From the desk of Commander Sleet Rock of the Iron Legion.

This report is for two fold reasons. The first is to document the recovery of my wounds received only a few days ago. The second is to record findings we have collected pertaining to a currently unnamed group of mercenaries that my people have encountered.

As of right now, my wounds have healed nearly completely. I am currently unable to speak loudly, but can give orders with a salvaged megaphone, or by proxy with one of my subordanates. I was cleared by our medic, Steady Heart, to continue my regular duties. By the end of the week, I may be able to speak normally.

About two nights ago, scouts reported gunfire from the ruins of New Pittsburgh. We knew of a gang of Bad Dreams that occupied the small city, but because of the need to oversee the main roads in the area around Bucket Town. By the time they got to New Pittsburgh, the fighting had ended, with one figure running from the scene.

Attempts to apprehend/identify the figure was received with, as the Scouts reported, a “sharp pain in the eyes and crippling nausea”. When they recovered, the scouts couldn’t find any prints in the soil where they last saw movement. All that is known is that the figure was a unicorn, and that it was a mare. Once everyone recovered, they reported of a small group leaving the ruins. The group consisted of: Three unicorns, a pair of pegasi, two earth ponies, a foal of unknown tribe, a hybrid of human, pony and zebra parentage, and a human.

It did not take much for me to deduce who it was, and that it would be best to speak with them in a non-threatening manner. I plan on leaving with a small contingent of four other members of my outfit. While I do not fear for my life, I will say that I have a measure of concern. I wish to know what these fellows angle are.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////

My eyes felt a lot heavier than they should have been. Maybe it was just what has been going on recently. I didn’t remember what I dreamt about this time around, but I am pretty sure that it was just Discord getting things ready for when he finally takes me to meet his other selves.

God damn, I am just never going to get used to that.

If it wasn’t for something poking me in the nose, I would have probably just have went back to sleep. I opened my eyes slowly and was met with two big dark blue eyes looking back at me. It took a few seconds to realize who it was when Rebecca’s small hoof reached out and poked me in the nose again. I crossed my eyes as she smiled at me.

“You know, I need to set my cutie alarm later.” I picked up Rebecca, looking at her in the eyes as my other hand reached up and began to ruffle up her hair. She let out a giggle as she squirmed in my grip. “Hmmm… no… lets try something else.” I cradled her in my arm, bringing her to my chest as my hand began to tickle her. Her giggling grew louder as I stood up. “Hmmm…. I think that’ll do.” I laughed as I set her on the ground. She smiled up at me as I stretched out my arms and legs. My back popped loudly as I stretched. “Now THAT feels good.” I began to walk to the door, and felt two hooves on the back of my leg. I looked back behind me and saw Rebecca’s big eyes looking at me. I knew she wanted me to put her on my back, which put a smile on my face. But I also knew that I shouldn’t spoil her like that.

“No no, Rebecca. You’ll have to walk a bit before you can get back on my back. We’ve got a lot to do today, and not a lot of time to do it in. Just stay near me, okay?” I saw as she looked down at the ground, a bit disappointed at me laying down the law, but I patted her head (Keeping away from the horn) keeping her from frowning for too long. We both made our way down the hallway, and where met by Rip and Tear, who flew to Rebecca and my side, keeping the both of us between the two. Rebecca smiled up at Tear, who leaned in close to have the filly boop her on the nose.

Rip looked at her sister cross her eyes. She then flew up to my eye level, only to boop me in the nose. Just like before, I found myself crossing my eyes. I smiled as I booped her back. Soon, I saw Tear flying up ahead of me to poke me on the nose in retaliation. Soon, all four of us made a strange, short game from booping each other. When we made it to the Lobby, the four of us where met with the awkward stares from Sunday, Ragdoll, D.A. and Flure de Lis.

My only regret came from when Tear lifted Rebecca up so both pegasi and the unicorn filly could gang up for one final boop to my nose, making me the loser. I rubbed my nose as my eyes crossed while walking past them, unknowingly stumbling over a chair, and rolling over it. I managed to stand up on my own power, eyes still crossed as I faced the others. “I meant to do that.”

As the others laughed, Flure walked over to me, a neutral expression on her face as she brought a rolled up newspaper up in her magic and gave me a good smack on the back of my head. My eyes, newly uncrossed, focused on her as I smiled. “Thanks, Boss.”

“Don’t mention it.” She spoke with her signature neutrality as she walked back to her place in the front of the lobby. I noticed Tear and Rip playing with Rebecca by flying through the library, making sure to stay away from Flure. I looked over at the desk and saw the paper’s on the desk as DA and Sunday came to my side. The larger paper on the desk was a map of the area, with a path to Buck’et town set up. I looked over at Flure, who was looking at me.

“We are leaving in the hour. It will take two hours to get there if we don’t have any troubles en route.” She handed me the backpack from two days ago, and in it was the police batton, the automatic shotgun and my laser pistol, as well as ammo for both.

“So, I’m handling other people’s stuff now?” I said with a smirk.

“Hell no. If they can’t handle their own weapons, then they don’t bring it.” Fleur said as she looked back down at the map. “That slag of metal is yours. Sunday, make sure he doesn’t shoot his foot off. Dumbass, make sure he knows how to take care of the damn thing.”

Sunday gave a sigh as she looked over my direction. She then turned back to Fleur with a forced smile. “Is there anything else you want me to do, Boss?”

Fleur raised her eyes up as a smirk came to her mouth. “See if you can teach the boy to change his clothes. If he’s staying with us, he needs to start looking like one of us. Preferably something that doesn’t clash.”

Sunday’s jaw dropped. If I blinked, I would have missed it. “You are kidding…” She turned her body to the side and pointed at her Mark, a scroll under a pony skull with a bullet hole in it. “Is this the Mark of a Fashion expert?”

I turned my head to look at her Mark with a smirk on my face. “I don’t know. Could be an abstract symbol on how you “hit the mark” with style? “ I gave exactly one and a half chuckles before Sunday turned to me and growled. “Shutting up.” was the only thing I knew would be safe to say at that moment.

She turned back to Fleur, still a bit angry, but it looked like she had an idea. “Do we still have his coat?”

Fleur pointed over her shoulder as she looked back down at her papers. “Coat is in good condition now. His pants are still good, but his shirt is covered in blood. It’s never a good idea to wear something like that in Death Claw country.”

I nodded in agreement as I began to make my way to the coat. “Hey, boss, if it’s true that having bloody clothes would attract Death Claws, why are we keeping it? Wouldn’t it be better to get rid of it?”

A chuckle escaped her throat as I found my coat and put it on. “Never know when we might NEED to attract Death Claws… or something else. I put a charm on it to keep the scent fresh, and to make sure it is contained. I also keep it out of the reach of my pair of Bladed Angels.” She cooed the last part as Rip and Tear flew past with Rebecca being… tossed… between them…

“Oh, dear God…” I looked up, my worry chocking the words I wanted to shout as Rebecca giggled as she went between the two. I focused on them, trying to stay a good distance from them as Sunday, Ragdoll and DA followed behind me. I think I bumped into them a few times because I kept on hearing some muttering behind me as I had my arms stretched out. I kept my head up as I looked on. “O-okay, girls. You can stop tossing Rebecca around now.”

“Awww, but the little bleeder is fun!” Rip said as she hugged Rebecca. She then tossed her to Tear, who turned around in mid air like she was doing a cork screw, and tossed Rebecca in the air again for Rip to catch again. All the while, Rebecca was giggling and laughing.

“And she makes such cute noises! Boss, are you sure we can’t keep her?” Tear asked as she hovered near Fluer. Fleur closed her eye, and took a deep breath.

“No, Tear. We can’t keep her. She is too young, and it’s dangerous.”

Tear’s ears fell to the side of her head as she looked up at Rebecca, then back at Fleur. “But what if-“

Fleur turned her head, slowly to Tear. Her cyber-eye had changed to a deep crimson color. Tear slowly driffed back, fear covering her face. Her wings dropped down, her head down as she tried to keep her eye contact from Fleur. Fleur got out of her chair and began to walk over to Tear. She then brought her hoof up, and while I could feel anger coming from her, I was amazed that she gently moved Tear’s chin up so she could make eye contact with her. “Tear, that is my word. You are not the only one not to like it. If things change, she may come back, but until that time comes, and I take back what I had said, my order stands.”

Tear looked like she was frozen by terror and… well, I guess the only other thing that I could compare it to was infatuation. I didn’t think of Tear or Rip as… leaning that way. Hell, I couldn’t think of them actually leaning either way. Whatever psycosis they suffer from I thought was enough to help them to ignore such things. Maybe Fleur was an exception. Maybe it wasn’t infatuation, but more… reverence?

Huh… that would make a lot more sense in the long run. Fleur didn’t look like she was looking for someone to warm her bed. More like she was laying down the Law of Moses. She turned back to her chair and went back to work, and I let go of the breath that I was unconsciously holding during that conversation.

I found myself next to Rip and Rebecca as they hovered next to me. After a few seconds, Rip handed Rebecca to me and went to Tears side, both looking sad. Rebecca looked sad as she looked at the two sisters, then she looked up at me. I gave her a grin as I gave her a quick hug before putting her back on the ground. “It’s alright, kiddo. They aren’t in that much trouble.” She kept to my side as I walked to D.A., Sunday and Ragdoll. I looked at them, and noticed that D.A. had a very odd grin on his face.

I shrugged as I ignored him and turned to Sunday. “So, Boss… how do I look? Presentable, I hope?”

She smirked and nodded. “Yeah. But there is one thing on the table just for you.” She brought by attention back on the desk, and there was a beat up Stetson hat. It wasn’t the same kind of Stetson that a certain Earth Pony had. I picked it up and noticed that it looked a lot more like something that Indiana Jones would wear. I put it on, a smile on my face as I looked back at Sunday.

“This is the start of a good day, Tater.” I couldn’t help but say that with a grin on my face. Everyone else that heard me… well… they didn’t get it.

Okay, so since I’m pretty sure you guys want me to keep this kind of quick and all that, I’ll make the getting set up part for the journey a bit condensed… Hope I don’t screw this up…

So, after an hour we got everything set up for the journey.

Phew, thought that would be a lot harder, but there we are.

Anyways, it was Fleur, myself, Rebecca, DA, Sunday and Ragdoll. DA and myself had our packs filled up with guns and other things that we didn’t need (namely non-medicinal chems from the Bad Dreams). We began to walk the opposite way from New Pittsburg. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the farm just outside of our town. I was halfway tempted to break the faux pas of asking about it when Rebecca tapped me right above the knee to get my attention.

I gave her a shake of my head as we continued. “No, Rebecca. You can walk a bit more on your own. Just wait a-“As I looked down, I noticed that she was giving me a flat glare as she pointed to our left. “What is it, Rebecca?” I looked at where she pointed and saw a pair of heavily armored ponies. When I say “heavily armored”, I don’t want you to think “Oh, they must be wearing a cute little metal pony shirt and leggings that make them look like little knights. How adorable.”. No, when I looked at them, my eyes felt like they where trying to burst from my sockets. They would be able to look me in the eyes with no problem, through their Stormtrooper-like helmets. On their backs where an assortment of weapons, and I was, like, eighty percent sure that one of the things they had was either a Rock-it Launcher (if you don’t know what that is, think of a super charged leaf blower that can fire teddy bears at lethal speeds.) or a Fat Man nuke launcher.

“HA! Now THAT’S rich!”

Shut up, Discord.

“Just enjoying the absurdity of the situation.”

Bloody jackass…

Anyways, yeah, that did not look good. I was about to talk when Fleur rushed between the group and the onlookers.

“I thought I told your tin can’s collector that I don’t want anything to do with you!” She almost growled at the two as she shouted at them. To their merit, they only flinched a little bit as she glared at the two.

“Stand down, you two. Let Commander Sleet Rock through.” A young, feminine voice rose as the two figures separated. I looked up at them and saw a reptilian form walking to the edge. She came to eye level to the other two, but she (she had a very human-like form, and when I say that… she was kind of… uh… Damn, how do I put it…?)

“Holy crap, that dragon-girl has a rack on her…” DA said in a whisper to me.

Thank you, DA. And I’m sorry for what I’m going to do next, buddy.

*THWAP*

“Not in front of Rebecca, dude.” I whispered back after smacking him upside his head. He shook it off pretty easily. I looked back and saw a very familiar face looking back at me. Except… not as bloated, and with a glare that matched Fleur’s. His mouth moved, but I could barely make out anything. Then the olive green dragon girl (I’m just going to fall on DA’s insight on this subject) looked at Fleur with a smile.

“We aren’t here to cause any troubles, Miss Fleur de Lis. The Commander simply wants to thank the human for saving his life.” She said as she pulled out a small bag and tossed it in front of Fleur. She barely looked at it as she lifted it up with her magic and opened it, pulling out a few caps, and putting it back in before tossing it to me… or more accurately, tossing it into my face. I shook my head as I recovered, and looked at what was in the bag. I saw… What the heck did I see?

“Three hundred and seventy five caps, and an Iron Legion medal…?”

Thanks Discord. I knew I kept you around for a reason.

“Oh, you mean your continued survival isn’t enough?”

Son of a… he got me there.

I got my mind back on track quickly as I looked up at the Commander. “Thanks. Uh… mind if I ask about this?” I held up the medal up with a smile as I looked at him. He began talking with the dragoness, and she cleared her throat. She had a rather… odd… look to her face.
“Commander Sleet Rock has given you an honorary member of the Iron Legion, Troop 22. If, at any time, you need our assistance, you may contact a local member of the Iron Legion, show them the badge, and they will follow your orders. It will also let certain, but not all resources that the local troop owns available to you. On the back is the location of our base so you can come with your group to speak with us.” The dragoness turned to Sleet Rock and said something to him. He nodded, and she turned back to me.

“On a personal note… I want to thank you for saving my father when you could have ignored him.” She bowed briefly, and smiled. “My name is Scribe Ear Shot. If at any time you are at our base, I would be glad to assist you.”

Huh… If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that she had an “equestrian” name. Raises a lot of questions about Spike and why he was named the way he was. Of course, I did rename Rebecca… but that is only because she won’t say anything. I don’t want to force her to be “human” if she doesn’t want to be. Damn, this name stuff is fricking confusing.

I looked at the back of the medal, and put it in my upper left side pocket of my coat. I’d put it in the inside of my coat later. I then read on the HUD “Location added to Map”. I put the nagging question in the back of my head aside as I smiled up at the small group.

“It is a pleasure to add to my list of friends. I will be glad to come over as soon as I settle myself.” I said in my best “good politician” voice. I would probably go to the base, but that is, like, weeks from now. I had so much on my plate right now, I’m just hoping that I can keep my head above water right now, and that’s one reason why we are going to Buck’et town.

Thankfully, Sleet Rock nodded, smiled, and turned away. Ear Shot followed close behind him, and as soon as she disappeared, the two guards followed suit. Fleur looked back at me, her cyber eye a cool blue color as she walked over to me. “… Good job, Jerry. You just got us some coustomers.”

I was kind of confused by that as I handed the caps back to her. “What do you mean, Boss?”

“Iron Legion are hard to impress. Hard to get jobs from them because of how picky they are. That means, since you’re an honorary member of their group, they are willing to give you some scraps of jobs you can do.” She took the bag of caps from me and put it in her pocket. She then gave me a slight smile as she nodded. “I suppose that means that we’re going to actually need to name ourselves now. I was both dreading and looking forward to this day.” And with that, we started back on our journey.

DA looked at Sunday with a wide grin on his face. “Why don’t we call ourselves The Timberwolves? I mean, their bad ass creatures! We’re all awesome. Makes sense, right?”

“Dumbass, that name sounds horrible. Like those Tunnel Snakes we obliterated a few weeks ago.” Sunday said as she shook her head, a small smirk on her face.

I looked over at Ragdoll. “What about you, Raggity Anne? Got an idea for a name?”

She looked at me with a bout of confusion as she registered the name. “Raggity Anne? The hell is that?”

“Long story short, a toy sold where I come from. Looks like a ragdoll with red yarn for hair.” I explained as I scooped Rebecca up and put her on my back.

Ragdoll looked at me for a quick second, then looked up at the sky. “How about… SPECIAL Forces?”

“Huh?”

“For the name of our group. SPECIAL… like what the Vault Teck guys used to grade what skills people where great with. Sunday told me about what the computers said about her and Dumbass. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone has something that ends with a ten… you’ve got Luck, Dumbass has Intelligence, and Sunday went back to see if there was anything else the Bad Dreams dropped there. She said that she got a 10 in Endurance.” She suddenly got a wide grin on her face as she looked over at her sister.

“Guess she could go all night if she wanted to…” She teased as she looked at me.

“DA would have a lot on his hands if that’s true.” I added with a smile, and making Ragdoll tilt her head in confusion. Then, I felt a thud on the back of my head, as I was reminded of who I was in the company of. “Ow… thanks, Rebecca for keeping me honest.”

Rebecca and Ragdoll giggled as I rubbed the back of my head where I was hit.

Fleur de Lis looked back at the three of us, and I caught a hint of a smile of her own. We continued on our journey, which was thankfully very boring when we came across what I thought was Buck’et Town. How did I come to that? Well… the town itself was a pretty big sized affair. I’d even say it was bordering on being a full-fledged city. The outer buildings where built close together, making a circular wall around the settlement. The inside was filled with smaller buildings and a… farm. I suppose that they didn’t want to be fully dependent on supplies coming from outside, especially with risk of large groups of raiders attacks laying siege on the town is possible.
Now, the thing that REALLY made this look like its name sake was what I guessed was a secondary wall that started coming out from the rim of the town, and sloped down to make a secondary town/entrance. It sort of looked like a bucket’s handle being supported by buildings. I guess that it was the beginning of a new wall being built to add onto the main city. It’s pretty cool, if you asked me.

The closer we got to the town, the more ponies I began to see walking about the entrance, as well as a few groups of heavily armored hybrids. It was kind of nerve wracking to see several of those groups with Gatling lasers and heavily augmented weapons.

DA, on the other hand….

“OOoooh! Is that a Series 7 ocular mod for a generation one laser rifle!? There is no way that they could have gotten it on this side of the portal! I got to… WAIT! It can’t be! A model 21 recoil reducer for a NCR Carbine from the Golden Era!? And they put it on that piece of crap!? HERASY! I CRY BULLSHIT!”

He wasn’t as antagonized as I was. Thankfully, Sunday managed to keep him in line.

THWACK!

We continued forward as I looked at the “Handle” part of the city. The buildings were far from up to code, but were at least a few steps above “Megaton Chic”. In other words, ugly, but super functional. Oh, also… it was like a post-apocaliptic strip mall, where anyone can get food, nick nacks, and guns! All three are crappy, but lets be honest, people got to eat.

“Gentlecolts and fillies! Ladies and Gentlemen! Gather around, and find yourselves some fine flanks to warm your beds!” A grateing, old and diesies ridden voice cried out. Just out of curiosity, I looked.

I wished I didn’t.

On a stage in front of a rather large building named “Key’s and Locks”, was a fat lime green unicorn pony. His jaw looked like it was stitched back onto his face with several scars pocking his face. His eyes were a cold steel color and gave me the combination of the heebie jeebies, the willies, and the creeps. I brought Rebecca off my back and held her close as he continued.

“Have your choice of some of the most supple flanks this side of the Equestrian Wasteland! We’ve got Stallions with plenty to stuff, and Mares wanting to be mounted! We have slaves from all three tribes, and a few… EXOTIC… flavors to taste! If you like, you can take them for a nominal fee! I promise you, every one of our slaves is in the best shape you can find!” He continued on with his rhetoric as his… “wares”… walked onto the stage. For the ponies, they wore clothing that was just there to entice. The few hybrids… and a lone human women… they wore a LOT less.

You’d think that I would be inticed, titillated by the sight of the women. I wasn’t. I got… angry. Very, very angry.

Ragdoll managed to snap me out of it by smacking me in the side. “Don’t get the idea, Jerry. He isn’t worth it. Besides, he only allowed to work out here. One bad raid, and he’s probably the first guy to get rammed in the ass with a barbed wire covered stick.” She… comforted (?) me as we walked to the enterence. It’s not like I had any plans on the top of my head.

Just some ideas… some of which weren’t exactly mine.

“…What? Oh, don’t look at me like that! If you ever spent a thousand years in a stone statue, you’d find the idea of enslaving others distasteful!” Discord said as he looked at me through the HUD.

In this case, Discord, I ain’t judgeing ya.

We continued forward and I managed to calm myself. I was surprised that more ponies didn’t stare at me, but I guess when you’ve got to worry about radiation and Deathclaws, I was just a VERY mild curiosity.

Why am I hearing lasers humming?

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, SMOOTHSKIN! AND DROP YOUR ASS TO THE GROUND!”

Oh… those where the lasers from the gaurds as they aimed… their guns… at… us…

“Damn it…”

///////////////////////////

Jerry was very lucky that he was standing to the side. As he heard the instructions, he nearly fell down onto his ass as he looked around, looking for the source of the voice. I kept Rebecca safe as I took a few steps away from him and saw the owner of the lazer rifle aimed at Jerry’s head.

He was a human ghoul, wearing heavy battle armor. His putrid, green-yellow molting skin did little to hide the scowl on his face as he walked over to Jerry’s side. “You’ve got yourself a Pip-Boy there… got it on the other side, or did you cut it off the hand off of some wanderer you found?”

“H-hey, dude, calm down, alright? Put the rifle down….”

The ghoul pushed the barrel slowly against Jerry’s mouth, shutting him up. “Don’t be telling me what to do, boy.”

Two pistols and a shotgun rose up and aimed at the Ghoul’s head. I looked over to see that the pistols where The Boss’, and the shotgun was being aimed by Sunday.

“I suppose I can do that, then. Calm down, and put the rifle down.” The Boss said coolly.

The Ghoul looked up at the Boss and smirked. With one fluid motion, he lifted the rifle up, pointing it up in the air as he made eye contact with the Boss. “You’ve got to understand, Miss. We don’t like to have shifty elements in the town proper.”

“I suppose that is why you are stationed out here?” She said as she brought one of her pistols back into her holster as she nodded to Sunday to bring her weapon back to her holster. “He found that Pip-boy on my behalf, and he is a part of my team.”

The Ghoul didn’t respond to the jab, but after hearing her explanation, his smirk turned into a smile. “Alright. That will do.” He reached down and picked up Jerry by the scruff of his coat as he put the rifle into his holster. “You’ve got to understand, Fat Man that we’ve got to be careful. Stay out of trouble, don’t be an ass, and you’ll be okay. Oh, and by the way, nice contacts. They give you a Discord-like look to ya.” He said as I looked at the back of Jerry’s coat.

I stifled a chuckle as I read in hastily written in white paint “Fat Man” with a nuke bomb sticker on it. Jerry looked at the Ghoul with a peeved off look to him as he tried not to punch at him.

“Well, can I at least get the name of the guy who assaulted me?”

“Guy? Huh… interesting… “ The Ghoul patted Jerry’s shoulder as he laughed. “Maurice. Deputy Maurice. Welcome to Buck’et Town. Have fun.” And with that, he turned away from the group, heading towards a bar that looked to be either on it’s last legs, or in the middle of renovations.

Jerry let out a shiver as he returned to the group. “Breath smells like whiskey from a well-worn boot.” He stuck out his tongue in disgust as he looked at the Boss. “So, can we go into the nice part of town now? You know… unless this IS the nice part of town.”

“Big baby...” I teased him with a poke to his side. “I know you’ve had a rough couple of days, but that was, like, the third worse thing that happened to you, right?”

“Well… yeah… only had three bad things happen to me so far. Maybe I am overreacting.” I saw him smile as he patted me on the head.

It felt good… I mean, seeing him smile! I mean… uh…

I felt my cheeks burn a bit as his hand left my head, and we made our way to the enterence. It didn’t take long for us to go through the checkpoint, especially when one of the gaurds had seen the Deputy’s actions from a distance. Rebecca grabbed hold of my neck as we got into the town square, where a small orchard of apples could be seen growing.

The Boss walked over to me, Rebecca and Jerry as she looked at Sunday and Dumbass. “You two take the guns to the shop. Get as much money as you can, and meet us back here when your done.” And without waiting for a response, The Boss began to pull us away from the two. I looked over at Jerry, and saw a bit of sadness in his eyes as he watched her lead us. He forced a smile on his face as he looked at Rebecca and stayed near my side as we followed the Boss.

The streets where cleared of junk, and the store fronts made from sheet metal and glass showcased any items they held. It was kind of nice seeing a place where someone could buy both themselves ammo and playthings for the foals. Food didn’t seem like a problem to find, but the better the stuff, the more caps they cost. At least the apples where a manageable price.

A few of the patrons of these stores looked at us with mixed feelings on their faces. More than a few of them where giving us the evil eye, but a lot of them had their eyes on Jerry. I doubt that they where thinking that he was a threat… but I did find that he was trying pretty hard to be nice.

“Hey, guys! How things hanging? Hopefully not too low, know what I mean?”

“Hello, Ma’am! Wonderful day, isn’t it? Your just glowing!”

A little too hard.

The Boss grabbed hold of Jerry by the collar and pulled him up front. “What is wrong with you?”

“Just trying to be friendly, Boss…” He sheepishly said.

“No, your trying to be an idiot. So far, you’re succeeding.” She sighed as she straightened out his coat. “I need you to act normal for a bit.” She looked at him square in the eyes as he looked at her with a hurt frown. “Now, don’t look at me like that. You want to make a good first impression with the ponies at the orphanage, don’t you? Be good and normal with them, and they’ll listen to you. Act like… THAT… and they might be less inclined to help you and Rebecca out.”

He sighed as he couldn’t make eye contact with her, but nodded. “Alright, Boss… lets just get this over with.” He turned and waited for The Boss to continue forward. He resumed walking alongside me, his hand now resting on Rebecca’s head as he nervously petted her.

I still find it hard to believe how easily he and Rebecca had bonded. She hadn’t made a sound save for a few giggles and grunts of frustration, yet it almost seemed that they where having entire conversations just by looking at each other. I kind of felt… well, a lot of envy, to be sure, but I think I understand a bit more now that I think about it.

They both have to face an uncertain future that they don’t want to do alone. Jerry isn’t going to leave Rebecca here unless he knows that she will be safe. She doesn’t want to stay here, because she doesn’t want to be without Jerry. They don’t want to be away from one another, but this might actually help in the long run. If they became dependent on one another for survival, Rebecca could become unable to survive on her own. Jerry, with everything that I know about him now, he could become… over protective.

That said, I don’t think that KEEPING them separated is a good idea. Whatever bond they have is there. No way to get rid of it now. Once we have the means, I think that it would be in our best interest to get Rebecca back. She is good for moral, not just for Jerry, but others as well.

Hmmm… I think I need to bring this up with The Boss next time I talk with her alone. I know I’m the youngest… well, second youngest… but I usually am spot on with this. I hope that she listens to me.

We finally stop at a building next to the wall. Probablly the widest one in the entire town, curving against the wall as kids played in the front. The sign above the double doors read “Glowing Tabernacle Orphanage”, and one of the few adults I could see, an aged light blue stallion wearing a strange skull cap, black jacket, and glasses, looked at us with a bit of suspicion.

He made his way halfway between the door and us, and focused on The Boss. “Picking up or dropping off?”

“Dropping off… with conditions.” She said as she started to make her way closer to the stallion. He raised his right hoof to stop her in her tracks, which she did with no hesitation.

“No conditions. Either you are dropping someone off, or your picking someone up. There is no middle ground in this.” He elaborated as he closed the distance.

“There are in this case. We are not abandoning her here. Just having her stay for a span of time.” She tried to elaborate while remaining vauge. Rebecca was, surprisingly, not trembling. Maybe she thought that if the orphanage turned us away, that she could stay with us.

“Oh? Let me guess what makes this special. You killed her parents after busting up a raider gang? Ma’am, I’ve heard this before. Most of the children here are the children of raiders killed in the wastes. What makes this any different?”

The two continued to argue, quietly, for a while as I noticed that Jerry was getting more and more upset. Before either the stallion or The Boss could escalate the argument further, he walked forward, eyes set on the Stallion.

“Rabbi, my name is Jerry Stine. I’m sorry if this is so sudden, but may we speak with you in private?”

Wait… Rabbi? I looked at his mark and noticed a rolled up scroll that had a seal on it with strange lettering. The Stallion looked at Jerry, mildly astonished at what he had said. Maybe he was as surprised that Jerry knew who he was as I was.

“It’s Rabbi Golden Script… “ He said with a much calmer voice than I expected. “… and if you mean private you mean inside the building… I suppose that would be acceptable.” He relented as he turned around. Jerry followed closely behind him as The Boss followed him. Rebecca and I brought the small line to a rather nice looking living area. “Alright… explain to me why you want to drop her off.”

“She… well…” Jerry stumbled a bit at the question till he cleared his throat. “I don’t know anything about the kid, Rabbi Golden Script, except that she needs help. We can’t give her that help, nor can I… we… give her a safe place to stay right now. Your orphanage can.” He walked over to me and picked up Rebecca gently in his arms, smiling down at her. “I don’t know what is wrong, but she won’t talk. She is willing to communicate, but she won’t tell me what her birth parents used to call her, so I named her Rebecca…”

Golden Script raised an eyebrow to that as he looked at her. “Quite a name to give a child that isn’t even your own… Why did you give her that name?”

Jerry looked surprised at the question. He looked at Golden Script, then back down at Rebecca. He smiled as he brought her up and onto his back. “Rebecca was the name of my Mom. She was one of the kindest and sweetest people I know, but my Dad told me how hard her life was before he met her. I… didn’t think about all that when I named her, but maybe I did it sub consciously. Maybe it was a hope that things will get better for her?”

Golden Script smirked as he looked Jerry straight in the eyes. “With or without you, Mr. Stine?”

Without missing a beat, Jerry smiled at Golden Script. “I want her to make that choice, Rabbi. And for as long as she stays with you, and as long as she wants me to, I will visit her every week to keep in touch. As long as I do that, I will give you money for room and board. When she finds a better parent that wants to take care of her, I will be more than grateful to step aside. If not, and we find a way to make sure she has a safe and healthy living environment, I will come here and, if she wants to, I’ll take her home with me.”

Golden Script looked at Jerry with an appraising look, his eyes slowly going up and down as his smirk disappeared. He then began to nod as he walked over to Jerry and stood on his hind feet. “Would you swear to God that you would keep that promise?”

Jerry’s eyes closed as he let out a brief sigh. “I will not. It is wrong to swear on the things of Heaven, the throne of God, for I do not own it. Nor will I swear on the things of this world, for it is His foot rest.”

The Boss picked Rebecca off of Jerry’s back and laid her on her back as she smirked.

Golden Script then gave Jerry a tight hug as he began to swing him around, laughing as he twirled around. He stopped and looked at a now dizzy Jerry with a big grin as he patted his shoulder. “Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no! I have never met anypony… no, anybody who knows the importance of that! Alright! We will look after your Rebecca. You and any of your group are welcomed here, as long as you come in peace.” He then walked over to The Boss, giving her a much gentler hug around the neck before he gently picked up Rebecca and set her on the ground. “Come, Rebecca. I want to show you and Mr. Stein where you will be sleeping.”

Jerry gave a sad smile to me and The Boss before he followed Golden Script and Rebecca to another part of the building. I look up at the boss with a smile on my face. “He is pretty lucky, isn’t he?” I said as I sat down on the floor.

She nodded silently, and for a while, I thought that she was simply being her usual cold self, till she gave me a wide, warm smile. “I suppose it gives us our first true goal, doesn’t it?”

I blinked in surprise at how candidly she said that. Despite everything that I knew… or more accurately, everything I DIDN’T know about The Boss, I never thought that she would be as swayed by a simple child like the rest of us. It makes me wonder what else she would be swayed by.
////////////////////////

I followed the good Rabbi as he showed Rebecca and I around the building, and I’ve got to say that it was quite amazing that it was made with such good quality materials. I mean, I don’t know jack about making things from hand, but it is pretty obvious that this was made not just to last, but to be comforting. It wasn’t homey, but it was a sanctuary. The fact that we walked past several children (many of whom I could tell had a rough start on life but where making due with the situation they where given), and very capable workers made me feel even more comfortable with having Rebecca stay here.

Rebecca, on the other hand, made certain to show her disdain as vocally as she could without using her vocal cords.

“HEY! Why’d you shove me, you black-furred horn head!?”

A grey colored Pegasus-hybrid boy walked over to Rebecca after she had shoved him to the side as we walked past him and a group of other boys. She simply narrowed her eyes as she turned back to me and Golden Script. I, however, was not going to let it go.

“Rebecca, I know that you don’t want to stay here, but being rude to people isn’t going to make time go faster.” I knelt by her and picked her up off her forelegs to make sure she was looking at me square in the eyes. “Look, Kiddo, there is only one way I am not going to be coming back, and that is if I get myself killed. I’m not going to give you any… uh… stuff… about being a good girl making you get a home faster. That’s not how it works. We’ll work hard to make things fit for you. It might take a while, but I’m not going to give up. While you’re here, make friends, okay? And the easiest way to do that is to apologize to that boy over there.”

She opened her mouth for a bit, then grabbed hold of her throat as though as if she had something caught in it, then simply turned back to the boy and curtsied… or the equestrian-pony equivilant. The boy looked at her, slightly confused, till Golden Script took a step forward.

“And you have some apologies to make yourself, Mr. Clear Skies.” He said with a hard look on his face.

The boy snapped to attention and looked at Rebecca. “Um… yeah, I’m sorry for calling you that.”

I patted Rebecca on the head as I looked at the boy. “Alright, how about if you two go and have some fun? Get to know each other a bit. I need to talk with the Rabbi for a bit.”

“Yes, sir.” The kid said as he began to walk away. Rebecca looked back at me like I was going to disappear if she didn’t keep her eyes on me. I finally managed to shoo her way, Rabbi Golden Script lead me to his office.

“I still have a few questions for you, Mr. Stein. A lot of them can wait till later, but the others…” He waved a hoof around as he collected his thoughts. “Not so much.”

I simply nodded as I waited for him to ask his first question.

“I’d like to get to know you a bit better, if you don’t mind. What do you believe in?”

To be honest, his first question was quite a curveball. Not that I didn’t want to tell him, nor that I didn’t know what to tell him. I just didn’t know how to tell him. In the end of a long five seconds, I gave a nervous chuckle and looked at him. “I guess you could say I’m a Christian-Jew… if that makes any sense, Rabbi.”

He simply nodded as he looked at me with that appraising look of his. “Your eye… the normal one… it’s got a lot of inner strength from it. One of your parents was Jewish, correct?”

I, out of reflex, covered my right eye and smirked as he made the deduction. “My mom, actually. She was raised Jewish, but then conver-“ before I could finish, Golden Scrip raised his hoof up, that smile back on his face as he chuckled to himself.

“No need to explain, Mr. Stine. My own mother would much rather find the answers of the universe on computer screens and other books than the Torah, but she still instilled in me the need to keep the heritage in my blood alive. She had, at one time, cataloged the entire legacy of her family all the way back to the first Jewish settlers to Equestria.” He sighed happily as he opened a drawer and pulled out a necklace that had the six pointed star at the end. “And I can see that your own mother did the same for you.”

I nodded as I continued to look at the necklace. “Could you give her a good education? I mean, in the old testament as well as other... things?”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be much of a Rabbi, would I?” He beamed as he put the necklace around his neck. “Now, if you excuse me, I do have one thing to do before the day is through.”

“And that is?”

“Annoy the local anti-Semite at the bar and enjoy a Kosher drink with my friends before going to bed.” He said all too happily. “I’d invite you, but you don’t look to be the drinker… plus, your Rebecca would not be happy if you left her without saying goodbye.”

I watched the Rabbi leave the office, leaving me quite speechless. It would have been nice and quiet if it wasn’t for a certain someone.

“Hey, don’t look at me, Fat Man.” Discord said as he rolled his eyes at me.

I exited the room and was met by Rebecca, who eagerly led me to the boy she met earlier sitting at a table. On the table, was a drawing that she made. I looked over her shoulder as she sat down, putting her finishing touch on it and saw the entire group. “Oh? Are you and your new friend having fun?” I asked Rebecca as I looked over the drawing.

Me, D.A., and Sunday where grouped together, with Rebecca on my back. (I might want to add that she had little hearts springing up over D.A.’s and Sunday’s head.) The Twins were flying through the air over us with Ragdoll and Daisy nearby getting cupcakes. Sunburn was off in the corner, with stink lines over his head and flies flying around (I swear, the kid just knows good people when she sees them), and Fleur de Lis having tea with Discord. So adora-

...

“Oh, Monkey balls…”

//////////////////////////
207 years before…

Canterlot University, Department of Antiquity

It had been a full day for Twilight Sparkle. She had come back to Canterlot after her time in Ponyville for a brief vacation. She and Spike had made a great deal of headway in her magical studies and their relation to radiation. When it had gotten too late, she had sent Spike home (much to his chargrin) as she continued. She could feel that she was on the cusp of a new discovery, but she knew that she had to rest.

She collected her things and walked down the hallway, slowly going over what she had learned. The Archway Cities of St. Louis and Mare-imac Caverns had been analyzing the energies from the portals for centuries since the Portal’s creation, and the “magic seeding” in the American Wastelands, and how Radiation from the wasteland was broken down. Because of it, it lead to a number of thoughts on what was going on. One was that Radiation was feeding the portal, keeping it open as the radiation was converted into magical energy.

Which would lead to the question of what would happen when there was no more radiation left to feed into the portal? Is the magic spreading on Earth to carry the radiation to the Portal? Why? How?

The questions could be maddening, but Twilight shelved the questions to the side as she walked on. The darkened hallway was soothing to her mind, almost like being asleep, which made her question herself when she heard a trio of voices, one of which she recognized nearly immediately as Celestia.

Still too far to tell what they were saying, she followed the sounds of the conversation, and soon she recognized one more voice. One of her former professors when she attended the University as a student, Professor Vladimir Vorchoski (or as other students called him, Vlad the Grade Impaler) voice was characteristically low and gruff as he was in the middle of an explanation that bordered on being condescending to a Pegasus with a tan coat wearing a rather conservative dress.

“… and if you think that your little lasso and pith helmet is going to help swing through the girders of Washington, I’m afraid I’m going to have to burst your bubble, Miss Doo…”

“That is PROFESSOR Doo, and it’s a bull whip, you vodka drenched-“

“Enough, the both of you!”

The Princess sighed as Twilight finally made it to the door and looked in. At the table was the three imposing figures of her life, two of whom were acting like foals who were argueing about weather El Fantom could defeat the Mysterious Mare-do Well. “This situation… this journey is something I need you both to undertake together. You are both some of the greatest adventurers and researchers the grace both sides of the portal.” Her gaze slowly went from one figure to the other. “You both don’t have to like one another, but you WILL work with each other.”

It took a while before the two relaxed and looked at Princess Celestia. Professor Vorchoski was the first to break the silence with a heavy sigh. “I am sorry for acting the way I did, your majesty. The… manner that Professor Doo and I have acted now was brought on by a personal matter that I promise I will not allow to interrupt our work.”

Daring Doo looked insulted for a few seconds, but with a low, short growl, looked up at the Princess. “Same here, your Majesty.”

“Good. The trip to Washington will begin in a months time. I will be sending a represenitive to look over your progress.” Princess Celestia said calmly as she stepped away from the table.

Daring Doo looked at the Princess, more injury shown on her face. “Your Highness, I was led to believe that I and Vladimir where the ones in charge of this little venture.”

“And you will be.” Princess Celestia smiled as she looked at them. “The represenitive will be there to give reports back to me, and will give advice, but I will encourage her to only be there to assist.” She turned back to Vladimir, her warm smile spreading to his face.

“You are planning on asking Twilight Sparkle to come with us, aren’t you?” He asked as he began to cross his arms over his chest. “She is one of the most studied member of your school, and has been to the Wastelands several times under your protection. The fact that she has shown her leadership skills and resourcefulness in recent history with the Tirek incident and Discords release makes her the best choice.”

Daring nodded, her face showing discomfort as she agrees with Vladimir, but she remains silent as her eyes go down to the map.

Twilight was frozen by shock at the mention of her name being brought up, her body feeling numb as she failed to notice Princess Celestia walking through the door, and stopping to look down at her. It took a not-so-gentle nudge of her wing to shake Twilight back into the present, and a nod to lead her back down the hall from wince Twilight had come. The two adventurers continued their own conversations, without even acknowledging the absence of the Princess as they continued down the hallway.

“I… I don’t understand, Princess Celestia… what is going on? Why is this so important? What is this all about?” So many more questions where on her mind, but she used all her will to keep herself quiet, waiting for her mentor to give her some kind of answer.

“It would not take much for you to know that our nation has enemies, Twilight. You’ve met several of them.” The Solar Princess began as she stopped at a tapestry on the wall depicting a battle fought centuries ago. Her eyes rested on the center of the tapestry, where two couples stood next to one another holding up the Equestrian flag. “There were reports, several of which dealt with the creation of certain weapons. If these weapons exist… if even the possibility to recreate them exist… we need to destroy the weapons and any notes related to them.” She finished, her eyes a mix of steely resolve and sadness.

Twilight looked back at the tapestry as she realized what she wanted. “You want to stop the Zebra Union from getting the weapon plans.” Her eyes looked down at the ground as she continued down her train of thought. “But that doesn’t make any sense. They don’t have any way to get the plans through St. Louis and Mere-imac Caverns… do they?”

Princess Celestia looked down at Twilight as she shook her head. “They don’t need to. Another portal opened between our Earth and the Wastelands. I’ve felt it open recently… but I cannot pinpoint where on this side. This is the other reason why I am sending you to the other side.”

“To find the portal there.” Her eyes widened as she looked over at the Princess again. “Princess Celestia, the portal could be anywhere. There are seven continents, and the NCR have JUST started to start speaking with the Canadian Federation and the New Mexican Alliance. How can I…?”

“Twilight, you do not give yourself credit.” The Solar diarch said, her smile making a return to her face as she turned to her protégé. “You have the ability to find it. And you won’t be doing this alone.” She sighed as she used her wing to hug Twilight, then looked back at the Tapistry, her eyes focused on the four figures in the center.

They stood there for a few more minuets before Twilight was left looking at the tapestry. Her still tired mind tried to recount the names of all the figures, but all she could think of was a speech given by one of the hero’s.

“By the Hand of Almighty God, we have seen this day. Humans are no longer on the verge of extinction. Our survival, our lands can begin to grow once more. But out there is the unknown forces that will mis-use our lands, our people… and our new friends. If we do not stand and fight against these forces, then we are no better than them. I cannot force you to act. I will not force you to act. But I will stand, for I would rather die doing what was needed now than to live a long, guilt filled life.”

With the words of the past fresh in her mind, Twilight closed her eyes and nodded to the challenge. She would protect those she loved. The question is what will it cost her?