Princess Twilight scowled at the little dessert parlor ahead. She had been there with her friends once before, shortly before the fateful Fall Formal, but this time she was going to meet a former enemy. Pushing the door open, she looked around until she spotted who she was looking for.

Adagio Dazzle.

The siren was sitting in a booth at the back of the parlor, her impossibly poofy orange hair serving to frame her as she sipped a milkshake. She grinned and waved down the Princess.

"What's this about, Adagio?" Twilight asked as she slid into the booth, opposite the siren.

Adagio raised an eyebrow. "What? No friendly greeting?"

"If you want to be friends, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait," Twilight said huffily. "I'm very busy right now and I don't have time for any games."

"Oh, I know you're busy. That's why I'm here." Adagio put the milkshake down and sat up straight, any trace of playfulness gone from her expression. "Look, I know what happened to Sunset Shimmer and the other Rainbooms, and I want to make a deal."

Twilight frowned suspiciously. "How do you know what happened to them?"

"I have inside information," Adagio replied cryptically. "I know that they've been dumped in another world, and I'm pretty sure that it's not Equestria. I know that you and, ugh, Starswirl, are trying to get them back. And, I also know who it was that sabotaged their Geode Diviner."

"You know?! Tell me!" Twilight demanded.

"Ah-ah." Adagio held up a hand. "Like I said, I want to make a deal. I'll tell you exactly who sabotaged the Diviner, and where they're based. The other Dazzlings and I will even do what we can to help bring them in and help get your friends back, if you want, but we have a price."

Twilight glared at her. "What do you want?"

Adagio smiled. "It's simple really. We want to go home, to Equestria. Free, not as captives or prisoners."

It took all of Twilight's self control not to refuse point-blank. "Why do you want to go back?'

"Seriously? You have to ask?" Adagio gave her a look that made it obvious she was questioning the Princess's sanity. "For a start; there's no magic here. Second; we're sick and tired of having to live in a stinking van; living from hand to mouth and paycheck to paycheck. Third; there may not be any other sirens left, but we'd at least like to see our old home again. Whatever's left of it."

Twilight supposed that that was a fair request, but she still had concerns. "I'll consider letting the three of you back to Equestria, but only if you tell me everything you know about what happened to the Diviner, who was behind it, and how you know so much about it."

"You'd rather risk losing this information than let us go back home?" Adagio asked archly. "We don't even have our magic anymore, so it's hardly as if we're a threat to your precious little ponies," she added scathingly.

Twilight snorted. "Maybe not, but after everything that you did back at the Battle of the Bands, you're going to have to give me a reason to trust you before I believe anything that comes out of your mouth."

Adagio narrowed her eyes, then sighed and looked down at the table. "Fine. Shortly after you and the Rainbooms started building that Geode Diviner, a woman calling herself Tempest approached us, asking for information on all of you."

"Let me guess, you gave it to her," Twilight spat.

"Actually, we refused her at first," Adagio replied, surprising Twilight. "Contrary to popular belief, we don't actually hold any sort of grudge towards you. We took our chance, we failed, we moved on. Yes, we lost our magic, but it was a risk we were prepared to take, and we don't particularly blame people for protecting themselves. That's just the way the world works." She took another sip of her milkshake. "It was only when Tempest gave us a place to stay and offered to take us back to Equestria that we agreed to help her."

"That's almost decent of you," Twilight said sarcastically. "I'd almost applaud you, if your actions hadn't helped toss my friends into another world."

Adagio winced. "That wasn't part of the plan," she said quickly. "Even Tempest was surprised when that happened. The original plan was for her lackey, this world's Sunset Shimmer, to overload the Diviner so you wouldn't be able to use it for a little while longer."

"This world's Sunset?!" Twilight's jaw dropped open in shock, but she quickly shook her head. "That can wait until later. Why did Tempest want the Diviner out of commission?"

"Because she was afraid that it would detect her before she could figure out a way to get back to Equestria unnoticed," Adagio replied.

Twilight stared at her in stunned disbelief. "Tempest has Equestrian magic?"

Adagio smirked. "She is Equestrian. Her real name isn't Tempest; it's Mandible. She's a changeling."

---

"That must be Old Olney." Sunset frowned as she surveyed the area ahead. It almost looked like an organized settlement, with dozens of ruined buildings packed close together and makeshift fences made from salvaged metal sheets and chicken wire. But, something about the place felt… off.

It was subtle, but there were definite signs that the place was overrun by something inhuman; claw marks in the dirt and on the walls, piles of dung dotted around the place, and the unmistakable stench of death drifting on the wind. The reek was enough to make Sunset's eyes water, she had no idea how Fluttershy was managing to bear it.

"How are we going to get to the Powerworks?" Adam asked.

"It's underground. There's a direct entrance, but the Brotherhood of Steel doesn’t know where it is," Fluttershy replied. "There might be another way, though. There's supposed to be a sewer entrance somewhere west of a large concrete building."

Pinkie pointed to a skeletal concrete structure off to the left. "You mean like that one?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Probably. The Scribes think we might be able to find a way from the sewers into the Olney Underground, and from there a way into the Powerworks."

"So our options are wading around in a dark two-hundred year old sewer, or searching for a possibly hidden entrance through a Deathclaw-infested hellhole." Sunset raised an eyebrow. "I vote sewers."

"Me too," Adam put in. "Fluttershy? Do you think you'll be able to handle it?"

Fluttershy shrugged. "I've smelled some pretty foul things so far. At least the sewer probably hasn't been used all that much since the bombs fell."

"That's a good point." Sunset checked her weapon and, satisfied, pointed to the concrete building. "Let's go."

"Wait a second." The girls all looked around at Adam. "Do you think I should get out of the armor? It's not exactly stealthy, it'll be easier to sneak around without it."

"Yeah, but where would you hide it?" Sunset asked. "Besides, chances are we're not going to be able to avoid every Deathclaw, so would you rather them find you in your armor, or out of it?"

Adam paused for a moment. "I guess I can try and take quiet steps. Okay, let's go."

Taking care to be as stealthy as possible, the four made a beeline for the concrete building. As they neared it, Fluttershy held up a hand to halt the group. "Deathclaw. Coming closer." The group stopped, staying perfectly still until Fluttershy sighed with relief. "It's gone. It sounds like a couple of them are squabbling somewhere out there."

"Good, that means they'll be less likely to notice us," Sunset said quietly.

As they got closer to the concrete building, Sunset could soon hear the snarls and roars of a confrontation herself. Still, she wasn't willing to leave the group's safety to chance, so she made sure to hang back with Adam while Fluttershy took the lead and Pinkie brought up the rear.

Fluttershy advanced cautiously, keeping her leathery wings tucked in tightly and picking her way across the rubble with astonishing stealth. The concrete building was mercifully clear of trouble, but once they reached the streets the group's progress slowed to a snail's pace. Fluttershy directed the others carefully, making them wait or hide when necessary and waving them forward when it was clear.

Sunset felt her heart hammering in her chest whenever she heard a Deathclaw nearby. She was sure that one of them would hear it, which just made her that much more stressed, but thankfully Fluttershy managed to keep them safe. There was a brief moment when a Deathclaw charged through the streets like a demented cat, but the four just managed to hide themselves in an old building in time.

As they pressed on into a narrow alleyway, Fluttershy held up a hand and asked the others to wait, then scouted ahead on her own. Sunset desperately wished she hadn't, she kept imagining horrible things happening and not being around to help, but Fluttershy came back safe and sound barely two minutes later. "I've found the sewer entrance," she whispered. "It's just around the next bend, but we're all going to have to be utterly silent from here on."

"Is there a Deathclaw nearby?" Pinkie asked.

Fluttershy nodded. "It's in the building right at the end of this alleyway. It's sleeping, but we mustn't make any noise whatsoever, no matter what you see or smell, alright?"

The others nodded in understanding, then followed as Fluttershy crept to the end of the alleyway. When they emerged into the street at the end, Sunset glanced around to the left, and immediately wished she hadn't.

A Deathclaw was curled up in a ball on the first floor of a shattered building, nestled on a thick pile of bones, scrap metal and chunks of multi-colored magical crystal. The creature was huge, bigger than any other Deathclaw they had seen, but somehow, the most terrifying part of the creature was the great pair of leathery wings that sprouted from its shoulders and wrapped it up like a cozy blanket.

Fluttershy gestured for Sunset to follow first. The two carefully tiptoed forward until they reached the edge of the building. In a little culvert, just past the building, a collection of half-eaten corpses had been piled up like some sort of sick larder. A manhole could just about be seen in the middle of the stinking mess.

Swallowing the urge to retch, Sunset waited patiently as Pinkie crept over, then it was Adam's turn.

The three girls held their breath as Adam walked towards them as stealthily as he could. It would have been comical, watching someone in a huge suit of power armor trying to tiptoe, but they were far too tense to laugh.

As he reached about the halfway point between the girls and the alley, right in the Deathclaw's line of sight, a small piece of debris crunched loudly under Adam's foot.

Everyone froze as the Deathclaw shifted. It yawned, displaying foot-long teeth and pink flames flickering at the back of its throat, then it lazily flicked its tongue out and snatched up a chunk of crystal, munching it loudly before curling up again and going back to sleep.

Sunset hardly dared to breath as Adam started forward once more, crossing the rest of the way without any issue.

Finally, the four stood by the sewer entrance. Adam carefully shifted the bodies so they could get to the manhole cover. Sunset had feared that it would be too small for Adam's power armor to fit through, but it looked like it would just about make it.

Glancing around one last time, Fluttershy nodded with satisfaction and bent down to pull the manhole cover aside. A dirty steel ladder led down into the darkness.

Sunset gestured for Adam to go first. He shook his head, so she tried to signal to him that his armor and its lights made him better suited for going into unknown territory first. He seemed to get the message, as he handed Fluttershy his plasma rifle and lowered himself down carefully. Metal rungs creaked beneath his weight, but, luckily, they held, and he slowly made his way into the depths.

As soon as he reached the bottom, as indicated by the lights in his helmet, Pinkie went down after. Fluttershy slung the plasma rifle over her shoulder and turned to lower herself, then froze on the lip. "Uh-oh."

Sunset's head whipped around as a loud crash echoed through the streets. A Deathclaw charged around a nearby corner at high speed, then fell as another pounced on it from behind. The two wrestled with each other on the floor, snapping and snarling, then one of them spotted the girls.

The Deathclaw immediately froze. The other growled, then, wondering what its fellow was so interested in, looked over their way, too. The four engaged in a bizarre standoff for several seconds. Finally, the silence was shattered as both Deathclaws roared.

"Crap! Fluttershy, move!" Sunset snapped.

Fluttershy immediately dropped into the hole, the rungs creaking as she hurried down. Sunset lowered herself to the lip, expecting to feel deadly talons tearing into her at any second, when suddenly a colossal bellow of rage ripped through the air.

Sunset glanced around and saw the two Deathclaws fleeing back around the corner. Terror gripped her like a vice as the ground shook, and the winged Deathclaw stomped into view, pink flames washing out of its mouth as it roared again. Time seemed to slow as the monstrosity turned its head to Sunset.

"Oh… well fuck," Sunset managed to squeak. She screamed as the Deathclaw let out another earth-shaking roar, and let herself fall into the sewer as it lunged at her. Pain lanced through her legs as she hit the ground, but she ignored it and dove aside just as the sewer was bathed in a raging pink inferno.

Next Chapter: Chapter 95 - Insult and Injury Estimated time remaining: 23 Hours, 46 Minutes