Rarity knocked tentatively on the door of the room she shared with Applejack. When no response was forthcoming, she opened the door and cautiously stuck her head inside. Applejack was sitting on the sofa, her hat in her hands, staring down at the floor. Rarity stepped inside, closed the door and leaned against it in silence.

"Every time Ah think Ah'm gettin' used to this world, it finds some new way to mess with my head," Applejack said quietly. "Findin' out that there's different versions of our families running around out there was bad, but then Ah saw the other you and Sweetie Belle livin’ safely in Rivet City and Ah figured, y'know, maybe the rest of them are doing okay out there, too." She sighed heavily and tossed her hat onto a side table. "Seeing Maddy like that though, knowing that she's Scootaloo, and knowing all the things she's been through: That just ain't right."

Rarity went over to sit next to Applejack, wrapping her arms around her friend's shoulders. "It's going to be alright, darling. I know this world is a horrible place, but the Apple family are the strongest people I know. I'm sure they're all safe, sound, and happy living wherever this world's version of you happens to be."

"Even her parents?" Applejack asked flatly.

Rarity tensed, taken completely off-guard by the question. Feeling her reaction, Applejack sighed and continued in a soft, tremulous whisper, "Ah lost my parents once already. Ah don't think Ah can take losin’ them in this world, too."

Rarity didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure that here was anything to say. All she could do was hold Applejack tight and hope that she knew she wasn't alone. Applejack sighed again and leaned into Rarity, resting her head against Rarity's collar.

The two sat in silence for some time, neither wanting nor needing any company beyond their own. Rarity couldn't help but notice the irony that this was the closest she had ever felt to Applejack, and it was entirely due to circumstances she desperately wished had never occurred.

Eventually, Applejack stirred. "Sorry about this. We're all goin' through the same trouble, Ah shouldn't be dumpin' my problems on you."

"Nonsense, darling. I'll always be here for you," Rarity replied.

"Heh, likewise." Applejack gave a lop-sided smile that set a swarm of butterflies loose in Rarity's stomach. She was suddenly acutely aware of just how close their faces were to each other, and she saw a spark of recognition in Applejack's eyes as she realized the same thing. They stared at each other in a silent mix of nerves and excitement for what could have been second, a minute, or a full day for all either of them knew, before Applejack suddenly swallowed and pulled away. "Uh, Ah should probably take a, uh, whatchamacallit… a shower! That's the one. Ah need a shower."

"O-of course, dear." Rarity reluctantly removed her arms so Applejack could disappear into the bathroom, with perhaps a touch more haste than was strictly necessary, though Rarity hardly blamed her.

As the sound of running water filled the air, Rarity buried her face in a pillow and tried to scream into it as quietly as she could. She and Applejack had almost had a perfect moment there, but the appalling timing of it had nipped it in the bud. It just wasn't fair. Rarity knew she was unlikely to get a true fairytale romance, but surely even in this wretched world the universe could stand to throw her a bone.

With a heavy sigh, Rarity decided that if she couldn't spend her time enjoying the fruits of a flowering relationship, then she would at least get something productive done. Right now, that meant working on her and Applejack's armor. After quickly retrieving both sets from the wardrobe they were stored in, Rarity placed Applejack's on her work table first and considered what needed doing.

The armor itself was surprisingly well-made. It was composed of plates of an advanced polymer that resembled steel, though it was somewhat lighter, with thick padding on the underside for comfort. The Brotherhood of Steel's scribes had already repaired the scrapes it had picked up during the assault on Project Purity. Still, there were always things that could be improved.

Rarity would have dearly loved to paint it all in colors that suited Applejack, but drab grey was certainly more suited to stealth in the local ruins. There was one small concession to form over function that Rarity was willing to make, though.

Rifling through her drawers, Rarity quickly found the small stash of paint and a brush that she had managed to talk the Brotherhood into giving her. A trio of little red apples painted just over the heart felt like the perfect way to personalize the armor without compromising stealth. Next Rarity did the same thing to her own armor; giving herself a trio of diamonds just over the heart.

Once that was done, Rarity got to work altering their armor's padding, making minor adjustments so that it would fit just that little bit more comfortably. The work helped to calm her down, even if she did still have trouble getting the fingers of her left hand to cooperate.

After she had finished making a few final tweaks, Rarity sighed and leaned back to admire her handiwork. It wasn't much, but it would do.

"All finished?" Rarity almost leapt out of her seat when she heard Applejack's voice in her ear. "Er, sorry," Applejack said apologetically. "Ah saw that you were busy so Ah figured Ah'd watch."

"Oh, no, it's fine, dear." Rarity took a deep breath to try and get her thundering heart under control. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Applejack's hair was wet. "I must have been in the zone. I didn't even hear you get out of the shower."

Applejack smirked. "That was a while ago, now. Ah showered, dried and dressed and Ah've been sittin' out here next to you for about an hour now."

Rarity chuckled and shook her head. "Sorry, darling. Here, let me make it up to you by drying your hair for you." As she stood up to suit actions to words, the sudden blaring of a siren made both of the girls jump.

"What the heck?" Applejack winced at the piercing wailing echoing through the Citadel. "Ah sure hope that's just a fire drill."

Before Rarity could voice her agreement their door was slammed open and a Knight stepped halfway into the room. "Get your armor on, now!" He yelled. "We're under attack from the Enclave!"

---

Horrigan breathed slowly in and out as he heard the first exchange of gunfire between the Citadel and the Vertibirds. He was clamped safely in the belly of a cargo 'bird, while three gunships bombarded the Citadel, targeting the defence turrets so Horrigan would have less to deal with when he went in. As if he needed the help.

The plan was simple; the Vertibird gunships would thin out the exterior defences, then Horrigan would deploy and secure the courtyard, killing as many of the Brotherhood troops as he could without damaging the Citadel itself too badly. Once he had thoroughly grabbed the attention of the Brotherhood the gunships would drop off their complement of soldiers, who would then sweep the Citadel's interior and hold down the fort until reinforcements could arrive to secure the facility.

Horrigan perked up as his armor's intercom crackled into life. "This is Murderbird 1 to Big Boy, preparing for deployment."

"This is Big Boy, ready when you are," Horrigan replied. He relaxed his body as the pilot counted down, then felt his stomach lurch as the cargo clamps released and dropped him out of the hold.

The ground shook as Horrigan landed heavily on his feet. The dilapidated bulk of the Citadel rose up ahead of him, with the massive steel plate that served as a gate standing directly in his path. With a thought, Horrigan unshackled his magic and allowed it to flow freely through his body.

Laser fire sparked off Horrigan's armor as he approached the gate, bothering him as much as the patter of rain, and about as effective at stopping him. He snorted as someone inside found the presence of mind to fire a rocket at him, but he just shrugged off the hit and chuckled as a Vertibird blew the offender to pieces with its own missiles. More firepower was directed towards Horrigan; the defenders correctly identifying him as the biggest threat, but it was too little, too late.

When Horrigan reached the gate he reached for the bottom and grasped it tightly, easily digging his fingers into the thick metal. He would have preferred to simply smash through it, but that would make the facility much harder to defend later, so instead he raised the gate as high as he could and stepped through.

When he was through, Horrigan quickly knocked some chunks of masonry from the surrounding walls and kicked it under the gate before lowering it; the masonry holding it up just high enough for the following soldiers to squeeze under. With that done, he stomped down the ruined passageway and smashed his way through the doors at the end.

The courtyard was a scene of organised chaos. Unarmed children and teenagers ran for the doors to the interior while power-armored Knights took up defensive positions, all of them aiming at the gateway. Horrigan got a brief view of the wide training area before he was greeted by a storm of lasers and bullets.

Horrigan huffed a laugh and thrust his arms out, sending a wave of green fire washing over the nearest pair of Knights, but they wisely ducked into cover before he could cook them inside their own armor. Unfortunately for them, the seconds they wasted gathering their wits after the attack was all the time Horrigan needed.

In just a few quick strides he reached the makeshift barricade they were lurking behind. He smashed it with a swipe of his arm, slamming aside one of the Knights in the process. The remaining Knight yelled in fear and tried to run, but before he could escape Horrigan stamped on his leg, shearing it off at the knee. The Knight's screams of pain were silenced a moment later as Horrigan crushed his skull with a fist.

To the Brotherhood of Steel's credit, the grisly death of the two Knights only seemed to spur the rest of them on; the Knights pouring an ever-increasing quantity of firepower in Horrigan's direction. Grenades exploded all around him even as lasers and bullets sparked and ricocheted off his armor like hailstones.

Horrigan raised an arm to cover his eyes, more to clear his vision than to actually protect them, when a missile soared from a corner of the courtyard and slammed into him, jarring his shoulder. He grunted and tried to spot the culprit before he could fire again; too many more hits like that and he'd end up pulling a muscle.

As he looked around, Horrigan noticed plasma fire coming from the direction of the gate, targeting the Knights. The soldiers of the strike team had joined the fight and were making their presence felt. The fusillade aimed at Horrigan dwindled as the Brotherhood of Steel were forced to split their fire between him and his backup.

Seeing an opportunity, Horrigan stalked through the courtyard, ignoring the Knights targeting him in favor of those that were distracted by the soldiers; crushing them with his fists or brutally ripping them apart with his magically enhanced strength.

"SCOUR THE INTERIOR. I'LL HANDLE THINGS OUT HERE," Horrigan called out to his soldiers. Before the echoes of his voice faded he felt a heavy impact on his shoulder and a huge explosion knocked him off-balance. Horrigan growled and glared in the direction the shot had come from, quickly spotting his new target; a Knight carrying the hefty frame of a Fat Man.

With practiced ease the Knight stuffed another mini nuke into his weapon; little more than a man-portable hydraulic catapult, before aiming at Horrigan again.

This time, Horrigan was ready. Just as the Knight fired Horrigan dove to the side, the mini nuke soaring past to become someone else's problem. Horrigan used his momentum to roll to his feet and launched himself into a sprint towards the Knight. The Knight quickly reloaded, but before he could raise the Fat Man again Horrigan was on him. Horrigan clamped a hand around the Knight's chest and lifted him effortlessly into the air, then slammed him back-first to the ground hard enough to flatten his armor and leave a shallow crater in the concrete below.

Glancing around for fresh targets, Horrigan spotted a Knight pulling a wounded comrade to his feet, a Super Sledge grasped in her other hand.

Perfect.

The Knight saw Horrigan as he approached and shoved her friend away. "Get inside! I'll buy you some time!"

The wounded Knight looked up at Horrigan, his fear evident even through his helmet. "B-but Paladin Cross-"

"Go!" Cross yelled. She gave him one last shove then held her hammer out, pointing it at Horrigan. "I shall be your opponent, monster, but I warn you; as mighty as you are, you shall not walk away from this fight unharmed."

Horrigan snorted. "YOU'RE BRAVE, I'LL GIVE YOU THAT." He rolled his shoulders and raised his fists as he advanced on her. "ALRIGHT, MAGGOT, SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT."

Cross stepped back and readied her hammer, but before they clashed a nearby wall suddenly exploded outwards and something large flew through the air between them.

Horrigan watched in blank shock as the Enclave soldier crashed into the ground and carved a twenty yard furrow through the ground before he finally came to a halt, his breastplate crushed beyond repair.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Horrigan turned to see what had launched the soldier, only to grunt in surprise as a thick gemstone smacked into his head.

"I'd rather hoped we'd never have to see you again, you oversized brute," a young woman with snow-white skin and purple hair said scathingly. Horrigan recognised her as one of the girls from Raven Rock; a Rainboom.

A flash of color and a light impact on the side of Horrigan's head announced the presence of another Rainboom. "Man, you weren't lying about him being huge." A blue girl with rainbow-colored hair appeared next to the white one in the blink of an eye, wearing some impressively sparkly armor and wielding a sword that blazed with blue flame. "You guys handle the mooks, we'll deal with this asshole," she called out. "Pinkie! Crack that shell for me!"

"TRY IT." Horrigan thrust his hands out and sent twin jets of flame arcing towards the girls. The white one raised her hands and a shield of gemstones appeared out of thin air, blocking his fire. By the time it faded, they had both disappeared.

Horrigan growled and looked around the courtyard for the girls. The remaining Knights and soldiers were busy furiously battling it out but, surprisingly, very little fire was directed at Horrigan. It seemed the Knights were foolish enough to do as the Rainboom said.

Out of the corner of his eye, Horrigan saw another Rainboom, this one entirely pink. Horrigan flinched as she leaned out of a doorway and hurled something at him, then did a double-take as he realized that it was. He stared in confusion as the faintly glowing bottle of Nuka-Cola spun end-over-end through the air and smashed against his breastplate.

The explosion sent waves of agony pulsing through Horrigan's body. He staggered backwards, swiping smoke from his armor, but thankfully it wasn't damaged beyond some scratches. He snarled and glared at the Rainboom, but as he took a step towards her, a multicolored blur flashed in front of his eyes at the same moment something yanked at his ankle and sent him tumbling to the floor.

Horrigan looked down at his foot angrily just in time to see a purple glow fading from his ankle.

"Hold him down, Ah got him!" Horrigan snapped his head up and saw another girl running towards him, her blonde ponytail whipping around her as she ran. For a moment, he wondered what her plan was; she was unarmed, and her only protection was a simple set of old combat armor, but then he spotted the discarded Fat Man lying on the ground just ahead.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT." Horrigan reached out and flattened the Fat Man with his fist, ignoring the muffled detonation of the loaded mini nuke beneath his hand.

The girl didn't stop. Instead she lunged past Horrigan's outstretched arm and reached back with her own to throw all of her strength into a single punch aimed directly at his face. Horrigan was so surprised at the sheer insanity of it that he didn't bother trying to prevent it; he just waited for the inevitable moment where she shattered her fist against his helmet.

The impact drove all conscious thought from Horrigan's mind. He was vaguely aware of a hollow boom echoing through the courtyard, or maybe just his helmet, and he had a strange sensation of tumbling over, as if up and down were constantly switching places.

When he regained his senses, Horrigan was sitting with his back against the shattered remnants of the courtyard's doors. He shook his head to clear it, then clambered to his feet with a groan.

"You ain't welcome here, now get!" Horrigan looked up to see a crystal ramp growing out of the ground towards him, with the strong Rainboom sprinting up it. Before he could react the girl swung a mighty hook at his chest.

If anything, the second punch was even worse. Horrigan gasped as raw strength smashed him through the doors, down the passageway and through the giant steel gate at the end, shattered masonry following him as the sounds of devastation filled the air. There was an awful metallic scraping as Horrigan hit the floor and slid along, pulverising rock until he finally ground to a halt.

Horrigan gently rubbed his armored chest. The point where she had punched him throbbed in a way he hadn't felt in years; it was definitely going to leave a bruise. It took Horrigan a moment to realize that he was lying on the remains of the metal plate that formed the Citadel's front gate. The sheer force of the girl's punch, combined with Horrigan's mass, had ripped the front of the building clean off, leaving a cloud of debris and dust in its wake.

The girl herself appeared a second later, charging out of the dust cloud like a barbarian queen on a rampage. Horrigan would have grinned if he could; he finally had a reason to put in some actual effort.

With a quick flex, Horrigan rolled back over his own shoulder onto his feet, scraping his hand along the ground and flicking chunks of stone and grit at the girl in one smooth motion. The girl rolled aside to avoid the attack and leaped at him, kicking off his outstretched arm and driving her knee into his face, snapping his head around. Horrigan twisted with the impact so it didn't knock him senseless again.

Horrigan chuckled as the girl landed and whipped around to face him. "YOU'RE GOOD. BUT YOU'RE NO SOLDIER."

The girl winced at the volume of his voice, but didn't drop her guard for an instant. "Yeah? Well Ah suggest you get the heck out of here or you're gonna be a dead soldier."

"NOT LIKELY." Horrigan dove into a commando roll, then as he rolled to his feet he kicked off the ground and leapt into the air, raising his hand above his head.

The girl yelped and scrambled away, barely getting out of the way as Horrigan landed and punched a clean hole in the rock where she had been standing a split-second ago. Without pausing he ripped his hand from the ground and flung a chunk of stone at her, forcing the girl to drop to her belly to avoid it.

"GOT YOU!" Horrigan pounced on the girl before she could recover, wrapping a hand around her back and lifting her up easily. The girl tried to pry his fingers open, swearing and kicking wildly the whole time, but it was futile.

"YOU'RE STRONG." Horrigan raised his other hand as if he was about to clap. "I'M STRONGER." He chuckled as he swung his hands together. As he had hoped, the girl got her legs up in time to stop herself from being squashed, but that left her sandwiched between his hands like a recalcitrant puppy. Now it was time to put her in her place.

The girl's eyes widened as Horrigan started to squeeze, pitting his magical strength against hers. A strange necklace around the girl's neck glowed as they struggled. Horrigan watched with mild curiosity as the girl sprouted little animal ears and her hair lengthened, but it made little difference. Slowly but surely, the girl was going to be crushed.

The girl had given up on trying to pry Horrigan's fingers open; her whole focus was on using her legs to keep his hands apart. He could have easily just squashed her like an overripe fruit with the hand that held her, but he wanted to prove that he was mightier than her. He wanted to see the look in her eyes, in the last second before her legs gave out, when she knew without a doubt that she was going to die.

"Applejack!" A huge gemstone smacked into Horrigan's side, but it wasn't enough to budge him. There was a flash of multicolored light and, the next thing Horrigan knew, the blue Rainboom was standing on his shoulders, trying to dig her sword into his eyes. She was barely even scratching his helmet's lenses.

"SO, YOUR NAME IS APPLEJACK." Horrigan laughed as her legs shook against his strength. "I'LL BE SURE TO CARVE IT ON YOUR GRAVESTONE." Just a few more seconds and her strength would fail, then she'd be little more than a grease stain between his hands. After that, he'd rip the blue one apart before she could escape. The rest of the Rainbooms could be destroyed at his leisure.

Applejack screamed as her knees started to buckle. Her necklace grew brighter until it shone like a miniature sun, it's magic straining against Horrigan's. Something clambered up Horrigan's back, but he ignored it. Nothing could stop him now.

"Get back!" There was a sudden fizzing crackle behind Horrigan's helmet and his whole body lurched, his strength gone in an instant. Applejack dropped from his grasp as he slumped down to his knees.

"A pulse grenade?" Horrigan huffed. He flexed his arms and clambered to his feet, already feeling his strength coming back. Glancing around for the girls, he spotted them sprinting back into the Citadel, accompanied by a girl with amber skin and red and yellow hair who was half-dragging Applejack along. She must have been the one who shoved the pulse grenade into his neck joint. "RUN ALL YOU WANT. IT WON'T SAVE YO-"

A colossal explosion knocked Horrigan off his feet, sending him sprawling sideways on the battered ground.

"DEMOCRACY IS NON-NEGOTIABLE." A massive humanoid robot, easily three times Horrigan's height, was stomping up the road towards the Citadel.

"LIBERTY PRIME." Horrigan scrambled to his feet and raised his fists. "FINALLY, A REAL FIGHT."

Liberty responded by reaching around to its back and pulling out another nuke. Horrigan waited until the robot hurled the bomb, then twisted to the side and plucked it out of the air as it sailed past, but before he had time to even try to throw it back a blue laser arced from Liberty Prime's eyes and crashed into the nuke. The blast pitched Horrigan into the dirt once again.

More lasers struck Horrigan as he stood. They weren't anywhere near as powerful as Applejack's fists, but they packed enough of a wallop that he could feel it even through his armor.

"DAMN YOU!" Horrigan charged at the robot, determined to rip it to pieces. Liberty targeted his head with its lasers, forcing Horrigan to hold an arm in front of his face to protect his eyes, then tripped as the robot instantly switched to target his feet. He managed to avoid falling, but the moment's distraction allowed Liberty to sidestep Horrigan's bull-charge and grab the back of his armor.

Horrigan felt his stomach lurch as he was hurled bodily through the air. He rolled as he landed on broken tarmac, using his momentum to get back to his feet, only to be greeted by another nuke to the chest.

Warning signals popped up in Horrigan's vision as he was slammed backwards. He ignored them. Raising his head quickly, Horrigan swore and rolled to the side to avoid yet another bomb. The blast washed over Horrigan's armor, making his magic fizz and spark, but it was far more bearable than a direct hit.

Horrigan tried to push himself to his feet, then cried out in pain as pinpoint laser strikes caught him right on the joint where his spine met his cybernetic legs.

"YOU BASTARD!" Horrigan roared. He surged to his feet and whipped around to face Liberty. The robot was advancing and firing relentlessly, but a quick glance revealed that it had tossed him into an old parking lot.

As Liberty paused to ready another nuke, Horrigan dove sideways and rolled to screw with its aim, then leapt over an abandoned car for good measure. The moment his feet touched the ground he grabbed the car with one fist, then spun around and hurled it like a frisbee.

Liberty blew the car to pieces with its lasers before it even got close, but Horrigan had been anticipating it. He threw himself into another charge using the smoke from the blast as cover.

Horrigan barely managed three steps before a nuke flew through the smoke and struck him directly in the face.

Pain coursed through Horrigan's body. Warning signals and error messages flashed across his vision, distorted by static. He dismissed them and tried to get his bearings, realizing that he was face down in the dirt again, but before he could try to stand up a massive hand grabbed his leg. Horrigan cried out as Liberty Prime hoisted him into the air like a ragdoll and slammed him back into the ground, then almost casually tossed him aside.

More laser-fire pounded Horrigan where he lay. He tried to move, to climb to his feet or even just raise his arms, but he didn't have any strength left. The various warning signals were rapidly disappearing as his armor's systems shut themselves down, leaving him unable to do anything but lay there and stare up at the sky. The ground shook beneath thunderous treads, and after a few seconds Liberty Prime loomed over Horrigan.

The two stared at each other for a moment; Enclave-manufactured cybernetics gazing up at the apex of ancient US military engineering, and for the first time since he had been a child, kneeling before the violent drunk that passed for his father, Horrigan felt truly helpless.

Slowly, deliberately, Liberty Prime retrieved another nuke from its back and held it, as if it were about to spike a football. "COMMUNISM IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF FAILURE."

Horrigan felt the impact that followed reverberating through his very bones. His vision was swimming, but with the last of his strength he glared up at the robot and growled, "This... isn't... over. Next time… I'll… rip you apart."

Liberty Prime tilted its head curiously, then glanced over its shoulder, almost as if it were checking for witnesses, then it looked back down at Horrigan. "NO. YOU WON'T."

Liberty Prime raised its foot, and Horrigan had a brief, absurd glimpse of the Statue of Liberty imprinted on the bottom before the foot slammed down on his head, and darkness claimed him.

Next Chapter: Chapter 82 - Repercussions Estimated time remaining: 27 Hours, 22 Minutes