Rainbow Dash simply could not understand why everything that just happened did. In what seemed like an instant, Radius had gone from being a kindhearted, thoughtful, and caring gentlecolt to an attempted rapist and killer. Shining Armor had just awoke from his extended sleep to find an unfamiliar creature trying to take advantage of his friend so he did not even know that creature happened to be their primary search target all along. Nevertheless, their main objective was now escaping the building they were in to rejoin up with the rest of the group so Rainbow Dash would have to do her share of explaining later.

The duo quickly made their way to their first stairwell which lead to the fifth floor and began their journey back down to the ground level as quickly as their tired bodies would allow. As they reached floor number five however, they encountered a new problem that would greatly slow them down and require them to trot a longer distance with their sore legs. For convenience for the residents and to reduce foot traffic on each stairwell, the building had two of them on opposite sides and much to the misfortune of the two escaping ponies, every other floor was missing most of the stairs and were blocked off by construction barriers. This would require Rainbow Dash and shining Armor to instead of taking one set of stairs straight down, to go down one floor, trot all the way over to the other side of the building to use the other set of stairs and repeat.

"Aw, Christ..." Rainbow Dash groaned. "Why'd this building of all the ones we could have had to get out of have to be getting repaired?"

"I don't know, Rainbow." Shining Armor replied. "But as much as we're hurting, we can't afford to slow down. We can do this! You and I both know how to push ourselves further!"

The monster that attacked Rainbow Dash that was Radius Hoofenschtov lay on his side in an abandoned room after being bashed on the head by Shining Armor. The two determined ponies had only made it one floor down with six more to go before they would be out of the building and without their saddlebags each containing a nine millimeter pistol, they were utterly defenseless. Their only hope was that they could somehow summon the rest of the team before Radius came to. Unfortunately, it would prove too little too late as glowing red his eyes suddenly shot open and he sprang to his hooves.

After looking around for a moment, Radius found his glasses and bolted towards the stairwell in search for the two ponies who's lives he had saved before but this time with malicious intentions. The normally peaceful and kind Radius had worked himself into a blind rage over being smacked on the head with a lead pipe just as he was about to have his way with a mare and was on a new mission. Much to the misfortune of Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor whom of which were about to find out, Radius Hoofenschtov was out for blood.

Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash were hastily making their way to the stairwell and ultimately to the fourth floor and had no idea that their latest adversary was hot on their trail. They would however find out momentarily that the pony they were searching for from the beginning was about to turn the tables in order to kill them. They may even find out sooner than momentarily as the thunderous thumps of a set of hooves could be plainly heard galloping on the floor above towards the stairs.

"He's coming..." Rainbow Dash said quietly as her pupils shrunk to the size of pin pricks. "He's coming!!"

"Then let's pick up the pace!" Shining Armor shouted. "Mooove iiiittt!!"

The time to push their bodies to their absolute limits and beyond was now or never and since their lives as they knew the depended on it, the choice was a simple one to make. If Shining Armor was to watch her daughter grow up and Rainbow Dash go anywhere in her career as a wonderbolt, they would have to endure the excruciating pain all over their entire bodies. As the duo galloped to the next stairwell, Radius stomped his way down the other until finally, he caught sight of them just as they disappeared down the flight.

Seeing the two ponies he sought after heading down the stairs in front of him seemed to act as a trigger of sorts as he galloped to catch up to them in a murderous frenzy the second his hooves hit level floor. His targets had made it to the fourth floor but sadly, that would not amount to much as his speed was more than a match for that of the two ponies who frantically tried to escape. For every step Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash took, Radius took three and just as his hooves hit the fourth floor he could see his victims a mere half way down the main hallway.

"Gahahahahahahaaa! I'm gonna tear out your guts while your alive!!" Radius roared before going into a fit of sickening, blood curdling maniacal laughter. "I'll bust your horn off and fuck you with it!!"

"The fuck is this guy's damage!?" Shining Armor screamed.

"No! Leave them alone!" Radius screamed much to the immense confusion of the two who sought to escape from him. It was clear that he was not emotionally well as he seemed to be having an argument with himself as he relentlessly chased his victims down. "Hey! Who let you back out!?"

They still had three more floors but Radius was quickly closing the distance between himself and his two victims as his long legs and lack of injuries gave him a massive advantage. Thirty feet, turned into twenty and twenty turned into ten. Still though, the two young twenty-somethings with their entire lives ahead of them were determined to fight hoof and nail all the way to the end even if they were to die in which case, they put in an honorable and valiant effort. Just when it seemed that Radius could not get any closer, Shining Armor looked back to see their attacker begin to slow down before opening his mouth wide and lifting his neon green tongue followed by a jet stream of a black, tar-like substance being shot at them.

"Get down!" Shining Armor shouted.

Rainbow Dash was unaware of the precise situation behind them other than the psychotic mutant pony chasing after them but she trusted Shining Armor's judgement and took his word for it. As the two dove to the floor and skidded to a stop, what seemed like several quarts of the strange black liquid came splatting to the floor where it proceeded to melt a sizable hole through it in an instant. A thick cloud of greenish smoke filled the air as the acid spit continued to burn through the floorboards. Radius also decided to stop and wait for the smoke to clear expecting to see nothing but the skeletons of his victims left over. What he did not expect was for both of them to take one look at the hole just in front of them before looking at each other and jumping in proving that great minds tend to think alike.

After approximately thirty seconds, the toxic smoke finally dispersed but instead of being the downfall of the two brave ponies, the latter two had decided to jump down through the hole gaining a substantial lead much to his frustration. After galloping over to the hole he had produced, Radius became even more infuriated as he observed his targets galloping away on the floor below where they could then get to the next set of stairs and have a better chance of slipping away. It seemed like they were so close to freedom as they had reached the second floor and best of all, Radius was much too large to fit through the hold he had created and his salivary glands had run dry. If he wanted to catch up with his victims and have himself some bloody and gutsy fun with them, he would have little choice but to take the next set of stairs and fall behind.

Unfortunately, though psychotic, incredibly unstable, and unpredictable, Radius was still incredibly intelligent which would prove to be a deadly mix for the Prince and the wonderbolt if they let their guard down for even a second. Instead of galloping all the way to the the next stairwell, he decided to put another trick he had into action. His horn glowed brightly as he furrowed his brow while his devious toothy grin returned before suddenly disappearing in a bright green light with a loud snap.

"We're almost there!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "We can do this! Just a little further!"

CRACK!

"Holy fuuuuck!!" Shining Armor screamed as he and Rainbow Dash screeched to a halt.

The two horrified ponies scrambled to change direction as their nightmare in the form of the irradiated unicorn suddenly appeared right in front of them in a burst of green light. By the time they had regained their footing, Radius had already made up lost distance and was quickly closing in. Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash were now forced to head back towards the stairwell they had just came down where they would have to climb back up. The situation was looking extremely grim as there was now little to nothing either of them could do. The building had no places to hide, their pace was dramatically slowing down as their broken and exhausted bodies were ready to give up and surely they would have no chance in a fight against him in their badly weakened state. Soon, their savior turned killer would catch and make quick work of them at best hopefully having the slightest shred of mercy and decide not to torture them. It was all over.

"It's not over!!" Shining Armor shouted as he put his final plan of escape into action. "Rainbow! Hard left!"

Once again putting her trust in Shining Armor and confidence that he had a plan, Rainbow Dash followed suit as the combat experienced former guard captain skidded on his hooves and took a left into one of the apartments. Radius had thirty long years to hone his magic skills so that they would work well in a universe where they normally weakened and Shining Armor had one last roll of the dice and he was about to take the gamble. If the monster that was relentlessly trying to kill them both could teleport, then his fellow unicorn victim was going to try come Hell or high water. It was do or die. With their bodies feeling as if they were on fire, they sprinted towards an open window where Shining Armor grabbed Rainbow Dash, holding onto her with all his might and jumped.

Though they were merely on the second floor, the fall would have been at the very least thirty five feet which was still more than enough to kill a pony once they hit the ground. Shining Armor however had other plans. With everything to lose and even more to gain, the former guard set his horn aglow and held his grounded pegasus friend tightly as they plummeted to the ground. Just as Radius had done to catch his victims off guard, Shining Armor decided that two could play at that game and disappeared with the pink flash of his aura and a loud pop. This was a massive risk as he was not entirely sure his magic was strong enough for something more than basic levitation but within a fraction of a second, they would find out.

As soon as they disappeared, the two friends reappeared mere inches from the ground which helped tremendously to mitigate the impact which ended up being little more than a small jolt to their bodies. Still though, they were not ready to celebrate yet for when they let go of each other, they looked up to the window they had jumped out of to see the monstrous Radius attempting to jump out. Much to his frustration and the advantage of his two would-be victims, he was again too large to fit through so he retreated back into the building with a furious roar where he would have to take the stairs.

If Radius was already furious, being smacked in the head with a pipe seemed to interfere with the functions of his horn as with every attempt to teleport again only gained him a mere few feet of distance. After several bursts forward however, his horn flickered and crackled with sparks as sparks flew from it until finally whatever magic he had seemed to run out. From this point all the way to the door, he would have to rely on his speed if he wanted the blood he so ruthlessly sought after.

With their tired and soar legs ready to give out at any moment, Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor used the last bit of strength they had left to run nearly fifty feet away from where they landed where they finally stumbled into a bush. The two friends who shivered as they held each other close were exhausted, in a great deal of pain, and afraid for their lives which now depended on their new hiding spot. They would have to keep perfectly still and quiet as that was their only means of avoiding detection within the small clump of foliage that would either save their lives or end them.

Within seconds, the double doors on the front of the apartment building flew off their hinges and landed on the on the opposite side of the street followed by Radius skidding to a stop in the middle of the road. As he paced about looking around for any signs of movement with his muzzle in the air, he put his keen sense of smell to work. Weather it be the odor of sweat, blood, or fear he was trying to pick up, the slight breeze that churned around in the air was what would ultimately determine the fate of the two ponies who hid from him. While they sat they in the cover of the bush hugging each other tight, they watched Radius's every move and prayed that this time the direction of the wind would be in their favor.

The indecisive wind which seemed to have a mind of its own finally ended the tension by picking a direction to blow and stuck with it. It could not have been blowing a more accurately towards Radius than it was and even began to pick up speed. Soon, the formerly gentle scientist turned monster would pick up their scent and it would be all over.

"D-Dashie?" Shining Armor whispered as tears rolled down his cheeks. "C-can I...can I call you that?"

"Of course you can, buddy." Rainbow Dash whispered as she too began to weep.

"I just want you to know that...it's been a pleasure getting to know you better and...thanks for being a friend to the end."

"You too, Shining. I can't think of anypony else I'd rather die next to. S-see y-*sniff* see you on the other side."

As Radius continued to sniff at the air, the breeze carried his victims' scent towards him where he would then proceed to follow right to them once he caught wind of it. What he would do once he had them in his clutch was too sickening to so much as think about and all they could hope for was that he would end them relatively quickly and painlessly. As the wind resumed on its way over to Radius however, he proceeded to snort from his nostrils as his eyes went wide. After a few seconds of standing there motionlessly, he turned directly away from the bush that the two ponies were using as cover and began facing directly Southwest. The sky was very clear as was the path to the power plant which could be seen right from where Radius was standing just over a mile away.

For nearly two minutes, Radius stared mindlessly at the building that housed the reactor off in the distance with a numb, zombie-like expression on his face. As the two ponies he searched for observed him from the cover of the foliage, Rainbow Dash remembered that he once mentioned that his body needed to soak up radiation for some reason. She figured that must have been why he was staring so intently until at long last, he suddenly began to gallop into the direction of the infamous Chernobyl nuclear reactor that ruined what was once a good and decent pony thirty years ago.

"The fuck do you think you're doing!?" Radius huffed as he stopped in his tracks. "Getting rid of you! I've held you off before, I can do it again!"

"Is he arguing with...himself?" Shining Armor whispered as he stared at the monster trotting around in circles.

"You can't keep me in here forever!" Again, Radius shouted as his eyes flickered back and forth from blood red to his gentle green. "Maybe not, but I'll be damned if I ever let you hurt anypony again! Ha! That's what you said last time, loser! I'll be back!"

Within minutes that seemed like years, the psychotic killer was out of sight which changed the tears of his victims from fear and agony into those of joy and gratitude. Rainbow Dash would expand her career as a wonderbolt and Shining Armor would watch his daughter grow up while he grew old with his beloved wife.

"Dashie, we did it!" Shining Armor squeaked. "We got away from that freak!"

"Shining, I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for you!" Rainbow Dash squealed.

"I swear I will never whine and bitch about my life! I almost lost everything I had and I'll never take it for granted again!"

"I concur...so what now?"

"Rainbow, I don't think I can go any further. We'll just have to rest here until we can move or until somepony fi-"

"Psst! hey!" A familiar voice whispered from above. "Rainbow! BBBFF! Oh my god, are you guys okay?"

"Twiley!" Shining Armor squealed with joy at the sight of his little sister up in a tree.

"Pardon my Prench but what the fuck was that thing!?"

"That was Radius!" Rainbow Dash replied, earning a gasp and a perplexed stare from both Shining Armor and Twilight. "I'm not fucking around here, that was Radius fucking Hoofenschtov! He's...changed."

"L-lemme get this straight, Rainbow." Shining Armor said. "You're telling us that...that thing that tried to rape you and kill both of us was...Celestia's lost coltfriend?"

"Oh my god!" Twilight gasped as she joined her brother and friend on the ground to check their wounds. "It all makes sense! Those glasses! That cutie mark! That is...was him."

"Well...Aunt Tia sure has a weird taste in guys doesn't she?"

"Be that as it may, we need to get you two out of here." Twilight then reached into her saddlebag and retrieved her two way radio. "Everypony, I found Rainbow and Shining Amor! They're okay!"

"Oh, praise Faust!" Celestia beamed over the radio. "Send a flare, Twilight! We'll be right there!"

"I'm on it. Oh, and Princess?"

"Yes, Twilight?"

"When we get back to the base camp, we need to talk."

Radius Hoofenschtov mindlessly trotted down the dark, damp corridors directly underneath the exposed reactor that ruined every feature of his being one fateful night. He had given up his relentless search for the two ponies he saved before trying to murder as he had become distracted by something that drew him towards it like a magnet. His eyes were still glowing that horrifying bright red, lighting the way down the hallways as he continued to make his way towards his new target of interest.

This journey down these pitch black hallways was nothing new to Radius as it had become one he had to take every single day for nearly thirty years. Finally, the long corridors came to an end in the form of a room filled with massive pipes that were once used to channel water through the reactor's cooling system. Many of these said pipes had since burst open, the water having been replaced by molten uranium that eventually cooled and hardened in their places. Simply being in the presence of these deadly objects would be enough to kill the average living thing within minutes but to Radius it felt like a feast after being starved.

Though the high volume of radiation in the room Radius was in helped tremendously to help calm his previously aggressive mind that sent him on a murderous rampage, it was still not enough. He needed more. Much more. The amount of Radiation needed to fully satisfy his addiction-like craving could only come from one particular blob of uranium that Radius sought after. As Radius made his way to the far end of the room, he saw his prize in the form of a massive, hardened, gray blob of uranium that was the most deadly object known to human and ponykind. His source of radiation that could keep his evil alter ego at bay was none other than the infamous elephant's foot.

Wasting no time, Radius quickly made his way over to the mass of toxic stone and proceeded to place his horn on it so his self treatment could commence. With his eyes shut tight and his horn aglow, the precious gamma that entered his body felt like the best painkiller anypony could ever dream of taking. For several minutes, Radius held his horn in place, every muscle in his body becoming more and more relaxed by the second. Finally, Radius removed his horn and rose back up to his hooves and reopened his glossy green eyes with no red glow to speak of. His evil side was now locked away as it belonged and he could finally make sense of what happened.

"R-rainbow Dash?" Radius asked as he could finally think straight. "Oh right, of course she wouldn't be here...what the fuck happened?"

Radius could not remember much for it was not his true self that did the horrible, despicable things earlier so he had to take a moment to ponder the events prior to make sense of it all.

"Okay, okay let's see...I remember talking with Rainbow Dash...then I..."

"No!! Get off me!!" Rainbow Dash's voice echoed through Radius's mind followed by the image of his new friend on the floor beneath him as he pinned her down. "Somepony help me!!"

"NO! No no no no no no, this is what I was trying to prevent!! Oh God, I'm a...I'm a fucking rapist!!"

"The fuck is this guy's damage!?" Shining Armor's voice echoed through Radius's mind as he envisioned himself chasing after them, both looking back at him with fear in their eyes.

"Nooo!!" Radius screamed as tears rolled down his face. "What have I done!? WHAT HAVE I DOOONE!?"

Unable to keep on his hooves, Radius fell to the cold concrete floor where he proceeded to weep harder than ever before. In his sixty-five years of being, he had truly never felt so ashamed in his entire life than he did now. The past thirty years seemed to be filled with endless misery and this moment topped anything else he had ever had to go through or in this case, put somepony else through.