Splitting up had not been the best of ideas, Sunset quickly decided. Her team were encountering increasing numbers of Super Mutants. Several times the girls were forced to hide behind whatever cover they could find as a group of them stomped down the corridors, cowering in silent terror until they could find a chance to sneak past.

Rainbow Dash did what she could to make things easier, taking out lone mutants when she could, but the wretched things were incredibly tough. Slashing their throats still gave them plenty of time to thrash around loudly, and the first time she tried to actually stab one in the skull Flashburn got stuck, forcing the whole team to work together to yank it out and hide the corpse before any other Super Mutants turned up. Beheading them wasn’t much of an option either, much to Rainbow’s chagrin. Athlete though she was, she just didn’t have the strength necessary to lop a super mutant’s head off in one clean sweep.

Fortunately, the foot traffic slowly eased off the further they progressed into the Vault, heading upstairs whenever they could to try and get away from the main thoroughfare they had unwittingly stumbled upon. The few mutants they did come across were apparently being sent on errands or missions, with the big mutants bossing around the smaller ones and getting bossed around in turn by even bigger mutants.

From what the girls could piece together from the scraps of broken conversation they overheard, several scouting parties were being sent out into the wastes, which somewhat explained the high volume of Super Mutants heading to the lower areas. Any relief they may have felt about the fact that most of the mutants were leaving was quashed when they discovered that the scouts were being ordered to hunt down more of the ‘colorful glowy stuff’ that had been seen flying over the wasteland.

The fact that the Super Mutants were trying to collect magic chilled the girls to the bone. The possessed protectron and the souped-up lasers the girls had faced at Project Exodus had been bad enough. If the mutants managed to get themselves an arsenal of magically enhanced weaponry, then the fate of the entire Capital Wasteland was at risk. The wastelanders would have to be warned. Still, as tempting as it was to turn tail and get the word out immediately, the girls had a job to do.

Creeping down a deserted corridor, the four stopped outside a grimy door. The sign painted on it was faded and several of the letters had been scraped away over the years, but the words ‘Authorized Entry Only’ could still be made out under the fade of time and rust. A restricted area. Exactly the kind of place that rare or valuable technology would most likely be found. Unfortunately, a test of the door controls revealed that it was locked tight.

Sunset silently cursed herself for not taking up lockpicking after that time Juniper Montage locked Rainbow in a storage closet. Thinking fast, she looked around quickly to make sure that they were still alone then gestured for Pinkie to come closer and whispered in her ear, “Do you think you can use your sugar magic to break that lock?”

Rainbow gaped at her as if she were mad. “Uh, I thought we were supposed to avoid being heard?”

“It doesn’t have to be a big blast,” Sunset said quickly. “Use a tiny amount of sugar. Just enough to break the mechanism.”

Pinkie looked from Sunset to the lock, chewing her lip nervously. “Uh… I can try?”

“Good girl.” Sunset patted her on the back then indicated a door a short way down the corridor. “As soon as you’ve set the sugar to blow, we’ll all hide in that bathroom until we know that nothing’s coming, okay?”

“Okay.” Pinkie nervously eyed up the keyhole as the others backed away a few steps. Just as she took a deep breath and knelt down in front of it there was a loud click, and the door slid smoothly up into the ceiling to reveal a towering super mutant standing over her.

The two regarded each other in shock for a heartbeat. Pinkie recovered first, leaping back with a yelp. The mutant snarled and opened its mouth to roar, but the sound became little more than a wet gurgle as there was a sudden blur and Flashburn was buried point-first in its throat. Rainbow leaped out of the way as the mutant instinctively lashed out with a fist then dove back in, slashing with her blade.

The mutant reacted with surprising aggression, ignoring the grievous wounds it received and driving forward with its fists. Rainbow dodged the attack easily and opened up a nasty gash across its arms as she slipped out of the way. The mutant tried to lunge after her, but ended up simply collapsing to its knees as blood loss took its toll. Bringing a hand up to its throat, the mutant slowly looked around at each of the girls, defiance burning in its eyes.

In one last act of malice, the monster stuck its middle finger up at Rainbow and yanked something off its belt with its free hand. Terror gripped Sunset as the mutant ripped the pin out of the grenade. Rainbow darted forward and hacked at the mutant’s hand, then kicked the falling grenade back through the open door and disappeared in a blur as the others dove aside.

Amplified by the cramped confines, the explosion that followed was deafening. Clumps of rust and dust were knocked loose from the ceiling as the echoes reverberated through the corridors.
Glancing back at her friends, Sunset was relieved to see that none of them were injured, but they had to move quickly or that could easily change. Even through the ringing in her ears, she could hear guttural shouts and cries of alarm coming from the corridor beyond the door. Another multi-hued blur made her flinch reflexively.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Rainbow said flatly as she helped Sunset to her feet. “We need to get moving. Which way should we go?”

Sunset’s reply was cut off as another super mutant thundered through the door, an assault rifle clasped in its meaty paws. She raised her own rifle and snapped off a shot almost instinctively. The mutant howled and staggered as the bullet tore through its cheek, bringing a hand up to its face. The sight triggered a memory in Sunset; an image flashing across her mind of a raider standing atop a rocky outcrop, twitching and falling as a series of bullets tore through him.

The memory paralyzed her. Even as the mutant snarled and glared at her with hate-filled eyes, Sunset could only stand and watch in frozen horror. It wasn’t until the beast raised its weapon that she snapped back to reality. Time seemed to slow as she cycled the bolt on her rifle, ejecting the spent cartridge and chambering a new one, but she knew she wouldn’t make it in time. At the last second, a handful of glowing pink powder puffed against the back of the mutant’s head.

The sugar detonated with a loud pop, splattering blood and brain matter all over the walls. The sudden destruction of the mutant’s brain sent a violent spasm through its entire body. Its hands clenched as it fell, a wild spray of bullets coughing from its assault rifle and ricocheting dangerously off the walls and ceiling. Sunset flinched at both the noise and the sudden searing heat she felt across her right bicep as one of them grazed her.

The echoes of the fight died down quickly, but the distinctive sound of more mutants coming to investigate the disturbance told the girls that they weren’t safe yet. Sunset looked over at Pinkie and Fluttershy, both fearful and horrified, then at Rainbow, determined but worried, and knew that she needed to get her head back in the game. “Everyone, through that door and see if you can find somewhere to hide, quickly!” she snapped, pointing at the restricted area.

The others quickly did as they were told, with Rainbow going in first. Sunset paused just long enough to sling her rifle across her back and snatch up the fallen mutant’s assault rifle before darting in after them.

Rushing through a short corridor, the group emerged in a huge room, far wider and taller than any they’d ever seen in Vault 101. Half a dozen immense vats lined either side of the room, each of them spaced at even intervals from each other. Thick pipes rose out of each vat, snaking between a grid of catwalks that surrounded them before disappearing into the ceiling.

A trio of Super Mutants were gathered around the far end of the room, with more up on the catwalks, all carrying a variety of different weapons between them. The largest, a nine foot tall monster wearing thick armour with a set of flight goggles and bearing a heavier model of assault rifle, pointed at the group and roared, “Get them away from green stuff!”

The girls separated, Pinkie and Rainbow diving behind one vat and Sunset and Flutters diving behind another as the mutants opened fire. Bullets spanked off the metal sides of the vats as the mutants advanced.

“Now what?!” Rainbow yelled over the din.

Sunset tried to peek out, then ducked back as a bullet ricocheted past her face. “Whoa!” Remembering what Adam said about fighting Super Mutants, she called over to the other two, “We need to confuse them! Everybody, pony up! Rainbow, light up Flashburn!”

Rainbow nodded and held her shishkebab in front of her, grinning like a maniac. A moment later, raging blue flames exploded into life around the blade once more, lighting up the entire room in a burst of incandescent fury. Four smaller flashes followed as each of the girls ponied up in turn.

Rainbow whooped and flexed her wings before zooming straight up and dashing away over the tops of the vats, leaving a burning after image in her wake. Trying to ignore the bellows of rage and the sounds of battle that ripped through the air, Sunset hefted her stolen assault rifle and shouted to Pinkie, “Do what you can to help Rainbow! Cause as much mayhem as you can!”

“Roger!” Pinkie snapped a crisp salute, tucked her sugar shaker into a pocket and crammed her hands into her hair, pulling out a bottle of Nuka-Cola and a bottle opener. She popped the lid off the cola, stuck her thumb over the opening and gave it a good shake before stepping out from behind the vat and hurling it at one of the mutants on the catwalk. “Order up!”

“What should I do?” Fluttershy asked, wincing at the blast from Pinkie’s magic.

“Just stay behind me and don’t get shot!” Sunset replied.

Fluttershy nodded nervously. “O-okay.”

Gritting her teeth, Sunset leaned out from behind the vat and raised her weapon, looking for targets. The biggest mutant was down already, smouldering gashes marred its neck and chest. The other two were standing back to back, waving their weapons around and desperately trying to track Rainbow as she careened around the room at top speed. Both of them jumped as a burning mutant toppled off the catwalks and crashed to the ground beside them.

Sunset seized the opportunity, swallowing her revulsion and opening fire on the pair. The rifle bucked madly in her arms, utterly ruining her aim, but all of the bullets went in the right general direction and she actually managed to score a few hits. One of the mutants crumpled as tiny red craters opened up in its torso. The second yelled in pain and turned to face its attacker, then staggered and fell as a shining streak flashed in front of it and spilled its guts onto the floor before slashing open its throat.

Rainbow skidded to a stop next to Sunset and wiped her brow with her free arm, her breath coming in ragged gasps. “Man, this is rough. On the plus side, it looks like Flashburn actually cuts better when its lit.”

“Good to know,” Sunset muttered, looking around for more targets while avoiding looking at the gory mess left of that last mutant. She looked up as another explosion tore through the air, just in time to see a super mutant corpse drop from the catwalk with its entire right side missing.

“I think that’s the last of them.” There was a multi-hued blur as Rainbow checked the room before stopping back by Sunset less than two seconds later. “Yeah, we’re good. There’s a terminal up on the catwalk over there, though,” she pointed to a ladder between two of the vats, “you might want to check it out.”

“Good idea.” Sunset nodded and glanced over at Pinkie, who was grimacing at the collection of entrails now littering the floor. “Are you okay, Pinkie?”

Pinkie gave a weak nod and a thumbs up. “I’m good. Just… one sec…” With an awful retch, her whole body shifted as she bent over and vomited loudly. Fluttershy immediately hurried over to rub her back and hold her hair out of the way.

Seeing her friend empty her guts, combined with the nightmarish scene before her and the vile stench that was assaulting her nostrils, was enough to make Sunset’s stomach rebel too. She clamped a hand over her mouth, fighting her own rising gorge as she made her way over to the ladder. Unfortunately, Sunset was so busy trying not to vomit that she wasn’t paying enough attention to where she was stepping until her foot skidded on something. She looked down without thinking and, upon spotting that she had slipped on some variety of mutant internal organ, staggered away and braced herself against a vat as she lost her lunch too.

Rainbow groaned and turned away. “Oh man, I don’t think I can take much more of this. I’m gonna watch the door, to make sure no more mutants come in here.”

Sunset nodded jerkily. “Okay… be careful.” Giving her mouth a wipe with the back of her hand, she straightened up and made a second attempt at getting to the ladder, this time being very careful as to where she put her feet. As she reached the base of the ladder, she was surprised to see Fluttershy walk up next to her. “Flutters? Is Pinkie okay?”

The young nurse nodded slowly. “She’ll be okay, she’s gone to watch the door with Rainbow. I figured you probably wouldn’t want to be left alone in here.”

“Thanks,” Sunset said gratefully. She looked up at the ladder, then glanced down at her assault rifle. “Uh, do you mind carrying this up for me? I’m kinda going to need my hands.”

“Oh, um... of course.” Fluttershy cautiously accepted the weapon after Sunset had made sure the safety was on, then slowly flew up alongside her as she climbed the ladder.

When they reached the top, Sunset grunted and rolled her neck as she straightened up before accepting her assault rifle back. She spotted the terminal Dash had mentioned at the end of the catwalk, a dead super mutant lying next to it with a blackened slash wound stretching from its collarbone to its hip. Sunset shook her head and tried to put the death and destruction out of her mind. “Well, at least that was easier than I expected... I guess,” she said, trying to look on the bright side. “I’m not sure why I even bothered ponying up.”

“It was probably a good idea,” Fluttershy replied quietly, glancing in each of the vats as they passed. Most were empty, but the one nearest the terminal was full of some vile-looking lime-green goo. “Um, what do you think that stuff is?”

Sunset shrugged, grimacing as she stepped gingerly around the dead mutant. “No idea.” She perked up slightly when she saw that the terminal was on and, thankfully, not password-protected. Even better, as she skimmed through the files it contained, she discovered an inventory for all non-standard equipment issued to the vault. The G.E.C.K. was mentioned, along with a whole bunch of machinery related to something called the ‘EEP section’, but Sunset couldn’t find anything that sounded like the SDT-1 that the Exodus team had shown her.

“Does it say what that green stuff is?” Fluttershy asked.

Sunset shook her head. “No, it just says that most of the vats are empty and need refilling. It looks like this Vault doesn’t have anything like the SDT-1 either, so I think we should just find the G.E.C.K. and meet up with the others, then get the heck out of here as fast as we can.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to reply, then clamped it shut when something moaned loudly at her feet. The two looked down, then yelped and jumped aside as the mutant they’d considered dead shakily raised its hunting rifle in one hand and fired off a shot, the bullet tearing a hole in one of the pipes above and releasing a spurt of green muck that caught Fluttershy in the face. Sunset’s response was immediate and deadly as she emptied the rest of her clip into the mutant.

“What was that?!” The two girls cried out in fright as Rainbow suddenly appeared next to them, her sword held out aggressively.

“This one wasn’t dead!” Sunset snapped, her shock turning to anger in less than a heartbeat.

Rainbow looked down at the now very much deceased mutant. “Oh, my bad,” she said contritely. “Uh... I’ll go check the others.”

Sunset growled as the athlete disappeared in a flash, but reined her anger as she glanced at Fluttershy. “Are you okay?”

Fluttershy nodded, wiping her face with a towel from her nursing kit. “I-I think so. Whatever this is, it doesn’t appear to be corrosive. I just hope it’s not toxic or poisonous.”

“We’ll get you straight to a doctor the moment we’re out of here,” Sunset promised. “Come on, let’s find the others and get out of here before anything else goes wrong.”

Twilight stared in mute horror at the grisly scene before her.

After leaving the record room the team had set out to find the Vault’s experimental section, a task that turned out to be far easier than anticipated as they had stumbled across it barely a hundred yards away. Upon entering the experimental section, the group found a long corridor lined with small rooms, each with a viewing window and a terminal outside the door identifying them as FEV Test Chambers.

Curious as to what FEV was, Twilight had blithely peeked through the closest window, then frozen as she spotted the nightmare inside.

“What is that thing?” Applejack asked in a horrified undertone. Twilight just shook her head, not trusting her voice right at that moment.

Lying on a slab in the centre of the room was a dead creature. It looked superficially like a super mutant, but one of its legs was severely underdeveloped and it had a grotesque growth of twisted muscle and bone bulging out of its chest. It was possible, Twilight supposed, that it was simply an ordinary super mutant that had suffered from some form of horrific disease, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the poor thing had been made that way somehow. That, above all else, led her to some very dark conclusions about the nature of Vault 87.

“Whatever it is, it can’t hurt us,” Adam said reasonably. “Come on, let’s keep moving.”

Eager to get away from the horrid scene, the girls quickly assented. Thankfully, most of the other testing chambers they passed were empty, and the corridors themselves seemed deserted save for another of the bizarre four-legged creatures with hands in place of feet. Killing the horrid creature felt almost like an act of mercy.

Turning a corner after dealing with the mutant, the group came across a clinic. In the dim light it almost seemed to be cleaner than the rest of the Vault; though, admittedly, that wasn’t really saying much. Adam immediately set to searching for any medical supplies he could salvage while Twilight went to a terminal in the corner of the room. The username indicated that it originally belonged to the Vault’s chief physician.

Time lost all meaning as Twilight delved into the physician’s records, reading with an ever-increasing sense of horror and disgust as each new entry and file was somehow worse than the last, a catalogue of scientific endeavours pursued with no regard whatsoever for even the most rudimentary morality.

Completely lost in her reading, Twilight flinched when she a gentle hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality.

“Uh, are you okay there, sugarcube?” Applejack asked softly.

Twilight blinked and lifted a hand to her cheek, noticing for the first time that it was wet with tears. She hadn’t even realised that she’d been crying.

“Darling? What’s wrong?” Rarity pressed.

“Yeah, what’s up, Sparkle?” Adam put in.

Twilight shook her head and wiped away the tears. “It was an experiment. It was all a huge, twisted experiment.”

The others shared a confused look. “What was?” Applejack asked.

“This Vault, the Super Mutants, all of it,” Twilight replied as she slumped onto a filthy chair. “It was all an experiment to try and create super-soldiers.”

“Super-soldiers?” Applejack repeated.

Twilight nodded, staring at the floor. “They used something called the Forced Evolutionary Virus, the FEV, on the Vault inhabitants. It mutated them, making them bigger, stronger and tougher, but also reducing their intelligence and making them prone to bouts of uncontrollable rage and anxiety.”

A long silence greeted her explanation. Rarity was the first to break it, her eyes wide with horror, “You… you mean the mutants… the ones I’ve been slaughtering…”

“It ain’t your fault!” Applejack cut in quickly. “They ain’t human anymore-”

“But they were!” Rarity cried, lifting her hands to her head as her breaths came faster and sharper. “They were all people once! Victims! And I’ve been butchering them like cattle!”

Applejack rushed over to her and took Rarity’s face in her hands as she started to hyperventilate. “Rarity, listen to me,” she said firmly, “It is not your fault, you hear? Maybe they were human once, but they ain’t anymore; all they are now are monsters. All we can do now is put them out of their misery.”

“It’s not right-” Rarity began.

“None of this is right,” Applejack interrupted. “This whole darn world is rotten to the core.” She sighed and gently rested her forehead against Rarity’s. “Look, I know this is messed up, Ah mean even more messed up than the cracks Rainbow makes about me and my brother, but it’s gotta be done. These Super Mutants may have been human once, and you can be sure as sugar that none of them asked for this to happen, but what’s done is done. Unless there’s a cure or something we can find,” she added with a glance at Twilight.

“The records don’t mention one,” Twilight replied. “As far as I can tell, the scientists who made the virus didn’t even consider making one.”

“Well, that’s that, then.” Applejack sighed again as she looked Rarity in the eye. “Don’t worry. Me and Adam can handle the Super Mutants, you just focus on using your magic to keep us safe, alright?”

Rarity nodded jerkily. “O-okay.”

“Atta girl.”

Adam rubbed his neck awkwardly and turned to Twilight. “So… did it say anything about where the G.E.C.K. is?”

“No,” Twilight replied, “but it does mention some maintenance work being done in the G.E.C.K. chamber, and something about having to bring the head of maintenance in on the Vault’s secret experiments, so I suppose it would make sense for it to be somewhere in this sector.”

“Good enough for me.” Applejack stepped back and placed her hands on Rarity’s shoulders. “Are you going to be okay?”

Rarity let out a weary sigh. “It’s not like I really have an option at the moment, do I?” She gave herself a shake and smiled wanly at Applejack. “I’ll be alright, dear... just… I’m going to need some serious therapy when we finally get back home,” she said quietly.

Applejack huffed a laugh, “Yeah, you and me both, sugarcube. Come on, let’s go find that G.E.C.K.”

Leaving the clinic behind, the four headed back out into the corridors, each person even more subdued than they had been when they entered. Twilight privately thought that Rarity had made something of an understatement. Forget therapy, at this rate I think we’re all going to end up institutionalised.

As the group continued on its way, the four of them deliberately avoided looking in any more of the testing chambers they passed, to spare themselves the sight of more twisted attempts at making more mutants. It was for this reason that, when they reached an intersection, none of them noticed that one of the chambers was very much occupied until an intercom crackled into life, startling all of them. “You… over there. Please, come speak to me.” They turned in the direction of the gravelly voice just as it said, “I’m in the room to your left.”

A super mutant clad in the tattered remains of a Vault jumpsuit stood in one of the testing chambers, peering out of the window at the group. They approached it cautiously, but it made no attempt to attack or raise the alarm; instead, it simply stared at them with wide eyes. “I… it can’t be!” it said in a rough, halting voice. “Either you are all quite real, or I am going quite mad. Are all of you human?”

The four shared a baffled look, not quite sure what to make of the situation. Even given what they now knew about the Super Mutants’ origins, they still hadn’t expected to meet one that was actually friendly.

“Yeah, we’re all human,” Adam replied warily. Seeing the mutant looking at the girls, he added, “It’s a long story, but yeah, they’re human too. Uh… who’re you? Do you remember your name?”

The mutant cocked its head. “You… you care about who I am?”

Applejack tilted her hat back as she regarded the mutant. “Well… Ah mean… you ain’t trying to kill us or get us killed so, uh… sure, why not?”

“I see.” The mutant gave her a slow nod. “Forgive me, I am not used to such pleasantries. Most of the time all I hear from the others are grunts and insults.” It looked back to Adam. “To answer your question, my name is Fawkes.”

“What are you doing in there, Fawkes?” Adam asked.

Fawkes sighed heavily. “As you may have noticed, I am not as aggressive as my fellow Meta Humans. I don’t know how or why, but when I was born of the FEV chambers, I somehow retained my intellect, if not my memories. The others saw me as a freak and a curiosity. When I tried to reason with them, they locked me in here as a punishment.”

To the surprise of the others, Rarity stepped up to the window and pressed a hand against it, staring at Fawkes with incredible intensity. “Do… do you remember anything about your life before you became this? From when you were a human?” she asked breathlessly.

Fawkes shook his head. “I do not. The FEV strips our minds entirely, leaving nothing behind but emptiness. The only reason I am able to converse with you with what little eloquence I possess is because this room contains a terminal that is connected to the Vault’s mainframe. I taught myself everything I now know from there.”

“So the others… they don’t remember anything either?” Rarity pressed.

“Not that I know of,” Fawkes replied. “Where I sought to replace the void in my mind with reason and learning, theirs are filled only with rage and cruelty.”

As fascinated as she was with what Fawkes was saying, one thing in particular stood out in Twilight’s mind, but it was Adam, clearly thinking along the same lines, who asked about it first, “You say that terminal is connected to the mainframe?”

Fawkes nodded. “It is. Let me guess, you’re looking for the G.E.C.K.?”

“How’d you know that?” Applejack asked.

“It is the only sane reason a small group such as yourselves would dare enter a place such as this,” Fawkes replied simply.

“Do you know where the G.E.C.K. is?” Adam asked eagerly.

Fawkes nodded again. “Even better, I can retrieve it for you.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Twilight, let him out!” Rarity cried.

Twilight nodded hurried to the terminal by the door. She frowned as she booted it up. “You’ll have to give me a minute, this one’s got some pretty heavy encryption.”

Fawkes watched her work, his eyes widening in apparent surprise. “You’re serious? You’re going to help me escape?”

“Unless you’d rather stay,” Adam asked with a raised eyebrow.

Fawkes shook his head vigorously. “No! I am merely surprised that you would be so willing. I imagine my fellow Meta Humans have given you little reason to trust one such as I.”

Applejack slung her rifle over her shoulder and stepped over to the door, frowning and folding her arms. She gave Fawkes a sidelong glance as she said, “If we let you out of here, you promise you won’t try to attack us?”

“You have my word,” Fawkes replied. “I swear it on my life.”

Applejack nodded and unfolded her arms before rolling her shoulders. “Alright then, stay back from the door.”

Fawkes looked at her curiously, “Why? What are you goi-”

There was a colossal boom as Applejack threw a punch, launching the door across the testing chamber to slam into the far wall. “Alright, you’re free. Now let’s go get that G.E.C.K.”

Fawkes looked from her to the fallen door in blank astonishment. “It seems that I have gone very mad indeed!” He reached down and picked up a massive sledgehammer from beside the doorway, hefting it in both hands. “I would very much like to hear your tale sometime, but for now, follow me. And thank you.”

Fawkes is here!

Pleasant things occuring in this chapter...

Comments and criticisms are appreciated, and thanks for reading!