Twilight Sparkle watched with no small relief as Fluttershy yawned and stretched in the evening sun. It was ridiculous, but she had been a little worried whether or not her newly vampiric friend would cope under the sunlight, but thankfully it didn't seem to affect her any differently at all. Since Fluttershy was back in her normal form, albeit with pointy ears and slightly elongated canines, Elder Lyons had grudgingly allowed her to wander around the Citadel's courtyard, provided that Twilight and Pinkie accompanied her. Twilight sighed heavily. The old man hadn't exactly been easy to convince.

"Are you okay?" Pinkie asked quietly from beside her wheelchair. "Are the painkillers still working?"

"I'm fine, thanks, Pinkie," Twilight replied. She had twisted awkwardly in her chair earlier necessitating another big dose of painkillers. They were making her absent-minded and she was fairly certain that she was hallucinating: Colors didn't blend and swirl that much normally, but it was a small price to pay to bring the pain down to a manageable level. "What about you, Fluttershy? How are you feeling?"

Fluttershy smiled down at her. "I'm okay. I'll feel better if we can get this FEV out of my system, but until then I'll just avoid ponying up or, um, vamping up as much as I can. I'm just glad we've got it under control for now." She stroked the pointy tip of one of her ears. "Besides, there are a couple of small benefits to this."

"You mean the fact that you now look like the elf girl from Adam's Grognak comics that he really likes?" Pinkie asked flatly.

Fluttershy's blush was immediate and obvious even to Twilight's drug-addled eyes. In an attempt to spare her shy friend, Twilight asked, "How are you actually feeling, y'know, after everything that's happened."

She realized that that was probably a terrible thing to ask even as she said it, but thankfully Fluttershy just cocked her head and hummed in thought. "I… I don't know. I feel bad about what happened, but at the same time I know it wasn't me that did it. It was all thanks to the FEV so, I guess, I don't really feel guilty. Does that make sense?"

Twilight nodded, trying not to let her surprise show on her face. "Of course it does. You're compartmentalizing. That's not a bad thing, in fact it's actually a good thing." Fluttershy smiled shyly, and Twilight privately noted that Fluttershy was showing an enviable amount of mental fortitude.

The sound of the Citadel's gate opening grabbed the girls' attention. Shortly afterwards, a squad of Knights entered the courtyard leading Applejack, Sunset and Rarity. "Oh dear, they don't look happy," Fluttershy said quietly.

Twilight squinted at them. "Darn it, I can't see their expressions. My vision is too blurry."

"Your glasses are on your head," Pinkie told her.

"Huh?" Twilight tried vainly to look at the top of her own head. "Oh, right." She blinked as Pinkie dutifully put her glasses on properly for her and looked over at the girls. They certainly didn't look happy, Sunset in particular looked like she had been put through the wringer, but they brightened up when they spotted Fluttershy.

"Hey, Flutters, you're okay!" Applejack called out as they approached.

Fluttershy tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Um, not quite. We've got it under control for now, though."

"What about you guys? Did something go wrong?" Pinkie asked.

Applejack and Rarity winced as Sunset seemed to curl in on herself. "Sunset had a bit of a disagreement with a slaver." Applejack said softly.

"Oh no! Are you alright? You weren't hurt were you?" Fluttershy asked anxiously.

Sunset shook her head. "I'm okay, it just… messed with my head a little." She shuddered and rubbed her neck. "Anyway, Harkness has agreed to help the Brotherhood of Steel with distributing water as long as we help get their magic under control. We've made a start, but there's still a lot to do. We're going to go back every day until it's sorted out."

"Why not get a room there?" Twilight asked. "It would save you making the journey every day. It would probably be safer, too."

"Probably," Sunset admitted. "But we're going to ask the Brotherhood of Steel to train us every day before we head over, and Harkness is going to teach us to fight as well."

Twilight stared at her in surprise. She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Pinkie pointing into the sky and crying out, "Hey, look! Rainbow's back!"

The girls all looked up to see Rainbow arcing through the air towards them. She flipped over in midair at the last second before hitting the ground, skidding to a halt right next to the group. "Hey, Fluttershy, you're okay?"

Twilight blinked dumbly at Rainbow's gemstone armor. "Uh… is Rainbow Dash all sparkly now, or are my painkiller-induced hallucinations getting worse?"

"Sparkly indeed!" Rarity reached out to stroke Rainbow's breastplate reverently. "This is Royal Blue Sapphire! Darling, you must tell me where you got this armor!"

"Before or after you're done gropin' her tit?" Applejack asked grumpily.

Rarity snatched her hand back as if it had been burned, but Rainbow just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, my armor's as awesome as I am, but seriously, Fluttershy, what's up with the ears? Are you fixed now, or what?"

"Um, not exactly," Fluttershy replied. With Twilight and Pinkie's help, she explained to the others what had happened during Twilight's tests.

Sunset frowned when they were finished. "You can shift between your ponied up form and your vampire form at will?"

Fluttershy nodded. "I think so, but transforming seems to make me more, um, 'thirsty'. We're not sure if using my ordinary magic has the same effect or not, or whether it's something that'll change over time, but we're going to perform more experiments once we've built up our stock of blood again." She looked anxiously at Rainbow. "Did the Exodus girls have anything that might help?"

"They didn't have a cure for FEV, but they did give me this." Rainbow let the magic drain out of her, switching from her ponied up form back to normal, before shrugging off her pack and pulling a few holotapes out of it. "These contain all of their research on FEV. They also gave me some medical stuff to give to the Brotherhood medics, to help Twilight recover faster."

"Really?!" Twilight leaned forward eagerly, then regretted it as a twinge of discomfort broke through the effects of the painkillers.

Rainbow dumped the holotapes on Applejack and gestured for Twilight to follow. "Come on, I'll give the medics the stuff right now and they can get started on making you better. I should probably speak to Elder Lyons, too. I've got some intel that he'll want to hear as soon as possible."

"You'll probably have to wait, he's in a meeting right now," Twilight told her.

Pinkie nodded. "The Wonderbolts came back just before you did. They had a little spider thing with them, it was really weird."

Elder Lyons stared at the little crystal spider wandering around on the desk in mute bemusement. Paladin Metzger had brought it back from her reconnaissance of Raven Rock, saying that it was, somehow, the former President of the Enclave. Elder Lyons had been about to order her in for a psych evaluation when the bizarre creature had asserted that she was telling the truth, and requested an immediate meeting to discuss sensitive matters.

Now, mere minutes later, the Elder and the Paladin were sitting in a secluded office in the Citadel's administration sector, with Eden perched on the desk between them. Metzger's armor stood empty in the corner of the room.

"I must say, I'm rather impressed," Eden said brightly. "Your Brotherhood have kept the place far cleaner and tidier than I expected." He ran a leg across his head then sank into what appeared to be a spider's version of a bow. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Elder Lyons. Please, allow me to officially introduce myself. I am Eden, formerly the President of the Enclave."

Elder Lyons just stared at him for a moment further, then looked up at Metzger, who shrugged. "He seems to be telling the truth," she said. "He certainly knows a lot about how the Enclave is structured and how it operates. He was telling us about it on the way over. It fits with what we already knew or guessed."

"Indeed, and there is so much more I can tell you," Eden added. "Of course, I do have a few minor conditions, in exchange for my information."

"I expected nothing less." Elder Lyons eyed the spider suspiciously. "What are your conditions?"

Eden crossed his two pairs of forelegs. "They're quite simple, really. One: I wish to be permitted to live without being permanently imprisoned. I understand if you wish to keep an eye on me, but I would appreciate being able to explore my surroundings a little. I spent my life in a box, unable to move or touch or feel. I want at least a taste of what freedom feels like."

"Fair enough, I'll see what I can do," Elder Lyons said with a nod.

"Second," Eden continued, "I want to speak to the Rainbooms, with an observer present, naturally. I wouldn't want to push your trust."

Elder Lyons raised an eyebrow. Eden seemed to be willing to go to great lengths to gain his trust, but that in itself could be a reason to remain suspicious. "That can be arranged. Is there anything else?"

Eden nodded. "Just one more thing. I wish for the Brotherhood to keep attempting to broker a peace treaty with whatever remains of the Enclave." In response to Lyons' surprised look, he sighed and started pacing on the desk. "My actions as the leader of the Enclave may have been misguided, but I do truly want what is best for humanity. An alliance between the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel would form a strong foundation from which we could begin to rebuild our fair nation."

"I see." Elder Lyons frowned down at Eden as he thought. He had every reason to be suspicious of the little creature, even to despise him, if he really was the Enclave's former President, but at the same time Eden could prove to be an extremely valuable asset. Metzger had had the right idea, bringing him in. "Very well, Eden. So long as you don't perform any action that may harm the Brotherhood or the people of the wastes, I shall agree to your terms."

"Wonderful!" Eden replied happily. "However, before we discuss the finer details of the Enclave's dealings in the Capital Wasteland, there is something else I have to warn you about."

"Oh? And what is that?" Elder Lyons asked.

Eden glanced at Metzger before skittering up to the edge of the desk and looking up at Lyons. "There is a threat growing beneath what is left of Raven Rock. A creature that needs to be dealt with before it is too powerful."

"He mentioned this earlier, but he wouldn't tell me what it is," Metzger cut in.

"Only because I do not believe that you would understand the significance of it," Eden countered. "Tell me, Elder, have you heard of the old Mariposa Military Base?"

Elder Lyons' blood ran cold at the mention of that name. It was a name whispered with fear among the older members of the Brotherhood, a site of dark events from before the Brotherhood of Steel had split apart, when Lyons himself was only a boy. "I have heard of it."

"Good, then I am sure you are aware that, after the original tenants were evicted by the Vault Dweller so many years ago, the Enclave took custody of it?" Eden asked.

"So I have been told," Elder Lyons replied.

"One of the doctors stationed there, a woman named Liliana Vess, acquired a sample of genetic material from a certain mutant, the one that organised the revolt that forced us out of the base. A mutant named Melchior," Eden explained.

"Melchior?" Metzger asked, confused.

"He was a powerful psychic Super Mutant," Elder Lyons told her. "A monster capable of summoning creatures and having them do his bidding. Much like Fluttershy, if I'm not mistaken."

Eden nodded. "Melchior is long dead, but Vess is not. She went on to become a Senator, but she kept studying and experimenting with FEV, seeking a way to prolong her lifespan. She also experimented with the genetic sample she retrieved from Melchior, but the resulting abomination was weak and fragile, utterly useless." Eden shuddered at some dark memory. "I only discovered all of this last night when I found the creature still alive in the bowels of Raven Rock, feeding on the residual magic left behind by its destruction and becoming more powerful by the hour."

Elder Lyons swallowed hard. "My god," he whispered. "How dangerous is this creature at the moment?"

Eden's body swayed from side to side. "Not very at the moment, but we must not leave it alone for too long or we will have a second Melchior on our hands."

"I understand." Elder Lyons heaved a great sigh. "However, the Brotherhood of Steel doesn't have the resources to deal with both the Enclave and this creature at the same time. If the Rainbooms were on top form I would send them; use magic to defeat magic, but they are in no condition for further conflict right now. I appreciate the warning, but the Enclave is the bigger threat for the moment. We will have to deal with them first."

Eden sighed backed away. "I understand. I only hope that this creature does not grow too powerful before you are in a position to strike."

The creature beneath Raven Rock allowed itself to relax a little. Looking through Eden's eyes, it could see and hear all that was said around him without anyone, least of all Eden, discovering its observation.

Luckily, Eden had accepted the lie that he had been presented with without suspicion. Pretending to be an offshoot of Melchior had clearly been the right idea; powerful enough to discourage a fight, but not so powerful as to provoke an immediate response. Perfect. Time had been bought, and now it was time to use it

Searching through the eyes of the other crystallized beings in the mountain, the abomination made sure that there were no other intruders on its domain before curling up into a ball. It needed to rest and grow, and then the feeding would begin anew.

I really need to get back into the swing of writing an A/N, after a new chapter.

There's going to be a short time skip next chapter, so look forward to seeing how Sunset's training is going!

Thanks for reading!