.:+:.

Pillar.

It was a settlement built into and around the sides of a major stability structure holding up the highway, and it had partially crumbled to the ground. Several slabs were pulled apart into piles with shabby metal sheets welded together among the debris to make homes, nestled around the base in between the rocky ground that rose up unevenly around us for miles. Most of them were small, probably only housing two or three- and from the size of the town there probably weren’t more than two dozen ponies out here- reasonable, considering this was ‘DireWolf Country’. There were a few little homes built into the side of the crumbled support where it had fallen away enough to remain level, with makeshift catwalk attached to a pulley system under the highway would raise the supports up to those homes. I could see the largest building encircled the bottom of the support, it seemed to have been given the most care in its bringing up- because the metal work had been executed with more care and detail than the rest, the doors were real apart from the draping’s that covered entrances to the rest, and it was painted with gray and brown hues to keep it hidden among the rocks.

But it looked deserted, absolutely deserted…. I shuffled my hooves from where I was looking a safe distance away on the uppermost part of an off-ramp that ran over Pillar, my eyes narrowed as my now slightly enhanced vision worked to make out any sign of movement that perhaps my E.F.S. wasn’t picking up on. My ears perked at the intense sound of absolute silence.

“How far off is the Clinic?” I asked with a glance over my shoulder toward Whiskey who stood just behind me, looking the silent settlement over with narrowed eyes. He hadn’t said a lot while we walked here, and I hadn’t gotten into telling him about letting Zero bite me- figuring it would be best to leave that for another time. It had taken the rest of the day and now we were on into the morning of the next …. He hadn’t even pressed about the stripes in my wings again. I figured he would, but maybe later…..

The copper Buck looked toward me, his eyes leaving Pillar rather hesitantly. “It’s only got ta be a bit down the road from ‘ere.” He answered and shrugged at me. “I’ve lonesome been up this way, an’ never toward the Clinic.” I gave him a flat stare.

“Oh really?” I asked, and he quirked an eyebrow. “You? Mister ‘I gotta scavenge from every mailbox and rubble pile near BaleFire’ but a century old Medical Clinic- you wouldn’t even attempt?”

“The folks here in Pillar cleaned it out a lon’ time ago.” Whiskey countered, “If there was anythin’ worth takin’- it’s gone already.” I rolled my eyes but gave up.

“Fine, whatever.” I muttered. “Think there’s anypony down there?” A waved a hoof out toward the seemingly deserted settlement below us.

“Only one way ta find out.” Whiskey murmured, trotting past me and down the off-ramp without bothering to see if I or Zero was following. I shook my head and followed, always keeping an eye on my E.F.S. in case anything popped up.

We walked through the small houses and buildings slowly, my eyes scanned every side and Whiskey walked in the front, stopping to peer inside the drapery covering the entrance to a house. He didn’t find anything I suppose, because he backed out without a word. I broke off from him to push my way through a home, it was small inside with a half-broken chair in the corner and a dirty mattress on the floor. There was a footlocker at the foot of the mattress, I felt an urge to pick the lock on it- but I stopped myself before I did. That was somepony’s property there, this was a civilized town…. I couldn’t go stealing things.

I came back out to see Whiskey down a ways, peering inside each little house as he passed them. Then I noticed that Zero was standing still, ears back against his head and green eyes narrowed at every little thing he saw, jaws parted in a half-snarl. I blinked, walking over to him.

“Something wrong?” I asked and the DireWolf didn’t look to me.

“Air smells foul.” The creature replied lowly. “Smells of….. Dark Magic, and blood.” He muttered and I perked at the words,

“Dark Magic?” I echoed, how could anything smell Dark Magic anyway? And why would it be here? Zero nodded his head slowly and walked forward, I followed.

“Zero….. not sure he recognizes this scent.” He grumbled, tails flicking back and forth. My PipBuck clicked whenever I was near him, but the minor Radiation that seeped off his claws didn’t seem to affect me.

“Hey Darlin’.” I looked ahead as I heard Whiskey call to me from up ahead, Zero kept up a loping pace as I sped up to a trot to reach Whiskey, following his marker on my E.F.S. to find him standing outside the largest building in the center of the small settlement, the one I had noted was more carefully built than everything else as it wrapped around the support holding up the Highway above us. Whiskey nodded his head at me as I appeared and nudged the door to the building open slowly, “Ya migh’ wanna take a look..” He murmured lowly and I blinked, stepping forward to push my way inside- and promptly felt my stomach flip.

“Oh… no….” I whispered, scrunching my eyes closed and trying very hard not to throw up. I leaned against the door-frame, craning my neck to breath the fresh air just outside in an attempt not to breath the stench that rolled out.

The inside was covered in blood, the dismembered piles of ponies with their coats skinned were strewn about the floor- their skins were hung up on lines made of their organs. Here and there were piles of glowing ash, some of the ponies weren’t skinned- but it looked like by some strange power they had been turned inside out. Their organs and skeletons served as their coat, everything else had been turned to the inside. The room smelt of decomposition that I guessed must have been going on for a good amount of time, I had to wonder if the message my PipBuck had gotten had come too late…..

‘Ooooh, looks like somepony found another thing organs can be used for!’ The Little Me hopped up and down in glee, clearly referring to the intestines that had been used as lines to hang pony coats on.

“Why don’t you ever…… warn me…?” I muttered with a very dirty look at Whiskey who just stared right back.

“Warnin’ ya, won’t make ya get used ta it any faster.” Was his simple reply. I shook my head and focused on breathing in deeply until I had settled down enough to walk inside a little more, when I did Whiskey followed me in. I stepped around a pile of glowing ash and then hopped over an inside-out pony, almost slipping on the blood that pooled around the floor and face-planted, but I caught myself before that.

I walked around, looking at how many there were, at all the horror-stricken faces, if there was a face left to look at. Some ponies were just torsos, others were just legs, I felt like the entire settlement was inside that room.

“This is… horrible….” I muttered,

“This isn’t righ’….” Whiskey mumbled and I nodded, but he wasn’t saying it in the same sense I was thinking it. I looked over to see him running a hoof over a wall, wiping away the blood to reveal black… as if it had been burned. “Non’ o’ this is righ’……” He turned away from the wall with a serious look and stopped before a pony who was turned-inside out. “I’ve never seen these kinds o’ kills before…. This is jus’…… weird…”

“What the hell are these?” I mumbled, pointing at a pile of glowing ash and getting so close my hoof was dusted with it. Whiskey glanced across the room toward me and seemed to frown.

“A pony.” He murmured, I drew my hoof back as if I had been bitten, shaking it wildly to rid it of the dust.

“A pony?!” I yelled, how could that be a pony?! “Why, how-?!” I gasped, Whiskey sighed.

“It happens when ya get hit with a Magic Energy Weapon, turns ya ta ash within a second.” He explained, “So fair warnin’, if ya don’ wanna be ash, don’ get hit with one o’ those weapons.” He waved a hoof at me and I closed my eyes, I can’t believe I touched ash-pony…… as if skinned, inside-out, and dismembered ones weren’t enough…..

“Ah’m sorry ta say it Darlin’.” He continued, walking through the blood without even flinching as he made his way toward me. “Bu’ I think that message ya picked up ju’ been playin’ over an’ over. Ain’t nobody left, not here, and certainly not at the Clinic. It’s been too long, they’re all dead.”

I shook my head at him and closed my eyes, “That may be true, but we still need to try.” I murmured. “We need to check the Clinic, the pony who sent out the broadcast may be dead…. But still, we have to know. I have to know.” I looked to him and he looked right back, he didn’t seem happy with my decision.

“Why do ya care?” He asked and I blinked, “These are people ya don’ know. Ya owe nothin’ ta ‘um, and yet yer still tryin’ to help ‘um.” He waved a hoof at the room. “These ain’t people who’ll pay ya. Yer gonna waste time fer ‘um, fer nothin’?”

I smiled slightly. Whiskey always got paid for what he did, he didn’t do something just out of the goodness of his heart. Even back when I first ran into him, he had been paid to kill those Raiders. He saved me because he thought he could get something out of me- because I knew how to get into ShieldTune and he wanted in. He was getting something back for everything, that’s why he was here…… but this was against everything he was used to.

“I don’t care if I get paid.” I answered simply. “I don’t care if it’s a waste of time, at least I’m trying. At least, if there is anypony alive here, then I can help them. Not for money, not for gain, but because they need my help and I’m happy to give it to them.” Whiskey narrowed his eyes. “It seems to me, there is a very big shortage on ponies who’re willing to lend a hoof to help. So, as long as I can, I’m going to help anypony who needs it.”

Whiskey shook his head at me and sighed, seeming to think my resolution was stupid one though he didn’t voice that thought. “Whatever Darlin’…. If ya wanna go check the damn Clinic then fine. We’re ahead o’ schedule thanks ta yer fas’ flyin’, but jus’ hope we don’ run inta whatever did all this.” He walked away toward the door, and I followed with a grin- feeling as if I had won because he had given in so easily. We emerged from the building in single file, I carefully closed the door behind us and breathed deeply. “Ya still wanna check the rest o’ the houses?” Whiskey asked and I nodded,

“Please,” I murmured and he walked off.

“I’ll check the rest on the ground, ya can take yer fancy wings an’ check the ones up there.” He gestured toward the houses that rose up along the support pillar and nestled into the crumbled sections of it, the part of Pillar that was accessible only by the pulley system catwalks if you couldn’t fly. I nodded in agreement and we parted ways momentarily.

I found Zero sitting just next to a section of the catwalk that had been downed, his head tilted up toward the rising sections of houses silently. “What? See something?” I asked as I came up.

“No.”

I slowly nodded once and flared my wings out, kicking off and flapped down, rising up to the first ring, and peering inside the small house. Nothing. So I climbed higher and checked the next, and the next… still nothing. I got all the way to the top and lighted down on the small walkway that attached to the pillar and lead up to the house. Every one of them had this, so a pony could easily step off onto the walkway and reach their home once they were lifted up here. It was a smart system I supposed, if you were up high, and you lived this deep in DireWolf Country- being off the ground was helpful. I wondered why the entire settlement hadn’t been raised…

I nudged the curtain in the doorway aside and stepped in, my eyes adjusting almost instantly to the gloom inside. This one was much the same as the rest, a mattress on the floor, maybe a chair or stool and a footlocker as well. I blinked when a sheet hanging at the back of the little room shifted slightly, I walked forward and placed forth a hoof- the cloth gave way, and I pulled it off to reveal a small little room that was completely dark. It must be a small little hole dug into the support of the highway,

I stepped forward, my eyes were adjusting again, and ducking so my head didn’t hit the low clearing for the opening. I scanned it quickly, doubting there would be anything in such a small hole, but curious none the less-

BAM!!!!!!!

My body lurched back and I hit the floor of the house, my vision black and my mind following fast as pain seared through my forehead and the world spun, my ears ringing incessantly….

.:+:.

“You shot me!!!” I yelled, rubbing my forehead with a hoof and scarlet in the face as I glared at the small peach colored unicorn standing before me looking dejected- she barely reached my shoulder she was so short. I stomped my hoof down. “YOU FUCKING SHOT ME!!!!” I roared, and her pink eyes met my furious red ones slowly.

“With a rubber bullet.” She mumbled but I barely heard her.

“You still shot me damn it!!!” I snapped and she sighed, rubbing a hoof through her tan mane slowly.

“Look, I’m sorry alrigh’?” She mumbled, she floated the extremely rusted pistol from beside her and over to me, turned the safety on and set it down next to me. “I didn’t realize who ya were. Ya startled me, I apologize.” She sighed again when she noticed I wasn’t calming down much. She extended a hoof toward me in earnest, “Look, calm yer horse-apples and give me a break. I’ve been up here survivin’ on Sparkle-Cola fer a week! I’ve got right to be a bit jumpy, have ya seen Pillar lately?” She sighed and shook her head. “Name’s Cream Soda. Ya can call me Cream though.”

I glared, my forehead was pounding in pain and my ears had only just stopped ringing- I was sure I had a red mark on my face from the damn bullet- and it hurt! I don’t care if it was rubber, she was close to shooting me at point-blank! It was just lucky her gun was in such bad repair that it didn’t do more damage when she fired- yay for my luck, huh? And you know, why do I even have a PipBuck anymore?! Either the damn thing failed to pick up on Cream Soda’s presence or I was just too stupid to notice it on my E.F.S.

I glanced to her outstretched hoof a moment, debating on whether or not I should shake it, I was fairly miffed and that made my inclination to be polite a little low-
“FLASH!!?” My head swiveled around at the very angry yell coming from outside, followed by a very annoyed bark that was borderline head-pounding howl that I hated oh so much. I looked back to Cream and shook her hoof with my own once,

“That’s my name.” I told her with a flick of my head toward the entrance, before trotting out and looking out over the edge of the walkway. Whiskey had apparently come running when he heard the shot, and probably when I started yelling too- because he was standing next to Zero looking up at me with his teeth chomping at the trigger to his battle-saddle, looking ready for a fight. Zero was next to him, bristling and tense.

“What in the hell is going on?!” He snapped once he saw my face pop out, I was aware he had been yelling while I snapped Cream’s head off though I had ignored him. “Who's shootin’?!”

“It's fine!” I called down, “I found one of Pillar’s ponies, she was hiding up here.” I paused, scowling. “She shot me in the face,” I could see both Zero and Whiskey’s eyes grow wide, both of them looked dumbfounded for a minute.

“She what?!” Whiskey snapped, “How do ya still got a head on yer shoulders then, girl?!!”

“With a rubber bullet and a shitty gun.” I continued, and they both relaxed a little. “Uh, give me a minute boys. We’ll be down in a moment,” I turned away before either of them could protest, and headed back inside to see Cream right where I had left her. She looked to me,

“How many are ya?” She asked and I blinked,

“Just three.” She nodded, “What happened here? We were passing by on the way to the Roadside Clinic.” I explained and she visibly shuddered,

“Uh…. It’s hard to explain.” She mumbled, “It happened in a second, everypony was fine and then there was shoutin’ and runnin’ and…. Killin’.” She swallowed. “I ran up here, thinkin’ it was DireWolves or somethin’ like that but it wasn’t…. Once I got up here, the catwalk pulley collapsed and I was stuck. I saw everypony run inside the Main Hall, there was a lot of screamin’ and then nothin’. Nopony came back out.” I blanched a little, she hadn’t seen the inside of that building…. I wasn’t sure I wanted her to.

“But you didn’t see what attacked all of you?” I asked and she shook her head.

“Wasn’t anythin’ I had ever seen before. No DireWolves, radhogs, not even raiders…… they were, well- they looked like ponies but they weren’t.” I quirked an eyebrow. “They were big and strong and fast, all dark, I didn’t see a lot before comin’ up but they were all chantin’ something I didn’t catch.” I stared a moment, Cream Soda ran a hoof through her tan locks incessantly as if thinking about it was maddening to her. It would seem that anypony who had been left alive after all of this hadn’t seen what had attacked them, and anypony who did was probably in the ‘Main Hall’ dead. That was great…. But at least we were safe, there wasn’t any other markers on my E.F.S. besides the yellow ones of Whiskey, Zero and Cream.

“Alright….” I sighed, shaking my coat out a little. “How about you let me bring you down? You can’t stay up here anymore, and the catwalks are out.” I extended a wing her way and smiled, “Looks like I’m your ticket out of here.” Cream looked me over a moment like she was deciding whether or not she wanted my help, how could she not though? Unless she wanted to break something jumping down or starve, I was her best bet and she must know it.

“Ya sure ya can hold me an’ not drop me?” She asked and I scoffed,

“Tiny little you?” I countered and she frowned, I shook my head. “Yes, I can carry you no problem- and I won’t drop you. I’ll have you know, I have a companion down there I carried for hours on end just the other night, and he’s a bit heavier than you. You’ll be fine.” She got to her hooves slowly and walked out the door behind me, I glanced back to see her give my flank a small glance.

“You ain’t a Dashite?” She murmured and I shook my head, she stared at me. “But… you ain’t with the Enclave are ya? Ya don’t really look like you are..”

“No, I’m not with the Enclave either. It’s sort of a long story,” I gave her a reassuring smile, “Trust me, you’re fine with us.” She gave me a very flat stare,

“Trustin’ people ain’t really somethin’ ya can do out here.” She muttered and I sighed, right… I was talking to a pony who was born and bred in the Wasteland, but not even Whiskey was that blunt.

I flapped my wings to lift into the air outside and moved over above Cream Soda, wrapping my hooves around her small form and taking off. She was much lighter than Whiskey was, she felt like I was carrying a feather. We made it away from the catwalk where I angled down gently until we reached the ground, all the while Cream was looking out around Pillar with a very sad expression. I looked down to see that one of my two companions had gone missing, I had to wonder what that DireWolf was doing half the time when I wasn’t looking..

Whiskey looked up as we drew nearer, eyes narrowed at the pony I was bringing to him. I let Cream go gently and touched down myself beside her, looking to Whiskey I blinked. “Where’d Zero go?” I asked and he huffed,

“Somethin’ abou’ sniffin’ around, Ah think,” He muttered.

“Everybody’s dead righ’?” Cream mumbled beside me and I exchanged a look with Whiskey- only his eyes were glued to Cream Soda as if she were some sort of odd enmity he had never come across before.

“Yep.” He murmured and Cream looked to him.

“There might be some of your friends hiding out in the Ministry Of Peace Clinic.” I cut in, “They sent out an Emergency Broadcast asking for help- that’s why we were heading that way.” I was being ignored, Cream pointed a hoof at Whiskey with her pink eyes narrowed at him.

“I know you,” She said suddenly and Whiskey blinked in apparent surprise. “Ya came through once…. Yer the pony who shot Ol’ Uncle Dusty while ya were piss-ass drunk!” Her frown at him turned into a wide grin, Whiskey shuffled his hooves a little and looked away while my jaw dropped. “Ol’ fodder-for-brains was mad for years after it, always limping around from that shot ya put in his ass, hehe!”

“You shot somepony here?!” I snapped, Cream didn’t seem to think it was such a big deal, but I on the other hand thought differently. Whiskey glanced to me, “What the hell?!”

“Ah was drunk.” Was his flinty reply, “An’ Ah didn’ kill him.”

“You still shot him!” I snapped back, “Shooting ponies isn’t right even if you don’t kill them!” I gave both Whiskey and Cream Soda a very dirty look, my forehead still stung and Cream looked away. I stomped a hoof down and glared at the both, “New rule! No shooting ponies unless they shoot at you first!”

Cream and Whiskey exchanged glances with each other, and Cream leaned over toward him. “She ain’t from around here is she?” She asked simply and Whiskey shook his head, “She one of those Stable folk?”

“Nope. Bu’ she sure as hell acts like it.” He replied and I scowled. What? Just because I said shooting ponies was bad? That you need to wait and shoot them only after they shoot at you? It made plenty of sense to me, but apparently to ponies who were born and raised in the ways of the WasteLand- I sounded like somepony who’d come fresh out of a Stable.

“UGHH!” I groaned, bringing my hoof to my face and shaking my head.

“Golden-Mane upset?” I let my hoof fall away from my face as Zero appeared beside me, taking a seat down next to where I was. How did he manage to sneak up on me without hearing him? “Is Golden-Mane alright?” The tip of one of his tails flicked my forehead gently, right where Cream’s rubber bullet had pounded my brain. I sighed,

“Upset? Yes. Alright? Yeah...” I mumbled and looked away. I think Cream must have jumped six feet in the air, before she struggled backward on flailing hooves and hit her ass on the rocky earth, sending up a flurry of dust while shouting out several curses.

“The fuck!? Shoot it, Drunk-Shot! Shoot it already! It’s a damn DireWolf!!” Cream snapped, going to grab my shotgun in her magical grasp as I felt it shift on my shoulders. I blinked at the reaction, slow to understand why she was acting like that…… then I remembered that DireWolves weren’t friends to these ponies- most of the time.

Wait, who is she calling ‘Drunk-Shot’? Whiskey? I looked to him to see he had closed his eyes at the name and shook his head as if it exasperated him somehow.
I grabbed my shotgun with my hooves as Cream started pulling at it harder, “Calm down! Calm down!” I told her quickly, “He’s not gonna eat you! This is Zero, he’s with us!” Cream gave me an incredulous look, like I had told her to put a pistol in her mouth and pull the trigger.

“With you?!” She yelled, “You’re traveling with a DireWolf?! ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?!?!?” I winced at the noise of her voice cutting through the silence of Pillar.

Whiskey glanced over toward me, and smirked- a smirk I could see because he had pulled the bandana off his muzzle. He waved a hoof at the freaking-out figure of Cream Soda as she still gaped at me with wide, astonished eyes. “Ya see, Darlin’?” He said and I frowned, “Ah ain’t the only one who thinks yer crazy. Makin’ friends with a DireWolf is crazy.”

“Oh shut it!” I snapped, “You warmed up to him didn’t you?” I countered and he sighed.

“No’ exactly.” He muttered with a shake of his head and looked away from me to set his teal gaze on Cream Soda. “Lookie ‘ere, Ah agree with ya- goin’ along with a DireWolf is insane, bu’ so far there ain’t been any problems. Yer gonna be fine, so ya can relax now.” He walked forward and extended a hoof to help her back up from where she was in the dirt. “If’n he does try anythin’, Ah plan ta shoot first an’ ask questions later.” He said those next words with a look at me, and I snorted.
Zero had remained sitting where he was next to me, watching in neutral silence as Cream Soda continued to look back and forth between all three of us. He didn’t seem disturbed by what had happened, which I suppose all of this was a more or less normal reaction he received most of the time. I glanced his way to see if he was going to say anything, but I don’t think he noticed my gaze on him- he was too busy looking at Cream in silence.

Cream took Whiskey’s hoof slowly as he pulled her to her hooves and nodded at him slightly. She seemed to think the plan of Whiskey shooting Zero was a good one, and relied on that to let her relax a little.

“Ok!” I said suddenly, trying to break the tenseness. “Cream, we’re gonna head out over toward the MOM Clinic to see if anypony else made it out of here alive. How long ago was it when this place got attacked?”

“And by what?” Whiskey broke in. Cream sighed,

“Maybe a week, and I don’t know what killed everybody.” She replied, “Like I already explained ta Flash- they weren’t nothin’ I had ever seen before, they were somethin’ the Wastes made up all new an’ such.” Whiskey blinked, and I thought back to what he had said about the ways in which the ponies of Pillar had been killed. That he hadn’t recognized those kind of kills before- so maybe what Cream said had some truth, but what could the WasteLand have come up with that neither ponies like those of Pillar and even Whiskey didn’t know what they were.

But a week had passed since the Broadcast was sent out, there was a good chance no one was left to be saved…… but still I was determined to try.

“Right… right…” Whiskey murmured, at the answer that Cream gave. He sat down and pressed a hoof to his chin, his eyes closing and going into deep thought.

“Cream Soda?” I called her attention to me as Whiskey faded off into his own thoughts. Her pink eyes met mine, “What do you plan to do? I mean…. There isn’t anyone here in Pillar left, you’re all alone.” Cream nodded slightly,

“I know, but I don’t have a plan. I’ve been in Pillar my whole life, I got nowhere else ta go….” She sighed and closed her eyes, “I’ll probably have ta pick up an’ head off toward the nearest settlement…. Bu’ there really ain’t many around that are all that friendly.” She opened her eyes and looked to the ground. “An’ getting’ anywhere is gonna be hard on my lonesome.” She sighed and turned toward the surrounding ruin of Pillar, eyes narrowed and rubbing a hoof through her mane a few times.

“Come with us then.” I said suddenly and her head snapped toward me. She stared in confusion and I trotted forward, “Come with us to the Clinic, see if anypony’s there. The least you can do is look.” She gave me a look that told me she doubted anypony would be there and still alive. “Look, if there is somepony- that way you have a pony you know. You can travel in a band and make your way somewhere safe.” Cream nodded a little after a moment to muse over it and sighed.

“….Ya may be right. I gotta try at least.” She smiled, a small smile that didn’t show any hope for finding anything, but a smile like she was just going to humor me, and she waved a hoof. “Lead on.”

.:+:.

We picked our way through a very full parking lot full of two century old wagons, spilling clothes, rotting food and skeletons every which way, as we slowly approached the doors of the Road-side Clinic. My ears twitched at the sound of my three companions following behind me, the sound of two hooves clopping against the asphalt and the pad of heavy paws. The Clinic was a fairly large building of soft gray color with shattered windows all around the front, the bottom floor seemed to be sinking under the weight of the next two floors on top. The outside had been landscaped to sport several different plants, all of which were dead and black now. My ears flicked forward at the sound of buzzing from up ahead, and I could hear the small soft groan of the structure as it continued to bend more and more.

It looked to me as if the back corner of the building had fallen completely, and from the looks of it the rest of it would follow at some point.

SQUELCH…

The underside of my hoof suddenly felt slick with wet, and I stopped- suppressing an involuntary shudder as I slowly lift my hoof and looked down. For what I had stepped on- it looked like a…. A……..

“Oh… Goddesses……..” I whispered, eyes falling closed and trying very hard not to pass out, or vomit. “Please….. Tell me that’s not…. What I think it is……” I could feel sick traveling up my throat slowly, I backed up and went around the side of a wagon- hopping on three hooves to avoid putting the one with liquid over it back on the ground.

I did not step on that, I did not step on that…. Oh please…. I’m a dreaming…? Tell me that I am……..

“Darlin’?” Whiskey asked from behind me, the sound of my companions walking had ceased, telling me they had come to a halt.

“She ok?” Cream Soda murmured, “She looks like she’s gonna barf..” Oh you have no….. OH!

I whipped around and threw my head over a nearby overturned wagon, the little food in my stomach was gone in a few body-wrenching spasms. Tears filled my eyes and my throat stung, breathing rapidly as I tried to bring down my rising heart rate. You know, I really don’t think I’m ever going to get used to this….. and I hate it so much.

“Ya ok?” Cream walked up, placing a hoof on my back and looking a little worried. I nodded a little,

“Uh… yeah… yeah…” I mumbled, taking a deep breath. “..Sorry…” I rubbed my hoof furiously on a threadbare blanket stuffed into the wagon, trying to get the red staining it off. Zero walked around the side of a different wagon and disappeared from sight in a moment,

“What’d ya see?” Whiskey asked, trotting past me and toward the place I had come from.

“More like… what did I step on.” I muttered, Cream blinked at me and looked about toward Whiskey as he rounded the corner.

“Ah,” We heard Whiskey murmur as he poked his head around the corner, looking no less perturbed by what had made me retch- as if it was only a wad of old clothes, “Ah’m tellin’ ya. Yer gonna have ta get used ta this stuff.”

“What was it?” Cream asked,

“I’m never going to get used to that.” I muttered with a stare at the buck, ignoring Cream. Whiskey sighed and shook his head,

“What was it?” Cream asked again, looking a bit miffed that she was being ignored.

“Head.” Whiskey replied simply. “Decapitated, clean cut too. Figure it’s probably DireWolf kill- no body ta go with it.” His ears swiveled back and forth, and he glanced around as if he was looking for something, Cream just nodded- she was used to DireWolf kills but I wasn’t. And I had stepped on that head! That wasn’t anything normal, and what happened to the body?

I knew my answer as soon as I asked the question, if there was anything in my stomach left I would have lost it- but I only gagged.

“Ore’s pack came through, two nights ago.” Zero came back into view, “Scent growing stale. Definite hunt.” He shook his massive head. “Pony never stood chance.” Whiskey nodded at the words, and as did Cream.

“Looks like one o’ Pillar’s folks, Cream.” Whiskey murmured. “Poor fool must a come ou’ and tried lookin’ fer help- only ta end up in the claws of a DireWolf.” To my utter surprise, Cream didn’t look at all sad about the news, she just nodded and sighed.

“Well, figures.” She murmured. “DireWolves get hungry, people start dyin’. Ain’t nothin’ new.” I gave her a stare and she tilted her head at me, “What?”

“Forget it.” I mumbled, I walked toward the corner and deliberately went the other way than when I had previously turned, I swished my tail at those behind me. “Come on.” How any pony could be told one of the ponies they had lived with, had just been decapitated and the rest of their body eaten- and be so calm about it, I would never know. I suppose it was something that the ponies of Pillar had come to expect…. They lived in the middle of DireWolf country, they were preyed on most of the time, I couldn’t imagine how many ponies they would lose and how often.

But I couldn’t get the look of cold, dead, paralyzed orange eyes looking up at me, mouth open and jaw twisted as a scream died on their lips….. The twisted neck spewing tendrils and blood, with their cleanly cut spine sliced in two. Their gray tongue falling from their mouth and on to the ground….

I shuddered, and shook my coat out.

The glass doors into the Clinic which had once automatically opened for you had rusted to a stop, completely closed but the glass had been broken to permit access. I stepped inside carefully, stepping over the glass gently until I was inside. Whiskey and Cream followed closely, Zero stopped outside the frames of the doors, lowering himself so he could see inside. He was too big to fit unless he broke the doors, and even if he got inside he would be crawling the whole way. I paused and glanced back so our eyes met,

“Zero will go hunt.” My DireWolf companion murmured, knowing very well he couldn’t follow us in. “Zero will keep nose up and ears sharp. Trouble comes, Zero will come back.” I nodded a little,

“Alright,” I murmured and in a moment he had slunk toward the left side of the Clinic and disappeared. Whiskey and Cream glanced toward me with raised eyebrows, “What?” I asked.

“You think it’s a good idea ta let ‘im run around alone?” Whiskey asked, “Possibly with another person ‘round? Somebody who wouldn’ take kindly ta ‘im?” Ah right, Pillar Ponies don’t make friends with DireWolves like Zero…

“Oh, well… too late.” I murmured. Cream’s eyes widened while Whiskey narrowed his, “Look, if Zero runs into one of Pillar’s ponies, I think he has enough sense not to kill them.” I smiled, hoping what I said was true. “So, shall we?”

.:+:.

“Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooo?” I called out, rather bored. My head hung as we plodded along the dark hallways of the second floor slowly, the search of the ground floor had been short- considering most of it had been buried under debris as the topmost floors sunk in on it. Whiskey and Cream followed along behind me, Cream sticking close while Whiskey peered in every desk, trash can, and container he could find. Whatever he had said earlier about this Clinic having been cleaned out seemed to be proving true, I don’t think he found anything but he was still looking everywhere he could.

I looked back and forth at my E.F.S. just in case anything showed up. Usually, if there was anything in the building I would see it on the screen. Yes, I had to be a little close, it only read up to a certain distance, and yet there wasn’t anything…. Not even the red blip of a bug or anything of that sort. The Clinic was almost too empty, and it put my mind a little on edge.

“What were ya’ll doin’ out here anyway?” Cream broke the silence between the three of us, my ear twitched toward her in response to let her know I had heard. “It ain’t often people travel out this far into DireWolf Territory.”

I waited a moment to see if Whiskey was going to answer, but he didn’t seem to be paying any attention. I wondered faintly if the copper Buck would mind if I told Cream Soda why we were so far out here….. I wasn’t sure I cared if he did mind or not. “We’re headed toward Arabino.” I answered, and I was replied to with a shocked gasp.

“Yer crazier than I thought!” Cream exclaimed, “What in hell could possibly make ya wanna go there? Into the very home of the DireWolves?!”

“To make it sound crazier…” I murmured slowly, “.. I sort of woke up there, and we’re heading back to know why… sort of.”

“Woke up?” Cream echoed and I nodded,

“Yeah, I was in a space under a building there and I woke up. I don’t remember anything, and…. Whiskey wants to go, I don’t exactly know why he does though…. But I want some answers, so we’re heading off together.” I replied lowly, “Maybe there will be something there for me…. I don’t know….”

“..if ya even make it.” Cream murmured and I paused, coming to a halt and turning to look at her. She stopped too and rubbed a hoof through her mane in embarrassment, “Look, Ah didn’t mean ta sound so negative or anythin’ its just….” She waved a hoof at me, “Ya got wings, so ya could fly all the way there probably no problem…” She drew her hoof away from my direction and gestured toward the form of Whiskey as he continued on ahead and continued to dig in containers and trash cans. “… but Drunk-Sh….. uhm, Whiskey Shot.” She corrected herself. “.. he’s good at shootin’ and he knows how ta survive out ‘ere, but he’s only got his hooves ta walk on. And even if ya carried him all the way out toward Arabino, Ah don’ think ya know how many are there.” My ears flicked, and my mind flashed to the chorus of howling that had nearly taken me from the sky. The countless figures of those creatures prowling around me, snarling, talking…. Waiting to kill me, and to probably eat me. No, I didn’t have an idea of how many DireWolves were there in Arabino, and I figured it was no small amount. I knew going there would be dangerous, and I knew searching through Arabino and ShieldTune even in the day was going to be dangerous, and even then…

“No, I don’t really.” I replied, eyes closing. “But we’re still going, we both have our reasons… and we might die, we might get hurt.” I opened my eyes to see the stain of Whiskey’s blood still clotting my coat, I had done my best to wipe some of it off but I don’t think anything less of a bath would help. “But… we’re still going to try. We’re going to look for those things we want, and maybe we find something maybe we don’t… but we’re still gonna try.”

“Yer weird.” My head snapped up and my red gaze met Cream Soda’s pink one, she looked to me with a searching expression, simply trying to understand what she couldn’t understand about me. “Not a Stable pony… not a Dashite… not Enclave.. and not somepony of the Wastes…. Ya don’ fit here…. Yer an outsider…. And yet….” She paused, her eyes narrowing at me and I just looked right back. “… there’s somethin’ there… somethin’…… cold… almost…”

I stared, I could feel blood draining from my face and my heart slowed, I felt myself grow rigid. What could she mean? Could Cream Soda, a pony I hadn’t known for more than an hour or two... could she possibly see something in me I didn’t? Something…. Cold….?

VVVVVVZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTT……………………

That same feeling of static struck through my mind and I fought the urge to wince, and flashes of a pink pony invaded my mind’s eye, replacing the sight of Cream Soda in front of me, and… and….

…… That pink Earth Pony looked up at me, and something about my face must have made something dawn on her, and tears welled up in the corners of her pale blue eyes. And I saw in her face, a look of fear, and a look of sadness unlike any I had ever seen. She saw something in me that she never thought she would, and I felt my heart drop to my stomach to think of what it was.

“……. Fine.” She whispered, looking away and rolling over on to her hooves. She stood with her back facing me, head bowed. I saw tears splash against the wood just under her, and my heart clenched at the sight. But the other me, whatever me that was…. She didn’t care when she saw the tears, all she felt was anger. “… I hope life works out for you someday… Flash…….. and I hope…. That one day, you’ll be the pony I know you are…” her voice cracked as a sob escaped her. Why was I seeing this?

“…. And maybe you won’t be…… this….”

… That small smidgen of the scene came back to me and invaded my mind, I felt my legs begin to tremble, I felt myself shrink in my own body, and Cream Soda slowly came back into view as Scarlet faded into nothing, but the feelings stayed, my feelings stayed, both parts of me… the anger, and the sadness- the fear. Fear that there was something wrong with me, something that maybe both Scarlet and now Cream Soda could see…. I was… cold… I was… Different……

My ears fell back against my head, my eyes went wide and the trembling in my legs slowly reached the rest of my body until I was shaking all over. My breaths came in panicked gasps, my head started to throb as it short-circuited over and over…

VVZZTT….. VVVZZZTTTTT……. VVVVZZZZZTTTTTTT……..!!!!

This was really happening again? My brain was on track to fry itself alive, to send me back into those... those scenes I had no idea what they were! My head was pounding, my heart was racing, I was gasping, I was shaking, my body couldn’t hold itself, my vision was fading to gray and black, I couldn’t hear anything beside the sound of cracking in my head, something was breaking, something was snapping in my mind, I can’t…. I couldn’t…..

Tears were rolling down my face, the pain was unbelievable, the cattle-prod in my head was on full blast again, my legs gave out, my head hit the floor with a pain-searing thud and I cried out in utter agony. Why does this happen? Why can’t I think of anything without running the risk of blacking out? Of frying my brain alive?

“Flash?!” Cream’s voice sounded so very far away, I could feel her hoof rest on my shoulder uncertainly, and then there was the unnatural booming echo of hooves against the tile floor of the clinic,

“Shit! Darlin’! Snap oughtta it!” Whiskey yelled, his voice was far away too and it was getting closer, I guess it was his hooves thundering over the floor as he came toward me.

“Ms. Trake…? Ms…. Trake….?” A voice croaked, catching in the throat of whoever was trying to draw my attention, I felt anger rise at the name, I hated being called…. By my last name….

“Flash.” A different voice said, much less shaky than the one before, and my anger waned for a moment- I liked it much more when ponies called me by my actual name. I hated that formal shit, I always hated that formal shit, ever since I was younger….

“…. Yeah?” My voice answered, cold as ice and flinty.

“They’re coming.” The second voice said evenly, I heard myself sigh heavily and scoff in a disgusted tone.

“No shit.” I muttered, “Get ready boys, it’s gonna be a long night. But as long as you follow my lead, you’re gonna live another day. Got it?”

“Yes ma’am!” Both voices answered, the one firm the other still trembling but they sounded determined- behind those was a chorus of other voices that seemed to be coming from several other ponies. I couldn’t see anything but black, there was no picture this time, there was nothing to see… I could only hear, only hear these voices….

“Tch….. again with the formal names…….” I hissed, but this time I chuckled slightly. “.. Ah, what the hell. Doesn’t matter now, I see the first one- on my mark,”

My heart started to slow, the pain in my head was receding and yet the tenseness in my body didn’t go away, it was getting worse. Something…. Something was coming, and it wasn’t just in my head. The thundering in my ears wasn’t Whiskey’s hooves coming at me, there were too many pairs of hooves hitting the floor, there were….. dozens, dozens of ponies coming this way- my ears twitched at every hoof-fall, I could hear them…. Why?

“One…”

… Zero bit me…. My hearing increased, my strength… everything…. I can hear them, who are they? Are they friendly? …… In my heart I knew they weren’t, on instinct I felt this.... I’m tense, I feel this, these ponies…. All of them… they’re coming… they’re coming fast, they move with purpose, they mean harm… they must…. What is that noise? That… that humming noise, the rumbling, its its…….. Chanting?

My eyes opened slowly, I could feel Cream hovering over me- Whiskey too, their voices were talking back and forth but I wasn’t listening to them. I was straining my ears to hear that noise, the humming, the sound of voices chanting in deep unison, so monotone.. so lifeless, and yet so…. Dangerous. What were they saying? I listened harder, unaware of what Cream and Whiskey were saying..

… Un…… Bal……… Or….. Order…..? Order? That couldn’t be it… there’s something else…… Un…. Unity….? Ba…lance..? And…. And………… P…eace… Peace…? And…. P…ure………

……………Pure?

“Two…”

Order, Unity, Balance, Peace and Pure? What the hell was that even supposed to mean? That doesn’t make any sense, why would they be rambling that? And why were they coming here anyway? I don’t get it….. I brought my PipBuck to my muzzle and pulled up my E.F.S. and to my confusion, there weren’t any red blips on it, not one. But there were….. there were five yellow ones? New yellow blips and no red blips?

I can’t be imagining these sounds, these are real sounds, not something my mind was throwing at me, this tenseness in my body, the slowing of my heart, the feel of dread… these aren’t feelings that aren’t real, these are things I feel now, right now. There is something coming, there are many things coming- and I can hear them, I can feel the vibrations of their hoof-falls on the floor, I know they are there, I know they are coming, but why aren’t there any red blips on my E.F.S.?

The pounding of my head had faded to a dull ache, my vision was clearer now, colors came back, the cattle prod in my head was turned off again.

“Order…. Unity…. Balance… Pure….” My ears twitched at each word, the voices still low, still rumbling, but definitely getting closer. “Purity…. Purity is Power……. Purity is Order…. Purity is Unity….. Purity is Balance…… Purity is Peace…. Unity… Balance… Pure….. Purity…” Each line was the same, the same rhythm, the same tone…..

“This has happened before?” Cream’s voice took over my attention as I continued to rest my head on the floor, hooves on either side of my muzzle and not bothering to move, staring straight ahead as I tried to focus on the chanting again.

“Yep…. An’ she was ou’ fer hours last time..” Whiskey muttered,

“That’s not really normal…” Cream mumbled, no… really?

“Three…”

“….. Purity is Balance…… Purity is Peace…. Unity… Balance… Pure….. Purity…” I blinked slowly, how odd it was there were no red blips…. And what’s with those three extra yellow ones? I suppose one could probably be Zero outside somewhere……

“… guys.” I murmured, trying to catch the attention of my two pony companions.

“Stay close to us, kid. You’ll be fine…”

My muscles tensed in readiness, my heart slowed to a calm beat, my vision grew sharp, I breathed in slowly, deeply, my body reacting on its own-

“Ah know! Damn it, this is o’ hell of a time fer ‘er to do this again!” Whiskey growled in distaste.

“Guys.” I said again, this time louder and more firm so they heard me. I closed my eyes, letting the vibrations of the hoof beats flow into my own hooves as I pressed them against the tile floor.

“She’s not blacked out!” Cream gasped in surprise, “Flash, are ya ok?”

“What happened?” Whiskey pressed,

“There are ponies here… at least I think they’re ponies…” I told them, ignoring their questions for now. “A lot of them, they’re getting closer to us…. And I don’t think they’re friendly..”

“What do ya mean?” Whiskey asked me lowly, “Ya don’ think they’re friendly? Shouldn’ yer PipBuck register tha’?”

“… My E.F.S. isn’t registering these ponies. It’s like they’re invisible,” I replied evenly,

“Then how do ya know?” Cream murmured.

“… I feel it.” I answered,

“Now!” My voice called out the order to those ponies whose voices I had heard in my head, and my body leapt into action, just as the chanting reached a high and suddenly died, but the vibrations in the floor increased, and the tile started to heat up as if somepony had lit a fire under it.

“Run!” I ordered, and I took off with both Whiskey and Cream following me closely, the tile started to crumble and melt into streams of ultra-red hot debris, instantly heated to a level so high in degree by some unknown and extremely powerful force. Cream looked over her shoulder, and then the chanting grew louder than before, over and over and I saw her eyes grow wide.

“That… that’s the chanting from before…” She whispered, stumbling a little as a look of utter horror appeared on her face. “…those thangs that killed everybody in Pillar… they’re here….” She was slowing down in her terror, and I hissed- sliding to a stop and whipping around as Cream stumbled and fell.

“Damn it…” I muttered, jumping toward the downed unicorn as Whiskey pulled ahead. I was by Cream in a single jump, and the heat under our feet was just about to reach her- so I flared my wings out and grabbed her small form in my hooves, keeping her from getting melted as the floor ran away from under us. My fur stood on end, I could feel my mane frizz up and my eyes darted toward Whiskey, who was still outrunning the melting floor. “Whiskey!” I yelled, just as the floor melted under him and he leapt from a window ahead of him to avoid the heat- sending himself straight out to fall from the second story. What had he been thinking?! Who in their right mind would jump from here?! Granted…. He hadn’t much choice.

“CREAM?!” My head snapped around at the sudden shout, easily recognizing it as the one that had sent out the broadcast, and my thoughts flashed to the two extra yellow blips on my E.F.S.. I swiveled in air to see a lean grey buck standing at the other end of the corridor we were in, a younger silver colt shivering behind him. My thoughts left Whiskey as Cream was brought back to her senses by the voice,

“Fritz?! Rocky?!” She yelled, her eyes wide in utter astonishment. “Yer alive?!” Not for long no, not with these ponies melting the floor under us and everything going to hell…. Damn it! I hate this shit, why does everything have to be so difficult? I couldn’t carry three ponies out and to safety by any means, even I wasn’t strong enough for that, even if Cream and that silver colt probably weighed almost nothing to very little. My eyes snapped down as I hovered above the entirely gone section of the second floor below me, and I saw exactly what was after us.

Dozens of long, lean, strong, and dark furred ponies- ponies with curved, twisted, murderous horns on their foreheads, glowing eyes darkened and without whites or pupils. Ponies with cleft hooves sharp enough to tear a pony’s flank apart, long, thin tails with tufts of hair on the ends, long legs, bodies and necks, tall and sleek…. All of them a sickly dark ash color, and all of them sporting garnished silver metal armor that wrapped about their torso’s with a fine fit, chainmail underneath the stronger pieces, engraving and filigree dancing across in swirling patterns. They all looked the same, the only thing that differed between them was the color of their eyes- each having their own color, and that same color shown in the glow of Magic upon their horns. I had never seen creatures like this, in my mind they were unicorns… but some twisted and freak form,

VVVVVZZZZTTTTTTTT…………

…. And now there is that, but why?

No time to think about that unfortunately, because my fur began to prickle as my eyes met the orange glowing gaze on one of those freakish unicorns, and I felt a mass of Magic spiraling around below me as they all began a Spell in unison, and aimed it at me. I pumped my wings and flew us away in an instant, heading straight toward the two unexpected arrivals and setting down, just as the building shook with a great tremor as red hot Magic shot up into the roof and burned a straight path through it, sending bits of building and whatnot flying.

“No time for greetings!” I snapped, letting Cream go and touching the floor. I waved a hoof at the colt who jumped when I looked at him, eyes alight in fear. “You, kid! You’re gonna climb on my back. Cream, are you any good with Telekinesis?” My voice rose to a commanding tone, the colt looked mortified and Cream blinked,

“Why…?” She murmured, and then her eyes went wide, realizing why before she could stop herself from asking.

“I can’t carry all of you,” I said quickly, speaking fast as I heard marching under us. “I think I can manage you and the kid, but I’ll need you to levitate him.” I pointed my hoof to the grey buck.

“Yer crazy! My Magic ain’t that strong!” Cream snapped and I sighed, nerves on high and ears twitching at the sound of the marching stopping below, my fur prickling as Magic of an extreme magnitude started to rise under us.

“No time!” I put my head under the colt and thrust up, sending him onto my back between my wings as he yelped and his hooves wrapped around my neck, shaking uncontrollably and stinking of sweat and blood. I lift off with one stroke and grabbed Cream, “Grab him now, or he’s gotta jump!” Like the other end of the corridor, there was a set of windows not four feet from us and that was our only exit. Cream’s eyes closed as her Magic flared to life and wrapped around the buck, managing to lift him an inch of the ground with a painful grunt from Cream. I flapped to bring us to the window, and the floor fell apart under us, I could feel Cream tense under the stress of keeping her friend up as the support of the floor vanished. And then there was an extreme wave of heat that rolled up to curl under my wings and lift me higher, I spared a second’s glance downward and met cold, rage filled, murderous, orange eyes.

Something hit me, it tore a hole through my flank and I gasped at the agony that followed, certain my wings would fail me there and then. Utter pain and blinding agony tore it’s way through my body as my ears heard a crash somewhere behind me- the remnants of some unnatural sphere of light faded away as it crumbled the already destroyed Building. Sticky liquid dripped down my side and I groaned, barely registering anything until the sound of the colt on my back screaming in my ear brought me back to the present,

TICK TICK TICK TICK!!!!!!!

My PipBuck was going insane with numerous warnings, and the radiation meter was ticking off the chart. The one message that flashed across my vision by Magical means was 'Torso Crippled'. Fucking great…

"G-go!! P-please!!" The colt yelled, his hooves nearly strangling me as he pushed himself forward in an attempt to yell straight into my ear. "They're firing at us again!!” Firing what I wonder? I hadn’t heard any guns... it must have been Magic.

I pushed forward in spite of the pain, forcing my hooves to wrap around Cream more tightly in fear I might drop her, and launched head first out the shattered window in front of me, the hot dusty air outside hitting my muzzle. I couldn't focus on seeing if Cream managed to bring her friend with, I could hardly see at all.
My flank burned with an agonizing pain unlike any other, my heart raced at the inflicted damage and my wings were not functioning the way they should be. I felt like my insides were being eaten away by some sort of acid, and for all I know they could be- I had no idea what I got hit with.

"Kid!"

My ears rung with the shout, and before my hazy vision the image of a small buck twisting this way and that in air before me, wavering constantly on air. He was grey-scale, and so was everything else. My heart sank a little, don't tell me I was passed out in midair!?

The young buck's wing was held at an awkward way, I could see the bone in it bent at an ungodly angle, I winced inwardly at the sight, I couldn't imagine how much that hurt…

I shot forward to glide next to the buck, leaning one of my... Armored wings(?) under his own to stabilize him, he glanced to me wearily, his coat flecked with blood and his lightweight armor torn and tattered.

The sky around us was a dark mass of cloud, not unlike the cloud curtain I saw every day in the wastes. Around us was the sound of shouting and guns being fired, in the mass of cloud above us flashed light and a thunderous roar that shook me, but the me in the vision didn't even flinch at the noise, my eyes were trained on the injured pony beside me. I would guess and say that everypony else were up in the clouds, not below them and that would explain for the lack of moving bodies about the two of us in what I felt was the center of a battle.

"H-hey.. Boss..." He chuckled lowly, panting in between his words as a trickle of blood dropped past his lip. Boss? I was a boss? How? And of what exactly?

"Steady Kid," I muttered, "Let's see if we can get you on the ground,"

"Where's General Thunder?" The buck asked, I assumed he was talking about the other voice I had heard earlier, because I immediately recognized this buck as the younger voice that had been ringing in my head. But the me in the vision stiffened slightly at the question, and my heart clenched suddenly, my stomach tightened and I felt the essence of.... Worry.

"He's somewhere around here," was the simple reply that moved past my lips, easily hiding the pang of worry that it me as I replied in a very emotionless tone of voice. "Probably with the Captain I would guess..."

BOOM!

Now that was a sound I knew so well, and I knew that whatever had shot that gun had done so with purpose. And then I felt the bullet tear through my armor and pierce my flank, and even go so far as to pass through me and hit the young buck.

The buck lost all little unsteady altitude he had and dropped like a rock, I swayed a moment at the pain and hissed, eyes scanning the cloud mass for any sight of who had shot me. My mind raced with the thoughts, no bullet should be able to pierce my armor so easily, I didn't know what sort of armor it was but from the small glimpses of it knew it wasn’t similar to the one the young buck was wearing, and the me in this vision knew that it was no regular bullet, no regular bullet could pierce this armor, not ever.

BOOM!

But then I dove down, fast and at an unbelievable angle, the bullet whizzed past my ear and I focused on trying to catch the young buck that was hurtling toward the ground. He flipped in air and his eyes looked up at me in fear, heart-wrenching, soul tearing fear.

"Flare your wings out!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Catch some air damn it, anything!! Prepare for a crash landing!!"

The grey went from my sight as came the image of the hard ground of the WasteLand getting closer to my face every second. The sound of the colt yelling frantically flooded my senses, I could feel Cream struggling in my hooves, I had somehow managed not to drop her- yet.

The metallic taste of blood hit my tongue as a stream of it began to rise up my throat, my PipBuck was still flashing things back and forth.
I flared my wings out to catch any air that could slow us down, but I was a bit too close to the ground for it to make much difference. My eyes caught sight of a truck full of old and molded linens and a whole lot of other rotted and indistinguishable shit, that had been overturned near the emergency entrance to the clinic, I angled myself in air and tossed Cream as far as I could manage- hoping she would hit the pile not the ground. I angled my wings again to stream just above the ground a ways, gliding in a wobbly fashion, barely staying conscious, blood dripping from my mouth and my nose continually. My vision was too blurred to even see where I was going, and the weight of the colt on my back suddenly felt like a piano- not the relatively light weight of the pony himself.

And then I hit something with a painful crash, landing directly on the top of an ambulance hard enough to dent the rusted roof..... I groaned, the impact sending a wave of pain through me that originated directly from the hole in my flank, one that was bleeding pretty profusely.

The colt bounced off of my back and hit the roof with a thud, heaving and huffing, his body trembling and shaking the roof as he lay down a bit beside me. I was surprised he had managed to hang on as long as he had, and I hoped the crash hadn't hurt him, though honestly... I was hurt pretty bad, I didn't think I could get up if I tried. I knew we needed to leave though, those freak unicorns were still around and they were clearly not friendly,

'Torso Crippled'
'Corrosive Foreign Magic Matter Detected'
'Severe Cranial Damage'
'High Levels of Radiation Detected'
‘Massive Internal Hemorrhaging’

Well... No surprise I guess... Actually, how did I not break a leg when I hit this ambulance? Or even a few ribs? And on the note of Radiation... I was hoping being partially DireWolf would elicit those 'resistant to radiation' perks Zero had mentioned…. Though, radiation was the least of my worries at the moment.

"You.... OK..... kid?" I wheezed, his head snapped toward me when I spoke, eyes wide in what I couldn't discern was either surprise or fear.

"U-uh... Y-yeah, I think s..so....." He stammered and I let my eyes close.

"G...oo....d..." That was the last thing I remembered before I blacked out.

.:+:.

Footnote: Level up
New Perk: Toughness- You’ve been taking a lot of heavy hits recently, and still you keep going. +10% Damage Resistance from here on out.