As it turns out, trying to guide ten ponies to a town was a lot harder than it looked when all ten of them split up in different directions. However the pony Cait had originally been looking for had already agreed to tell his father about this 'fabulous' rescue and award both of us next time we were in town. This left us back to going where Cait's next job was located, on the way back to the settlement known as 'The Eternal Flame' that lay between someplace called 'The Hole' which was literally just a black circle with the pipbuck area icon on it. I wondered if it was a bit broken. The map for it was literally all black and several miles across. I pondered over the problem but the pipbuck merely said there was nothing inside it. On the other side of the eternal flame was a location marked simply, "Ye Dang Rest Stop".

As we trotted I began to go through the various functions of my pipbuck. From the inventory sorter to my own statistics. So many useful functions on such a small device. I could only imagine if the guns themselves had a fraction of its technological marvel. I flipped through another portion, notes, and messages the pipbuck was near blank with. The few ones that were there having either been encrypted or corrupted by the previous owner of the device. Cait's voice drew my attention away from the device as we continued to move, Scrapyard having fallen into an easy pace a few meters In front of us, "I must admit, I never thought that a 2500 series still was a around." he commented, drawing my curious look, he elaborated, "Before the apocalypse there was only about a hundred or so made before Twilight's 'Eye's forward sparkle' radar friend or foe system made the series out of date and decommissioned."

I sighed, already knew it wasn't standard. Judging from how every scientist in the Stable, "What other changes did they make?" I asked, more out of boredom than actual interest.

Cait rambled on, "Well for one, the pipbuck lost it's ability to eject a routine S.E.C. spell in order to restart magical motors, though their other purpose was as a close range stunning weapon in cases of emergency."

I nodded, bringing the pronged sparking rod out of it's casing with a button press before pressing it again to draw it back in, "What else?"

Cait considered it a moment before replying "Well before the E.F.S. was introduced the pipbucks gave no information on their holder or where their pipbuck was. As a result it had been a mess before the standardized 3000 series came into effect to prevent enemy infiltration or stealing the intelligence on the pipbuck. In other words the 2500 series never had an identification tag that other pipbucks that the 3000 series could track down."

I smiled internally at that, at least I wouldn't have to worry about scientists being able to pull me back in the middle of the night. Though there was still far many other dangers of the wastelands. I returned to listening as Cait talked about the various differences between the two, minor things like spell matrix shape, construction materials, and the types of magic and care used for the different series. As he went on I began to puzzle together the differences.

From what he had said, the 3000 series was more of a soldier unit, capable of day to day tasks while allowing multiple individuals to keep track of each other and work together better in a team. More of a front line type as Cait said the estimated range of such devices usually ranged between thirty and forty meters excluding the larger scale E.F.S. that several war machines had used back in the day. I caught Cait day dreaming slightly as he described an Tanker unit described as the 'Potshot' which had an EFS unit capable of several miles and accurate targeting at the cost of a higher consumption rate of gems. I commented the slight drool as he lost himself in it, causing him some rather cute embarrassment as he wiped off his face, only making it worse with his dirty hooves.

Oh he was all but head over hooves for technology. I made note of it, smirking quietly to myself, "So how do you know all of that?"

I felt his enthusiasm die down and he looked away, "From books..." he stated lamely, looking away.

How curious, I tried pushing my limits, time to be smart about it though. Magazines were the most prominent source of learning I had quickly found out, though he had talked about machine parts with shocking familiarity in comparison to the magazines which usually only described the benefits of the machine in question, I spoke aloud, "Books don't have as much information unless you're looking at the raw blueprints or have worked on one yourself."

Cait awkwardly gestured to the air with a hoof, I could feel a wave of uneasiness and guilt as he answered, "I was part of a... organization.... which took vows to protect the citizens of Equestria. Instead they horded and stored away technology that could be used to help ponies. Left after the differences became a bit too different under the guise I was... investigating something."

"I see..." I left it there, letting him regain a sense of comfort, I had pushed enough for now... Right? I took another few steps before realizing that Cait was no longer trotting beside me.

Cait took a deep breath, letting out a low whistle he spoke, changing the subject, "Mind switching to radio station 105.3 on your pipbuck? I think it's about time for Mr. Hoofington's news update."

"Mr. Hoofington? Who's that?" I stated bluntly at Cait. Earning what I imagined was an amused cackle from Scrapyard.

Cait replied casually as he caught back up and we began moving again, "Just the most popular stallion this side of the wasteland. He owns a war time radio station that can broadcast across Vanhoover, he gives ponies with a radio something to listen to, as well as spreading the news about this city. Another radio station has a wider angle, but he covers only a few sections of the wastelands, and glorifies certain ponies as heroes." he sighed, "Mr. Hoofington does that as well. But less frequently, and only when something he had reported is changed."

I raised an eyebrow, "How does he know when it is changed?"

Cait shrugged again, "Cameras around the place, other ponies, who knows? Maybe he's just omnipresent. Wouldn't put it past him. Anyway, radio?" he gestured again at my pipbuck.

I went through the options on my pipbuck until I found what he was looking for, I nodded once I had found it. Tuning it to 105.3 it began to emit static before the crystal clear tones of a presumably young mare filled the air accompanied by the soothing sounds of instruments of which I never had heard before. Stable 103 only had trumpets whose only role was a simple wake up call. This however was a gentle melody of softer sounds, the music alone lost me and it took several moments until I caught onto what the lovely voice coming from my pipbuck was singing...

"Maybe you'll think of me when you are all alone,
Maybe the one who is waiting for you,
Will prove untrue, then what will you do?"

I unconsciously began to sway to the song, Cait emitted a deep chuckle barely interrupting my fixation of the song and sat down. I similarly fell to my rump, awestruck by this... music...

"Maybe you'll sit and sigh, wishing that I were near.
Then maybe you'll ask me to come back again,
And maybe I'll say 'Maybe'..."

The song ended with a few more notes, leaving me wishing for more. Cait still grinning, "First time hearing one of Sweetie Belle's songs? Eesh your stable must of been boring."

I was about to reply when another voice from my pipbuck cut me off. I settled with a half hearted glare instead as a male voice with a tone like silk, deep as a stable is in the ground, "Welcome back to the Hoofington broadcast, the radio show with, in my opinion – which I respect – the best-looking audience around. Somebody prove me wrong?"

I chuckled quietly, being hypnotized again by the wondrous voices coming out of my pipbuck, If Celestia was male, this would be the perfect voice for her ascendance, "If you like news, then you're gonna love our next segment. Stable 103 opened a few days ago and showed the wasteland how hard it is to make a species extinct. The Stable released a changeling from it's captivity before shutting behind her, and within her first few days the Lovebug, along the side of one of our favorite Vanhoover heroes, Sentinel. Together they cleared out a fortress of raiders and slew a brute, freeing up the trade miles round from those .She may seem nice and soft on the outside fellows, but try not to shoot at her. She just might leave you positively stunned with the results. This is Mr.Hoofington, and welcome to the wastelands. Next song goes out from me out to you."

The music started up again, another melody of which I hadn't heard before and Cait couldn't suppress a wide grin from ear to ear, "Seems like you've joined the ranks." he suppressed a snicker.

I frowned, looking down and clicking the radio off, "But... I didn't do that much... If it weren't for you, Id be paste on the side of a wall right now. Plus, I was working with you, not this Sentinel guy Cait."

Cait rolled his eyes, "Maybe, though don't worry too much about it. Though he gave you a nice nickname hmm?"

I dead panned at him, "Pardon?"

He suppressed another snicker, "Lovebug?"

I facehoofed, "Cait?"

"Yes?"

"No." I stated with as much force as I could muster... Might as well of intimidated a newborn kitten with as much force as it was...

Cait rolled his eyes, "Then think of a new name."

I sighed, "Can't rush that..." to be honest, I hadn't given it much thought. There just wasn't names for Changelings in Stable 103. Just designations. The ponies had names, sure, but those were only for them. What would a race of bug-like-ponies even choose for names?

"Then it's Lovebug until you think of one." Cait replied in what he probably was a smart tone. It came across as obnoxious, I sighed quietly.

I tried dragging his attention elsewhere, "Is there something else you need to do nearby on the way to civilization?"

Cait chuckled, "Unless you want to deal with Radspids a bit north for a hunting job. Didn't accept it, though I bet the guy who would of hired us would reward us anyway for doing it for him."

"Radspids?"

Cait rolled his eyes, "Radioactive Spiders. Think itty bitty eight legged insect with poison and fangs but mutated into twice the size of a pony. Not nearly as fast as their smaller kin, but much... much... more deadly. Ever hear a story about Somepony or Brahmin who had their insides turned into liquids? That's the result of Radspid bite after a while. Tartarus of a lethal poison. Though it's easily treated with Anti-venom; assuming that you have any." He pulled a circular vile from his bag and tossed it to me, "That's for if you get bit."

I caught it and put it away in my bags, "What's the plan?"

Cait shrugged, "Was going to throw some incendiary grenades into their nest and just slaughter whatever I could with my sword. But with you here with both me and Scrapyard, I thin we could clear it out and salvage its contents before burning the nest. What do you think?"

I deadpanned at Cait, "You want us to risk our lives in a greater fashion than the other plan in order to get whatever loot there is inside the nest? Baring that there aren't enough of these radspids in this nest to overwhelm us entirely?"

Cait scratched his chin with a hoof as if considering the statement before grinning widely at me, "Eeyup."

"..."

I moaned to myself again, aiming both pistol and varmint rifle, the later held in magic, at another two of the monstrous glowing spiders and firing before they lunged at me. How the buck did Cait managed to convince me that this was a good idea?! Oh that's right, he hadn't. I rolled out of the way of another of the huge beasts dropping from the ceiling and fired two shots into his butt. killing it as the rounds when right through the carapace into something else.

Click went the varmint rifle, it's final rounds expended and I swapped my grip to the shotgun, managing to shoot several grouped up spiders in the face and causing them to wince as I reloaded my pistol. Backing up to a web covered wall as they shot yet another barrage of web and their kin at me. I sprinted forward, trying to ignore the pain of what felt like duck tape ripping from my hooves as I traversed the web covered floors.

These spiders were magnificent in another light. Their fangs sharpened to ever so slightly curved points. Legs armored and widely extended in order to preserve their balance and leap. Their webs had enough potency to wrap up several victims of about pony size and shape as well as a larger creature of some sort with two heads. None of them alive. I frowned as I raced along the piles of gore only Cait could of been responsible from. The light of my pipbuck quickly becoming the only way to brighten the way ahead of me. I shot the faintly yellow lights when they appeared, and was rewarded as each one quickly died as their softer backsides were punctured by the bullets I did have.

I spent time as I ran through the next section of cleared caves reloading the three weapons I had while going around another turn in the tunnel. A faint light ahead giving me brief warning as more of the creatures leapt towards me. I dived down, sliding beneath their large forms, the ticking noise from my pipbuck confirming that they were emitting radiation as I passed through them. The action sending the front side ambush into the spiders behind me as I galloped towards the light.

The light had lead to a chamber of similar size as the automated farms back in stable 103. That is to say, it was massive. Lit only by a few holes in it's ceiling, and the walls, floors, and even ceiling, were all covered in large webs. In the center of the room was the largest radspid yet. It was massive, bigger than the average prewar two story house. In an insect society this would be considered the queen. Judging from the eggs it was laying on a wall. it was probably the mother of the countless glowing insects I had seen before. Cait of course, was stuck to a web halfway up, surrounded by several of the large Radspids. One taking the motion to bite at his forcibly exposed throat.

I slipped into S.A.T.S. and fired off three rounds. The first round going wide and hitting a cable of web and the second shot missing the intended target, the head, instead making a hole in it's abdomen. I could see the wound leak a sickly yellow gel like substance as the third shot struck it again and the spider collapsed, taking two of it's buddies with it as it fell down off the wall. Three shots down, two left in the clip. I jumped, barely in time to avoid another of the Luna damned things as they erupted from the cave entrance behind me. Luckily for me, the things couldn't fly. Though that didn't stop them from spewing balls of sticky web at me. Several almost grazing me as I rolled, hugging the rifle to me as the magical concentration needed to hold and move the gun broke.

Within moments the air was full of web as the spiders worked to bring me down, I could see Cait struggling with his magic to draw the sword as the remaining spiders approached him. I had an idea, with a warcry that came out as a quiet scream I bore down upon the first spider, moving as though to attack him. Then I veered away as he raised his legs up to strike at me. He was hit with several balls of webs. I repeated the motion with the rest of the spiders around him. Giving Cait much needed time as I veered away and the big spider, the mother presumably, began to jab at me with it's mighty legs, each jab causing a large indentation in the wall to hold two ponies.

"Cait!" I called out, the air growing ever thicker with webs and had to backpedal as one of the spiders lunged from a wall at me, forcing me to brake or be tackled to the ground by the monster, "Fire please?!" I shouted at him. He nodded, finally wresting his sword free and cutting himself, he used the sticky webs attached to his back to maneuver his weapon. A small metal apple with a red band on it. I flew upward and toward him as he chucked the apple with his magic into the side of the monstrous queen of spiders.

Several webs collided with that grenade. Causing it to veer off course and hit the ground with a sticky 'Tink!' sound. Several moments passed by and nothing happened, was it a dud? Please not let it be a-

It exploded. In fire covered webbing that was strewn everywhere around it. The fire ball that erupted causing dozens upon dozens of webs and spiders to ignite. The panicked brethren scurrying around in complete disorganization causing the fire to spread as inflamed spiders bumped into more, setting the entire bunch on fire. With it the sickly smell of burning flesh and heavy amounts of smoke. I flew over to where I last saw Cait, grabbing him and hoisting him into my arms and away from the sticky web net. I quietly told him off, "Next time you say, 'Lets raid a Radspid nest, it'll be easy.' I'm going to kick you and scream..."

He chuckled as I struggled to let him down to the air vent, all the spiders milling about in fear and confusion as the queen now fought to keep the flaming ones off of itself. I let him down with a sigh and we held onto each other while we sprinted to the exit. The cave was quickly filling with smoke, fire licking at our hind hooves as we ran. It was getting harder to breathe, the smoke was suffocating the higher elevations of air as we rose up hill. Passing many spiders, either dead from the bullets or slashes we had given them on the way in, or withering on the ground as smoke choked at them.

Scrapyard came up to our sides, covered in the glowing blood of the spiders, several metal cases. What he had been doing while I was rescuing his master I didn't want to know. But judging from how most of it was around his mouth, I made note not to let him lick me until he got a proper mouthwash. I saw the light of the exit and pushed us further on, Cait pushing faster as well as Scrapyard in a final desperate sprint for the exit as smoke threatened to make us collapse breathless.

With a scream we flew threw the air and hit the cold rocky ground on our sides, skidding several feet as fire consumed the entrance. We laid there, breathing the deep ground, and coughing our lungs out releasing the smoke they had inhaled. Several minutes later they rested on the ground, before Cait commented, "I bet Celestia couldn't dream of a better exit without explosions." he started to chuckle, being joined with Scrapyard as the two started to laugh. It was contagious as I felt myself grin despite myself and let out a quiet giggle a well.

Our laughs were cut short by a deafening roar of pain from within the caves. The queen spider no doubt, the suspicions confirmed as a monstrous flaming carapace leg erupted from the inferno, soon joined by another, then another as the giant came out, "It's not dead?!" Cait voiced my thoughts and leapt up into action, his shotgun floating out beside him as Scrapyard rolled back onto his feet and bolted around, looking for a place no doubt that wasn't on fire to attack. I took to the air, I drew my pistol with my mouth and gripped the Varmint rifle with my magic again, It was running pitifully low but I had to endure for now. I Saw Cait opened fire and the thing began to turn as I slipped into the calm and tranquility of S.A.T.S. to aim.

It was weaker now, the pipbuck confirmed that while I aimed, but far from crippled. The only exposed points in which I would have the greatest damage was also the lowest chances of accuracy, the eight beady eyes that remained safe from the fire despite the res of it's flaming body. I dumped the entirety of the action points into firing the remaining rounds of my pistol and activated it, firing four rounds at it's face.

None of it connected, all the shots hitting the area around its face, only furthering it's animalistic rage as it thrashed, I reloaded both the depleted Varmint rifle and my pistol as it charged towards Cait, he dived under the flaming spider, barely managing not to get trampled on as he fired upward into it's gut.

The effect was immediate, the spiders weakened carapace giving way as it's internal organs began to spill out, though to my shock it continued on fighting, biting at the three of us more and more viciously, on it's death throes no doubt wanting to take all thee of us out with it. We barely managed to stay away from it long enough, peppering it with shotgun ammo as it burned. The creature having taken about five more minutes and the remainder of my Varmint rifle's ammo before dying with a final spine chilling scream. Cait stabbed it in the head several times with his sword though, just to make sure.

Then my adrenaline wore off, my body becoming oh so aware of the several near death experiences the past hour had provided, and I collapsed onto my legs, feeling too sore to move. This had been far worse than any military drill that the instructors had thrown at me. Going through that nest was a lot harder than the standardized jogs around the arena during training. That didn't have you sprinting full tilt down and then back up a sloped tunnel. I rolled over to stare at the ever present cloudy sky. Feeling my legs whine as I pulled up the sleeves of my barding, allowing them to feel the comfort of cool air rather than the sweat, bug blood, and dried webbing and soot that had accumulated on the barding. They seemed to like that a bit more at least, though Cait merely shook his head and chuckled at the side of me panting in exhaustion belly up.

"So what now?" I asked after a while, taking one of my canteens from the bag and drinking some of the stale water for my parched throat. It tasted like metal, but it was better than nothing.

He gave his usual cocky grin, "Now we wait for the fire to die down, then we loot the place and leave."

I stared at the fire that was still raging in the cave, then back at him. His grin was only growing wider, I sighed, we were going to be here a while it seemed, Though my body didn't mind, we could use the rest. Even if it was just waiting around.

Footnote: Level up: New Perk: Better Bug Flier!: You are better at aerial maneuvers in the air! how much better you ask? 20% better! This means while flying you are also move as if you are 2 points higher in agility than you normally are on land and temporarily bypass the maximum to 11! As Dash says, it is always best to be at 110%!

Quest Perk added: Bug Stomper I: You've killed enough bug type enemies to deal 5% more damage to any bug type enemy such as Rad scorpions, Giant Ants, Radspids, etc. Does this count as mass murder if your species are called 'bug ponies'? No idea.

Note Added: Radspid nests: Radspids are dangerous arachnid species with venom that liquefies internal organs within minutes. These monsterous giants often live in swarms underground and come in three varieties. Glowers, leapers, and Queens. Often nicknamed the Shooters, jumpers, and Eggers respectively based on their role in the nest. The glowers are primary hunters who bring prey back to the nest in order to keep fresh prey for the other two sub-species. Their bodies are atypically aglow in radiation similarly to that of the Queen, though their brethren, the Jumpers, aren't. The jumpers act as security in the nest, stopping any intruders with ambushes and guarding the queen who lays the multitudes of eggs in the nest. The best tactic to exterminate a nest is lots and lots of fire, an excessive amount of firepower, and explosives. The Queen must be killed otherwise it will only be a matter of days before the nest rebuilds itself. All of these are kill on sight for there is no bargaining with these foul creatures.

Next Chapter: Chapter 8: Of Squirmy things and Memories Estimated time remaining: 14 Hours, 27 Minutes