wasn’t unarmed,” Fluttershy put in quietly.

“I’ll contact the President as soon as we’re done here,” Doctor Strong promised. “If I tell him it’s necessary for our cooperation, I’m sure he’ll tell me what everyone’s condition is.”

Applejack grunted, “And Ah suppose we’re supposed to take your word for it? That ain’t good enough.”

“Let us speak to James,” Twilight cut in, “he was the lead scientist on the project.”

Doctor Strong tapped her chin thoughtfully, “I can’t see that being a problem, but it may take a little longer. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Is there anything else we can do to earn your trust in the meantime?” Doctor Shoichet added.

“Giving our necklaces back would be a nice start,” Rarity shot.

Sienna shook her head, “Not yet, not until we know more about the radiation coming off them.”

Sunset glared at her and opened her mouth to speak, but Twilight got there first, “They’re perfectly safe, as long as no-one tries to interfere with them. They’re each tied to our unique magical signature. Trust me, we’ve been wearing them constantly since we arrived in the wasteland, and no-one has suffered any ill effects from them.”

“All the same, I’d rather keep them safe and secured for now,” Doctor Strong replied. “Some of the equipment around here is volatile enough as it is, I don’t want to risk exposing any of it to an unknown form of radiation.”

“What do you mean by ‘volatile’?” Sunset asked warily.

Doctor Strong glanced at Shoichet, who just gave a noncommittal shrug. Sighing quietly, Strong looked back at Sunset, “The maintenance depot upstairs was, essentially, a front. The true purpose of this facility was converting civilian space rockets into intercontinental missiles.” She paused, hesitating for a moment, “There are still a couple of warheads on the factory’s main floor.”

“Warheads? You mean nuclear warheads?!” Sunset yelped.

“It’s okay!” Doctor Shoichet said quickly.

“The heck it is!” Applejack snapped.

Doctor Strong held her hands up in a placating manner, “The warheads aren’t armed, they’re completely inactive at the moment.”

“Inactive or not, what possible reason could you have for bringing us to such a place?” Rarity asked incredulously.

“We weren’t going to, at least at first,” Doctor Strong replied. “Originally, we were going to bring you to the Enclave’s main base of operations, but we managed to secure this place faster than we expected.”

“The downside of that is that we haven’t any time to clean, tidy, or generally make this place presentable, let alone shift any of the more bulky equipment,” Sienna continued. “Of course, we were expecting you to arrive awake and aware of exactly what we were doing and how we could help each other, not beaten, drugged and unconscious.”

“Well, if you hadn’t attacked our friends for no reason, maybe we’d be having a different conversation right now,” Applejack retorted, biting down on an apple she’d found in the fridge.

“We’ve already told you, that wasn’t us, it was Colonel Autumn,” Doctor Shoichet huffed.

“It doesn’t matter who led the Taskforce, it was still on the Enclave’s orders,” Doctor Strong said quickly, pre-empting the Rainbooms’ response. “Right now we’re representing the Enclave, so it’s up to us to make this right.” She sighed and got to her feet, “I’ll go and contact the President. I’ll ask about bringing James here, and I’ll see if I can find out the reason behind the acquisition of Project Purity.”

“No, I’ll go,” Sienna shoved her empty bowl away and stood too. “I’ll ask Turner if he knows anything while I’m at it. He’s better connected than us, he might have details.” She glanced around at each of the Rainbooms, “If we do this, will that be enough to get you to trust us?”

Sunset rubbed her neck awkwardly as she thought about it. She wanted to trust them, but there were just too many things that didn’t add up. Doctor Strong was being entirely sincere, Sunset was sure of it. She even had a nagging suspicion that Sienna was honestly out to help. However, the fact remained that both James and Doctor Li has been insistent, even desperate, to keep the girls away from the Enclave. That alone was reason enough to be cautious. Besides, it would hardly be the first time a version of Twilight had been manipulated into darkness by an evil ’benefactor’.

Going by the looks on her friends’ faces, none of them were confident about their options either. The sole exception was Rainbow, who had folded her arms and was pointedly looking away from all of the Enclave women. “It’ll be a start,” Sunset said eventually.

“That’s good enough for me,” Doctor Strong replied, relief evident in her voice.

“I’ll see you all soon, then.” Sienna started towards the door, then glanced over her shoulder at Doctor Strong, “In the meantime, don’t you have a theory you wanted to discuss with a certain someone?” She looked very deliberately from the doctor to Twilight and back as she said the last bit.

Twilight watched Sienna warily as she left, “Uh, what did she mean by that?”

Doctor Strong chuckled nervously, “Oh, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“Come on, Tara,” Doctor Shoichet urged, “I want to see where this goes too.”

“Where what goes?” Pinkie asked.

Doctor Strong glanced at Twilight, chewing her lip nervously, “Well, you see… it’s about what Becky asked you earlier; About us being the same.”

Twilight eyes widened and she shot a questioning look at Sunset, who sighed inwardly. I knew this topic was going to come up again soon.

The look wasn’t lost on Doctor Shoichet, who was watching the two carefully, “We know you have an idea of what we’re talking about.” She gestured between herself and Sunset, “Colours aside, me and you look the same, we sound the same, hell, even our DNA is completely identical.”

“How do you know that?” Twilight asked quickly.

“We ran some blood tests on you when you arrived,” Doctor Strong admitted. Seeing the look on Sunset’s face, she quickly added, “It’s standard procedure to make sure you aren’t carrying any infectious diseases that we haven’t encountered before. Especially since you’re originally from another world.”

“What difference does that make?” Rainbow asked.

“The people of this world might not have any immunity to diseases we brought along from back home. James did the same thing when we first arrived in the Vault, remember?” Fluttershy answered. “In the worst case, even a minor illness that we find annoying could potentially wipe out a community that’s never built up an resistance to it.”

“Exactly,” Doctor Shoichet gave Flutters a respectful nod before turning back to Sunset, “anyway, like I was saying, physically speaking we’re near enough the same person. The same goes for Tara and Twilight.”

“You even called me ‘Twilight’ at first,” Doctor Strong frowned curiously. “What we don’t know yet is why.”

“But we think you do,” Shoichet added. “I realise that you don’t trust the Enclave yet, but this has nothing to do with our organisation. This is just between us and you. Will you tell us what you know, please?”

Sunset didn’t know how to respond. Seeing the pleading look on Doctor Strong’s face, she decided on the truth. If her and Shoichet were friends, then there was a good chance that Sunset could befriend her too, and befriending her could end up being the key to getting out from under the Enclave’s thumb and back to James. “You already know that we’re from a different world, right?”

“When you say a different world, do you mean a different planet or a different dimension?” Doctor Strong asked.

Sunset shrugged, “World, dimension, alternate reality, call it whatever you want. The truth is, I’m not from the same one as the rest of us.”

Doctor Shoichet frowned, “You mean you’re from another different world?”

Sunset nodded, “There are big differences between the two worlds, very big differences, but they have many things in common. One of the main similarities between the two is that both worlds have their own version of the same people. We’ve actually met two Twilight Sparkles, this one,” Twilight gave a shy little wave, “and another one from my homeworld.” Sunset folded her arms and looked Doctor Strong in the eye, “Apparently, now we’ve met three.”

The doctors both stared at her in stunned silence. After several long seconds, Doctor Shoichet opened her mouth, “Huh.”

“The Great Hall is just in here.”

Adam nodded his thanks to the squire and stepped through the door indicated. Inside the well-lit room, two large, wooden, c-shaped tables were placed facing each other. Elder Lyons, his daughter Sarah, Doctor Li, and Knight-Sergeant Metzger were all seated around the tables on comfortable chairs, with a young squire standing to attention behind the Elder.

Elder Lyons nodded in greeting, “Adam. I’m glad you could join us. Are you healing well?”

“Near enough, thanks,” Adam replied.

“Good. Please, take a seat.” The Elder waited for Adam to ease himself into a chair next to Doctor Li before addressing the room, “Now that we are all here, there are a couple of things I would like to discuss. First of all, Project Purity.”

“Can you retake it?” Doctor Li asked.

Elder Lyons hummed and stroked his beard, “The Enclave have set up a comprehensive perimeter, and are strengthening their defences even as we speak. However, with the refinements on fusion power you’ve brought us, Scribe Rothchild believes that we will be able to activate Liberty Prime at full power within the week. Sooner, if providence shines upon us.”

“I suppose that’s something you’ll have to thank Twilight for,” Doctor Li replied.

“Speaking of the Rainbooms, what are we doing about rescuing them?” Adam asked. “I thought Knight-Sergeant Metzger was taking a squad out to find them yesterday?”

“Believe me, I wanted to,” Metzger grumbled.

“We couldn’t risk sending a rescue squad out, not until we knew where the Enclave were keeping the girls,” Sarah cut in. “If they were imprisoned at Project Purity, there’s no way a single squad would be able to break them out. However, we received word from Three-Dog that an observer from Rivet City witnessed the girls being loaded into a Vertibird and transported South-East.”

“This was corroborated by our scouts, as well as by a wasteland merchant one of our squads encountered south of the river,” Elder Lyons added. “Factoring in the estimated range of a Vertibird, we believe the Rainbooms have most likely been taken to either the old Bolling Air Force Base, the remains of the Suitland Federal Center, or the RobCo maintenance facility.”

Metzger scowled, “All three of those are deep in super mutant territory.”

Elder Lyons nodded grimly, “Indeed. Unfortunately, that isn’t our only problem. Doctor Li has informed me that even if we successfully retake Project Purity, we’ll still need to acquire a certain component before we can activate the purifier.”

Adam felt a stab of pain at the reminder of what he had lost at the memorial building, but he forced it to the back of his mind, “The G.E.C.K module.”

“Precisely. A very rare piece of equipment,” Elder Lyons replied. “The problem is manpower.” He gestured towards Metzger, “I only have a single squad I can spare from the preparations for the assault, and right now rescuing the Rainbooms is a higher priority than a G.E.C.K. We cannot risk the Enclave getting control of their powers.”

“What about me?” Adam asked, “I can’t just sit this one out.”

The Elder shook his head, smiling tightly, “We wouldn’t expect you to. Our archives contain records of every Vault in the Capital Wasteland, hopefully one of them was issued with a G.E.C.K.”

“You want me to find out which one, then go and fetch it,” Adam finished.

Elder Lyons nodded, “I’m afraid I can’t offer you any equipment, but I’ve authorised Paladin Gunny to train you in the correct use of power armour, just in case you should be lucky enough to find a suit in one of the Vaults.”

“Or in case you manage to drag an Enclave asshole out of one,” Sarah smirked.

Elder Lyons huffed a laugh, but his expression quickly turned serious as he looked at Metzger, “That brings us to you. I want you to take your squad and skirt around the edge of the Enclave perimeter to the south of Project Purity, then make your way to each of the three locations we suspect the Rainbooms are being held. Once you have found them you are to return them here as quickly as humanly possible.”

Metzger snapped a salute, “Yes, Elder.”

“This is an extremely dangerous mission, Knight-Sergeant,” the Elder said gravely. “However, if you succeed, you, and your squad, will have earned your place among the ranks of the Paladins.” He paused and scratched his beard, “I believe you’ve nicknamed Squad Pilum the ‘Wonderbolts’, is that correct?”

Metzger nodded stiffly, “Yes, Elder.”

He smiled and nodded back, “Succeed in this mission, and that is how you will be remembered in the scrolls of honour.”

Metzger snapped another salute, her chest swelling with pride, “We won’t let you down, Elder!”

“Good.” Elder Lyons took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “In that case, Squire Maxson, please show Adam to the archives. Knight-Sergeant, good luck, and Godspeed.”

On the upper floors of Tenpenny Tower, in a tastefully decorated suite, three well-dressed people sat on comfortable chairs. The first, a powerfully built old man with thick white hair and a matching beard, was the owner of the apartment. The other two, one a beautiful woman with fine features and silky black hair, the other her curly-haired younger sister, were staying him under the pretence of a business visit.

“I must say, I really am thankful that you’re still willing to put up with us, Daring,” the woman said and sipped a delightful blend of tea imported from a less desolate part of the wastes.

Daring Dashwood grinned and shook his head, “Don’t be ridiculous, Tabitha. You know I always enjoy having you two around, it brightens up my days. The fact that it helps the Railroad is just icing on the cake.”

“You are far too kind,” Tabitha replied, giving her hair a little flick. “Though I must admit, I’ll feel a lot better once that horrid Zimmer is gone and we can finally get back to work.”

Her little sister snorted, “I still think we should take him out while he’s down here and vulnerable.”

“Now, now, Claire. You know as well as I do he is hardly vulnerable as long as he has that bodyguard with him,” Tabitha admonished. “I would be very surprised if Armitage isn’t some form of advanced prototype, much as our other friend was.”

Dashwood nodded, “Your sister’s right, little lady. Besides, you heard Three Dog’s broadcast earlier, the Enclave is starting to make a move here in the Capital Wasteland. The best thing the Railroad can do right now is keep it’s head down.”

“I suppose,” Claire said sadly. “Do you think it’s true, about the Rainbooms being captured?”

“It seems likely,” Tabitha replied. She was kept from responding further by an abrupt knock at the door.

“Come in!” Dashwood called.

The door was gently pushed open and a cross-eyed young woman with a long blonde ponytail stepped through. Tabitha breathed a sigh of relief as she recognised her as one of the Railroad’s favoured couriers.

The courier smiled brightly when she spotted Tabitha, “Hey, Miss Germaine. I’ve got a letter for you.”

Tabitha set down her teacup and stood to accept the letter, “Thank you, darling. I’ve been hoping this would arrive soon. How are things?”

“Same old, same old” the courier replied. “I’d best be off. I’ve got to get up to the Republic of Dave before nightfall if I can.”

“Oh, of course, dear, don’t let me keep you.” Tabitha gave her a concerned look, “And do be careful when you go past Old Olney, won’t you?”

“Will do!” the courier said cheerfully as she left, closing the door behind her.

Dashwood chuckled softly, “She’s a tough one, I’ll give her that.”

“What does the letter say? Is Zimmer gone yet?” Claire asked earnestly.

Tabitha rolled her eyes and tore open the envelope. The letter within was handwritten in Father Clifford’s flowing script. At first glance it simply seemed to be a rather banal letter asking about how her trip was going and giving some pointless news about goings on in Rivet City, but Tabitha had no trouble picking out the coded phrases that spelled out the missive’s true message.

Claire raised an eyebrow, “So are we going home, or what?”

Tabitha shook her head. Zimmer had indeed left for the Commonwealth, thanks to the Rainbooms no less, but now those same girls were in desperate need of help, and the Railroad was not in the habit of abandoning those who helped them.

Tabitha dropped the letter onto a table and stalked over to the nearest armoire, where her armored overcoat had been stored, “Gather your equipment, Claire. We have an assignment. Daring? I hate to be a bother, but do you mind if I borrow a few things from your secret stash?”

Have a new chapter!

Apologies for the delay, I'm working on getting a buffer ready so I can keep up the regular posting when I go on holiday in a few weeks, and forgot to actually upload a completed chapter on time

Comments and criticisms are welcomed!