Vinyl seemed to be fairly calm about entering the abandoned city, despite having concerns earlier. Now she was just acting like we'd waltz in and snag the element and skip our way out. That or she was exceptional at hiding her concern. Whatever the case though, I was still worried that we might not be heard from again. If Cloudsdale didn't kill me, no doubt Vinyl would.

The former DJ stuck her nose in the air and inhaled, bringing a grin to her face. "Smells like death..."

I wasn't really sure why the scent of death was something to smile over; however I decided it was wise not to question it.

"How are we going to find this element?" I wanted to get off the previous subject.

The mare shrugged and began rummaging through the debris scattered all over. "Hell if I know. I imagine it would stand out. Supposed to possess extreme magical properties, so I would imagine that we could find a way to track it somehow... That is if it's actually here."

I grunted and took a step towards her. "You mean to tell me, we came all the way here, to probably the most forgotten hellhole in Equestria and not only did we not bring a way to look for what we even came here for, but we're not even certain it's here?"

Vinyl laughed and dropped a piece of plywood she was checking under. "Didn't you pay attention to One-Eye? She said it might be here. Regardless if it is or isn't we still have to reach the archives."

I turned around and sighed. "Great... I'm stuck in the ruins of a dead city with a psychopath and no way out... This is totally how I wanted to die." I sarcastically remarked.

"We're not dead yet, kid." She chimed in, clearly not offended by the psychopath comment, then again that was to be expected.

I sat down on what was left of a bench and sighed again. "I should have guessed..."

Vinyl's ears twitched as she turned around with her right firearm raised. The action was enough to get me out of my seat, or rather the remnants of my seat.

Within the fog the two of us could hear growling and manic laughter. We weren't alone, and perhaps Cloudsdale wasn't as "abandoned" as we had thought. From the unknown trotted what looked like the remains of ponies. Barely skeletons with rotting meat on them they were. Their appearance made the savages look as though they had returned from a feast. Emaciated would have been a generous word to describe them with.

Their skin usually bore only a few small patches of fur and the rest was black and diseased. They looked quite fragile, but mostly hungry.

After we were surrounded, Vinyl kept her weapon drawn as a female with only about a hoof full of blue mane stepped out from the crowd to the front. The lieutenant’s firearm redirected at that single "pony".

The creature was actually capable of speech. Its jaw was quite slacked; however her Equestrian was understandable despite her accent. "Vinyl Jennifer Scratch... It's been a long time hasn't it?"

I was a little amused that Vinyl's middle name was Jennifer, however I'd have to find time to laugh about it later.

Vinyl kept her weapon steady without answering. Her face remained on the same serious expression. The disgusting pony in front of her started to trot around Vinyl as she examined her. "What's wrong? Don't recognize me? Well I suppose that's to be expected... After all, I've undergone quite a... Transformation since we last met..."

She was answered with more silence. Either Vinyl was actually shaken up or she really didn't give a shit. Both seemed equally likely at this point.

"Does Melody ring a bell to you? Melody Scratch?" The monster slithered up to Vinyl's ear as she brought her voice to an almost whisper. You could actually hear her joints creak when she moved.

Still no reaction out of Vinyl, shy of a sniff.

"Where were you Vinyl? I could have sworn you promised you'd take care of your younger sister? Yet when the war came about, you joined Rainbow's Raiders without so much as a second thought." Venom started to build up in this creature's voice.

Vinyl didn't even turn to her direction, which seemed to anger it further. "Answer me!"

Nothing, not even a flinch.

"So you have nothing to say to that? Nothing at all?" It was starting to get closer as it came back to her front side.

"You make me sick you worthless piece of-" She was cut off by a loud bang.

Vinyl must have had enough because she had unleashed a powerful shot from her weapon directly into Melody's skull. The gaping hole through the remnants of her grey matter dripped and oozed as her still body remained standing for a few seconds before tumbling. The other "ponies" all fell silent, Vinyl however finally spoke up. "That's the only thing you deserve."

The warrior mare turned her weapon on the rest of them. "Who's next? I got 3 clips and I'll use them all before I go down. So if you want a piece of this, you better wait in line."

They didn't seem threatened by her claims. As we noticed more and more coming out of the woodworks. I took a step back up against Vinyl's side. "Think 3 clips will be enough?"

"Well I could probably hit a couple through the eye and the bullet will go through two... However that'll still leave us with quite a few to deal with. I guess melee is our best bet. We should try and conserve ammunition." She kept turning her head to keep as many of them in sight as she could.

I nodded as I readied the freshly modified Punishment that Pinkamena had given me. With a grin I got the motor running on the chainsaw blade using my U.M.S.A. Vinyl stood on her back hooves and readied the two blades on her front right and her front left.

"Try not to get killed, kid." She chuckled as she jumped into the crowd.

Sure enough they dashed towards me with teeth bared and ready to rip me apart. Amateurishly I swung my weapon slicing a few of them. They backed off a few steps as they tried to rethink their strategy. One large one charged at me though. He was met with my blade to his shoulder. He grunted and screeched as it sawed through him, splattering the dark green liquid that I presumed was blood, or at least what once was blood.

Turning to see Vinyl, she appeared to be... Dancing... Dancing with her swords, however it appeared to be dicing them up with ease. Pushing the big one off of me, I bolted towards her and the opening she was making.

With a little team work she had made a path large enough to escape through that would lead deeper into the city. The moment she was sure we could break through she began to run, with me not too far behind. She was in better shape than me that was for sure.

Our foes were rather sluggish and thus had a difficult time keeping up, however the sheer numbers that were hiding away in the rest of the city made up for that. Everywhere we turned more were either out in the open or just barely visible in rundown buildings. Vinyl pulled us both into the alleys to keep us hidden. Keeping low we ducked behind debris and old junk as we traveled.

We could hear the ones from the entrance catching up as they came through town. "We know you're here!" Vinyl kept us low until she located an old cloud cellar behind an abandoned home. Quickly she ushered me inside and closed the door behind us, barring it with an old plank. The plank was so rotten there was no way it was going to hold anything back though.

I went to speak, but she covered my muzzle and held her hoof there for a solid minute. Once she was certain that our followers weren't close she sighed and released me. She began to inspect the rest of the room at that point.

With her back turned to me I figured now I actually had the upper hoof. My weapon ready I aimed it at the mare and cocked it; a sniper round ready to go in the barrel. Vinyl's ears twitched at the noise as she turned to face me. Her expression became serious.

"I've seen a lot of ponies die out here. I've seen plenty get murdered too, but you..." I steadied my weapon.

Vinyl spoke up. "Am I supposed to be scared now because you have a gun? Mother fucker, I've had more guns pointed at me than times you've jerked off you little shit stain."

I kept firm in my stance. I didn't want to show even an ounce of doubt, though it was certain that she could see right through me. "You would kill your own sister without even flinching. What is to say you won't kill me the moment my back is turned?"

"First off, kid; if I wanted to kill you I wouldn't have to wait until your back is turned. Second, that wasn't my sister, not anymore anyways. All she was now is a husk resembling what she once was. There's only one cure for that." She didn't move any closer.

No remorse, just as I suspected. I don't think Vinyl Scratch was even capable of seeing the negatives of killing.

"How can I even be certain I can trust you?" I replied.

Vinyl grinned. "Because you have no choice. Without me you're never getting out of here. I'm the only one crazy enough to survive this place, and that's why One-Eye sent me. Even she knew if there was anypony alive that could survive Cloudsdale it was going to be me." She paused as she eyed my weapon. "So unless you want me to leave you here, I suggest you lower your weapon."

I hesitated as I contemplated it. Vinyl took a few steps closer and pressed her forehead to the barrel of the gun.

"Do it then. Just try. I warn you though; you better hit me right in the head, because if there's even an ounce of life left in me, I'll come back and rip your fucking balls off. I'll make you eat your own shit. I'll make you beg for death, so if you are going to do something with that gun, I suggest you do it now..." Her voice was tense and I noticed a light shaking in her hoof, but not a fearful one; a hungry one. She was just itching for a reason.

When I didn't let up right away she screamed. "KILL ME THEN, SHIT FACE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?"

Finally I lowered my weapon. She sighed and shook her head. "And you think you have what it takes to join the Knights?"

I grunted. "Excuse me?"

Vinyl took an advance and pinned me to the wall with a blade to my neck. I could feel her hot breath on my neck as she came close, savoring the moment. Her voice came to a whisper. "You hesitate. In the heat of battle, hesitation is death."

I held still as her blade pressed closer and she brought her lips right to my ear. "You're lucky I don't kill you right now..." She nipped my ear with her teeth playfully before giving it a soft lick. With that she released me and allowed my body to fall to the floor.

"I will admit it took balls to stand up to me. Perhaps you've got some guts to you." She grinned as she leaned down to my level.

"You're crazy..." That was an understatement. She went from angry to flirty to relaxed all in a minute. Not to mention she had just murdered her own sister with no remorse. Perhaps Vinyl was bipolar?

"Says you, and several battle fatigue therapists. But in case you didn't notice... We're all a little crazy. You have to be out of your damn mind to survive out here. What about you? You left a paradise to come to the ruins. You're out of your fucking mind, to choose this place over a place where you don't have to sleep with some pony on guard duty. A place where you would survive." She rambled as she got closer to my face, I couldn't see her eyes but I assumed they were pointed at me.

My breathing had gotten heavier as she was crawled over me. "I was tired of surviving... My entire life has been about nothing but surviving. What's the point of surviving if you always feel empty?" I gave her a serious expression.

She nodded slowly as she got closer. I could feel her chest touching my own now. "You want that excitement.. The thrill that only comes when you're inches from death. Sure at first you fear it, but after a while you come to love it. To thirst for it..."

"I don't know if I'd put it that way..." I replied just staring at her.

"Take a chance, little Flare. Because out here you never know when it's all coming to an end." She grinned.

I nodded as she finally calmed down and rested against the wall beside me. Truly, Vinyl was unpredictable.

We had been resting for an hour in our new temporary living quarters. Vinyl had dispatched a special ops bubble force field around us from her utility belt she had brought with her. Apparently it would keep us protected for a short time should our enemies decide to make another appearance. To be honest though I was more concerned about Vinyl killing me in my sleep than that.

Vinyl had huddled close to keep us both warm. Apparently she didn't think to bring her blanket as she joked. It definitely was fairly cold down in the cellar though.

"What are those things anyways?" I yawned as I asked.

Vinyl shrugged while running a sharp rock along her blade, sharpening it. "Beats me. I ain't never seen anything like them before. Not even back home."

"Is that what the darkness does to a pony?" I had never actually come face to face with this "darkness" yet.

"No. They are something new, something I've never seen before. The darkness is far worse... It steals your mind and fills your heart with blackness. Once it takes you, your free will is gone, and you obey it and only it. It makes you its slave..." She had gotten really serious again.

"And Trixie controls those slaves?" I was surprised that even mentioning her name didn't turn Vinyl's face into a scowl.

"Pretty much..." She kept her gaze forward as she answered, but then turned towards me. "So what's the story between you and Dash? You like her or something?" She liked to change the subject it seemed. That or the thought of Trixie annoyed her too much to talk about.

I shrugged. I wasn't really sure what the situation between me and Dash was really. "She pretty much saved my life. Then she brought me to the Knights, but our travels together are supposed to end there. After she's done with her meeting with the General, she is heading back to Ponyville she says. Went on and on about wanting nothing to do with Twilight's war and playing soldier anymore."

Vinyl laughed. "So you two never....?"

It was clear what she was implying. "No. The thought never crossed my mind as I mentioned before. Besides, Dash is a hardened warrior; I doubt she has any interest in that."

Vinyl's laugh grew at my comment. "So am I and I would tear that ass up." That was a mental image I could do without.

"Dash is out of my league anyways. I'm just a simple earth pony with a crazy dream of being a hero. If anything she probably thinks I'm a moron who is throwing his life away over childish notions." I replied.

Vinyl sat quietly for a minute and leaned back with a nod. "Well, you got that right. You are quite a moron."

Thanks for the nod of confidence...

"But you've got guts. I mean any pony that would leave paradise to come here, and then agree to come to Cloudsdale, and even stand up to me... Well that all takes guts." A small smile appeared on her lips as she leaned a bit towards my way.

"What's your point?"

"Maybe that'll be enough to make it out here. Maybe it'll be enough to turn that moronic earth pony into a Knight." She nudged my shoulder playfully.

Maybe she was right, but that was a big "maybe".