"W-wait, I don't even..." Celestia fumbled as she tried to make sense of what she was just told. "I'm sorry but I just can't...can you go over that again?"

"Okay, again from the top." Shining Armor said as he prepared to explain what happened, his patience running rather thin. "Rainbow Dash and I got jumped. With me so far?"

"Uh huh."

"Okay, great! So we got knocked out and when I woke up, I caught this...this disgusting fucking monster trying to get it on with Rainbow Dash! And that thing was your precious coltfriend that we've been looking for!!"

"Shining, for crying out loud, you don't need to scream at her like that!" Twilight scolded. "This isn't her fault! I saw what was chasing after you and there's no way she could have seen this coming! So just get off he-"

"Rainbow Dash?" Celestia asked in a tone not far from a whimper. "Is that true? Did you really find Radius and he attacked you? Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash did not answer as she was sitting in the corner of the room with her back turned at the group. Out of anpony that had recently dealt with a traumatic experience, she had obviously seen the worst as she was nearly raped by a monster twice her size a mere hour ago. Concerned that the events would prove to emotionally damaging to the usually tough pegasus, Soarin trotted up behind her and gently placed a hoof on her shoulder to show support.

"He wasn't himself..." Rainbow Dash said quietly. "Something happened to him."

"It's nobody's fault but his, Rainbow." Shining Armor said.

"You don't understand! He saved Daring Do and Big Mac the day before and then both of us the next! I talked to him for hours and he was nothing like that!"

"You're defending him?" Daring Do asked. "Seriously?"

"No! I mean...Ugh, you guys didn't see what I saw! Everything about him changed! I know it sounds crazy seeming how I'm the one he attacked but...but...there's more to this. I know it."

"Everypony, Ah know what he done to Rainbow ain't right..." Big Macintosh began. "...and heaven know's there ain't no excuse fer forcin' yerself on a mare but Rainbow here's a lot smarter than ya'll giver 'er credit for sometimes. And from what she told us, Ah reckon there's four of us here who'd be in body bags if'n it weren't fer him."

"But what would make him go ballistic and try to kill somepony after saving them?" Spitfire asked.

"Look, he's spent thirty years suffering in this god forsaken city!" Rainbow snapped. "You try doing that and see how normal you'd be. The guy's obviously sick and...he feels like shit about what he did."

"How do you know?" Shining Armor asked.

"When he threw himself at me, the look in his blood red eyes was just...ugh, sickening. A few seconds into the struggle though he kinda...Uh, I guess kinda jumped back and forth between that vicious monster and his old self. His eyes went back to norm-er, whatever his normal eyes look like and he started looking down at me in a different way. Like he just suddenly knew what he was doing and he started crying for a few seconds before his eyes turned red again."

"I think I get it." Twilight said. "I've read a lot of books on psychology and psychiatric disorders. Maybe he's developed like a second personality. I've never heard of such a thing being induced by chronic radiation intake but a unicorn with magic capabilities has never been exposed to so much before either."

"I don't know what to think, Twiley." Shining Armor groaned. "I just...I gotta step outside for a bit okay?"

Not knowing what to think and in desperate need of a moment alone to recoup his thoughts over a cigarette, Shining Armor stepped out of the room where he then headed for the stairs. A few minutes of some painful hobbling around later, he reached the bottom floor and stepped out the front door of the building. It was still daylight out so he could be plainly seen out the window by the others whom of which still felt compelled to get as much information as they could.

"So what do you think we should do now, your majesty?" Spitfire asked.

"I...I don't know." Princess Celestia replied. "I don't know what shocks me more. The fact that they found Radius of the fact that he attacked Rainbow Dash and tried to kill them. I just...I'm sorry about all this, everypony."

"This wasn't your fault." Daring do said.

"I'm starting to wonder. Shining Armor has never raised his voice to me like that before. This whole thing has been hard on all of us and being the one who got us all here, I have a hard time thinking I'm not responsible for the things that happened."

"You couldn't have known." Twilight said. "Don't blame yourself."

The upper tip of the sun was just visible just over the skyline to the west as Shining Armor puffed on a cigarette as he pondered the events that occurred earlier. For starters, they actually found Radius and that in itself was certainly hard to believe but be that as it may, it was indeed him with that signature black and yellow cutie mark and the dorky glasses. Next was what Shining Armor woke up to find happening. It seemed to be true that Radius saved them from the wolves but then why would he do so, clean and dress their wounds and then proceed to violently assault them?

Shining Armor truly wanted to believe Rainbow Dash when she said that what happened may not be entirely his fault but the more he thought about that monster getting ready to violently rape his friend, the more he wondered if she had sustained a head injury. She was not the type to try to understand something or somepony that tried to inflict harm on her unless it involved understanding how to bring them down and give them whatever they deserved. So why was she seemingly compassionate towards Radius? Surely she would have to have her skull examined again however, no matter which angle he looked at it, he had to admit that he had not talked to or gotten to know Radius like Rainbow Dash had.

Still though, in polite and civilized society, it is unacceptable and inexcusable to behave the way Radius did just a few hours ago and as far as Shining Armor was concerned, he may have saved them to simply toy with them once they woke up. The very thought of what could have happened if Shining Armor had not woken up in time sent chills down his spine. His only regret at this point was not outright bashing Radius's skull in with the pipe, putting him out of his own misery.

"I should have busted his skull when I had the chance." Shining Armor mumbled to himself. "It'd be doing him a favor."

"How about you tell me more about this monster, comrade?" A familiar voice said with a thick Slavic accent.

A slightly startled Shining Armor turned to his right to see a familiar sight in the form of a man in Eastern European army attire with bright red hair being covered by an urban camo cap atop his head. Leaning up against the building just a few feet away was none other than Fredrick Schultz and as always, he too had a smoldering cancer stick in his teeth.

"Oh! Uh, hey, Fredrick." Shining Armor said. "Hey uh, thanks again for driving us back here."

"Eh, you two looked worse for wear." Fredrick replied.

"We were pretty beat. So what do you wanna know?"

"What'd this thing look like? How big?"

"I'd say not much shorter than Princess Celestia and it looked like Clark Kent and the Hulk had a nerdy, psycho mutant baby."

"The fuck did you just...damn, I'd hate to picture that."

"If you think that's weird, it turns out that it's the pony we've been looking for all this time. We came in to get him out of here but he's beyond help. It'd be better for him to just drop him and end his madness."

"And I thought you ponies were supposed to be the more compassionate ones. Not much different from us humans after all."

"Hey, I feel bad that I gotta say that and I know that wouldn't be easy for Celestia to hear but there's now way somepony can recover from spending three decades soaking up radiation."

"Look, why don't you and I go for a little drive and talk about this thing?"

"Uh, okay. Sure."

After taking a moment to finish his cigarette, Fredrick flicked the remaining butt and began walking towards some foliage as he signaled for Shining Armor to follow. Once he reached the patch of bushes, he began pulling branches and pieces of brush from a pile, revealing his well hidden Jeep underneath. Once the four by four vehicle was uncovered, Fredrick opened the driver's side door and climbed in while Shining Armor opened the opposite door and followed suit.

With both doors of the Jeep Wrangler shut, its two occupants seated and the engine running, it slowly made its way back onto the crumbling roads and continued down what used to be a street. Shining Armor had not gotten along particularly well with Fredrick and the continuing silence made for an awkward several minutes until the latter decided to restart the conversation.

"Now jokes aside, really, what did thing thing look like?" Fredrick asked.

"The first thing I noticed was that his body glowed." Shining Armor began. "He had a red mane and tail, big, pointed teeth, thick, dorky glasses and...for Christ sake, he wore a collar and a bow tie."

Instead of saying anything, Fredrick simply stared at Shining Armor in his passenger seat with a cocked eyebrow before reaching in the backseat and grabbing a bottle. This particular bottle was half filled with Bols and Fredrick wasted no time unscrewing the cap before taking a hearty swig.

"You uh...sure you should be doing that when you're driving?" Shining Armor asked.

"Heheh. Would you rather me lighten up with a drink or smack that horn off your head?" Fredrick chuckled.

"Uh, good point. So why do you wanna know about this guy anyway?"

"Trying to find out what's been killing these workers, comrade."

Shining Armor had no idea why Fredrick wished to speak with him until now. It just suddenly clicked together in his mind. Two men were found dead and dismembered and there was still another missing man unaccounted for. The vicious manner in which Radius behaved did nothing for him but make him seem like a likely suspect. Though the wolf packs that have plagued the city for decades were certainly subjects of interest, the beast that was once Radius Hoofenschtov could also very well have been guilty of the recent despicable and brutal slayings of innocent people.

"Whoa..." Shining Armor said. "Now that you mention that, it makes sense. When we got jumped by a bunch of those wolves the other day, I was already out cold by the time...well, Rainbow Dash told me that Radius came and sliced those wolves up the same way he apparently did to that catfish that attacked A.K. Yearling at the cooling pond."

"So he saved you?"

"I...guess so."

Again, Fredrick threw his head back and took another gulp from his bottle as he continued to drive around the city streets. After setting the bottle down, he reached into the front pocket of his army jacket and pulled out a cigarette before placing it in his teeth and setting the other end ablaze.

"Now, that part doesn't make sense." Fredrick said as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. "He saves you and then up and tries to kill you? Eh, I'm no doctor but he sounds pretty fucking crazy. And trust me, I'm a fucking psycho when I need to be so that's saying a lot."

"Other than that, you got me." Shining Armor replied. "I don't know what to think, man. I just...at this point, I just wanna get out of here. You know, go from being miserable here and back to being miserable with my wife and daughter we have no control over."

"What did you just say?"

"Uh, I said...Um..."

While Shining Armor stumbled with his words in fear that he had somehow struck a nerve with a man who's anger he wanted to avoid, said man picked up his bottle and polished off the last of the burning liquor within. After driving around for another minute or so, Fredrick then pulled his Jeep over and backed up onto a grassy patch on the side of the road where he then proceeded to engage the parking brake and shut the engine down.

"What was your name again?" Fredrick asked.

"Shining Armor, sir." Shining Armor replied.

"Okay first off, don't call me sir. Now, let me tell you something about me, alright?"

"Alright, sure."

"Yeah I get it, I'm an asshole but that doesn't mean that I'm completely unapproachable."

"Okay."

"So let me ask you this. Do you love your family?"

"With every fiber of my being!"

"Okay, good. So why the hell do they make you miserable?"

"Where do I even begin? See, Cadence and I are both incredibly busy all the time running the Crystal Empire. Whenever we see each other lately, we're just about to go to sleep."

"Okay, not much time for each other. Go on."

"I feel like whenever she and I actually do talk, an argument always ends our conversations. Lately, I've just been avoiding talking to her for too long because it just...tears me apart, you know?"

"Uh huh. So what's the problem with your daughter?"

"Oh man, Fredrick, she's just the sweetest thing I've ever known and I've never created anything I've been more proud of but...her magic just get's so out of control. And she just flies all over the place and I'm so afraid she's gonna hurt herself. Not only that but...I still can't get over it and I don't think I ever will. I fathered a fucking alicorn!"

"Okay, so lemme ask you this. What do your wife and daughter have in common?"

"Uhh..."

"They're both alive aren't they?"

"Well, yeah but what do-"

"See, you talk like they're a burden on you. Me? I'd give anything to be able to say mine were still alive."

"Wait...you don't mean..."

"Da...I do. It's a long story and I don't like to talk about it but it just kinda irks me when I hear somebody complaining about having a family when my own are dead and gone."

"I...I don't know what to say."

Fredrick then reached into the back seat again and fished out another full bottle of Bols before unscrewing the cap and taking a sizable gulp. As he wiped off the booze that ended up on his chin, he held the bottle out in front of him as if he were offering Shining Armor a drink.

"Oh, uh no thanks, I don't think I..." Shining Armor said before trailing off and thinking about it for a moment. "Fuck it, gimme a hit of that."

"Plenty more where that came from." Fredrick said as Shining downed a third of the bottle. "Alright, so where were we?"

After hours of conversing about their families and other such parts of their backgrounds, the late afternoon had become evening and finally the sun set over the horizon giving way to another clear night. Still, Fredrick and Shining Armor sat in the jeep and talked about their pasts and how they ended up where they were today. With both of them getting buzzed from the liquor, Fredrick seemed almost immune to it as he had polished off at least two bottles on his own with very little effect. As their conversation continued, Fredrick made it a point to inform his equine passenger that no matter how bad things may look or how rough a day someone may be having, somewhere, there is will always be someone else who has it much worse.

It was true and Shining Armor knew very well that he actually had a great many things to be eternally thankful for. He had made it to Guard Captain, married the love of his life whom also happened to be a princess, had many friends and family who would not hesitate to stick out their neck for him and now, a beautiful daughter to raise and watch grow up. Though overindulgence with alcohol has many negative effects, consuming just the right amount can really make one think and shed light on what is truly important and even make someone or somepony think about their mistakes. For Prince Shining Armor, it was the real wake up call and kick in the rear he needed and he surely felt silly, embarrassed, and even downright ashamed for the amount of complaining he had done as of late.

"Hey y-you know what, Fred?" Shining Armor said with a slight slur in his speech.

"Hm?" Fredrick asked.

"I've been a real fucking pussy lately."

"Heheheh. Yeah you have, comrade."

"Wow, man, I just...I couldn't even...no, I don't ever even want to imagine my family just getting taken away like that. Just...wow, I guess sometimes you don't know how well off you've got *burp* until it's gone. Fuck, dude, I'm really sorry about that."

"Shit happens."

"Yeah shit really does happen. Ha, you know, my sister once said something about fecal matter hitting a rotating blade' or something. I think that was her way of saying 'shit was hitting the fan'. Dammit, I love that little nerd. How could somepony complain when they have a sister like her?"

"Uh, funny you should bring that up, comrade. Look."

"Huh?"

Being that his motor skills were numbed by the drink he and Fredrick shared, it took a few extra seconds for Shining Armor to visually follow the direction his human comrade was pointing. Sure enough, flying in the bright, moonlit sky was Twilight Sparkle approximately forty feet off the ground. Being Shining Armor's very flesh and blood, he always knew his little sister was never one to keep her composure while doing something she knew she was not supposed to as by being out at night in the exclusion zone she was breaking Ukrainian law. Despite being nearly legally intoxicated, he could see right through her nervousness as her gaze darted around as if to make sure she was not being followed as she flew due South.

"The hell's she up to?" Fredrick asked as he quietly opened his door.

"There are some things I'll never figure out about that girl." Shining Armor said as he followed suit. "Hey, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Hmm...I've done some snooping and sneaking around in my time. Here, take this in case we come across any of those mutants."

"It's dangerous to go alone, am I right?"

"What the?...You're alright, comrade."

Fredrick then handed a loaded M-1911 pistol over to Shining Armor who then used his aura to place it in his saddlebag as to not alert his sister with the pink glow of which Fredrick tried to stifle his laughter at. Fortunately, Twilight was flying fairly slowly which allowed the two tailing her to keep up in a stealthy manner. They did not have much of a choice but to take it slow and keep a decent amount of distance from their target as heavy combat boots and a set of hooves with iron shoes where not exactly quiet without great care being taken.

The two rescuers turned spies kept a very close watch on the lavender alicorn that floated above them and were even able to get close enough where they could see her ears change direction as she listened closely to her own surroundings. It was when she suddenly stopped in mid flight that her brother and his new friend began to seek cover as to avoid being caught. Fortunately for them, there was a row of half a dozen rusty steel trash cans with their waste contents that have since become mere soil inside and were close enough to hide behind. Just as they ducked behind the old waste barrels that held the city's last trash pick-ups thirty years ago, Twilight turned around and looked in every direction as her sixths sense alerted her that she was being watched.

After glancing around to find that the coast was clear, Twilight nervously went on her way. Shining Armor and Fredrick decided to allow Twilight to gain a little more distance as to keep from spooking her and blowing their cover. For several minutes, they continued to follow her down the streets of the forsaken city until finally, she once again stopped in mid air and hovered for a moment. The two who spied on her continued to watch as they took cover behind an old, rusted out car with its rotting, flattened tires seeming to have become part of the ground it sat on. After a minute or so or hovering, Twilight then slowly drifted down to the crumbling pavement and quietly landed on her hooves before pulling a her favorite pocket watch that her brother gave her as a Hearths Warming gift out of her saddlebag. After glancing at her watch for a moment she placed it back into her bag and took another moment to observe her surroundings.

If it was strange enough that Twilight Sparkle was breaking the strictly enforced law by going out at night into the treacherous abyss that was the city of Priyat, what happened next was a complete surprise to both who spied on her. Previously thinking that they had seen it all until now, Shining Armor and Fredrick nervously watched as the suspiciously behaving pony they followed set her horn aglow and allowed her bright, lavender aura light up the intersection she stood in.

"I thought your sister was the smart one!" Fredrick whispered. "Is she trying to get herself killed? She's doing nothing but drawing attention to herself!"

"She...she is the smart one." Shining Armor replied. "I don't know, Fred. My sister's seen and done a lot and even saved Equestria more times than I can remember. I know what she's doing looks stupid but...I just got this gut feeling that she's on to something. I don't know about you but I think we need to trust her."

"*Sigh* Alright, I'll wait and she what she's doing. Don't make me regret this, Shining."

For approximately ten seconds, Twilight allowed the bright light that her horn emitted blink on and off until it stopped as suddenly as it started. Once her horn quit glowing, she stood there motionlessly for another thirty seconds before Shining Armor's gut feeling was in a way, proven right. The proof he was looking for came in the form of two square shaped lights next to each other suddenly turned on in a dark alley directly in front of where Twilight was standing. The two lights that appeared to be the high beam lights on a vehicle then turned off and then blinked on and off twice more before staying illuminated. It was then that Shining Armor and his fellow military companion that realized that Twilight was about to have a pre-organized meeting with someone.

As Twilight stood in front of the lights, the sound of an engine being cranked over could be heard and within seconds, the light's source in the form of a white Mercedes Sprinter Van slowly pulled out from the alley. Once it was free of the narrow side street, then van turned broadside to Twilight and stopped a few feet away from her. The driver of the mysterious van then shut the engine down before opening the door and stepping out with a flashlight in hand and revealing himself along with another figure who exited from the passenger's side.

The two figures who exited the van and walked towards Twilight were both men, one of average height with dark hair and glasses and the other, a shorter man with the top of his head balding with some hair on the sides and back. Both of them were wearing lab coats and Fredrick even recognized them as scientists from Kiev that come into the zone to conduct research from time to time. Both he and Shining even remembered them as the ones who peeled what was left of the wolves that attacked the latter several nights before off the ground before loading them onto a truck.

"Gentlemen, thank you both so much for coming on such short notice." Twilight said with genuine sincerity.

"Anything to help a fellow scientist." The short man said with a matching tone and a thick Slavic accent.

"So, we trust you have the specimens?" The taller man asked.

"Yes, here they are." Twilight said as she hoofed over the lead-lined bag that she used to store tissue samples. "So you really think you can get this done within a few days?"

"We have to work quickly." The shorter man said. "But yes, with the subject's DNA in this prime condition, we should have it done before the week's end...provided that everything goes according to plan."

"This will put a lot of pressure on our staff but this scientific breakthrough we are about to uncover will be well worth it." The taller man said. "Just imagine. The very key to the cure for radiation damage and mutations could be right here...right here in this little bag you have. Do you have any idea how massive of an impact this could have? Thousands of sick people and animals could have their suffering ended and get their very lives back!"

"Think of all the lives that could be saved and improved...all thanks to us three standing here right now."

"Saving lives? That's what I live for." Twilight said. "Just remember this though. Here in this city, we have somepony who needs our help now more than ever. The very life and well being of another brilliant mind like ours is in our hands and hooves. From now on, I'll try my best to locate and keep track of our subject."

"Excellent." The taller man said. "We'll come back when the drug is ready and from there we need to find a way to administer it."

"Until then, take great care." The short man said.

"Of course." Twilight replied as the two men re-entered the van. "We'll keep in touch."

Just as the Van driven by one of the mysterious scientists slowly made its way down the bumpy asphalt, Twilight then spread her wings and took back to the air. Shining Armor again followed behind and observed her as she headed due North back towards the base camp. Now, with their target gaining speed and slowly disappearing off in the distance, they changed their course and headed back to Fredrick's Jeep where they would determine their next plan of action.

"Any idea what that was all about?" Fredrick asked as he and Shining Armor quickly entered the former's SUV.

"Beats me, but we're about to find out." Shining Armor replied. "Think we can head her off and beat her there?"

"Oh, hell yeah, a reason to drive fast and chase someone. I'm game."

"Alright then...my little sister and I are gonna have a little talk."

"I thought you said you trust her."

"I do! But as her big brother, It's always been and always will be my job to find out what she's up to."

"Ha! I'm starting to like the way you think!"