Colonel Autumn watched with grim satisfaction as the medics prepared the fallen Rainbooms and the boy for transport. He ordered them to make doubly sure that the cryo-grenade’s effects had taken full hold before injecting each of them with the same experimental rad-x that allowed the Colonel and his troops to survive the radiation at Vault 87’s main entrance, at least for a short while.

“The objectives are secure and ready for transport, Sir,” Lieutenant Simpson called, snapping a salute.

Colonel Autumn nodded. “Excellent. Load them onto the Vertibirds and lets get out of this hellhole before that horde of mutants comes back.”

“What about the rest of the Rainbooms?” the Lieutenant asked.

“We have what we came for,” Colonel Autumn told him. He was about to elaborate when the sounds of combat echoed down a nearby corridor. A flickering blue light could just about be seen, casting wild shadows on the walls. Mere seconds after the fighting started there was a pink flash and a colossal blast rocked the Vault. Colonel Autumn flung out a hand to steady himself against the Lieutenant as the floor shook and dust rained from the ceiling.

Once the echoes of the blast had died down, he straightened up and glanced at his subordinate. “I’m not risking any more lives for the sake of the President’s whims! Get those four on the Vertibirds, now! If the rest of the Rainbooms show up, I want your men to put them down. Permanently.”

Lieutenant Simpson snapped a salute. “Sir! Yes, Sir! Hawkings, cover that corridor!”

The Colonel quickly returned the salute as Lieutenant Simpson started barking orders, then turned and marched back towards the Vault exit, drawing his pistol as he went.

Rainbow Dash let out a breath as another Super Mutant keeled over before her, blood pouring from its arms and neck. It struggled feebly as it lay dying. Not willing to risk another incident like in the vat-room, Rainbow reached down and stabbed Flashburn through the side of its neck, making sure to sever the artery that went to its brain. Its struggles stopped soon after.

With the mutant definitely dead, Rainbow straightened up and stretched out her wings before turning to call out to the others, “It’s okay, we’re clear.”

The other three cautiously entered the corridor, Pinkie at the front with a bottle of Nuka-Cola ready, while Sunset brought up the rear, keeping her scavenged assault rifle pointed safely at the floor. “Good work,” Sunset said quietly.

Rainbow just nodded. They were encountering fewer and fewer Super Mutants the more they explored the Vault and she’d made sure to kill each and every one of them as quickly and efficiently as possible. “How much farther should we go?”

Sunset shook her head. “I have no idea, this place is a maze. Maybe we’d be better off backtracking to where we first split up and follow the corridor that the others took. We might stand a better chance of finding them that way.”

“Do you think we should check back with Mayor Macready first?” Fluttershy asked. “They might have already gone back.”

“Good point.” As Sunset considered their best course of action, a sudden loud blast echoed down the corridor, grabbing everyone’s attention. “What the heck was that?”

“Do you think it was the others?” Pinkie asked.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Sunset replied. “Come on, let’s go!”

The four hurried in the direction the sound came from, Rainbow leading the way. The corridor was full of twists and turns, but fortunately the corridor didn’t fork at any point, and the only doors that led off were small store rooms filled with all manner of foulness. As they rushed around another corner Rainbow skidded to a halt, almost running headlong into a Super Mutant as it lumbered out of a bathroom. They both stared at each other in surprise for a second, then simultaneously exploded into motion.

Rainbow was faster. Even as the mutant raised its hammer she lashed out with Flashburn and sliced off its fingers. Dodging around the falling weapon, she swept her blade around and opened the Super Mutant’s belly then whipped it up and pierced its throat before skipping back out of range. The mutant tottered for a moment, soundless working its mouth, then collapsed on its own spilled entrails.

Sighing heavily, Rainbow was about to lower her sword when she heard heavy footsteps behind her. Quick as a flash she span around, then barely leaped aside in time as several knives whizzed out of an open door and embedded themselves deep in the metal wall opposite. Whipping her blade up defensively, Rainbow lowered it again as a bizarre Super Mutant shambled into the corridor, cold terror gripping at her heart.

The mutant was clad in a thick leather blacksmith’s apron, liberally splattered with blood and entrails. Unlike most other mutants, this one had a thick mass of very dark pink hair stretching from its head all the way down its back almost to the floor, and its lips had been stretched right back up its cheeks to form a disturbingly oversized grin.

The Super Mutant cocked its head to the side as it stared at Rainbow. Chuckling darkly, it reached a hand up and plunged it into the great mass of hair, then, to her immense horror, it slowly drew out a vicious-looking pickaxe. The pickaxe left a glittering rain of pink particles in its wake with each slight movement of its head.

“Aw, crap,” Rainbow muttered.

With a rumbling laugh, the Super Mutant hefted the pickaxe and charged at her. Clenching Flashburn tightly, Rainbow ducked and dove under the mutant’s swing, rolling back to her feet behind it. She aimed a slash at the mutant’s back, but it somehow managed to twist and turn away at the last second.

The two regarded each other warily for a moment. The Super Mutant struck first again, lashing out madly with its pickaxe. Rainbow carefully avoided its strikes, ducking and weaving with a dancer’s grace, until finally the mutant clasped the pickaxe in both hands and swung it in a mighty arc. Grinning, Rainbow ducked under the attack easily and skipped back out of range. Her grin faded when, instead of impacting against the wall as she expected, the pickaxe simply swept through the wall as if it wasn’t even there, leaving a fizzing pink stain behind where the head had passed through.

Certain that nothing good was going to come of it, Rainbow dropped to the floor and yelled out, “Sunset, fire!”

The roar of Sunset’s assault rifle was deafening in the narrow corridor. Incredibly, the Super Mutant almost managed to dodge the hail of bullets. Unfortunately for it, almost wasn’t quite good enough, and a cluster of crimson eruptions stitched their way up the mutant’s side as it tried to fling itself out of the way. Alone, that probably wouldn't have been enough to drop the Super Mutant, but the second it pulled the pickaxe out of the wall, the pink stains it left behind began to glow with a rapidly increasing intensity. Recognising what was about to happen, Rainbow lurched to her feet and launched herself backwards at top speed, shoving the other girls back around the corner before diving around herself.

The explosion that followed shook the entire Vault.

Rainbow slowly opened her eyes as the echoes and vibrations faded away. Her ears were ringing, but she had to make sure the Super Mutant was down. Peeking around the corner, she was gratified, and more than a little disgusted, to see that the mutant was most certainly dead; only a disembodied pair of legs remained intact. The part of the wall that the pickaxe had touched was gone, replaced with a gaping, rock-filled cavity, while the floor, walls and ceiling around it had been blackened and warped by the ferocity of the blast. The pickaxe itself lay incongruously on the floor.

“That was my magic, wasn’t it?” Pinkie asked, startling Rainbow.

“I dunno, but it looked like it,” Rainbow replied. She was about to ask how a Super Mutant managed to end up with magic just like hers, not to mention the impossible hair, when she heard voices echoing down the corridor. “Okay, I know my ears are still a little screwy after that explosion, but that doesn’t sound like Super Mutants to me.”

“It sounds like soldiers,” Sunset put in as she stepped up alongside the others.

“I thought the Brotherhood of Steel didn’t have anyone spare to come here?” Fluttershy asked.

“They don’t,” Sunset replied darkly. “But there is another group with trained soldiers that’s been spying on us since we first left the Vault.”

Rainbow scowled and glared down the corridor towards the sounds. “The Enclave.” Sunset nodded. “What do you think we should do?”

“Shouldn’t we head back and try to find the others before the Enclave finds us?” Fluttershy asked.

Sunset shook her head. “For all we know that blast we heard earlier could have been a flashbang. If it is the Enclave, then they might have already captured the others again.” She raised her assault rifle meaningfully. “We need to at least check. If they don’t have our friends, we’ll try and backtrack without them seeing us.”

Rainbow shot her a look. “What do we do if it comes to a fight? Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to beat the living snot out of some Enclave chumps, but their armour is just too tough.”

“Not for that it isn’t.” To the surprise of the others, Pinkie stalked over to the pickaxe and picked it up, hefting it in both arms to get used to the weight. “I don’t really like fighting, but if it comes down to it…” She twirled the head of the pick, sending a spray of glittering pink dust cascading to the floor.

Sunset nodded grimly. “Alright, let’s move!”

Taking the lead once more, Rainbow clicked Flashburn’s ignitor and the magical blue flames were instantly extinguished. The four hurried down the lengthy corridor, ignoring all of the doors that led off it until they came to a corner. Rounding it, they saw that the next corridor ended in an open door. A power-armoured soldier stood in the doorway.

Rainbow swore and ducked back around the corner just as the soldier opened fire. Green globs of plasma melted the metal walls where they impacted, releasing the distinctive reek of ozone. “Yep, definitely Enclave!” Rainbow told the others.

“Great,” Sunset muttered. “Do you see Twilight and the others?”

“One sec.” Trying not to flinch as another bolt of plasma scorched the wall of the corner, Rainbow ducked and rolled around the corner, narrowly avoiding yet another shot. Using her super speed, she dashed to the door before he could fire again. The bulky power armour the soldier was wearing was too tough even for Flashburn to cut through, but his weapon wasn’t.

Reigniting her blade, Rainbow swept it up and smashed it through the soldier’s plasma rifle in a shower of sparks. As the soldier stepped back in surprise, she took the opportunity to look past him. A burning fury rose in her chest as she spotted a hat that lay discarded on the floor, one that was very familiar to anyone who knew Applejack.

“They’ve got the others!” Rainbow yelled. Clasping Flashburn in both hands, she unleashed a hail of blows at every part of the soldier she could reach, dodging his retaliatory strikes in turn. Her attacks barely even scratched the power armour, but they kept the occupant distracted just long enough.

“Rainbow, move!” Warned by Pinkie’s shout, Rainbow stepped aside just in time for a bottle of Nuka-Cola to shatter over the soldier’s armour. Darting away, she barely managed to get out of the blast radius before the magic in the cola detonated with a searing flash of pink. Blinking to clear her eyes, Rainbow looked up just in time to see the soldier topple over to land with an echoing crash. A smoking crater was all that remained of the front of his armour.

Pausing just long enough to give Pinkie a nod, Rainbow sprinted to the door and dove over the dead soldier, rolling to her feet in the middle of the room with her blade up and ready. The chamber was large and empty, save for the hat on the floor, but Rainbow spotted one of the doors leading off it sliding shut. Hurrying over, she jabbed the button to open the door again, then skipped back with a yelp as a flurry of scarlet laser beams lanced through the doorway, almost eviscerating her. “Keep moving, I’ll hold them back!” a soldier yelled over the storm of zaps and hisses.

Rainbow couldn’t help but flinch away from the storm of death that pounded the doorway, rapidly heating the metal around it to the point that it glowed. Gritting her teeth, she took to the air and cautiously flew closer to the door, awkwardly trying to angle herself so she could poke her head through the doorway from above. A single soldier guarded the corridor beyond, and he was slowly backing away towards another door down the far end of it even as his gun unleashed hell. His weapon was huge and boxy, with a long barrel sticking out of the end of it, all connected to a bulky power pack on the soldier’s back.

The soldier’s head flicked up as he noticed Rainbow, but before he could adjust his aim something huge lumbered out of the dark doorway behind him. There was an immense clang as a huge hammer connected with the side of his head and the soldier staggered sideways. A second later the hammer smashed into the back of his leg, forcing him down on one knee. The soldier stopped firing and looked back over his shoulder as a massive Super Mutant loomed over him. The Mutant tossed its hammer aside and reached down to rip the soldier’s helmet off, then punched the terrified man in the face with enough force to shatter his skull.

Shoving the dead soldier to the floor, the Super Mutant straightened up and looked over to where Rainbow was standing, just as Pinkie and the others caught up. Not willing to give the freak a chance to arm itself again, Rainbow raised Flashburn and charged just as the Mutant spoke.

“Miss Rarity’s-” Rainbow barely stopped the blade an inch from its neck. “-friends? Nn? Augh?!” The Mutant instinctively flinched back and clamped a hand over its throat, feeling for any injuries. “You… you are fast!”

“No shit,” Rainbow shot, levelling her blade at the Mutant. “How do you know Rarity?”

The Mutant eyed Flashburn warily. “My name is Fawkes. Miss Rarity and the others rescued me from my incarceration, and as recompense I helped them retrieve the G.E.C.K.. When I saw that these soldiers had taken them captive in turn, I took it upon myself to return the favour.”

“Did you see where the soldiers took them?” Sunset asked as she jogged up alongside Rainbow.

Fawkes nodded. “They are taking them to the Vault’s main entrance. Wait!” He stepped in front of Rainbow as she tried to step around him. “The corridors beyond here are highly irradiated. An unprotected human such as yourself will expire long before you manage to rescue your friends.”

“We’re not going to just let the Enclave take them!” Rainbow spat.

“Do not worry,” Fawkes replied. “Like my fellow Meta Humans, I am extremely resistant to radiation. I shall follow your friends’ captors, find where they are taking them and, if I am able, will restore their freedom.”

Rainbow glared at Fawkes as she digested what he said. After a moment, she shook her head. “Nope. Not good enough. I’m going after them!”

“You can’t, Rainbow!” Pinkie cried. “You heard what Fawkes said, the radiation will kill you!”

“Not if I run fast enough!” Rainbow retorted. She sighed heavily. “Look, even if I trusted this guy, which I don’t,” she added with a sidelong glance at Fawkes,”there’s no way he’d be able to let us know where he was going. By the time we get back through Little Lamplight the Enclave will be long gone and we won’t be able to follow.”

“Even if you catch up to them, you won’t be able to take on their soldiers on your own,” Sunset warned her.

“I know,” Rainbow admitted grudgingly. “I’ll just follow them to wherever their base is, then come back and get the rest of you.” She glanced down at the dead soldier and shook her head. “Look, we don’t have time for this! I’m fast enough to get in and out of the radiation before it even affects m-mph!” She was cut off as Fluttershy stuffed a handful of pills into her mouth.

“Shut up and swallow these,” the young nurse said, handing her a bottle of water.

Rainbow accepted the bottle and took a swig, swallowing the pills with a little difficulty. “Uh… what were those?”

“Rad-X, now hold still.” Fluttershy pulled a bag of sickly-looking yellow goop out of her nursing kit and quickly taped it to Rainbow’s left bicep. Once that was done she washed the back of Rainbow's hand with an alcohol wipe, gently slapped it a few times to get the veins showing, then, much to Rainbow’s consternation, almost casually jammed the bag’s attached needle into a vein. “Stop squirming.” As Fluttershy taped the needle securely to the back of Rainbow’s hand, and checked the tube connecting it to the bag for good measure, she explained, “This is Rad-Away. It’ll help get rid of the radiation in your body. Do not knock that needle, or try to pull it out, or squeeze that bag, not under any circumstances. Do you hear me?” Rainbow nodded obediently. “Good. The moment you get outside you fly straight up into the sky until your Pip-Boy stops ticking. No fighting. No messing around. You have three seconds flat to get from here to the safe area outside the radiation, is that clear?”

Rainbow stared at her blankly. “Seriously? That’s barely enough time t-”

Fluttershy cut her off again, this time by gripping the front of her clothes and yanking her close so their faces were almost touching. “Three. Seconds. Flat,” she hissed. Rainbow just nodded jerkily, too shocked to properly reply. “Good. Meet us outside Little Lamplight when you’ve found out where the others are going.” Fluttershy pulled her in for a quick hug, then released her and stepped back. “Come back safe.”

“I will,” Rainbow promised. She glanced at her Pip-Boy’s clock, then turned to Fawkes, who dutifully stepped aside, revealing the door she needed to go through. “Three seconds flat. Easy.”

“Be careful, Rainbow,” Sunset warned. “And don’t you dare die.”

Rainbow just gave her a cocky smirk. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” Not giving herself a chance to reconsider, she stepped back into as close as a sprinter’s starting pose as she could get, then launched herself through the door at top speed.

The Vault passed her by in a blur. She caught up to the first of the Enclave soldiers in a heartbeat and passed them by even quicker. Speeding by, her Pip-Boy started to tick just as she caught up to her friends. They had been completely frozen through some advanced technological trickery, and were being carried like blocks of ice by two soldiers apiece. Rainbow allowed herself to slow, just enough to reach out and give Applejack a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and then she was gone, before any of the soldiers had even noticed that she was there.

Dodging in and around the line of soldiers and scientists leaving the Vault, Rainbow zipped through a door and finally spotted the main Vault entrance lying open just ahead. Worryingly, her Pip-Boy’s ticking was starting to get increasingly quick and insistent despite the appalling speed she was moving at. Running as fast as she could manage, she bodily shoved a scientist out of her way as she zoomed through the Vault’s door. The tunnel ahead was largely collapsed, but Rainbow bolted through it at top speed, heedless of the treacherous footing. Smashing her way out of the rickety wooden door at the end of the tunnel, she burst out of the Vault and found herself dazzled by bright, blinding sunshine.

The ticking of Rainbow’s Pip-Boy spiked the second she set foot outside. A wave of nausea nearly made her stumble, but she managed to keep herself steady. She crouched for the barest of moments, then, with a powerful flap of her wings as she pushed off, she launched herself into the air. Rainbow pushed herself to her absolute limit, desperation lending her strength until, finally, the ticking of the Pip-Boy dwindled to silence.

Now that she was out of danger, Rainbow slowed to a stop in midair. Flapping her wings just enough to keep herself hovering in place, she moved to wipe her brow with her free hand, but a twinge in the back of her hand reminded her that there was a needle sticking out of the back of it. She briefly toyed with the idea of removing it, but decided against it. Partly because Fluttershy would freak out when she found out, but mainly because, given how sick she felt and how much her head was currently spinning, Rainbow was a little worried that the little bag might well be the only thing keeping her alive.

“Okay, Rainbow, remind Sunset to remind you never to do anything like that again, okay?” She shivered and let herself hang limply for a few minutes while she caught her breath. Far below, she could see the Enclave personnel swarming around a trio of Vertibirds. A group of scientists were currently loading something onto one of them. Going by how carefully they were handling it, she assumed it must be the G.E.C.K.. Shortly afterwards, Adam, Applejack, Rarity and Twilight were brought out of the Vault and loaded onto another Vertibird.

Once the Rainbooms were secured, the soldiers and remaining scientists all boarded the Vertibirds themselves. Moments later there was a roar of rotors as the Vertibirds rose into the air and turned to head away from the Vault, flying away north. Making a quick mental note as to which Vertibird contained her friends, Rainbow set off in hot pursuit.

The landscape rolled by swiftly as Rainbow followed the three Vertibirds. Making sure to keep an eye on the ground, just in case some random wastelander decided to take a potshot at her, Rainbow focused on staying far enough behind the Vertibirds that the soldiers on board might not spot her

Despite her efforts, only a few minutes after beginning the chase one of the Vertibirds peeled off from the others and slowed down dramatically, dropping back behind Rainbow. Cursing her bad luck, she realised a little too late that her attempt at stealth would probably have gone better if she hadn't had Flashburn cheerfully blazing away in her hand. Looking back, Rainbow's heart leapt into her mouth as she spotted the gun poking out from underneath the Vertibird’s nose; pointed directly at her. She swerved aside just in time to avoid the stream of crackling laser bolts that poured from it barely a second later. The Vertibird shifted to keep targeting Rainbow, forcing her to dodge and weave wildly to avoid getting shredded.

“Dammit, this is not cool!” Banking around to stay out of the line of fire, Rainbow flared her wings to catch as much air as possible. The sudden deceleration sent the Vertibird racing ahead of her once again. “Now it’s my turn!” Surging forward, Rainbow flew up and over the top of the Vertibird until she was above its engine. Planting her feet on the engine and using her wings to stabilise herself, Rainbow aimed carefully while watching the rotors spin in slow motion, then started hacking at the joint where the rotor head joined the engine proper. Her plan was to try and damage the rotor enough that it would fall apart or snap. Unfortunately, Flashburn’s magic proved to be a little too effective as its fire was sucked into the engine. Rainbow watched with fascinated horror as searing blue flames flickered from the back of the engine and a tell-tale blue glow traced its way up what appeared to be fuel lines. “Aw, crap.”

Rainbow snapped her wings open to their fullest extent and let the wind tear her off the Vertibird’s wing, then angled herself into a swooping climb directly up and away from the plane. Not a moment too soon, either, as the engine exploded with all the fire and fury of a newborn star. The blast half-consumed the rest of the Vertibird even as it sent it spiralling out of control, the blazing remains spinning and twisting until they slammed to the ground far below.

“Whoa.” Rainbow paused to watch the burning wreckage for a few seconds, mixed feelings racing through her at the thought of the lives she had just taken. Human lives. She shook her head and forced her feelings down. “Come on, Dash, worry about that mushy crap later. Your friends need you.” Sighing heavily, she checked the bag of Rad-X and its attached needle to make sure they were still secure. Frankly, she was amazed that the wind hadn’t ripped them away already, but she just put it down to her magic being awesome like that. Satisfied that they were still in place, Rainbow angled her wings and set off after the two remaining Vertibirds.

Sunset stared dumbly at the door that Rainbow had disappeared through.

"Do you think she'll be ok?" Pinkie asked quietly.

"She'll be fine," Sunset replied firmly, unwilling to even entertain the alternative. "You know how fast she is, if she's done as she was told she's already way outside the radiation." Eager to distract herself, she looked up at Fawkes. "So, what's your story?"

Fawkes blinked at her in surprise, but he didn't hesitate before explaining about his incarceration, about how the others had rescued him, and about how he had retrieved the G.E.C.K. for them before they went their separate ways. "I realize that, having encountered my fellow Meta Humans already, you may be hesitant to trust me. Nevertheless, please allow me to accompany you, so that I may deliver liberation unto your friends, as they did for me."

Sunset just stared at him in amazement. He seemed genuine and he certainly knew Rarity and the others, at least to an extent, but trusting him out of hand seemed risky. Unsure of what to do, she looked back at Fluttershy and Pinkie. Both just nodded. I guess that settles it. Sunset turned back to Fawkes. "Okay, looks like you're with us."

"I appreciate that." Fawkes looked back over his shoulder towards the entrance. "Are you certain that your friend will be alright out there?"

"She's got a better chance than any of us,” Sunset replied.

"Very well. In that case, let us-" Fawkes paused as he looked down at the dead soldier by his feet. His gaze shifted from the soldier, to his hammer, and back again, then he placed his hammer against the wall and crouched next to the soldier. "One moment." Fawkes reached out and started stripping the soldier of his heavy laser. "It seems this man has no further need of his weapon."

"Good idea," Sunset said, privately glad to have the extra firepower on their side while they went back through the Vault. "Now we just have to figure out how to convince Mayor Macready to let you through Little Lamplight."

"Oh, I didn't even think of that," Fluttershy admitted softly.

Pinkie hummed thoughtfully. "If you're immune to radiation, do you think you could find your way around from the Vault entrance to the Little Lamplight cavern?"

Fawkes shook his head slowly. "I know how to find Murder Pass from within the Vault, but I'm afraid I don't know my way around outside."

"Leaving so soon, Fawkes?" The girls whipped around at the sound of the voice. A hulking Super Mutant stepped into the corridor. It was so huge it had to angle itself sideways to get through the door, and it was only the fact that it was hunched over that prevented it from smacking its head on the ceiling. Sunset's eye was immediately drawn to a thick medallion hanging from the Mutant's neck. It was made of dark green stone and was shaped like a stylised nuclear blast. "I see you have made some new… friends." The Super Mutant had a surprisingly soft voice for its size.

"Shephard." Fawkes muttered darkly. "I'm leaving this Vault. I will not let you imprison me again."

Shephard let out a low chuckle. "Let me? You are only still breathing because I am letting you." The Mutant took a step forward and the medallion flashed with sudden light. "However, I think I'll have to-" Shephard was cut off as Sunset opened fire with her assault rifle. She unloaded the rest of the magazine into the Mutant, but, to her horror, the bullets didn't so much as scratch it. Shephard just chuckled again. "Save your ammunition. There is nothing you can do to hurt me."

"How about I try!" Pinkie span on the spot and hurled her pickaxe at Shephard. The pick sailed through the Mutant as if it were made of smoke, leaving behind pink smears on its chest where the head passed through. Fully aware of what was coming next, the girls threw themselves back and covered their eyes just as the smears detonated.

As she lowered her arm, cold terror filled Sunset at the sight of Shephard still standing there, skin blackened but otherwise unharmed. "I told you," the Super Mutant growled, "there is nothing you can do to hurt me." Shephard stared at them for a few moments more, then turned and stepped back through the door. "I shall allow you to live, for now. Until next time, Miss Shimmer."

Sunset watched as Shephard lumbered away, a mixture of relief and stunned disbelief thundering through her mind. "Wha… what the hell was that about?!"

"That was Shephard," Fawkes answered, hefting his new weapon. "One of the only other Meta Humans who retained some measure of intelligence, and a monster in every sense of the word. We should leave... immediately."

Sunset nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think you're right."

As the group started making their way back through the Vault towards Little Lamplight, Sunset couldn't help the cloud of dread that cast a pall over her thoughts. Super Mutants were bad enough, and Super Mutants with magic were worse, but she never, not even in her darkest nightmares, imagined that she would ever meet one with its own Geode.

Sincerest apologies for the delay!

As some of you may know from a recent blog post, things have been a little rough lately. Aside from a rather unpleasant hospital visit that is proving a little more difficult than usual to shrug off, my (almost twenty year old) pc finally gave up the ghost and has gone to the great scrap pile in the sky, meaning I have to use my phone for writing until I can save up for a new one.

Despite this, I'll still be getting right back into the usual release routine, so there shouldn't be any more delays

As a little bit of an apology, I've put together something of a character sheet for all of the counterpart characters that have appeared in the story so far. The characters are all listed in rough order of appearance, and it includes their names, who they are counterparts of (there may be some surprises in there), when they first appeared/were first mentioned, and when they last appeared.

One of the things I've done with the counterparts too is make sure that each and every one of them could easily fit in the original Fallout 3 game as an npc without altering the story or game at all. As part of this, I've also included a little bit of trivia about what the eventual fate of them would have been on the original Fallout storyline if the Equestria Girls had never arrived.

A word of caution; I'll be updating this list with each chapter update, meaning it will be full of unmarked spoilers if you aren't caught up!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vwpps5KUn1pf0hnL7tW50Op16Mo6fj75GKhO2oKi8TU/edit?usp=drivesdk