//------------------------------// // Chapter 27: We're no heroes // Story: Fallout: Equestria. We're no Heroes // by otherunicorn //------------------------------// Chapter 27: We're no heroes "Because she's awesome?" This room was a lot gloomier than it had once been, when Stable Lab Four was still intact. The explosion and subsequent collapse that had destroyed much of the upper stable had deprived this room of electricity. While I had managed to reconnect power to the equipment in here using my magic, I had not put any effort into doing the same for the wires that fed the ceiling lighting. Now the only light came from the auto-clinic and its associated equipment. It was by no means dark, but the lower level of light in here meant that the auto-clinic chamber, which had internal lighting, was a feature. Lana was currently inside it, unconscious and limp, supported by the auto-clinic's manipulators as it examined her. My hoof was resting right next to the abort button we had installed on the floor in front of the operating chamber, lest something go wrong. Occasionally, I would lift my hoof, and hold it just above the button, tensed, and ready to stamp on it should the machine do anything I felt was suspicious. Invariably, I would relax a little, and put my hoof back on the floor as the machine went about its business. So far it was performing mostly non-invasive examinations. On a few occasions a needle would be pushed into Lana's hide as the auto-clinic performed a biopsy. The buzzing, whirring and clicking came to a stop, and the manipulators that weren't supporting Lana pulled back into their alcoves. The auto-clinic delivered its diagnosis. "Neural damage detected," it said. From what I knew of Lana's condition, that was an accurate description of her problem. The poor mare couldn't use her rear legs. Could the auto-clinic do anything about it though? I hoped so, for Lana's and the other Stable Fours mares' sake, not that Lana wasn't managing as she was, but this was basic pony existence we were talking about. Ponies really needed to be able to walk. Lana was the test subject for the much bigger problem of helping the other mares in Stable Four, most of whom had suffered equally bad or worse injuries from the weapons of the killer robots that had terrorized them all of their lives. Getting the machine to heal them was only part of the problem. The distance between Stable Four and Stable Lab Four was significant when it came to transporting ponies that couldn't walk. "Affected nerves are beyond repair due to carbonization of cells, most likely due to electric shock," the machine added, interrupting my thoughts. "Damaged tissue must be removed to prevent future problems. Proceeding in five seconds." Bugger. That was not what I wanted to hear. Poor Lana. I guess the robots of Stable Four had zapped her pretty thoroughly. Having been at the receiving end of several of such shocks myself, I was not surprised. I had found them debilitating, and I was mostly metal, with its significant shielding effect. I watched as the manipulators cut deeper into Lana's flanks, meticulously stopping any blood flow as they did. "Approval implied. Proceeding to remove dead tissue," the machine stated, its knives and vacuum lines precisely removing the tiny slivers of affected flesh. Those tools retracted, and an alternative set of probes slipped into Lana's wounds. "Examining affected area to determine suitability of alternative procedures." I didn't like the sound of this. My hoof hovered over the abort button, but I hesitated. It would be much better if I didn't have to stop the process while Lana was cut open, but if it even looked like it was going try to turn her into a cyborg by replacing significant areas of her body, I would stop it. "Red Tape, do you know what it is thinking?" I questioned. "Yes. What it is considering is being relayed to me via this monitor," Red Tape replied. "It is currently checking inventory for organic and mechanical spares, and weighing its options," Red Tape stated. "We have negligible organic spares," I commented, "unless those cultures grow a lot quicker than I realized, and the ones we selected for Lee can be universally used." "Actually, yes, some are close to being ready. The auto-clinic could also resort to directly injecting the growth serum into Lana to force her body to grow new nerves," Red Tape replied. "BEEP." With that sound, the auto-clinic stopped, withdrawing its probes. "Please evaluate options, select your preferred solution and confirm," it requested. I glanced across at Red Tape, and the monitor, but was too far from it too read what was displayed there. "It is suggesting we go with a cybernetic implant and is requesting approval to proceed," he told me. "There are other options, but this one is rated as having a significantly higher chance of success. Ninety three percent, in fact, compared to the others that are at best fifty to sixty percent." "This asking for approval is a major behavioral improvement!" I exclaimed. "All the same, I'm not keen on turning Lana into a cyborg. What sort of cybernetics is it suggesting? If it is anything significant, I'd deny the request. If the choice is between remaining fertile, or being able to walk, I think Lana would chose fertility." "I'll check the details. Give me a moment," Red Tape responded. "Ah, here we go. Replace the dead nerves with synthetic nerve implants and hook them up using a neural mapper. That's a good idea, actually." "What? Why?" I asked. "It replaces the damaged nerves, then goes through a procedure that works out what nerve should connect to what body part. When it's done, Lana should be able to walk immediately. If a neural graft is used, or even if new nerves are grown in situ, she will need to do lots of physiotherapy so that her brain can work out what signal does what. The likely result would be partial paralysis, or a limp, and so on." "Oh, fun," I muttered. It was hard enough to learn how to use my body, even with its artificially intelligent translator connecting my brain to my body. I shuddered at the thought of having to learn everything from scratch. I could imagine the frustration of touching something with hoof, and my brain telling me it was my ear touching it, or the alternate problem of trying to wiggle my nose, and instead kicking someone because the nerves were all screwed up. It wouldn't be that extreme for Lana as only her legs were involved, but all the same, preventing Lana from experiencing that stress was a good idea. While she appeared to weather stress well, she had experienced more than any pony should in her life already. "If it doesn't mess with her hormones or fertility, I approve." "It won't," Red Tape said, tapping the appropriate button, "so let's go with this option." The auto-clinic sprang back to life, its manipulators preparing her body to receive the implants, while other mechanisms within it fetched and prepared the implants themselves. Considering the mostly-destroyed state of this stable, it was a miracle the machine still had access to these parts. Hopefully it would have enough of them to allow us to repair the other mares of Stable Four as well. I readied myself to hit the abort button again. I watched as Lana's surgical wounds were opened, and the technology planted within. Tiny manipulators appeared, bonding the cybernetic with the organic using some sort of magic laced compound. As each section of the procedure was completed, the auto-clinic would directly inject some healing potion, carefully guiding the severed parts of flesh as they joined back together. I relaxed, taking my hoof from over the abort button and putting it back on the floor. This was going well, very well indeed. The operation proceeded at a steady rate, and soon the last of Lana's surgical wounds were gone without a trace. A helmet trailing a collection of cables appeared from a cavity within the auto-clinic chamber, and the manipulators lowered it onto Lana's head. When it was secure, the machine grasped each of her hooves, and her torso, and lifted her clear of any obstructions, effectively making her stand on the extended manipulators themselves. Stimulants were injected countering the sedative, and the tension of consciousness returned to her body. "Please walk," the machine instructed its patient, so Lana tried to do as requested, her forelegs responding in the expected fashion, each manipulator supporting the hoof through its cycle, adding rigidity when it represented the ground, moving freely when the walk cycle would have the hoof in the air. Conversely, there was no movement from her rear legs at first, then gradually, as the machine tested various routings, her rear legs began to move. The first movements were erratic, and anything but graceful, but somewhat restrained, as the programming was not passing on full nerve impulses, lest she damage herself or the machine. With each attempted step that she took, her movement became better controlled, her coordination improving until she appeared to be walking normally. "Please scratch your right ear with your rear hoof," the machine requested. Lana missed. "Correcting perceived location of hoof. Please try again." This went through several cycles, much like the walking had. The machine then repeated the process with her left rear hoof. Several other positional tests were made before the machine took her through her gaits. "Trot," it instructed. After a few dozen steps, it requested canter, then gallop. It was amazing watching the manipulators that were supporting her going through the motions, maintaining her position within the auto-clinic chamber. "Calibration complete. Please vacate the treatment chamber." I stepped out of the way as the chamber door opened. The auto-clinic removed the helmet from Lana, and the manipulators extended, placing her on the floor in the pool of light falling from the chamber. She wiggled a few muscles, shook herself thoroughly, then walked a lap around the clinic without comment. I think I would have been bouncing with excitement by now. Lana stopped in front of me. "Yay," she said. "I can walk again! Awesome!" "I'm surprised at how well that went," I admitted. "What did it do to me while I was unconscious?" Lana asked, turning her head to look at her rear legs, and seeing nothing out of place. "I hope you don't mind, but the machine had to replace destroyed nerves, and it did it with small cybernetic implants. All that walking and touching your ears stuff was it calibrating the system. It was the best option as it means you won't have to go through the pain of physiotherapy," I explained. "Small implants? How small? What of my legs?" Lana asked. "Your legs are still flesh and blood. The implants are tiny things, up near your spine, and the new nerves wander around a bit, going between the implant and where your healthy nerves are. I watched them being installed. You won't even notice them, and they won't interfere with any other part of your body," I said. "Thank goodness. I didn't expect it would try to turn me into a cyborg. I'm glad it didn't," Lana stated, her expression betraying her relief. She had been more worried than she was prepared to admit. "You should try it, Anne. See if it can give you a new hoof." I lifted my armored foreleg and looked at it. "Maybe I will see if it can work out what the wiring fault is, but I am still reluctant to let it operate..." "I'll stomp on the switch if it takes any liberties," Lana said, "or I could send down Demi if you prefer." "Go on, Anne," Red tape insisted. "At least let it examine the damage." "Yes, do," Lee said, speaking for the first time since Lana had been placed into the auto-clinic. She had been sitting quietly against the back wall, so quietly in fact, I had forgotten she was there. Her cybernetics did not even breathe when there was no need. Duct Tape had returned to the surface during Lana's operation, to let Saffron know how it was progressing, and had not returned. "Oh, all right," I agreed, looking with dread at the auto-clinic. I shed my Pipgirl and prosthetic and reluctantly climbed into the machine that had torn apart my mother, and stood, awaiting for the manipulators to grab me. Red Tape closed the door. Watching over my shoulder I saw Lana move into position, her hoof near the abort button. At a conscious level I knew the machine hadn't really taken my mother from me. All it had done was remove her rotting remains from the cyberframe. It had been shocking, truly horrific, and had probably struck a deeper wound in my psyche than anything else that had happened to me since the horrors of my betrayal and cybernetic conversion in the first place. None the less, I shuddered to think what would have happened if it hadn't. My mother had already been dead, and despite the continued functioning of the cybernetics of her body, the organic portions of it had been rotting. Perhaps she would have got really smelly, then just fallen apart in front of us. All I could say was I was glad that hadn't happened. "Here goes," Red tape warned me. Moments later I felt the manipulators grasp me. "Analyzing. Patient is a cyborg. Identifying. Serial number matches with the custom built cyborg known as Anne. Service logs show maintenance at this station to be overdue by fourteen years. Retrieving operation and error logs," the auto-clinic stated. Oh great, it had expected me to show up every year for an oil change or something? A manipulator poked around my neck, then settled, pressed at the base of my skull, where presumably it was communicating with the basic artificial intelligence of the body. "Contact established. Downloading. Logs show indications of unauthorized repairs." Of course they did. Those robots had busted my hip after all. "Right foreleg is damaged. Hoof and lower leg components are absent. Control circuitry for right foreleg is malfunctioning. ," it announced. Tell me something I didn't know... Well, maybe not. I didn't want to hear that I had more damage! "Other systems nominal." Yay! "Checking stock of replacement circuits. Found. Advancing to surgery." Uh-oh! Lana, I hope you are ready! I felt a prick in my damaged leg followed by the gradual numbing as the injected local anaesthetic took effect. I then felt, without pain, as the manipulators of the auto-clinic cut their way into my upper leg. The way the machine was holding my head prevented me from stealing a glance. Within moments, I felt the machine extract a small module from within the surgical opening, and listened as it placed it into a disposal chute. It grasped another circuit module that appeared from another chute. I could recall seeing it go through the equivalent routine while working on Lana, so I could visualize the process very well. "Testing," the machine announced. I waited as the machine guided my body through a series of movements. Finally it announced, "Function restored. Closing surgical opening." I imagine it went through the same gluing flesh back together with healing potion routine. All I felt were gentle movements and the occasional pinch. Of course all the auto-clinic had achieved so far was restore control, and that was pretty useless without a replacement lower leg. Admittedly, it would mean I could interface myself to any prosthetic, rather than having to rely on the prosthetic-specific linking spell Gadget had woven for me, but then I didn't have any other prosthetics. "Analyzing damage to lower leg," the machine announced as its manipulators began poking and feeling around my stump. Again I could not feel much, due to the local anaesthetic. Before it again announced what I already knew. "Hoof and lower section of leg are missing. Checking for reserves of custom parts used in this specific cyberframe," it announced. Perhaps it should have done that earlier. "No spares found. Placing request for replacement parts. A biological sample has been taken so required organic material can be regrown. Patient known as Anne, please speak to administration to arrange your next appointment." "Bah!" At least it hadn't cut my stump, or done anything else nasty to it, so could continue using the prosthetic I had made from Saffron's power armor, as I had been for the last few weeks. Lana stepped out of the way, the auto-clinic chamber door opened, and the manipulators extended, placing me on the floor. It hadn't bothered with any stimulants, so the local anaesthetic was still numbing my leg. Slipping into my three-legged gait, I walked back to where I had left my prosthetic and Pipgirl. "Thanks, Lana," I said, glad she hadn't been forced to use the abort switch. "At least you got out of it with your skin," Lee joked, poking at me with one of her hooves. "Thanks, Lee, I didn't need reminding of that." I looked at her darkly. "Sorry," Lee said, a little embarrassed. "I keep forgetting this body was occupied by a different living being before I awoke." I shrugged. "I know it wasn't your fault," I offered, "but please remember all that remains of my mother is poking out of your skull. I can't even give her a grave." Lee raised her hoof to her horn. "I will look after her," she said quietly. Red Tape approached us. "I'm sorry it couldn't help you, Anne," he apologized. "Don't be," I responded. "Getting equipment running in a blown up stable isn't the easiest thing to do. Even so, expecting it to have parts for a cyborg that ran away fifteen years ago would be unrealistic, even if the whole stable was fully functional. I need new flesh to cover any replacement leg it tries to install, and we know it couldn't have done that today anyway. At least we now know the sort of issues we will face if we wish to keep using it. The Stable Four mares are mostly still in possession of their limbs, so repairs like those done to Lana will be the sort of thing needed, although I do hope there are some spare eyes in there, because we have at least two who are blind, one of which definitely needs eyes." "Do you mean the new girl, Cherry Sundae?" Lana asked. It was a fair question, because Cherry Sundae wasn't really a Stable Four mare. "Yes," I responded, "although even eyes may not help her see, as she's been blind all of her life." Red Tape again accessed the console, scrolling through some lists. He stopped at one page, reading through it a couple of times. "Eyes, yes, we have some of those, but installing them will be tricky. And even if we give her functioning eyes, her visual centers are undeveloped, so she may never be able to make sense of what she sees," he agreed. "All the same, she does use her magic to construct a mental image of her surroundings, so I expect she would be able to teach herself," I suggested. "An interesting idea," Red Tape commented. "Anyway, today's session gives me some problems to solve. Maybe I can find some parts, or use some of the equipment in the labs below to make them. Lee, would you like to help? You seem to have reasonable knowledge of cybernetics, and this stuff was derived from your original systems, after all." "Sure, why not," Lee responded. "I have a few days to kill before I get another turn in that machine. Actually, Anne, why don't you take your team and head back to Stable Four for the next set of mares. There's no point in you waiting around here." "And leave you here? Are you sure?" I asked. "Yes. I'll be fine here. This place is practically my home, after all," Lee insisted. "And I think me Iooking like a robot would scare the mares." "You know, Saffron might like a new eye too," Lana suggested. "Ha, that's a point," I responded. "I was thinking of blind ponies, and he isn't blind. Let's head up and ask him now." I could hear Saffron before we even exited the collapsed Stable. Something had him very annoyed, and very stressed. I would not say he was in a rage. No, he was a lot more collected than that, but a lesser pony would have been extremely unpleasant to be around. "I cannot believe it!" he exclaimed again. "Those wretched murderers. You're nothing but stinking raiders!" Okay, some raiders had him pissed off. Raiders tended to do that, but I hadn't heard any shooting, and there was no reply to his statements. All I could hear were the quiet strains of Sweetie Belle singing one of those songs my mind had long since masked out. If I hadn't been trying to hear what was going on up there, Sweetie Belle would not have registered in my mind anymore than the sound of a breeze. I crouched, indicating that Lana should remain where she was. I sneaked up the make-shift stairway to the stable door, and exited into Red Tape's shop. There were no raiders. Saffron and Demi were both standing behind the counter, in full view of me. Demi looked uneasy, and Saffron somewhat riled. "What's going on?" I asked, causing both to jump. I forgot I had been sneaking. I shrugged. "Sorry." "The bloody Steel Rangers attacked Stable Two, the Stable Dweller's home stable. That's what," Saffron fumed. "When? Why?" I asked. "How bad was it?" "The news report was fairly positive, all things considered," Demi interjected. "From what we can tell, it was several days ago. We are not even sure if this was the first time the attack was announced. Details were sketchy, but it seems all sorts of ponies and griffins descended on the Steel Rangers, defending the stable. I'm sure there were needless losses though. There is no way a Steel Ranger attacks without someone dying," Saffron spat. "The report said they were intent on murdering everyone in the stable and taking it for themselves. So, Anne, you were so right when you called me nothing but a raider. To think I could have been there, following orders, murdering foals and mares." "It's not all bad news. The Steel Rangers themselves factionalized, the breakaway group helping defend the innocent. They call themselves the Outcasts, and there are reports of them helping other ponies out in the wastes already," Demi said. "And good for them," Saffron said, "but what is really eating me at the personal level, is that had I not met you, Anne, I would have been there at Stable Two myself, and I have no doubt I would have been killing foals and mares." "You may have sided with the Outcasts," I said. "Nope," Saffron insisted. "It took you nearly killing me for me to actually step back far enough to see what a monster I was. Maybe it was my lifelong indoctrination at their hooves, or maybe I was just a rotten bastard to start with, but I was ready to murder you and your mother over a technological trinket. Murdering a stable full of ponies for their home isn't far removed from that. In fact the only difference is in the size: bigger prize; more ponies killed. Celestia, I really hate myself right now!" "Saffron!" I almost yelled. "Do you think you are the only one who's made poor life choices, or been a murderous bastard? The wasteland is full of ponies like that. Hell, even I have killed ponies that I shouldn't have. What matters is you did something about it. For whatever reason, you did make the choice to change for the better. You were not at Stable Two killing innocent ponies. You were out here helping us and the ponies from Stable Four." Saffron paused, then quietly asked, "You have killed innocents?" "I killed some of Bukov's slaves, victims," I admitted. "How? Why?" he enquired. "Carelessness. They were brainwashed, so when I killed Bukov, they came at us, and I was forced to defend us with deadly force. If I had taken more care, we may have been able to slip away unnoticed." "They tried to kill you? In that case, it was justifiable self defense," Saffron suggested. "Maybe so, but it would have been so much better if I was able to help them instead of killing them. They were poor fillies just like Demi who had been caught and sold to him. They should still be alive today," I insisted. Saffron sat, then lowered himself onto the floor, and lay there, head on his forelegs. He sighed. "I guess what I should be doing is thanking you, Anne, for saving me from what would have almost certainly been my life. Hell, maybe I would have even been killed if I had been at Stable Two. The Steel Rangers did lose after all, so I guess that means you've saved me yet again." Having decided there was no danger, Lana exited the stairs, and walked over to Saffron, lowering herself to lie by him, putting a leg around him and hugging him. "You are better than that, Saffron. You already made the right choice, and you did it long before any of the other Steel Rangers saw the light and became the Outcasts." "You heard all that?" he asked. Lana nodded. "I was just there, on the stairs. As Anne pointed out, you are no longer who you used to be. There is no point worrying about what may have been when you have already long abandoned that life path." "Hmm. On a more practical note, I guess I will need to repaint my armor," Saffron surmised. "There is no way I am walking around with the Steel Ranger's emblem on it now. I wonder what I should paint there instead? Maybe I should just leave it blank." "Oh, that's an easy one to solve," Lana said. "Have you seen Anne's barding lately?" "Yes, it's Stable Four security barding," Saffron stated. "Stable Four Security. Paint that on your armor. It reflects what you now do," Lana said. Saffron nodded, smiling a little, then turned his head to look at her. "Hey, did you just walk over here?" "What the heck are they doing around here?" Saffron asked, stealing a glance at the dark purple alicorn that was circling above. For the moment he had declined to have a cyber-eye installed. He felt he needed reminding of his former self for the time being. We were all huddled below the roof of Red Tape's stall, peeking out to see the strange beast. Were they ponies? Our opinions were divided on that one! Whatever they were, their presence scared us, and we hadn't even had dealings with them. The stories surrounding them were enough to make us wary. They could fly. They could teleport. They could strike with lightning. And somehow whatever happened to one was learned by the others, suggesting that they were mentally linked. There were stories and theories about that too. "Bloody unusual behavior for them," Red Tape commented. "Usually they travel in groups of three, and I can only see the one." "Must be looking for something where their usual eyes don't see," Saffron suggested. "What is it?" Lana asked. Having lived a very sheltered life in Stable Four until only weeks ago, such things were unknown to her. "Is that a pegasus?" "No, Honey, it's a part of Unity," Saffron replied. "It is one of the more recent diseases to infect the wastelands. You've heard the mad ramblings of that dude on the radio, haven't you?" "DJ Pon3?" Lana queried. Saffron chuckled. "No, not that mad dude, the other one that we try to avoid listening to. 'Together, we can build a new kingdom where all live together in perfect unity!'" Saffron mocked. "That's Red Eye. He's some megalomaniac over in Fillydelphia who has ideas of becoming the next leader. These oversized flying beasts are somehow related to him." "He has more than just ideas of leadership," I muttered. "He is the overlord of Fillydelphia, a major purchaser of slaves, and despite his cheery projection, has to be one of the darkest and nastiest bastards out there. He makes Bukov look like a pleasant fellow!" Demi shuddered. "Should we do something about him? Or try to? I hate the thought of other ponies getting sold into slavery." "No, Demi," I shook my head. "We're no heroes. Someone like Red Eye needs someone far more powerful than us to take him down. If we tried, we'd end up dead, or worse, as his slaves. We should just keep doing the little things we are doing, helping ponies when we can." "If we went chasing after Red Eye, who would help the mares of Stable Four?" Saffron asked. "We may not live up to the reputation of DJ Pon3's Stable Dweller, but as small as our efforts are in comparison, we are making a difference." "But I'm doing so little! I feel inadequate," Demi complained. "Do you think Anne does a lot?" Lana asked. "You do, don't you." Demi nodded. "Do you know why she does, why she can?" Lana prompted. "Because she's awesome?" Demi suggested. "Because you hold her together," Lana stated. "You give her reason to go on. You hug her and help her sleep when she can't. I'd say that is a pretty significant thing you are doing." Demi looked at me, her eyes searching out mine. I simply smiled at her and nodded. We remained silent and contemplative after that, watching as the alicorn flew around. She would fly towards us, but before she was anywhere near us, she'd suddenly make a right angle turn, and fly off in that direction. She circle around over there for a while, then begin approaching again. Finally, she turned her back onto us and headed in the direction of Splendid Valley. "It's like she wants something, but not enough to actually come near the stable," Demi observed. "Is she weighing up personal risk against whatever she wants here?" I wondered. "They are pretty darn hard to kill," Saffron stated, "if tales I heard back in the Steel Rangers are anything to go by. You gotta hit them before they put up their shield. Maybe she's confused, or maybe she's just watching something we can't see, and doesn't want anything to do with us." "I'll be sure to ask next time we bump into her," Red Tape joked. With the alicorn gone, we felt secure enough to venture out into the wastes again. Lana was back in her wheelchair, simply because there was no better way to transport it back to Stable Four. Her weapons were also mounted on it, although we could have removed them had we wished. We bade farewell to my father, Red Tape and my little sister, Duct Tape. It had been a good trip in a way, even if my mother was gone forever. I had gained a sister, and reconnected with my father. Lana had been healed. Yup, there were definitely some good points. I waved a hoof at the metal endoskeleton that bore my mother's horn. She was still wearing that wig and old lab coat, but they were no substitute for a real mane and coat. Hopefully the next time I saw Lee she would again look like a pony, a different pony. I don't think I could stand it if she looked like my mother. And when I met this new Lee, even though I knew her, my brain would need to learn that she was a different pony. We would no doubt discuss things that would bring back memories of her with a different appearance: that of my mother, and then my brain would have a brief dispute with itself. Oh well, in time, in time. At least I now had my own daughter, so I would still be traveling as part of a mother daughter duo. Nothing particularly bad happened on our trip back to Stable Four, though there were some annoyances. We had to shoot a couple bloodwings. I shot the Watcher, apologized to the next spritebot the Watcher commandeered, killed a lone raider who was arrogant enough to think he could take us on. Was he blind? Didn't he see the former Steel Ranger with us? The most annoying interruption was spending a day hunkered down in an abandoned building while that bloody alicorn circled above, again. Finally, darkness fell, and the alicorn left. I checked my Pipgirl, and found we were really alone, so we scurried off, towards Stable Four while the going was good. Oh, that was something, we'd found a cache of Pipgirls a couple days earlier, and now Lana and Demi were sporting them too, instead of old Pipbucks. Saffron had refused to take one, which was interesting because his trying to steal mine was how we had met. He really had changed so much since then. Footnote: Level Up! Perk: Lab assistant. You gain 5% to all matters relating to science. Special thanks to the team of proof readers.