Sunset idly inspected her surroundings as the security officer escorted her, Applejack, and Rarity to the Council Room. Most of the interior was just as rusty and dimly lit as she remembered, but there were patches where the metal was perfectly clean and shiny as if it had only been built the day before.

"Just in here, ladies," the security officer said, stopping and gesturing to a nearby door. "Bannon and Chief Harkness are already inside, our new science representative should be here soon."

Applejack raised an eyebrow as she watched the security officer leave. "Huh, Ah forgot that they'd need a new science rep, now that Doctor Li is over at Project Purity. Who do you reckon it is?"

"I guess we'll find out in a minute." Without further ado, Sunset pushed the door open and stepped through. Inside was a large room furnished with a single square table. Two people were already sitting and a holotape recorder lay between them. One person, Sunset recognized as Chief Harkness. The other, she assumed, was Bannon. The man had dark brown skin and black hair, which was trimmed in a neat buzz cut. His clothes, a dress shirt and pants with a corduroy waistcoat, were cleaner than any Sunset had seen outside of the Enclave or Vault 101.

"Ah, girls, it's good to see you again," Harkness said as the girls walked in.

"Indeed." The other man inclined his head to Sunset. "Miss Shimmer, I don't believe we've met. My name is Bannon; I represent the interests of the city's merchants in the council."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Sunset replied politely.

Harkness gestured to the empty chairs around the table. "Please, take a seat. Miss Nalaar shouldn't be long."

Applejack's eyes widened as the girls sat down. "Pia? She's your new science rep?"

"For sheer lack of other options," Bannon muttered, earning a reproving look from Harkness. Before the security chief could say anything else, the door opened again.

"Sorry I'm late! We had to clear a bunch more of those butterflies out of the purifier room." The woman who hurried into the room had light brown skin, and dark brown hair tied back in a rough ponytail. Rivulets of sweat cut trails through the dust and oil covering her face. Her clothes consisted of light pants and a tank top under a thick leather trench coat with matching gloves; all of which were dotted with burns and stains. It took Sunset a moment to recognize her as the mother of the precocious little girl she'd met the last time she was in Rivet City.

Pia dropped into the nearest empty chair and heaved a great sigh of relief. "Am I glad to see you, girls. Things have been going crazy in here."

"So we've noticed. What the heck happened?" Applejack asked.

"We were hoping that you could tell us," Harkness replied. "One second." He pressed a button on the holotape recorder and cleared his throat, "This is the fifth supplementary council meeting regarding the magical disturbances affecting Rivet City. In attendance are myself, Chief Harkness, as the security representative, Bannon as the civilian representative, and Pia Nalaar as the science representative. Also in attendance are Sunset Shimmer, Applejack and Rarity of the Rainbooms, who are here as consultants on this issue."

"Yes, and now that you're back, perhaps we can finally reopen the city properly and get some customers in." Bannon glowered at the girls. "The market is the lifeblood of this city, and thanks to this mess profits have dropped considerably."

Harkness threw him a dark look. "Bringing more people on board can wait until we know it's safe."

"Which is where we come in," Rarity stated.

"Exactly," Harkness agreed.

Sunset frowned and tapped her fingers on the table. "Okay, tell us everything that happened right from the start. After that, we'll take a look at the trees and… whatever else has changed, work out what we're dealing with, and go from there."

Pia nodded and leaned back in her chair, folding her arms as she thought back. "I assume you already know about the magic… things… that were left behind by Doctor Li's experiments?" Sunset nodded. "A couple of days after you left, when that big explosion of magic happened, a whole bunch of those weird little lights crashed into the city. Most of the people were indoors, so not many were struck directly, but when they started hitting the boat itself, the magic that was already locked away in the city suddenly went haywire."

"That's an understatement," Harkness put in. "It felt like an earthquake had hit us, I honestly thought the entire ship was going to explode!"

"What do you mean? What happened?! Sunset asked.

Pia shook her head. "I'm not sure. I was checking on the hydroponics equipment when it happened. One second everything was fine, the next there was magic all over the place. Trees started growing out of walls and even computers, we had glowing butterflies, clusters of glittery stuff, and rainbow-colored magic all zooming through the ship, and random purple flashes making stuff levitate and throwing things all over the place."

"My goodness!" Rarity exclaimed. "No one was injured, were they?"

"Nothing severe, mostly just a few cuts and bruises," Harkness replied. "One of my security team pulled a muscle and got a pretty nasty poke in the eye when his boyfriend suddenly grew wings, but that's about the worst of it."

Sunset winced. "How many people were affected by the magic altogether?"

"All of us were affected, Miss Shimmer," Bannon shot.

"I believe Miss Shimmer is asking how many people ponied up," Pia retorted. "That is what you call it, right? I heard Three-Dog mention it on the radio."

"That's right," Sunset replied with a nod.

Harkness smiled grimly. "Two people ponied up as a result of being struck by those little magic wisps, then a further forty two people ponied up as a result of the subsequent magical disturbances."

"My daughter being one of them," Pia added sourly.

Horror filled Sunset's heart at the thought of such a little girl being mutated by out of control magic. "Is she okay? What happened to her?!"

"She's okay at the moment," Pia replied with a sigh. "She was a little freaked out at first, but she calmed down soon enough. I'm just glad her wings disappeared before she relaxed enough to really try them out."

Applejack chuckled at that. "Yeah, she's as feisty as a ferret on a sugar rush. Ah can't imagine that givin’ her wings would make her any easier to wrangle."

Everyone looked around as Bannon loudly cleared his throat. "Do you think we could get back to the matter of the magic? Some of us have work to do," he said testily.

Pia glared at him, but bit back the insults she clearly wished to hurl and took a deep breath before addressing the girls, "Around ten minutes after it first hit, the magic started to settle down. We've managed to contain, or cordon off, some of the rooms and things that have been affected but, as you've probably seen, there's a whole load of stuff that's too big for us to handle."

"Like the trees?" Applejack asked.

"The trees, the butterflies, the floating equipment, the random rainbow sparks, and that's just the most obvious stuff," Harkness said. "It got even worse after that second wave of magic blasted through a couple of days ago."

"Is it true that the Enclave caused that blast too?" Bannon asked.

Applejack nodded. "Them morons got their hands on some magic of their own. We didn't even know they had it til their Colonel blew their own base sky-high. All the radiation made the magic go haywire."

"Radiation makes magic go haywire?" Pia asked, wide-eyed.

"Sort of," Sunset replied. "We're not really sure, exactly, how they interact yet, but when large quantities of magic and radiation mix, the reaction tends to be pretty… energetic."

"Meanin’ that the last two times a load of magic met a load of radiation, it exploded all over the wastes like a boy in puberty," Applejack said flatly, earning a disgusted moan from Rarity.

Pia frowned and crossed her arms. "That would certainly explain what's happening with our generators."

"What's going on with the generators?" Sunset asked.

"Some of them have been altered by the magic," Pia replied. "They aren't showing any overly weird properties,yet, but their output has almost quintupled compared to normal. That's actually one of the first things we wanted you to take a closer look at, just in case."

"Fair enough." Sunset chewed her lip as she considered how to phrase what was on her mind. "I should probably warn you, I don't think we'll be able to get rid of most of the magic affecting the city. We can try if it's absolutely necessary, but it would probably only end up making things worse."

Harkness sighed heavily. "We were afraid that you'd say that. In that case, we'd appreciate it if you could at least help us get as much of the magic under control as possible."

"Of course," Sunset replied. "Do you have a list of what needs checking, or…?"

Harkness pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it, and spread it out on the table. "I've got a complete list of every magical disturbance we’ve found here." He pushed it over to Sunset and leaned back in his chair. "I've put a star next to the most pressing issues."

Sunset read through the list quickly. She was surprised to see that it wasn't really that long, but there were a few items on there that could potentially be very problematic. "Er, what's this one that's been crossed out?"

"Ah, the Boogeyman." Harkness grimaced. "It looked like a suit of black power armor, but it could shift its form into some kind of oily shadow that moved with incredible speed. It infiltrated the city a couple of days after the magic hit and started terrorizing the residents. Thankfully, no one was hurt. It seemed more interested in scaring people than actually hurting them, but it still caused us no end of trouble. We managed to drive it out of the city a few hours before the second wave of magic hit, and it hasn't been seen since."

"That's… weird," Applejack mused.

"It's one less thing for us to worry about right now," Sunset said firmly. She knew that the Boogeyman was a problem they'd probably have to deal with eventually, but it was beyond their reach for the moment and, if she was honest with herself, she wasn't up to another confrontation just yet. "Okay, where do you want us to start?"

"Pia can show you and Applejack what needs to be checked," Harkness replied before looking over at Bannon. "As for Rarity, I believe that you needed her for something, didn't you?"

Bannon nodded and turned to Rarity. "It's not actually me that needs you, but Miss Germaine. She wishes to speak to you about a rather urgent matter, and I agreed to request a meeting with you for her. Would it be possible for you to see her as soon as possible once this meeting has concluded?"

"Oh, er…" It was clear from her expression that Rarity had mixed feelings about meeting her alternate self, but after a moment she nodded slowly. "Yes, I suppose we do have a few things to discuss."

Harkness glanced around at everyone before pushing back his chair and standing up. "Alright then, if there's nothing else to discuss, then I believe we can adjourn this meeting."

"Finally," Bannon huffed. "Pia, Harkness, I’ll see you on Monday for our regular Council meeting. As for you three, I look forward to hearing good news about these disturbances being dealt with swiftly. Good day."

"And good riddance," Pia muttered as he left the room.

Harkness switched the holotape recorder off and headed for the door, himself. He paused on the threshold and glanced back over his shoulder. "It's good to have you girls back, just remember the rules and stay out of trouble. See you later." Sunset raised a hand in farewell as he left.

"So, where’re we headin’ first?" Applejack asked. "Engine room?"

Pia shook her head. "Thankfully, no. It's only a few of the portable generators that have been affected; we're keeping them in a secure room in the science labs."

"I'll follow you partway," Rarity said. " I've never been through this part of the ship before."

"Fair enough." Pia got out of her chair and stretched. "Phew! Okay, let's go."

The girls followed as Pia led them quickly through the corridors of the ship. They met several people going about their business as they moved into the more industrious parts of the city; most of whom greeted the group enthusiastically. There wasn't time to stop and chat, but the girls made sure to let the people know that they were here to help with the magic, however they could.

"One thing Ah'm wondering," Applejack put in after they'd passed another couple of people, "how exactly are we gonna help everyone with all this magic? You said yourself that there's too much for us to get rid of."

Sunset sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, Equestrian magic has spread too far and too fast for us to contain or get rid of all of it. I think we're just going to have to destroy whatever dark magic we find and teach people how to live with whatever's left."

"It's as good a plan as any, I suppose." Rarity stopped at a side corridor with a sign showing directions to the church. "I'll head off here, I know my way to the boutique from the church."

Sunset and Applejack waved goodbye to Rarity as she left before following Pia once more. The effects of the magic were becoming more obvious the closer they got to the science bay. Rust-covered roots and branches grew out of the walls, ceiling, and floor; along with the occasional colorful gemstone. Once or twice, Sunset even thought that she could see flashes of magical energy twinkling in the corner of her eye, but whenever she turned her head to get a better look, it was gone.

Despite the new structural oddities, the three arrived at the science labs without any particular difficulty. When Pia pushed open the door to the labs, though, neither Applejack nor Sunset could help a loud gasp when they saw how much the lab had changed.

Every single surface was gleaming; so clean and shiny it was virtually unrecognisable. One of the room's walls was covered entirely in trees, with tangled roots knotting into the floor. Great branches spread across half of the ceiling and entwined around the walkways of the upper level. A second look revealed that the trees' bark was made of burnished brass and their leaves were a sparkling metallic green. Apples of every size and color hung from the branches, while hundreds of ethereal pink butterflies danced among the leaves and fluttered around the lights in the ceiling.

"Well Ah'll be… things sure have changed around here!" Applejack grinned and nodded to the tree-covered wall. "Don't tell me all of that grew from Little Mac?!"

Pia sighed. "Yeah. It's completely covered the one side of the ship's exterior, and it's slowly spreading through the interior, too. We're just lucky that it isn't blocking off any of the corridors. Hell, the damn thing has actually made the ship more stable since its roots started poking out of the bottom and digging into the riverbed." She gestured for the girls to follow. "Come on, the generators are this way."

The other members of the science team called out greetings as the three descended to the lower level. Sunset noticed that there were a lot fewer people around than before, and that most of them were technicians rather than researchers. James and Doctor Li had taken most of the dedicated scientists with them when they left for Project Purity.

"How are you managin’ with the hydroponics and stuff, now that the rest of the science team is gone?" Applejack asked, taking the words right out of Sunset's mouth.

"It hasn't been easy," Pia admitted. "I was never actually on the science team. I'm an engineer, not a researcher, but Doctor Li left very clear instructions on how to use and maintain the equipment, along with a ridiculous amount of research notes for us to look through, in case we want to try and keep improving the yield."

Sunset gave her a sidelong look. "If you weren't on the science team, how did you get on the Council as the science representative?"

It took her a moment to realize just how rude that sounded, but thankfully Pia just grinned. "It's simple, really. I'm the only person left on the ship who can understand half of what's written in Doctor Li's notes." Pia glanced around to make sure no one was looking and spoke in a quiet tone, "If I'm honest, the only reason I took the job was because it meant I could have a permanent residence in the city, without having to pay the usual fees. It's hard work, especially with everything that's going on at the moment, but if it means I can give my daughter a stable home to grow up in, then it's worth it. Speaking of…"

Pia turned and called out to one of the technicians, "Hey, Isaac, can you fetch Chandra for me? Thanks!" She opened one of the side doors and stepped aside for Applejack and Sunset to enter. Inside was a small workshop with three portable generators positioned against the back wall.

"These’re the ones that were affected by the magic?" Applejack asked, getting a nod from Pia as she closed the door to keep the technicians from looking in.

Sunset stared at the generators curiously. She could see a faint glow coming from under some metal panels and she was sure that she could sense the tingle of Equestrian magic in the room somehow, much like when she and Twilight had first found their Geodes at Camp Everfree, but Sunset didn't have the faintest idea of how to go about figuring out whether it was dangerous or not. Keenly aware that Pia was watching, she asked Applejack in an undertone, "Uh, do you have any idea how these generators work?"

"Nope," Applejack replied. "You?"

"Not a clue." Sunset rubbed her neck awkwardly and turned to Pia. "So… um… do they actually do anything, or…?"

Pia just gave her a flat look. "You have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

"Well…" Sunset tried to smile hopefully, but at Pia's unamused look, she huffed and frowned in irritation. "Look, magic works differently in this world than it did in our homeworld, and that worked differently from the magic back in the world that I originally came from. Whatever magic is in those generators doesn't look or feel dark at the moment, but until I can actually see it doing something, then I have no idea whether it's safe to use or not."

Pia raised an eyebrow. "It's not dark? Should I assume that dark magic is bad?" Sunset nodded, prompting Pia to hum and rub her chin thoughtfully. "So… if we were to connect the generator up to something, maybe try and rig it up to a simple lightbulb or something, you'd be able to tell if it was dangerous from that?"

"Maybe," Sunset replied. "But, setting up such an experiment would be extremely difficult to do safely given the-"

"The radiation," Pia finished. She stepped over and patted one of the generators, then sighed and turned back to the girls. "I'll brainstorm it. If I can come up with a safe idea, would you be willing to help me give it a try?"

Sunset glanced over at Applejack, unsure of what to do. Seeing her look, Applejack shrugged and said, "Why not? It ain't like she's tryin’ to make weapons, like the Enclave; these generators will help people. Better generators means more electricity, which means more food and more water purifiers. Ah reckon it's worth looking into."

"I suppose," Sunset sighed. "Okay, if you can come up with a way to test the generators safely, then we'll help you. But, if it seems like the magic is doing anything it shouldn't, we shut the experiment down immediately, is that clear?"

Pia's expression hardened. "I'm not an idiot. My daughter lives here. I'm not going to risk her life over something like this."

"Well, not everyone in this world seems to think like that," Sunset retorted.

At first it looked like Pia was going to snap back at her, but after a moment her expression softened. "I wish I could say that you were wrong about that, but the fact that we're living in a broken down old aircraft carrier in the middle of a radioactive wasteland is pretty good evidence to the opposite." She brushed a few loose strands of hair back out of her face and glanced at Applejack. "Going back to what you said about food production, the next thing I wanted you to look at was those trees. Specifically, their apples."

Applejack broke out into a wide grin. "Alright, now you're talkin’! Come on, Ah've been itchin’ to get a closer look at them magic apples ever since Ah saw them!" She was still gushing over the prospect of scrutinizing the apples as she hurried out of the room, leaving the other two in her dust.

Sunset smirked at the look on Pia's face. "Hey, you're the one who pointed Applejack at apples and said 'go'. What did you expect?"

The two left the room just in time to see Applejack striding up to the trees on the wall, waving the nearby technicians out of her way. "Step aside, y'all, let me take a look at these here beauties."

Sunset and Pia stepped up alongside Applejack. "I know that you helped Doctor Li with increasing the yield of apples from the hydroponics experiments, so I was hoping you could tell me whether or not these things are edible," Pia said.

"Well, Ah wouldn't know off the top of my head," Applejack replied. "Some of them look like regular apples. That up there's a Granny Smith, you got a couple of Golden Delicious and a Bramley over there, a Pink Lady down there, you've even got one up there that looks like an Egremont Russet, you don't see those around too often." She planted a hand on her hip and tipped her hat back with the other. "Ah don't know about the rest of the ones with the funny colors though. Ah ain't never seen a blue apple like those ones up there before, not without painting them; that's definitely magic for you."

Pia jerked her thumb at a table just behind them, loaded with machinery and a few different types of apples. "We've tested the composition of some of the apples already." She held a hand up as Sunset glared at her. "I know it was dangerous, but we had to check if they contained anything toxic or poisonous after the security team caught a few teenagers eating the ones growing up on the flight deck."

"Were they toxic?" Sunset asked.

"Surprisingly, no," Pia replied. "Despite literally growing out of metal walls, they just seem to be normal apples, apart from the colors. If they're safe enough to eat without mutating people or ponying them up, then we'll have a massive boost to our food production."

Applejack reached out and plucked a shiny green apple from the nearest branch. "Well, Ah guess there's only one way to find out." The apple gave a loud and satisfying crunch as she bit into it. "Oh, wow. Hoo-whee! That's got some serious bite to it, real tangy."

"Do you feel anything?" Sunset asked. "Any magic?"

"Nope. Nothing but apple," Applejack replied. "Ah'd still be careful with the funny colored ones, but Ah reckon you should be fine with the ordinary apples, at least."

Pia sagged with relief. "Good. I'd like to do a couple of extra tests just to be sure, but if you're right, then this is going to mean a lot of fresh, clean food for the wastes."

As Applejack and Pia discussed crop yields and how to identify different varieties of apples, Sunset walked along the tree-laden wall, inspecting it closely. What she had originally thought was a multitude of trees was actually just one immense one; a colossal network of trunks interlocking and weaving together.

As she stepped over a large knotted root, Sunset spotted a door nestled between a couple of thick trunks. A beautiful series of intricate spiral patterns were etched all over its surface, coming together to form Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's Cutie Marks in the center. It took Sunset a moment to realize that it led to the rooms where Doctor Li had performed her initial tests on magic.

"That's where all of the magic spread from," Pia called out as she and Applejack joined Sunset at the door. "We have to keep the door locked, because there's so much energy loose in there. One of the technicians who has already been exposed to the magic volunteered to close the door after the blast smashed it open, and she's still ponied up from the sheer amount of it in her system."

"Is she okay?" Sunset asked warily.

Pia smiled wryly. "She's got bright white feathers and silver hair, even when she's wearing her overalls she looks like a fucking goddess. I'd hate her guts, if she wasn't so damned likeable." Her smile became a smirk as she lowered her voice, "Going by how her husband mysteriously ponies up every morning, I get the feeling he's happy with it, too."

Sunset and Applejack both blushed furiously as they caught her meaning. Applejack grinned mischievously as she said, "So… Sunset? How do you fancy giving Harkness some pony ears?"

A semi-playful thump on Applejack’s arm was Sunset's only response. Any further blushing was completely unrelated, and she would deny any images of the process popping in her head until her dying breath.

"Mommy?" The three turned to see a technician and a little girl walking up to them. The little girl had vibrant red hair and was wearing a patched little sundress.

"Chandra!" Pia picked the girl up, wrapped her in a hug, and nodded to the technician. "Thanks, Isaac." She smiled at Applejack and Sunset. "You both remember my daughter, right?"

"We sure do," Applejack replied, smiling and waving at little Chandra. Sunset hesitated, guilt rising in her chest at the knowledge that the magical blast they had caused had stressed this poor little girl, but Chandra's bright grin broke down Sunset's reluctance so swiftly and efficiently that she was smiling and waving, too, before she even knew what she was doing.

Pia nodded to another side room at the far side of the lab. "Mind if we talk in there?" she asked quietly. "I'd rather keep this next bit as private as possible."

Sunset and Applejack shared a curious look, but quickly agreed. When they stepped inside the room, which turned out to be a small storage room, Pia put Chandra down and gestured for the girls to close the door behind them.

"Okay, we're alone," Applejack said as she pushed the door closed. "What's up?"

In response, Pia crouched next to Chandra. "Okay, red, do you still have your necklace?"

Chandra nodded and pulled a little necklace out of her pocket; a thin copper chain holding a crimson stone emblazoned with a stylized flame. A jolt ran through Sunset's body as she realized what it was.

"I… is that a Geode?" Applejack asked incredulously.

"I think so," Pia replied.

Sunset blinked in surprise. "You know what a Geode is?"

Pia nodded. "When the first wave of magic hit, a chunk of gemstone rocketed out of the corridor where Doctor Li ran her tests on your magic and went flying off around the ship. I had one of my friends on the security team looking after Chandra for me, and she says that the gemstone flew into the room, smacked straight into Chandra, and turned into that necklace."

"That's what made her pony up?" Sunset remarked.

"Yeah. When Harkness heard what happened, he told me about your Geodes, assuming that it was something similar," Pia explained.

"He was right, or at least I think he was." Sunset stared blankly at Chandra. The Rainbooms' Geodes were all related to the elements of harmony that her friends represented, but she had no idea what this world's Geodes were related to in the slightest. "What, er… what does her Geode do? If you don't mind me asking."

Pia frowned pensively at Chandra. "Okay, Chandra, you can put the necklace on, but no flying, and be careful."

Chandra smiled gleefully and put the necklace over her head. Almost immediately, the Geode flashed and she sprouted a pair of bright red feathered wings with matching pony ears, her dress transformed into a set of deep crimson robes, and her hair glowed and rippled like a living flame on top of her head.

As shocked and surprised as she was, Sunset had to admit that the little girl standing before her with tiny wings curled around her looked absolutely adorable.

"Aw, shucks, ain't you just the cutest little thing!" Applejack cooed, clearly not immune to her charms either.

Chandra pouted and stuck her fists on her hips, flaring her wings as she did so. It would have been cute, but the twin streaks of flame that shot out of her nostrils as she huffed slightly ruined the impression.

"Uh… did she just breathe fire?" Sunset asked flatly.

"She did," Pia confirmed with an anxious look. "I tried to keep the Geode locked away at first since, y'know, fire and small children don't usually mix well, but, unless she keeps it close, the Geode has a habit of setting fire to things, or even melting them, all on its own."

"That's… concerning," Sunset said quietly.

Applejack nodded in agreement. "Ah knew there was a load of magic goin’ around these parts recently, but Ah never thought Ah'd see new Geodes croppin’ up."

"It's actually the second new Geode I've seen," Sunset supplied. "We found a Super Mutant in Vault 87 who had one," she added in response to Applejack's shocked look.

"Why the heck didn't you tell me about him?" Applejack demanded.

"I forgot, okay!?" Sunset shot back. "In case you hadn't noticed, the last few days haven't exactly been easy!"

Applejack flinched as if she'd been slapped. "You're right, Ah'm sorry." She rubbed her neck awkwardly. "So… you wanna talk about stuff, or…?"

Sunset shook her head and held up a hand. "Thanks, but not right now." She pinched the bridge of her nose and sucked in a deep breath, holding it for a second before letting it out again slowly. "I'm sorry I snapped, it's just… yeah."

"Yeah." Applejack cleared her throat and made a quick attempt to change the subject, "So, uh, Chandra's Geode gives her fire. What did the Super Mutant's one do?"

Sunset shivered at the memory of it shrugging off Pinkie's magic with ease. "It makes him tough. Really tough. I think it's going to take Liberty Prime or something to deal with that monster."

"That doesn't sound good," Pia put in.

Sunset glanced down at Chandra. "That's not the worst part. We know there are two new Geodes here in the wasteland, but how many more are lurking out there?" She clasped her own Geode tightly. "And how many of them have fallen into the wrong hands?"

---

Senator Lily sighed as she locked the door to her workroom. It was only a small room; a private laboratory put together so she could work on her own little experiments in peace. Many of the experiments, including the injections and creams that helped her maintain a youthful aspect, were things that she had been working on back when she was still a doctor, long before she became a Senator. Some of the experiments, however, were far more recent.

After quickly double checking the lock, Senator Lily gave a satisfied nod and stepped over to her work table. Piles of notes and calculations covered most of it, but in a clear space in the middle sat a small glass tank containing a dead rat. A precise scalpel wound in its side revealed the cause of death.

"Now then, time for attempt five." Senator Lily reached up and pulled a little metal lockbox down from one of the shelves. She bit her lip in anticipation as she unlocked the box and flipped back the lid. Inside was a simple necklace; a thin silver chain holding a black stone emblazoned with a stylized skull.

Senator Lily took a deep breath to steady herself before she put the necklace on. She felt the tingle of magic the moment her fingers touched the chain, and the trickle of power she felt as the stone fell against her chest sent a shiver down her spine. Coaxing the magic out, Senator Lily felt a thrill run through her body as she ponied up; her hair lengthening and turning silky as jet-black pony ears sprouted from her skull and matching wings grew from her back.

The Senator paused for a moment, enjoying the sensation of dark power flowing through her veins. Still, she couldn't afford to savour it for long. Someone could come looking for her at any moment, and it wouldn't do for them to discover her newfound abilities before the time was right.

Turning her attention to the dead rat, Senator Lily held a hand towards it and delved into the magic of her Geode. A gossamer tendril of dark magic wafted into being around her hand, thickening and growing until it was a thick black mist, then slowly reached out to envelop the rat.

Senator Lily held her breath as her power sank into the rat's body. It jerked spasmodically for a few seconds, then fell still once again.

"Shit." Senator Lily braced her hands on the table and hung her head in failure. "Looks like I have to get another specimen." She made to turn away when something caught her attention in the corner of her eye.

The rat was twitching. Senator Lily watched, captivated, as the rat slowly shuddered and clambered to its feet. She grinned as the miniature zombie took a few faltering steps. "I did it." The Senator chuckled, softly at first, but slowly growing in volume until she was cackling madly as the zombie rat squealed loudly alongside her.

Next Chapter: Chapter 73 - Conspiracy Estimated time remaining: 29 Hours, 29 Minutes