"Oh my god, I can't believe it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she flapped her wings with joy. "So it's true! You're actually alive!"

"And I'm a genetic clusterfuck!" Radius replied.

"This is so great! We actually found you!"

"That wasn't supposed to happen! Hey, careful with those! I wrapped them up for a reason!"

"Yow! Ahh, now you tell me!"

Failing to pay attention to the poor state of her wings, Rainbow Dash let her excitement get the better of her and quickly found herself in terrible pain and unable to fold them back to her side again. Try as she might, she could barely even left them off from the floor and the splint that helped to hold them in place had come undone. With uncloven hooves and lack of unicorn magic, she would have to rely on the irradiated Radius whom she had met mere moments ago to put it back together. Though Rainbow Dash was very well aware that it is what is on the inside of a pony that truly counts, she simply could not help but be quite nervous about allowing such a strange creature near her. In her heart however, for the sake of her wings and the seemingly sensitive feelings of the one who saved her, she needed to trust him.

"Your wings need to be re-wrapped." Radius said as he slowly took a step forward. "Please I...I swear I just want to help you."

"O-okay, I trust you." Rainbow Dash said.

After pausing for a moment, Radius then slowly and carefully took another step forward and paused again. A few seconds later, he took another, paused for a few seconds and then took another. Finally, after a whole minute, Radius made the ten foot journey over to Rainbow Dash where he was now close enough to readjust her bandages. Very carefully, as if he were holding a newborn foal, he then gently lifted Rainbow Dash's right wing with his hooves as he sat on his rump. Once he sat down however, he revealed two previously hidden appendages that did not originally belong on his body greatly startling the wounded pegesus. Folded away under Radius's stomach just beneath his forelegs were two smaller, thinner legs with cloven hooves much like those of a deer.

With the utmost care and seemingly surgical precision, Radius proceeded to affix the splints and re-wrap the bandages with the small, split hooves on his mutated legs while he used his original forelegs to gently hold onto the wing as he worked. Rainbow Dash watched him very closely as he attended to her injuries and with each passing second, she could feel her heart rate decrease as she became more calm and more comfortable with the one who had come to her aid. With the first wing done, he moved on to the next and once again affixed the splint and wrapped the gauze around it before finishing it by taping the end in place like the one he did before it. Once the second wing was finished, Radius took another few steps back and looked away avoiding eye contact revealing that he was more afraid of being judged than Rainbow Dash was of him.

"Thank you so much." Rainbow Dash said. "Wow. I just...I can't believe we actually found you alive here. It's a miracle."

"More of a curse than anything." Radius mumbled.

"Wait, so what did you mean? You said we weren't supposed to find you. Why did you send out that distress signal then?"

"You really wanna know why?"

"Well, yeah."

"Look at me. Look at what I've become. I'm in constant pain and discomfort, I'm constantly at war with other creatures here...I...I sent that signal because I was hoping they would send soldiers in to investigate. My plan was to...get them to shoot and kill me."

"Why!? That's horrible!"

"If you saw some of the shit I've seen, you'd understand. I'll never be the same guy I was before."

"But you have a heart! You have a soul! You saved the lives of four complete strangers and even went out of your way to patch us up! You should be proud of yourself! You're...just what Princess Celestia said you are."

Now that she was finally over the shock over the fact that she was actually talking to Radius Hoofenschtov in the flesh, she was saddened by the depressing attitude of the mutated pony that sat before her. He was the one who saved Daring Do and Big Macintosh the day prior and then Shining Armor and herself several hours before. Though going thirty years without contact with one's own species would understandably cause depression in any social creature, Rainbow Dash felt that it may help to stay and talk with him for a while.

"Hey look, I think we kinda got off on the wrong hoof there." Rainbow Dash said. "Let's just chill out here and talk, alright?"

"Talk?" Radius replied as his ears perked up at the idea of a pony wanting to engage in conversation with him. "You...want to stay and talk to me?"

"You sound like you nee-"

"S-sorry, sorry. I-I just, It's been a long time since I..."

"It's okay, I get it, dude. But hey, I'm Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash then extended her hoof for a hoof bump but much to her confusion, Radius refused the greeting and took another step back.

"I, Uh...th-the less physical contact we have the better, Rainbow Dash." Radius said. "I soaked the splints and gauze in iodine so it shouldn't be affected by me touching it."

"Huh?"

"My body emits radiation. Though not enough to cause immediate danger within a substantially short period of time but for your own health and safety, it's best that we don't come in contact more than we have to."

"See, there you go again thinking about others. I don't get it. You're so kind. Why are you so hard on yourself?"

"I just...it's not just what I look like that's changed about me."

"So let's talk about it. You've been here for thirty years and I've got a shit ton of questions for you."

"Okay, shoot."

"Why did you stay here? Couldn't you have just trotted out of here?"

"Sadly no. Go ahead and have a seat on the mattress and I'll...tell you everything."

Anxious to hear as much as she could about how Radius survived in Pripyat for so long and why he was unable to leave and get back to civilization, Rainbow Dash hobbled back over to the mattress and sat her rump back down. Radius then stepped forward and sat himself down a few feet in front of her and proceeded to clear his throat before finally beginning his story.

"I'll start from the beginning." Radius said. "Just before the reactor went, I was right on top of it with a couple friends of mine. At the last moment, I somehow cast a shield spell that enveloped all of us. See, unicorn magic is weakened on Earth but it just...happened."

"Wow." Rainbow Dash said. "The only thing Shining Armor over there can do is is levitate a few little things here."

"Over time, my magic skills actually improved tenfold in the years I've been here. Anyway, when the lid of the reactor blew up and crashed back down, my friends and I went with it. When the bubble I conjured up hit the ground, a few smaller explosions knocked us around and another couple of minutes later, I just couldn't hold that shield anymore. After that we just...we...I'm s-sorry, I can't..."

It was then that Radius hung his head and started weeping again. Rainbow Dash made it a point to be patient with him and allow him to let it out. Perhaps it would be good for him to vent and get it off his chest. It may also prove helpful to him be be hugged by somepony if it were not for his hazardous emissions so verbal support was all she had at her disposal.

"I couldn't save them." Radius whimpered. "My friends...I held them in my arms while their...their fucking flesh melted off their bones right in my arms!"

"You've got a friend right in front of you, buddy." Rainbow Dash reassured. "I'm all ears, just let it all out, okay?"

"My *sniff* my leg was broken so I crawled into a maintenance closet and hid there for days to get away from the fire. I was hoping the rescue crews would find me but they never did. Though I got away from the heat of the fire, I knew the whole time, I was soaking up enough radiation to kill a thousand humans. So, I ended up passing out for what I think was a couple days and when I finally woke up, my coat had completely fallen off and my skin was blistered and bleeding all over."

"Uh huh. So then what happened?"

"My entire body felt like it was on fire. It was agony. I even forgot about the pain in my broken leg, it was so bad. So there I was, just limping around looking for any sign of life. The fire was out but the reactor was still busted wide open so I knew I had to get out of the building and get help...but nobody was there. Everyone had all gone and left the city."

"So is that when you...started changing?"

"It took a few weeks for that to start. My leg was still in rough shape so I limped my way into a gas station to wait it out. I was certain that I would die soon but I didn't. My fur even started to grow back. I knew I shouldn't have been alive after all that and heaven knows I didn't wanna be. Anyway, I was so hungry and thirsty so I took advantage of the food and drinks in that store which kept me going while I waited for my leg to heal. That's when I noticed something really fucking wrong."

"What? What happened?"

"My leg actually healed very quickly which I think was one of the results of a mutation. So my body started hurting all over again and the pain got even worse than it was before, I'd say it hurt twice as much. I was sweating like crazy. I couldn't even think straight so I stumbled out the door into the street one night and...that's when it started happening. I've never wanted to die as much as I had that night. First it started with the glow and then my horn changed. A few minutes later, all my teeth fell out and soon these pointed canines grew in their place. Lastly, and what I can easily say was the worst part were these two extra legs."

"How did that happen? Like, how did they start growing on you?"

"Turns out they started growing under my skin and they burst through when they got big enough."

"And after all that...all that suffering and all the pain and loneliness you've been through for so long, you still think of the good of others. If I've ever met a saint before, I'm talking to one right now."

"You mean that?"

"Every word I said. None of this was ever your fault. You didn't deserve any of those things that happened to you but soon it'll finally be over. We've come to take you home, Radius."

Upon hearing what Rainbow Dash had just said, Radius's pupils fully dilated as he got back up onto his hooves and stepped back. Suddenly the hair of his back stood on end and he tightly shut his eyes as he shook his head. For some reason, he was set on not returning to Equestria and Rainbow Dash was determined to find out why.

"No!" Radius yelled before calming down again to avoid frightening the only pony he had talked to in thirty years. "I mean...no, you can't. I can never go back."

"But why!?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You have family and friends who miss you and want you back!"

"I have my reasons, Rainbow Dash. For one, I can't move away from a source of radiation. My body has become dependent on it and I need to soak some up every day or so. Also, there's no way I'll ever be able to reintegrate into society after being here for this long. It's just not possi-wha? Ohmigod!"

"What, what is it?"

Right in the middle of their conversation, Rainbow Dash noticed that Radius had trailed off as he had suddenly found a distraction. She followed his gaze over to the open door that lead to the kitchen of the apartment where a fairly large rat was moseying about. When she looked back to Radius, she noticed that his pupils were fully dilated and he had begun licking his long, pointed teeth. Like a starving predator, Radius had his undivided attention on the furry little meat bag that almost seemed to have hand delivered itself for the picking.

Without a single word, Radius leaped over to the doorway and pounced on the unsuspecting rodent. As Rainbow Dash watched in horror, Radius then grabbed the rat with both of his front hooves and shoved it into his mouth. After chewing a few times, he suddenly remembered the mare he was just talking to whom was still in the room with him and looked back to see her staring at the scene with her mouth hanging wide open. It was at that point that he had a choice to make to hopefully frighten his guest the least. He could either tear the rat to pieces and devour the bloody mess or take a somewhat cleaner approach.

Radius had chosen the latter and proceeded to hold the rodent in his closed mouth for a moment while he allowed his corrosive saliva to take affect. After a few seconds, he spat out a complete skeleton onto the floor and swallowed the melting flesh and guts he had in his mouth. With his cheeks beginning to glow a shade of red out of embarrassment, he then proceeded to slightly lift up the sofa that Shining Armor was still sleeping on and kicked the rodent's skeleton underneath it before putting it back down.

"S-sorry you had to see that." Radius said as he gave Rainbow Dash an apologetic look. "I was just so hungry and my body can't digest plants anymore."

"I, uh...I've seen worse problems being fixed." Rainbow Dash said as she stifled a gag. "I'm sure we can work with that. Just because you eat meat doesn't mean you can't live in Equestria again. Hell, any griffons I know eat meat so it's not a problem."

"I appreciate you trying to spare my feelings, I really do. Like I said though, my body needs radiation so I can't leave here."

"Wow, that's just sad. There's got to be a way. Look, suppose you don't end up going back with us, don't you at least wanna see Celestia again?"

"Ahh, Celestia. I was the luckiest guy in the world to get to be with her. Then she hears my signal and comes right in here to get me out thirty years later...she's always had a huge heart, she hasn't changed a bit."

For the first time in their conversation, Radius cracked a smile as he spaced out and reminisced about his memories with Celestia. That is when the sudden realization occurred to Rainbow Dash and she knew just what she needed to do to lighten his mood. She needed to bring up memories of life before Chernobyl.

"Hey, what's your family like?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Got any brothers or sisters?"

"Yeah, I have two sisters." Radius replied. "One older and one younger. I was the middle one and the only colt in the family so my parents expected a lot from me. They were...a bit old fashioned but I still loved them to no end."

"You know they're still alive, right?"

"They are!? Oh my god, that means they're going on ninety!"

"Yeah, they're getting up there. So what were your favorite things to do as a colt?"

"Oh man, I used to love building internal combustion engines! I made my first one when I was six! I had a ton of them laying around when I got older so when my sisters started having foals, I built some go-carts to put them in for my nieces and nephews...to see their eyes light up like that just melted my heart."

"Radius, this is great! Keep talking, okay? Tell me about your relationship with Celestia."

"Heh, where do I even begin? To put it plainly, she changed my life. Before I met her, I never had a marefriend and I was a virgin all the way up into my mid thirties. My parents were starting to get a bit pissed because I wasn't bringing them a daughter in law or grandfoals. Erm, like I said, they were tough on me but I know they always loved me. Though sometimes I felt like nothing I did was good enough. Hell, my job as a physicist had me pulling in a million bits a year."

"Getting a liiiitle off topic there, bud. Happy thoughts, man, keep it up. Let's hear more about Celestia."

"To think that the fucking Princess of Equestria, the one who raises the sun actually wanted to be with me. All my adult life, I wondered why I was always single but when she and I started seeing each other, I realized that I had to wait so long for a good reason. It was so worth it. She loved me for who I was and my personality. Did she ever find out about..."

"About what?"

"Before the explosion, I was planning on asking her to marry me. I never got to tell her."

Finally, the conversation that Radius and Rainbow Dash were having was taking a more positive turn and the former could not help but smile at the wonderful memories he looked back on. As time went on, the mutated unicorn even slowly gained more confidence while he talked to Rainbow Dash as his stuttering had stopped and he even maintained eye contact. As the conversation continued to flow so naturally, for the first time in thirty lonely years, Radius felt the joy of social interaction and the simple pleasures of having somepony to talk to.

For two whole hours, Ranbow Dash and Radius Hoofenschtov talked about anything they could think of that they enjoy in life which helped to lighten their moods tremendously. Both of them asked each other about the friends they had, what their hometowns were like, their hopes and aspirations and much more. Radius even explained his ability to power electronic devices including his radio with his horn, and that if not for the music he loved so much, he would have given up hope a much longer time ago. As they continued to spend time getting to know each other, Rainbow Dash began thinking of wrapping up for now and getting back in touch with the others as by this time, they were probably frantically searching for them. It was especially important to her that she let them all know that she and Shining were alright because through their conversation, Rainbow Dash found that they had been out all night and it was now the next day.

"Hey look, I think I lost track of time." Rainbow Dash said. "I think I might wanna send out a flare and let everypony else know where we are. Can you at least tell me you'll really think about coming back with us?"

"I'll...yeah, I'll think about it." Radius lied, knowing there was no way he could go back. "Hey I, uh...Thank you so much for talking to me. It really made me feel better than I have in years."

"It's no trouble at all. Thanks for saving us. "So, I'm just gonna go find a window to shoot this out of and we'll come back to get my friend here. Man, I can't believe he's still out."

"I'm sure he'll wake up soon. Again, thanks so much."

Feeling slightly less sore now that some time had passed, Rainbow Dash placed her saddlebag onto her back and left Radius in the room with Shining Armor still sleeping on the sofa. Her plan was to reveal her location to the rest of the team so she could discuss her findings with them and find a way to convince Radius to come home with them to be with his family again. As Rainbow Dash slowly trotted towards the side of the building that faced the street, Radius sat with a warm feeling inside him that he had long forgotten. To simply talk to somepony truly improved his mood but as his depression seemed to melt away, the feeling of warmth was replaced by a much more familiar and much darker feeling that he needed to deal with accordingly post haste.

"Hurp...Oh fuck, I don't feel so good." Radius said as his stomach began to ache, soon followed by a migraine. "What!? Oh, no no no no no, I forgot about my dose! It's been too long since I had my rads!"

Realizing that something was about to go very, very wrong, Radius tried gently shaking Shining Armor in attempt to wake him up and warn him of the impending danger. Failing to wake the slumbering unicorn, Radius was desperate to warn Rainbow Dash that she needed to leave as quickly as possible as he was all too familiar with the events that would soon take place otherwise.

"Rainbow Dash!!" Radius hollered out in attempt to save his new friend. "You've gotta get out of he-GAAAHHHH!!"

In mid sentence, Radius's migraine suddenly became so unbearable that it sent him falling to the floor before going into a convulsion of sorts. As the distressed mutated unicorn clutched his head his hooves with his eyes tightly shut, he continued to experience an incredibly painful episode until finally, the pain subsided as quickly as it came. After he stopped twisting and squirming, Radius then slowly returned to his hooves and once he arose his eyes shot open revealing an intense, red glow.

"Now that's better!" Radius chuckled as a sadistic grin replaced the sweet smile he wore only moments ago. "Heheheh...now where'd that sexy little thing run off to?"

Most of the changes that Radius had undergone over the years just affected his outer physical appearance but the one biggest problem he had involved his body's need to absorb radiation. Unfortunately, the time he spent talking with Rainbow Dash sidetracked him to the point where he completely forgot the risks involved with his prolonged lack of radiation absorption. As he slowly trotted out the door of the apartment that he used as a home some twenty years ago, he was in a completely different state of mind than before. This was simply not the Radius Hoofenschtov that many ponies and people had come to know and love in the past.

Something was happening to Radius that he nopony had ever seen before and as he menacingly trotted to where Rainbow Dash had gone off to, he could only think of one thing. Before, he paid no attention to the firm, curvaceous flank of the attractive young mare that he had engaged in friendly conversation with but in his now altered and mentally compromised state, he so badly wanted a piece of it. The more he thought about the idea of pinning down and having his way with the vulnerable pegasus he was searching for before tearing her apart, the heavier his breathing became and the more he started to drool.

After a few minutes of trotting down the hallways and peeking into a few rooms, Radius found Rainbow Dash in one of the abandoned flats as she was just about to fire a flare out the window. As he stood in the doorway staring at her, her ears perked up as she had picked up his presence. Rainbow Dash was about to learn the real reason why Radius could not go home with them and she would learn it the hardest way possible.

"Oh hey, Radius, did you change your mi-guh!" Rainbow yelped asked as she turned around dropping her flare gun out the window. "Dude! Your schlong's hanging out! What gives!?"

Sure enough, protruding from Radius's undercarriage was his throbbing member that looked just like any other equine penis except it was quite massive and glowed a dim green with every beat of his heart. It was easily as long as one of Rainbow Dash's legs and was an intimidating sight to say the least. Further observation revealed the thin strands of highly corrosive drool dripping from his psychotic toothy grin and burning holes into the floor as they came in contact with it. Out of all of these frightening things that sent shivers down Rainbow Dash's spine, the worst part was the sheer look of evil in his half lidded eyes with fully dilated pupils that glowed a bright red resembling the fires of Hell. To call such a thing nightmare fuel would be a massive understatement.

"R-Radius?" Rainbow Dash asked with her ears folded back in fear. "W-what are...what happened to you? You're not acting like yourself...please don't look at me like that, you're creeping me out."

Instead of verbally replying, Radius just licked his teeth and took a step towards the mortified pegasus.

"Whoa, whoa hey man, I'm grateful that you saved me and all but that doesn't mean I gotta fuck you, okay!? You put that thing away and back off!!"

Again, Radius took another step towards Rainbow Dash who then proceeded to put up her front hooves as a warning that she would defend herself should the need arise.

"Okay look, I get it. You've gone thirty years without getting any action, that'd drive anypony crazy...but you need to back the fuck off 'cause I won't hesitate to bury those glasses right in your eye sockets."

"Guhuhuhuhuh..." Radius laughed as he licked his teeth again. "Quit acting like you don't want thisssssahahahahaha!"

Out of nowhere, Radius began laughing maniacally and lunged himself forward and onto Rainbow Dash, knocking her to the floor. Now that he had her right where he wanted her, he used his forelegs to pin hers down while he tried to use his two extra limbs to spread her back legs apart. As Rainbow Dash fought tooth and nail to thwart Radius's unwanted advances, the maniac repeatedly thrust his fully erect member in effort to penetrate her marehood, coming closer to hitting its mark each time.

"No!! Get off me!!" Rainbow Dash screamed. "Please, don't do this! Heeelllp!! Somepony help meee!!"

"Quit fucking squirming!" Radius huffed as he tired to hold Rainbow Dash still. "The more you draw this out, the slower I'm gonna kil-ahh!"

Before Radius could finish his sentence, he suddenly shut his eyes tightly as if he were straining or in some sort of pain. A few seconds later, his eyes opened and the red glow was gone, having been replaced by the glossy, green eyes the kinder, gentler Radius had before. For a moment, he wore the look of confusion as he looked down at his sobbing friend who lay on the floor beneath him but he soon let out a horrified gasp as he suddenly realized what he had just tried to do to her.

"Oh my god!! Rainbow Dash!!" Radius screamed as he stepped back, his ears folded back and tears flowing down his face at full bore. "I'm sorry!! I'm so Sorr-hhhnnggg!"

Again, Radius strained with his eyes shut for a few seconds before opening them again, the horrifying red glow returning. As Rainbow Dash continued to struggle and put up a valiant effort to free herself from the monster's clutch, the more physically exhausted she became until she simply could fight no more. With her efforts growing weaker, the monster that Radius had become finally spread his victim's legs as he prepared to penetrate. With this new, evil side of Radius taking over, Rainbow Dash would momentarily be sexually violated before being brutally murdered.

"Radius, please don't!" Rainbow Dash sobbed. "You're gonna split me in half with that thing! Don't do this to me! I was good to you, Radius! You're hurting meee!"

"Guhh!" Radius grunted as his glasses suddenly flew off his face and landed in the corner of the room.

As suddenly as Radius had attacked, he stopped for some reason and for several seconds he stared blankly down at his victim. Much to Rainbow Dash's confusion, her would-be rapist's eyes went crossed leading up to him tipping over, falling to his side and hitting the floor with a loud thud. With him no longer standing over her, Rainbow Dash was greeted by the sight of Shining Armor standing a few feet away, a large, heavy metal pipe floating in his magic aura.

"Rainbow!" Shining Armor screamed he helped his distressed friend to her hooves. "Oh my god, are you alright!?"

"I will be once we get the fuck out of here!" Rainbow Dash replied as she hugged her savior.

"I couldn't agree more! Let's go!"