Doctor Turner struggled to control his breathing as the elevator descended to the lower levels of Raven Rock. His journey up to the war room with Horrigan had shown him that something was going very wrong at the base, but he had never expected to see Doctor Strong so monstrously mutated. She had been barely recognisable. Given the fact that she now, apparently, had the magical power to go toe-to-toe with Horrigan, Doctor Turner had done the most sensible thing he could in the circumstances; run as fast and as far away as he could.

He hardly had a set destination in mind, so by the time Doctor Turner regained some semblance of composure, he was already in an elevator, though he had no idea which one. He flinched when the elevator reached the bottom and the doors slid open.

"Oh… well, shit," Doctor Turner muttered as he realized that he was on the biological storage level, right around the corner from the Wanamingo pens. He poked his head out into the corridor, then, seeing no immediate threats, crept out and made his way towards the nearest panic room.

Fortunately for Doctor Turner, the corridors were deserted. He saw signs of escaped beasts everywhere; scratches and blast marks marred the walls at irregular intervals and empty pens lined either side of the corridor, but he didn't encounter anyone, or anything, until he stumbled across a square hole in the floor.

The hole was almost ten feet wide, right in the middle of the corridor. Doctor Turner shuffled cautiously up to the edge and peeked in. The hole dropped over a dozen feet until it opened into a tunnel, one the doctor recognised as serving the facility's ventilation needs. A mangled grating lay at the bottom on the floor of the tunnel.

Doctor Turner was so absorbed in inspecting the hole that he didn't notice the sounds of heavy footfalls coming closer until they were almost upon him. When the noise finally penetrated his consciousness, he gasped and whipped around just in time to see Horrigan come to a stop right next to him.

"DOC?" Doctor Turner yelped, cowered, and clamped his hands over his ears at Horrigan's thunderous voice prompting a rumbling sigh from the huge being. The green mist pouring from his joints slowed to a trickle and when he spoke next it was with an annoyed huff, "What have you found, doc?"

The doctor slowly took his hands away from his ears. Once he was certain that Horrigan wasn't about to try and deafen him again, he glanced back at the hole. "It looks like one of the specimens has escaped into the ventilation tunnels. I hope it wasn't one of the queens, the tunnels connect to vents on the outside and the last thing we need is Wanamingos or Scorchbeasts getting out and breeding all over the wastes again." He shook his head and looked up at Horrigan. "Anyway, what are you doing down here? How did you even get down here?"

Horrigan growled and jabbed a thumb back over his shoulder. "That mutie dumped me down an elevator shaft. I'm just looking for a way back up so I can rip her arms off and stuff them down her throat."

Something told Doctor Turner that Horrigan wasn't being metaphorical when he said that. Still, the big brute was surprisingly calm for someone who had just been dropped down about six storeys. "I, er, as much as I can understand the sentiment, I believe we have a somewhat more pressing matter to attend to, if you're up to it?"

"What do you mean?" Horrigan asked.

Doctor Turner glanced at the hole again, thinking fast. If Tara was heading to the war room while hopped up on Equestrian magic, chances were that she was going after the President. If so, it was almost guaranteed that Eden was going to fall long before Horrigan would be able to stop her, and Doctor Turner was certain that he would be next on her hit list.

Of course, Horrigan probably wouldn't give a damn about any of that, but Doctor Turner had a backup plan. "If a progenitor specimen has escaped into the wastes, it will cause immense disruption to the Enclave's operations in this region. We have to prevent that. The mutant we encountered upstairs is powerful, but ultimately less of a threat. Besides, she'll still be here when we get back, unless Colonel Autumn's troops bring her down first."

Horrigan looked down at the hole, then sighed heavily. "Fine, but make it quick. I want that mutie dead."

"The sooner we chase down any escapees, the sooner you can get back," Doctor Turner said quickly. He crouched down next to the hole and peered in again, frowning. "I suppose the only problem is how we're going to get you down there. There's an access ladder I can use, bu-" His question was answered as Horrigan stomped up to the hole and simply dropped in, landing on his feet with a thunderous crash. "Well, I suppose that's one way of doing it."

Adam watched as Tara floated through the door. A robotic voice rang out through the doorway, swiftly followed by the sounds of rending metal and general destruction, then Tara popped her head back through the door. "Okay, it's safe now. Follow me."

The girls followed her immediately, Becky and Applejack supporting Twilight between them, but Adam hesitated as he looked down at Colonel Autumn. His finger curled around the trigger of the laser pistol held loosely at his side. "Did you know? About what your President was planning for Project Purity?"

The Colonel glared up at him, his eyes full of hate and pain. "Of course I didn't," he spat. "If I wanted everyone in the wastes dead, I wouldn't have bothered keeping the extra technicians alive."

Adam gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the pistol, then sighed and turned away, following the others through the door.

On the other side was a small antechamber where the others were waiting. Scattered across the floor were the disparate remnants of what Adam assumed were recently two or three advanced military robots. "Whoa. Why did you destroy the bots?"

Tara just shrugged. "They defend the President's chamber. It's better than waiting for them to start shooting. We're lucky, usually there are a couple of soldiers posted here, too. I assume Colonel Autumn ordered them to help out around the base when the power went down."

Now that Adam had caught up, Tara opened the door at the other end of the room and floated through, gesturing for the others to follow. A short corridor on the other side led to a tall room full of computers and databanks. A hollow pillar stood in the centre of the room. The top of it was lost in the gloom above, stretching up to disappear among vast banks of servers and electrical equipment. A narrow staircase wound around the pillar until it reached a mesh walkway about halfway up.

Applejack groaned when she saw the staircase. "You're telling me we've gotta climb all the way up there? Just where is your President's office anyway?"

"This is his office," Tara replied. "And no, you don't have to climb." She raised her hands and a dark purple aura gripped each of the others, then she snapped her wings open and, with a mighty flap, launched herself upward. The others yelped as her magic lifted them up with her, but the ride was surprisingly smooth until they all reached the walkway and she deposited them gently on their feet.

Adam gave himself a shake as he checked himself over. "Give me a warning next time, would you? Just being snatched up like that gives me the willies."

Tara ignored him and strode up to the pillar. A large screen was set into it at head height with smaller ones at each corner and a bulky computer console underneath. The smaller screens displayed constantly shifting lines of code and data, but the large one was entirely blank, save for a single blue line that bisected it horizontally. A vase filled with fresh daffodils sat incongruously on top of the console. Tara stopped in front of the console and folded her arms. "Good afternoon, Mister President."

The rest of the group looked up in confusion, though that confusion turned to amazement when the blue line on the screen quavered and an electronic voice answered, "Good afternoon, Doctor Strong. I must admit, I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon, or in such an… unusual form."

"Yes, well, I've learned a few things since our last meeting and I felt that it would be best if I had the ability to defend myself," Tara replied evenly.

"I see. I'd like to thank you for bringing our visitor from Vault 101 along with you, by the way, although I see you also brought our Rainboom guests and your paramour." The electronic voice chuckled softly. "I don't think I've ever had so many visitors to my inner sanctum at once."

Becky stepped haltingly towards the screen, looking confused. "Tara, what's going on? This is… isn't this the ZAX AI that runs the base's systems? But…" she glanced sidelong at Tara, then looked back at the screen. "You're telling me that this is President Eden?!"

"Indeed I am," President Eden replied. "You are all now privy to one of the most highly classified secrets in the Enclave."

"You're kidding, right?" Applejack cut in. "Are you seriously telling me that your big bad President is some lousy computer?!"

"I am far more than 'some lousy computer', if you don't mind," President Eden said in a frosty tone. "While I was once little more than a simple AI, created to monitor this very facility, over the decades and, indeed, centuries, I have become something far, far greater."

Tara let out a scornful snort. "A fluke glitch gave him self-awareness and he crafted a personality for himself by mashing together the biographies of every US President from the time of the Founding Fathers right up until nuclear war broke out. When the Enclave retreated here after our devastating losses on the West Coast, they needed a strong leader. That was when this AI assumed control and 'President Eden' was born."

Adam and the girls shared a surprised look, but the President spoke up before any of them could sort out their thoughts, "A little overly simplified, but correct in essence. Nevertheless, since my inauguration, I have led the Enclave from victory to victory, and my great plans for this once beautiful country of ours are only just beginning."

"Like Project Scouring, you mean?" Tara asked darkly.

Tense silence filled the room. "I thought I felt someone digging around earlier," President Eden said slowly. "I can only assume that the good Doctor Shoichet put you up to it, you aren't the type to do something so insubordinate without prompting."

"We had good reason," Becky put in. "I was going to ask how the hell you could be so evil as to continue that plan, but I guess an AI just doesn't give a damn about humanity."

"On the contrary, Doctor," President Eden replied in a hurt voice. "I care a great deal about humanity and its future. It's because I care that I continued Project Scouring. The scourge of mutation runs rampant across the wasteland, beyond the ability of either the Enclave or those cultists, the Brotherhood of Steel, to counter. The only way we can restore this great country to its former glory is if we wipe the slate clean and start over. Project Scouring will allow us to do that."

"You're talking about another genocide!" Becky spat.

The President sighed heavily. "It is unfortunate, and do not think that I made this decision lightly, but it is a necessary evil. The mutated dregs of humanity that scuttle across the wastes do little more than wage near-constant war upon each other. Only when the mutants are gone can the true and pure Americans of the Enclave and the surviving Vaults revive and restore the United States in its entirety." President Eden's voice took on a pleading tone as he continued, "Don't you see? I want to bring about a mighty change, a change you can believe in. I can make the United States great again."

"Great, you say?" Rarity scoffed and flicked her hair. "I hate to say it, darling, but you happen to be the biggest hypocrite I have ever had the misfortune of meeting. By far."

"I beg your pardon?" Eden asked icily.

"She's right," Applejack replied quietly. "You say that the other humans do nothing but wage war. But, from what we've seen, the Enclave has been causing more violence and suffering than all of the others put together. And another thing; say you do manage to kill off everyone else in the wasteland, what's to say that some of your Enclave buddies aren't gonna start fighting amongst themselves over whatever's left."

"Don't be absurd," President Eden chuckled. "Once we have restored our sovereignty, there will be no more need for war or violence. We will finally be able to live in perfect harmony, as one."

"How do you know?" Becky snapped.

"It's obvious," President Eden shot back.

Twilight coughed out a laugh, causing the others to give her worried looks, but she ignored them and stared up at the screen. "Circular logic."

The screen flickered as President Eden hesitated. "Circular… what do you mean?"

Tara nodded slowly. "You know because… you know? You say it's obvious, and yet everyone in the Enclave knows about the power struggles that go on between the higher ups, especially between you and Colonel Autumn."

"Those are just growing pains," President Eden retorted. "Once things have settled down-"

"What if they don't?" Tara interrupted. "How long until disagreements among the brass escalate into violence, like they did before?" She floated down until her feet touched the floor and slammed her hands onto the console, her face inches from the screen. "Face it, Eden, neither you, nor me, nor the rest of the Enclave, are any better than anyone else. You forget; the only reason that the people out there had to survive through the radiation and the mutations is because we, the Enclave, abandoned them. This bullshit stops now. Project Scouring stops now. And your Presidency stops, now."

The room fell silent once more as President Eden considered her words. Finally, after almost a minute, he said quietly, "Very well, Doctor, how do we proceed from here? Are you forcing a coup and becoming President yourself?"

Tara shook her head and stepped back from the console. "No. I have no interest in ruling. What's going to happen is this; first, we are going to get the power back online and make sure that any escaped experiments are returned to containment. While we're doing that, you are going to authorize a peace treaty to be brought to the Brotherhood of Steel as soon as physically possible. After that, you are going to step down as President and resume your post as monitor of this facility and nothing more."

"You don't intend to destroy me?" President Eden asked conversationally.

"Not unless you try to betray us again," Tara replied darkly.

"I suppose that's fair." Eden let out a drawn-out sigh. "Who do you plan on putting in charge, then?"

Becky shrugged. "I guess we'll have to inform Congress that they're going to be holding an election. It shouldn't be too hard. There's only, what, five or six members?"

"We just have to make sure that Colonel Autumn doesn't try and stage a military coup." Tara folded her arms and hummed as she thought. "I suppose I can ask Andrew to keep him in check. He's got enough sway with the troops to at least put a damper on Colonel Autumn's ambitions."

"Er, excuse me?" Everyone looked around as Adam raised a hand sheepishly. "I, er… Eden? I assume you have a sample of the thing you were going to use for Project Scouring?"

"I do," Eden replied. "I was hoping that you would insert it into the purifier at Project Purity once it was active, but it appears that plan has failed. Why?"

"Do you mind if I have the sample?" Adam asked.

The others all stared at him as if he had gone mad. "Why in the heck would you want that?!" Applejack cried.

Adam winced and held up a hand placatingly. "I was just thinking we could take it to the Brotherhood of Steel so they can make a vaccine, or an antivirus, or something. You know, in case someone else tries something like this somewhere down the line."

"That's actually a pretty good plan." Tara glanced back at Eden. "Where are the samples?"

A panel on the base of the console opened and extended like a drawer, revealing a slot containing a single glass capsule. "There was only one sample made. It was all I could smuggle the resources for." He waited until Adam had collected the capsule before retracting the panel. "Was Project Scouring really so misguided?"

"Yes," everyone replied in unison. "Even Colonel Autumn was against that plan, and we all know what an ass-hat that guy is," Becky added.

"Back on the topic of Project Purity," Rarity cut in, "what's going to happen to it now?"

Tara tapped a finger against her chin. "I think the best thing to do would be to hand control of it over to the Brotherhood of Steel for now, as a goodwill gesture to show that we are serious about the peace treaty. Once things have calmed down we can offer resources to help with distribu-"

"No." The group looked around to see Colonel Autumn stagger onto the walkway. His mangled arms dangled uselessly in front of him as he shuffled forward. The agony must have been near unbearable, but his face was a mask of furious determination. "Project Purity belongs to the Enclave. With it, we can unite the wastes under one banner, and finally start rebuilding our world."

"That's exactly what we were just talking about," Becky told him, grimacing at the sight of his arms.

"I think we should get the Colonel some medical attent-" Eden began.

Colonel Autumn snarled. "You don't get to speak, traitor. You've already betrayed everything the Enclave is and stands for, I'm not going to let you and these charlatans give away our one shot at restoring our nation and our government." He slumped against the guard rail and slid to the floor, hissing as his arms bent at an awkward angle. Glaring up at Eden, he spat through clenched teeth, "Priority Override, Authorization code 420… 03… 20… 9..."

President Eden's screen flickered. "No… oh my…" His screen flickered again and when he spoke next it was in a flat monotone, "Root level access granted. Override O-923. Authorization J-512. Self-destruct sequence initialized."

A sudden blare of alarms made Adam jump out of his skin. "What's going on? What's happening?!"

Tara snarled and reached out with her magic, enveloping Colonel Autumn in a dark purple aura, and hurled him against a wall. His arms flopped around loosely as he collapsed to the walkway, unconscious. "Fucking asshole!" She turned to the others and pointed to a door at the end of the walkway. "That must have been the emergency override code, that fucker just set off the base's self destruct sequence! We have to move. Now!"

Just inside the main ground entrance to Raven Rock, a pair of armored soldiers looked around in alarm as they heard the sirens start blaring. "What fuck, is that the evacuation alarm?! What the fuck is going on?!"

The second soldier shook his head. "Hell if I know. Hey, what the hell is that?!"

The first soldier turned to see what he was pointing at. The main door to the facility, a thick metal construct designed to withstand a nuclear blast, was suddenly glowing with a vivid pink light. "Oh, shit! Get ba-"

Before he could finish, the door detonated with the force of a bomb, punching the two off their feet. As the echoes of the explosion faded, one of the soldiers groaned and looked up. Several figures slowly materialized through the dust.

"Nice work, Pinkie," one if them called as she stepped through the shattered entrance.

The soldier watched in stunned disbelief as the rest of the Rainbooms followed her in, one clutching a glowing pink pickaxe, another swinging a sword that blazed with blue fire. A Super Mutant was the last one through the doorway, hefting an Enclave issue gatling laser.

Sunset Shimmer raised her assault rifle and pointed it directly at the fallen soldier. "Alright, asshole, what have you done with our friends?"

There's an extra little blast from the past for those of who remember Fallout 2!

Bonus points to whoever spots which two recent Presidents I swiped quotes from

Also I received an excellent piece of fanart depicting the antics of a certain Rainboom in Vault 101 from Night-Quill!