Raised voices fell silent as Sunset opened the door to the Citadel's Great Hall and stepped inside with Applejack right behind her. Almost the entirety of the Brotherhood's leadership was seated around the c-shaped tables, a mixture of Knights and Scribes including Elder Lyons and Scribe Rothchild, with Rarity and Rainbow Dash both standing just inside the door.

"Miss Shimmer, so glad you could finally join us," one of the men called out snidely.

"That's enough, Paladin Stark," Elder Lyons said sternly. He gave the offending Paladin a lingering glare before turning to the girls. "My apologies. Coordinating the operation of Project Purity while preparing for our next strike against the Enclave has us all a little short-tempered at the moment."

"That's fair," Applejack replied, though she too leveled a glare at Paladin Stark. "Ah guess that's what you wanted to talk to us about?"

Elder Lyons nodded. "Partially. There are actually two issues we require your assistance with."

"The first is manpower," Scribe Rothchild supplied. "We just don't have enough Knights to defend the Citadel, Project Purity, Galaxy News, escort deliveries of water across the wastes, and take the fight to the Enclave. Especially if we try to keep up our usual patrols and exploratory missions as well. Liberty Prime is a godsend, but we can only spare a single squad at a time to go with it, and sending the robot out alone simply isn't an option."

Sunset rubbed her neck awkwardly. "Er, how exactly are we supposed to help with that? I hate to admit it, but I'm not going to be much use in a fight anytime soon."

"And neither are Flutters, Pinkie or Twilight," Rainbow added. "I know Fawkes is helping you protect the purifier, but I doubt that me, AJ and Rarity are going to make that much of a difference, no matter how awesome we are."

"We don't need you to fight directly, don't worry," Elder Lyons replied. "We were actually hoping that Miss Shimmer, and a select few others of you, would go to Rivet City and obtain the aid of their security team." He sighed heavily. "We've already contacted Chief Harkness. He wishes that he could help, but apparently they have their hands full dealing with a spate of magical problems that have broken out within the city. If you could help them get the magic under control, I'm sure that Harkness will be only too happy to aid us in return."

Rarity frowned and cocked her head to the side. "That's a fair idea, but is the route between here and Rivet City safe?"

"As safe as anything in the wastes," Scribe Rothchild replied. "There'll be a fire-team of Knights accompanying you, so you shouldn't have any trouble."

"Fair enough, so what's the other problem?" Applejack asked.

Just as Elder Lyons opened his mouth the door suddenly slammed open and a Knight burst in. "Elder! We've just received an emergency report from the sentries, Fluttershy of the Rainbooms has been kidnapped!"

"What?!" Rainbow disappeared in a flash, then reappeared a second later with Flashburn in her hand. "Who took her and which way did they go?!"

"U-up north, towards Wilhelm's Wharf," the Knight stammered.

"Rainbow, wait, we'll go toge-" Sunset's voice fell on deaf ears as Rainbow sped out of the room, again, in a blur of color.

---

Fluttershy grunted in pain as she felt herself thrown to the ground. She would have cried out, but the rough gag knotted in her mouth removed her voice as thoroughly as the bag over her head removed her sight. Her wrists were bound tightly behind her back, preventing her from doing much more than simply curling up on the floor where she'd been dumped.

"Nice work, shitbags," a male voice called out. Fluttershy was sure that she recognized it from somewhere. "That'll get the attention of the Brotherhood and the rest of those multicolored freaks. Remember the plan; they'll probably send out scouts first, but the mines we've set will slow them down. When they follow the false trail into the narrow street outside we'll ambush them with the pulse grenades and Mezzer. That clear?"

Several people voiced their agreement before the first voice spoke again, "Good. You three, get outside and keep a lookout. The rest of you, go sit on your asses for a while." The sounds of voices and footsteps slowly faded away and Fluttershy almost allowed herself to relax a little, then she jumped as a hand grabbed the bag and yanked it off her head.

The first thing Fluttershy noticed was that she was in a back room with walls of dirty grey concrete. There was a single door in one wall with a desk next to it and against the opposite wall was a filthy mattress and a lone steel bucket that she assumed was to serve as a toilet.

"Enjoying the view?" Fluttershy flinched and looked up. Her eyes widened as she recognized the two raiders standing over her; the very first raiders that the Rainbooms had met, and humiliated, just outside Arefu. The same pair that had shot Rarity after they'd met the Family. One of them, the blonde-haired thug with a crooked nose, bent over to leer at her. "Heh, not too bad on the eyes, are you? You've got good taste, Crawler."

The other, Crawler, just nodded. "What are we going to do with her, Blades?"

Blades straightened up and planted his hands on his hips. "She'll do as bait for now. Once we're done with whichever fuck-stain comes looking we can sell her to either Paradise Falls or Evergreen Mills. Until then, though," he clapped a hand on Crawler's shoulder, "she's all yours. I'm gonna go keep an eye out. Try not to break her too much. And for fuck's sake; use a condom. Bitch looks like she's coming down with something."

A lead weight dropped in Fluttershy's stomach at the mention of a condom. Blades snorted at her expression before ambling out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Fluttershy trembled with terror as Crawler advanced on her. She flinched as he crouched in front of her, but he just reached slowly behind her head and gently untied her gag. "That's better," he murmured, apparently to himself.

Crawler tried to stroke Fluttershy's cheek but she jerked away from his hand. He just smirked at her. "Resist if you want, but I think you know where this is going."

Huffing a laugh, Crawler straightened up and stepped over to the table. Fluttershy desperately tried to think of a way out while his back was turned, but between the adrenaline and whatever she was ill with she just couldn't think straight.

"I'd get on that bed if I were you," Crawler called as he unclipped his belt and dropped it on the table, "unless you want to tear your face and knees to shit on that floor." He licked his lips and pulled his top off, tossing it into a corner. "Using a fucking jimmy hat is a pain in the ass, but I'll take what I can get... for now." As Crawler fumbled with his pants he said bluntly, "Best get used to this cock, bitch, as soon as you're healthy you're getting the dicking of your life." He laughed sadistically. "Until then, I guess I'll just play with any of the other freaks we catch."

At Crawler's words, something deep inside Fluttershy snapped. She averted her eyes and flicked her hair across her face as he dropped his pants in an attempt to hide the expression of raw hatred that flashed across her features. An icy wrath filled her, leaving her mind strangely calm and clear.

The threat against her was bad enough, but she could not tolerate the threat against her friends. One way or another, this man had to die. Fluttershy had no weapon, but one thing she had learned from years of studying animals was that no creature was ever truly unarmed.

Fluttershy carefully gathered her feet beneath herself and rose to a crouch, shuffling her feet as if she was aiming for the mattress. Crawler chuckled and stomped towards her. "Too late for that, you're getting fucked right whe-"

The moment Crawler got close enough Fluttershy surged at him. Caught off guard, the raider didn't have a chance to react as Fluttershy clamped her mouth around his throat and bit. Her teeth tore through flesh and cartilage with a sickening crunch.

Crawler shoved her away, but the damage was already done. He clutched at the gaping hole in his neck in a desperate attempt to stem the crimson tide flowing down his front. Still seething with rage, Fluttershy kicked Crawler in the side of the knee, toppling him to the floor, then stamped brutally on his skull until he finally stopped moving.

The room fell silent save for Fluttershy's ragged breathing. Staring down at the corpse at her feet, it took several seconds before she noticed that she still had a chunk of Crawler's throat in her mouth. The moment she realized, the coppery tang of blood filled her senses and sent an electrifying jolt through her body.

Fluttershy spat the bloody mouthful out and, with a sudden surge of monstrous strength, snapped the rope binding her arms. She felt strong, powerful in a way she had never even imagined. More than that, she felt a savage bloodlust rising up within; a primal urge to rend and tear until nothing was left standing.

Glancing around, Fluttershy spotted a heavy knife on the table with Crawler's belt. Without a second thought she swept it up and stalked to the door. A new predator had been born, and her prey was waiting.

---

People and corridors alike became a blur as Rainbow sped past. The moment she reached the Citadel's bailey her Geode flashed as she ponied up and she rocketed into the air.

Rainbow knew that she should wait for the others; she was still sore from overexerting herself while training, and there was no telling just how many raiders there were, but she couldn't allow Fluttershy to remain in the hands of her kidnappers for even a second longer than necessary.

Aiming North, it wasn't long before Rainbow spotted the remains of a huge bridge; an ancient edifice that must have once spanned the river. Under one of the arches she spotted some sort of encampment. Two figures were seated inside, apparently playing a game of cards.

Perfect.

Rainbow shifted into a dive. She angled herself so that she flew right between the two of them, flipping over in midair and skidding to a halt while dragging Flashburn's blade along the floor ground, creating a cascade of sparks. As the two men yelped in surprise Rainbow pointed Flashburn at them and snarled, "Where's Fluttershy?"

The men scrambled off their chairs, almost falling over in their surprise, but Rainbow advanced on them before they could draw any weapons. "I said, where is Fluttershy?!"

"W-we don't know!" One of the men stammered. As Rainbow raised Flashburn he held his hands up and shook his head desperately. "It's true, I swear! Another crew brought one of you Rainboom people through here not long ago, but we don't know where they took her!"

"I don't believe you!" Rainbow snapped.

The man stepped back quickly. "Oy, easy, take it easy! They're probably somewhere in the ruins a little North of here." Rainbow just glared at him until he clarified, "The guy in the charge of that crew is an asshole called Blades. He's on the run from the Red Flags, he wouldn't risk going so openly past Grandma Sparkle's place on Wilhelm's Wharf. Too many fuckers who might recognize him."

Rainbow had no idea who Grandma Sparkle was, but she suspected that the man was telling the truth. Just in case, however, she whipped Flashburn through the air and growled, "If you're screwing with me, you'll regret it." Without waiting for a response she turned and sprinted out from under the bridge before taking to the air again.

The landscape spread out below Rainbow as she rapidly gained altitude. When she got high enough that she could see what was going on on the ground but was less likely to be spotted in return, or at least she hoped, she leveled off and followed the course of the river North, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. As she soared through the air she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

On the top floor of a ruined building overlooking a narrow alleyway, just off the river, a pair of people were squatting next to a hole in the wall peering down at the alley. In the building opposite a lone man was clutching a pistol in one hand and idly tossing something in the air with the other. Rainbow's heart clenched as she realized what it was; Fluttershy's butterfly hair clip.

Rainbow snarled and banked around sharply. She dove down through a hole in the roof above the two raiders to land behind them. Moving at top speed, she darted to the first man and slashed Flashburn across his hamstring. Before he could even draw breath to scream she ripped a knife out of his belt and rammed it through the hand of the woman next to him, pinning her to the wall.

The blood was still spraying from Rainbow's initial strike as she launched herself at the building opposite, directly at the man with Fluttershy's hair clip. Just before she reached the raider she flipped over in midair and slammed into him feet first. The impact knocked him flying backwards, sending the clip flying out of his hand. Rainbow caught it and skidded to a halt just as the other raiders started screaming.

"Where's Fluttershy?" Rainbow growled. The raider just coughed wetly. Blood and spittle dribbled down his chin as he struggled to breath, while his eyes wandered unfocused in a barely conscious fugue. "Aw, crap."

Just as Rainbow was about to fly back over to the other two raiders the muffled sound of gunfire from below made her dive for cover. Cautiously, she poked her head out of a smashed window and peeked down. The gunfire was coming from the open door of a building at the end of the alleyway.

"Hang on, Fluttershy! I'm coming!" Rainbow flew down to the ground and ran for the door, but before she reached it a man suddenly came stumbling out of it.

The man was a mess; blood was pouring from a nasty gash above his eye and another ragged wound in his side. Rainbow paused and held Flashburn up defensively. Something wasn't right here. "What's going on? Where's Fluttershy? And who's attacking you?"

Her words fell on deaf ears. The man just ignored her and kept staggering onwards as fast as he could. Rainbow wasn't sure whether she should try to help him or just leave him to his fate like the others, but a moment later the choice was taken out of her hands as someone hurtled out of the doorway and tackled him to the ground.

Rainbow watched in stunned horror and disbelief as Fluttershy plunged a knife repeatedly into the raider's back, flicking blood in all directions each time she ripped the blade out. Fluttershy herself was liberally splattered with gore, none of it her own, with a crimson stain around her mouth that really didn't bear thinking about.

Eventually, long after the raider was blatantly dead, Fluttershy stopped stabbing and leaned back, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath.

"F-Fluttershy?" Rainbow ventured tentatively.

Fluttershy slowly looked up at her, blinking in mute surprise, then clambered unsteadily to her feet. "I got them. I got them… all…"

Rainbow sheathed Flashburn and lunged forward in the blink of an eye, just in time to catch Fluttershy as she keeled over. Her face was flushed and utterly dripping with sweat, her eyes were rolling back in her head, and her breathing was growing increasingly labored. "Damn it! Hold on, Flutters; I'm getting you to a doctor right now!" Rainbow swept Fluttershy up into a bridal carry and leapt into the air, soaring back to the Citadel at top speed.

---

Blades watched with bated breath as the two Rainbooms disappeared into the sky. He had never imagined that things could go to shit so impossibly fast; he'd barely been out of their lair for thirty seconds, making sure that the stairwells in the surrounding buildings were clear in case of combat, when he'd heard screams coming from above.

Something had gone drastically wrong. The original plan had been to draw a Brotherhood rescue party into an ambush and hammer them with pulse grenades, but the flying Rainboom had torn that plot to pieces. The possibility of an attack from above just hadn't occurred to any of the raiders.

Blades had actually considered trying to sneak up on the rainbow-haired bitch, but the sound of gunfire coming from the lair had shown him that it would be pointless. Clearly Crawler, or one of the others, had royally fucked something up and, if the Rainboom that they had originally kidnapped was to be believed, the rest of the crew was already dead. A dozen raiders slaughtered in less than a minute.

Two of the sentries upstairs could still be heard whimpering in agony, but Blades wasn't stupid enough to try and help them. They would only slow him down. He had to get away before anyone else turned up, then figure out a way to get himself back on top.

Just as Blades stepped out of the building something solid slammed into the side of his head. Stars danced in front of his eyes as he dropped to his hands and knees, lances of pain shooting through his temple with each slight movement of his head. Blearily, Blades looked up to see his attacker. A hazy figure was standing over him, his outline wavy and distorted as if he wasn't fully corporeal.

"Your time's up, Blades," the figure said in a deep baritone. "You should have known that the Red Flags would find you eventually."

Blades frowned as he recognised the voice. "Chopper? You… what the fuck…?"

"Yeah, it's me," Chopper replied.

"Fuck." Blades held a hand up in a vain attempt to ward him off. "You don't have to do this, Chops. Let me go, and I can make it worth your while, you know I can."

Chopper shook his head. "Sorry, Blades, but unlike you, I'm loyal to the Flags. You broke our laws, and now it's time to pay the price."

Blades snorted. "Bullshit. If that raid had gone off without a hitch we'd be having a different conversation right now."

"If you believe that you're dumber than you look," Chopper spat. "All those who break our laws are punished whether their ploys work or not, that's how we maintain discipline. That's how we have survived and grown strong where others have failed." He folded his arms and glared down at Blades. "You attacked the Brotherhood of Steel against our laws, then fled when your ambush failed. Apparently, you still haven't learned your lesson if this debacle is anything to go by. You should never have left, Blades."

"Oh, get fucked," Blades huffed. He pushed himself up onto his knees and glared defiantly up at Chopper. "If you're going to kill me, just get it over with already."

A slow smirk worked its way across Chopper's face. "Nah, you're not getting out of this that easy." His smirk widened into a grin. "We've been ordered to bring you back to the Village. Shí Yáng wants to deal with you, personally."

Terror seized Blades as two more raiders appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his arms, the air shimmering around their tight stealth-suits. "W-wait! No! No, p-please! No!" He struggled to pull himself out of the clutches of the others, but their grip was just too strong. He was still writhing and screaming when Chopper stepped forward and yanked a bag down over his head.

---

Shock, horror, and anxiety warred for control of Sunset's mind as she listened to Rainbow Dash's explanation of what she had seen on her rescue trip. The two of them were currently in a small medical lab in the infirmary along with Elder Lyons, Rarity, Applejack, and one of the Brotherhood medics.

"You're saying that Fluttershy killed one of them?" Applejack asked incredulously.

Rainbow nodded, her face ashen. "At least one. From the amount of blood on her I'd say she took down a whole bunch of raiders."

"That's horseshit, it's gotta be," Applejack said flatly.

"I'm telling you, it's true," Rainbow insisted. "You didn't see it, she went nuts on that guy. It freaked me out."

"It's possible that the raiders drugged her," the medic suggested. "Some raiders dose their captives with Psycho so they struggle more. A high dosage would easily cause such a violent outburst, especially if they didn't restrain her properly. Of course, we won't know for sure until we get the results of her blood test."

Elder Lyons nodded. "Where is she now?"

"In a private room, away from the others," the medic replied. "I've got one of my team in with her at the moment taking blood, they should be back any minute."

---

In a private room, a few corridors down from the medical lab, Fluttershy lay unconscious on a hospital bed. The medic tending to her had carefully taken a blood sample and was just checking her vitals again before taking it to be analyzed. Both her heart rate and blood pressure were a little high, but they were within safe limits. More concerning was the obvious fever she was sporting.

As the medic left the room and hurried to the lab, he could never have known what it was that burned beneath her skin.

Empowered by magic and strengthened by blood, the curse of Vault 87 bloomed into a new and terrible form.

Next Chapter: Chapter 68 - Evolution of Kindness Estimated time remaining: 30 Hours, 39 Minutes