Okay, having second thoughts.

I know that sometimes I had bad ideas, sometimes I didn't know when to quit, and sometimes I could be a complete idiot. Not once had all of those unfortunate traits ever equated to one big fuck up in the span of one week on such a great scale as the one transpiring around me right now, however. Point one, this place was a total shit hole that looked like it just gone through its own private balefire bomb explosion. Point two, I had no idea what had transpired to cause such a thing. Point three, there was no sign of Buck Shot, Gina or anything else like what was here when we'd left just yesterday.

The room that we'd slept in no more than a day ago was now a complete mess, even by wasteland standards. The walls were riddled with bullet holes, the items that had once sat around a makeshift fire had been battered and scattered, and almost everything was coated in... something. A light, sticky residue bearing crimson stains and slick green liquid covered the decrepit walls. There were no other signs of any life, not the dead Geckoes, nor anypony else. Oh and it stunk like shit.

I fought not to gag as I stepped over a string of the sticky slime that coated the inner door frame. On the notice board to my left, even more of the stuff was smothered across tattered posters and I reached out with a forehoof, prodding some of the viscous, transparent goop. Cherry trotted in behind me, a forehoof placed over her nose

"What do you suppose happened?" she asked.

I was a complete idiot. I'd never seen anything like this in the wasteland.

I had bad ideas. I'd come in here in the first place.

I didn't know when to…

"I have no idea, but whatever did it, it's not here now," I stated, flicking the sticky slime from my forehoof.

It twanged like the string of some instrument, sticking to my barding firmly. I really didn't want to find out what getting tangled in some of it would do to a pony. The image of us trapped in a giant spider's web arose in my mind, the hungry arachnid crawling down from above to suck out our guts an unappreciated cherry on the mental cake. Giant cockroaches, scorpions, they were all real, but giant spiders? I'd never even seen a small one. Still, something had done this, and by the looks of the slime-covered supplies in the center, Buck Shot had not left before such a something happened to leave all this sticky slime around.

It was then that I notice something else. The door on the far side of the room was gone. In fact, most of the back wall and desk was gone, sunken into a ditch in the earth. I swallowed as I recalled the last time we were here.

Tunneling Geckos? I'd never heard of a Gecko tunneling before.

I stepped back out of the doorway, Cherry following swiftly behind me. The scene outside was almost identical to the way I'd left it, albeit the heavy rain made the asphalt look more like a hairy black mass, laded with scaly corpses and rusted wagons.

"Come on, let's try the radio tower before anypony finds us here," I stated cautiously, motioning to the rusting spire.

I just hoped 'somepony', wasn't 'something'. The unlocked door to the radio tower’s back entrance didn't do anything to subdue those fears, nor did Cherry's commentary on the lock's brutal treatment. I looked about as she rambled, noticing several more strange sinkholes around the side of the structure, one of which was directly beneath a set of old spark generators, allowing the earth to consume at least one of them.

"Looks like somepony tried to force it. I freakin’ hate it when they do that. There's no patience in the world anymore," Cherry grumbled, brushing a hoof over the tattered lock.

Not that I didn't appreciate her sentiment, but patience wasn't always a virtue. Whatever happened here seemed to coincide with my assessment. The door hadn't merely been forced, most of the lock had been blown off. A blast from a shotgun by the looks of it. Inside was another small foyer, and it seemed normal enough. However, the room beyond it was far from ordinary. I paused, feeling my hoof brush against a firm strand of web. The small room was in no better state than the garage, its flaking wallpaper was covered in many more notice boards, all containing scribbles of what I could assume were radio messages and logs. In the roof, a light flickered, and to my left, the rattling hum of a generator confirmed that somepony had restored power to the place at some point.

One less job for us, so why did I feel so uneasy? Oh yeah, the whole place was covered in more of the sticky web.

A door on the far side of the room was the only thing remotely free of the foul mess as was a deep sinkhole sloping down in the room's center. I really didn't want to meet whatever was behind this mess. That thought was reinforced more as I saw something in the web on the roof above me. Geckos, At least five of them were strung up as if they'd hung themselves out to dry. More foreboding still, was the sight of something metal glistening by the rim of the hole. My newly functional E.F.S was showing red dots all about us, yet I could see nothing, nor was my failing visor picking them out. Despite how much the images in my vision freaked me out, it was becoming increasingly useful to see hostiles on the other sides of walls. My Pipbuck was telling me that, in addition to the hostile targets about us, there was another friendly marker in the next room.

"I think there's somepony still in there, can you get that door?" I asked Cherry, motioning to the door on the far side.

She gave me a skeptical look, her inbuilt desire to prove herself seemingly conflicting with the fear that the sight before her undoubtedly evoked.

"I... I can try," she admitted timidly.

I just nodded, taking a step over the strings of goo that covered the door, all the while keeping my eye out for the ghostly entities my Pipbuck was tracking. I really hoped it was just more Geckos.

"Keep back from the edge," I cautioned Cherry as the pair of us worked our way around the thin ledge.

There were no arguments from her, and a moment later we were at the locked door. My uneducated glance, as well as Cherry's frustrated groan, told me that somepony had tried to mess with this lock as well. I didn't really want to think about it, especially as my magic reached out the glinting mass trapped under the web at the edge of the pit. With a tremendous effort, I was able to pull it free, then my eyes widened. I recognized the golden rifle.

"Hey, that's..." Cherry's eyes became fixed as I levitated Buck Shot’s gold-trimmed rifle over.

I recalled the way she'd looked at it on the dune, a frightened timid mare, with a taste for fine weaponry.

"Just get that door open," I murmured nervously, slipping the rifle into her saddlebags as some extra encouragement.

Even now, I could tell its presence excited her, I could also tell my unnerved tone did shake her confidence and without question, she set to work on the broken lock. Meanwhile, I took a cautious step forward. The edge of the pit was especially coated in slime, each was like a fine cord, all trailing back into the pit like the triggers on a trap. Directly before me, I saw something else tangled amidst the web, a terminal. I paused, looking down curiously before tapping the keys with my magic. It wasn't locked, and I was swiftly presented with a set of audio recordings. I looked about, then back at Cherry as she worked on the door. I needed another distraction. A moment later I attached my Pipbuck and let the things play.

"Rotor, where the hell are you? Those damn strange ponies are still following me. I came in through the back, but there's nopony here, not you, nor any of the others. There's no pony. I even checked your messages, mine were there, unanswered. Ugh, this is all because of that damn job, isn't it? I really need to get in touch with Lucky, but I have no idea what's going on with her. Goddesses, Rose was never this much trouble even if she did move halfway across the country.

Well, if you get this, then I'm leaving. There's no way I am hanging around in the back building with all the damn bugs. I thought you'd gotten somepony out about them. Anyway, I'm heading back to town, those ponies follow me back and I'll take the train to my sister's. Goddesses, you better get back to me the moment you get this or there will be hell to pay. I'll leave you the spare 'gift', but really just want to know you're okay.

I want all of us to be okay. But with all that's going on, Lucky's job, Rose’s engagement, I just worry about them all the time. They're still my little foals. Anyway, why am I rambling about this to you? You just get your flank to wherever I end up and talk some sense into these damn ponies, okay? Thank you, bye."

I swallowed hard as the recording of the familiar mare concluded. Lucky Star's mother, the mare from the memory. I had to believe her daughter was not what I'd seen in the tank, and yet so many things were telling me that that was the case. As for the ponies her mother mentioned? I was becoming increasingly unnerved by something I knew had transpired almost two centuries ago. Then something caught my attention. Bugs?

"Dragonfire, what are you..."

My head spun around as Cherry mumbled.

"I'm not doing any..."

I froze, the words catching in my throat as I stared at her rear leg.

"Don't move," I whispered quietly.

She stiffened instantly, becoming like a pink statue. Wrapped around her rear right leg was some sort of snake-like creature. Like somepony had forced a scorpion and snake together to make an abomination of many legs attached to segmented chitin, with formidable mandibles and horribly pale armor. I reached out with my magic as Cherry looked back. Unfortunately, the ugly little creature had other ideas. The segment of its body that I'd identified as the head rose and came down, driving its sharp mouthparts through her barding and right into her flesh.

My magic wrapped around the creature tightly as she screamed, then she bucked hard and another magical glow took over as her own horn flared brightly. Her panic-driven magic overwhelmed mine as she tore the creature away. The thing gave an angry assortment of hissing clicks before I drew my clawed knife and cut its head off, tossing it into the pit. Cherry panted, looking back at the two distinct puncture marks on her hind leg. I only stiffened as the formerly silenced clicking returned, and began to grow louder. The sound of hundreds of segmented chitinous legs scurrying toward our location broke the tomb-like silence. The shifting of thick chitin sounded like somepony rubbing heavy concrete slabs together. Cherry's eyes widened as she looked at me, my back was toward the pit.

I was an idiot, yeah that seemed about right.

Still levitating my dragon claw blade I turned around slowly and was met with the sight of a hissing monster of legs and armor that looked about at least twelve feet long. Its many segmented body parts ground against each other like rocky plates as it reared up. Mandibles far larger than a pony stretched along the length of each side of its head and slammed together with the force of a rock grinder, making a distinctly hollow crack as they crushed my dragon claw with ease.

Damn, that was my favorite knife! I sulked internally as its many sharp, red eyes focused on me.

Then the sight of its mouth, a writhing mass of plates and muscle, made me swiftly forget about the knife.

Radroaches? Foal's play. Giant Scorpions? Been there done that. Giant Spiders? Spiders were extinct. Giant Centipedes? Well, this was the Wasteland, and this bug was angry. Or hungry. Or it was angry because it was hungry. Either way, I had two options. Kill or be killed, and I had no interest in becoming this bug bastard’s next meal.

The many-limbed monster gave a furious hiss, followed by a raspy symphony of clicks as it swung forward with heavy jaws. I ducked, yet the side of its head still caught my crippled shoulder. I winced as my injury was further exacerbated and I was tossed across the room, landing in the thick web. The creature looked at me with casual disinterest, before turning its attention to Cherry.

Oh, so now that I'm stuck, you don't want me huh? Well, fuck you too!

Cherry coiled back against the door, retrieving the first weapon she could, Buck Shot's golden rifle. Two shots later, it was evident that the adult centipedes were not as easily dispatched as their offspring. The bullets pinged from its armored chitin like pebbles against bricks. The creature gave another hiss, lunging for her with mandibles open wide.

Goddesses damn me and my stupid ideas! I internally cursed as I struggled against the webbing holding me captive.

Ironically, I felt a sudden remorse for having left those bucks stuck to the wall as the sticky strands pulled at my barding. With a firm tug of my aching hooves, not to mention my magic, I managed to tear myself free. The action was also enough to make my head spin as I stumbled forward and fired into the right side of the oversized arthropod with my saddle blaster. All it did to the top half of the creature's body was make it glow like red-hot metal, the underside was less defended, however. It gave a crackled growl, recoiling from Cherry and rearing up to face me.

"That's right, smile!" I called sending two more bursts of magical energy into its soft underside as its mandibles opened wide.

That at least seemed to piss it off, but unfortunately for me, it didn't care enough to stop trying to kill us. I bolted to the right as it lunged down at me, the massive jaws slamming shut just inches from my tail as my hooves became caught in the thick webbing at the pit's edge. The creature didn't seem to encounter the same problem when it came to the sticky goo and it coiled back against the wall, barbed limbs crawling over the shimmering surface effortlessly. More of its long body crawled up from the pit as it drew back. I glanced down, seeing the clawed tip of its body in the gloom just below me. I drew one of my plasma rifles, laying into its rear end with all of the energy weapon's fury. The hideous beast gave a painful hiss as the flesh at its far end began to boil.

"Not so armored in the ass are you!" I growled as it snapped at me.

The mandibles were like having a machine press only inches from my face as they slammed shut with a loud clack akin to the sound of a gunshot. I staggered back, and right into the pit.

"Dragonfire!" I heard Cherry call, her cries followed by more gunshots and flashes.

I felt my hooves tangle in the web as I fell head-first into the darkness, then I stopped inches from the floor as the spring in the webs slowed my fall like a bungee. I felt my insides churn more and more as the sickly motion went on and only when I managed to get my head to stop spinning for a moment, did I finally attempt to shoot the strands. In a bright flash, I fell to the cold stone with a clatter, my vision swimming as my Pipbuck's light activated and it informed me of several new injuries to my limbs.

Despite the device's newfound care for my well-being, I staggered to my hooves. My crippled limb felt as if it were on fire as the rest of my body throbbed and ached. I felt warm blood run down my forehead from a large gash and the rest of my body had just had its aches and pain increased by twenty percent. Above me, I could see the long creature paused at the edge of the pit, its attention focused on the pony above.

"Oh no, you don't!" I called back, laying into its partially melted rear with all of my magical might.

At least five segments of its body melted away, all of which it didn't seem to need for anything other than looking ugly as it persisted in its effort to kill us. Now, however, it looked little more than just pissed off. It coiled back, moving with incredible speed as it turned straight toward me. The grinding mass of chitin and the thundering of hundreds of armored legs was among one of the most unnerving sounds I'd ever heard, not to mention the furious clicking and slamming of its mouthparts.

Okay, can we flee from this thing? My mind suggested as the giant centipede clawed down the pit after me, and for once I was in agreement.

I turned tail and bolted off into one of the tunnels, webs pulling and tugging at my hooves, mane, and tail as I went. Then I stopped, or more accurately I tripped, landing face-first in a pool of cold water. Instantly, a clicking of a different kind from my Pipbuck reminded me that I'd just received a face full of radiation, but the type of clicking creeping about behind me reminded me I was still being pursued by a very angry mama monster. Looking up, I saw a dull light flickering in the dark cave. Water poured down from the roof, the likes of which had collapsed. Several sky wagons and one of the spark generators I'd seen collapsed above formed a ragged wall of rusted metal below it, sending sparks out into the water.

Then there were the bodies. Goddesses, I knew a site like this should really sicken me, but the wasteland had taken that weakness from me long ago. The pungent smell of rot and decay assaulted my nostrils as did the metallic buzz of electricity. More buzzing came from the flies that swarmed about the piles of mangled gore that lingered in the center of the chamber, bound together by many thick strands of web.

Most were geckos and upon every scrap of meat was a writhing mass of sickly pale creatures, all a soft, miniaturized version of the empty shell that sat curled up about them, the likes of which they also feasted upon. As they swarmed they practically turned my E.F.S a solid red.

Eating the empty skin of the big one? Goddesses I hate bugs, why can't they just stay small?

Over the clicking, however, I heard something else, a sound I'd rather have not heard in such a place. Nevertheless, my eyes homed in on the disturbance and to my left, I noticed something other than indistinguishable gore or dead Geckos. My eyes widened in horror as I saw the sandy-colored buck strung up to the wall like some sort of crude decoration. His rear legs were naught but bloody, meaty stumps, chewed and melted away. His face was cold and lifeless, his left eye naught but an empty socket crawling with the most disgusting offspring I'd ever seen.

I swallowed, the chatter of a million tiny jaws and the thundering of a hundred limbs behind me growing silent in my mind as I cautiously trotted over to the web-bound buck. Given I could see no other corpses, I assumed Gina had escaped. Trust a Griffin merc to abandon their client, even if it was clear she'd not particularly liked him. It was then I noticed his one good eye, clouded and marred by streams of crimson vanes. He was looking at me, looking right at me. I bolted forward fighting not to trip as I realized that he was still alive, the dot on my E.F.S as well as the flickering outline in my visor only confirming as much.

I staggered, before pressing my forehooves against the wall as webs tangled about my rear. No, not another, I was not leaving somepony else. Buck Shot stared at me vacantly, seemingly unable to say a word as he gagged and spluttered. The same could not be said for me as the morals of my existence ran through my mind again and again. I helped ponies who needed it. I was not a bad pony, yet the wasteland was continually trying to prove otherwise. I'd let that foal die, left the mare in the tank to suffer for centuries, and now this!

No, I was good. Yet what about all the ponies I'd lost, all those I'd failed?

The constant reassurance I offered Buck Shot was only contradicted by my mind.

Look at him, he's gone, he's dead, you can't help him and you know it. My mind stated reasonably. No, I could save him, fix his legs with a healing potion. Hell, I'd find some Hydra if I had to.

"H–elp... Kil-," Buck Shot gargled, dark crimson bubbling from his muzzle as he twitched violently.

I tried to tug at the thick web, and when my hooves proved futile I lowered my horn to the thick mass, I'd melt the stuff if I had to!

"I'm gonna help you!" The only response was a splatter of warm blood across my visor as he convulsed violently.

His muzzle gave a painful crack as it was forced apart and a centipede the size of my head crawled out from the gory mess. I fell back, my face and shoulders coated in the crimson ichor as my rear hooves caught on the web and I landed on my rump in the water. The buck's life faded from his last eye and his head fell limp, the only motion came from the chittering creatures that crawled out from within his barrel, swimming through his blooded hide with ravenous hunger. I felt like I wanted to throw up. Yet there was nothing left in me.

Unfortunately, the same juvenile creatures seemed to sense me, and the swarm slowly began to flow from its fleshy bounty as they all reached for the new fresh meat. I allowed them no such luxury. My horn flared brightly, cyan fire bursting forth onto the writhing mass cremating Buck Shot's defiled body as the grubs popped and boiled like foul-smelling corn. With a chorus of hisses and clicks, the rest of the surging mass of grubs was turned into a flaming, blue pyre. I fell limp across the cold stone, webs tangling about me as the screeches and cries of the dying abominations filled the singed air.

Why? Why does the world have to be so cruel, so fucked up? What did anypony do to deserve this existence? The Wasteland did not bother to bless me with a response.

Instead, the sound of thundering chitin sounded around me, and a massive force constricted around my midsection, forcing me to gasp.

Mommy was definitely not happy. Well neither was I!

The fearsome arthropod pulled me up, the dragon scales of my barding managing to hold back its powerful mandibles just long enough for me to fire every weapon I had back into its vulnerable underside. The fouls smell that filled the air was doubled as its mutated flesh sizzled, yet it was once again only enough to inconvenience the almost bulletproof monstrosity. It lurched forward, mandibles clenching around my waist before tossing me across the room into the collapsed generator. I landed in the cold water with a splash, the flames around me turning the inky black surface into a glowing pool of cyan light.

From across the fire of its burning offspring, the mutated beast looked at me with all of its sharp red eyes, the flames reflecting from each one perfectly. If it could feel pain and sadness, I may have felt guilty. But this was a monster without question, I couldn't allow the wasteland to make the brooding creature anything other than that, in my eyes. It only proved its monstrous nature as it reared up above the fire.

"Come get me you fucker," I challenged, as the creature's sharp eyes bore into mine with intense, bestial ferocity.

It lunged forward, flames wreathing its monstrous form as it dashed through the fire with mandibles wide open. My eyes narrowed as I bolted to the left, landing with a splash as its serrated mouth sank into the generator. I forced my head down. There was a hiss, pop, and a long sizzle as sparks went flying over my back. The smell of burning centipede filled the room with nauseating intensity. Then with the exception of the crackling of flame and the trickling of water, the tunnels fell silent.

"He won't be needing it anymore," I told Cherry as she panted beside me.

I'd not told her the exact fate of the rifle's last owner, all I said is that she owed it to him to look after the thing, a charge she readily accepted once she'd calmed down. I'd left her again, and this time she'd really thought I was gone. I'd imagine the sight of that horrible creature wasn't something she'd be forgetting soon either. The scene I'd seen in the pit wasn't going to be leaving my mind anytime soon. I just didn't want to think about the grubs, nor did it seem my companion wished so too. The bite on her hind leg was deeper than I'd seen, and despite the healing bandages I'd applied, she may bear the scar for some time. Nevertheless, now that the skulking monster in the basement was finally dead, and my E.F.S confirmed there were no more hostiles in the vicinity, I wasn't one for pressuring her to open the locked door.

Climbing back up here, I'd just intended to melt it open and assume that whoever was on the other side would not turn hostile. That was only made more appealing by my anger as it seemed reluctant to loosen its grip on my emotions. Yet climbing up a wall full of web with a spinning head and swirling guts had taken a lot of that furious energy out of me.

"What was that thing? They're not poisonous are they?" she stuttered, shivering timidly as she rubbed the deep wound.

I shook my head.

"I don't think so. Besides, it was only a small one that bit you? If it were anything like a Radscorpion you'd need anti-venom by now... As for what it was?" I scratched my mane with a hoof. "I'm tempted to just call it the angry, ugly, web monster. But if the rumors were true I'd say it was a Borer. Used to hear tales of sand sharks boring right through the earth and dragging ponies down. Can't say for sure they're the same thing, but it fits the description," I stated lightly. "Not that I know where that description came from if nopony ever survived."

The smile I gave at that reinforced the implied joke and the pink mare at least stopped shivering.

"Ever find a monster you couldn't beat?" she asked with a subtle grin.

That made me think, many of the thoughts that question uncovered were not ones I wanted to recall, but I held them back for her sake. I simply leaned back against the wall.

"I killed a dragon once," I admitted proudly, dissuading my mind from its darker paths.

Her look said it all and I motioned to the scaled barding over my rump, making her flush.

Okay, so I could be a little clever, but it was all in the aim of making her feel more like a pony as a pose to simply a thing that followed me around.

Besides she was a pony that deserved a lot more than just me, if it ever came round to her finding somepony, that was. Regardless, her smile was still right up there on that list of nice things.

"What about the Griffin?" she asked, abruptly drawing the conversation away from her embarrassment.

"Didn't see her down there," I responded, then looked at the door, focussing more specifically on the friendly marker blinking in my vision. "But I know somepony is in there," I added, nodding to the door before tapping on my Pipbuck.

She looked slightly confused as I moved over, swiping the strands of web covering the door aside before knocking. There was nothing but faint sounds from the other side and at that, I melted the lock into goo with one of my plasma rifles. Cherry looked only a little disappointed, yet not enough to complain as both of us peered into the room.

Darkness swarmed within, yet it was not defiled by the mutated creature's vile secretions. Instead, I found a vast counter of flickering broadcast equipment, several stools and microphones sat opposite the door. Yet my attention was soon diverted elsewhere, and I glanced towards the marker to see an armored griffin sitting weakly in the corner of the room. Her cobbled armor was scratched and darkened by blood as were most of her feathers. The light of my Pipbuck revealed that a large gash in her wing was the source, and as the light hit her she razed a quivering talon to shield her weary eyes.

"Looks like you're in luck," I offered, holstering my weapon.

Gina shifted weakly before recognizing us.

"You, what the hell are you doing back here?" she asked, her voice cracked and raspy.

"I need the broadcast tower, and it's lucky for you that I did," I responded.

"We were about to leave when those little fuckers came out of the tunnels, at first I thought it was just more Geckos, but no. The little ones were easy enough to squash, but killing a few of them woke Big Mama," Gina elaborated as Cherry looked over her wounds.

Some healing potions had brought her back from the edge, yet the hole through her wing would not be so easily fixed, she'd not be flying for some time without help.

"How'd you get away from them?" I asked, most of my attention focused on the broadcast equipment as I fought to get it operational.

The Griffin looked slightly frustrated as I asked that.

"After the back of the main building collapsed, Buck Shot ran back out from here to get his damn stuff, the stupid mule. The big one came out from under him and that was it, he was gone. I broke into this place and locked the door, not that I thought it would do me any good, but they seemed to just forget I was in here," she explained, wrapping a bandage around her wounded wing.

Cherry stood back up as the griffin finished and shakily stood, shooting the mare a hard look.

"I'm so sorry about his death," Cherry admitted softly, glancing back over her shoulder at his rifle.

Gina sighed a mostly frustrated sigh, but not entirely.

"He may have been a fool, but not enough of one to go down like that. Though I suppose my contract went down with him too, " she said respectfully.

I felt a sickly twinge run through me as I recalled exactly how he'd died and forced the image from my mind.

"Besides, you still didn't tell me what you are doing back here, and where's your other friend?" she asked, glancing about.

I grit my teeth at the hard reality.

"Somepony took him, said it was to a Stable of some kind. I need this to see if I can contact him," I told her.

She cocked her head.

"Must have been some pretty mean ponies to take down a guy like that," she joked, but I wasn't one for laughing at that moment.

I was still fighting to find out who they were and where I'd seen them before.

"Right, we just need the frequency and..." I muttered as the old machinery sparked to life.

Cherry looked around the room for anything that was salvageable, while Gina collected herself and arranged her remaining gear. All I got as I began to tune the radio was static, then out of the fuzzy noise came a faint voice. I paused in confusion. It was a message.

"This is an automated distress call. Message begins…"

"Dragonfire, this is Star..."

My attention ramped up so swiftly and with such intensity that it made my head swim. That was Star on our frequency, I knew that voice! But where was he? How could he be sending a message? Were they just letting him? The questions raced through my mind like a torrent as I sat back on one of the stools, dumbstruck, the message playing out of the microphones for all who were present to hear.

"If you get out of that place and you get this then you mustn't go back to Churn. These ponies are not like any others, they knew we were there, they know they can find you back in Churn. You have to run, run and hide somewhere they'll never find you.

I'm sorry Dragonfire, I can't tell you anymore, it's only a matter of time before they find this and destroy it. Just know that they will try and find you. You have to be ready, make what preparations that you can. You really are the best mare in the wasteland and I just want to say I'm... I'm sorry."

"Message repeats. This is an automated distress call. Message begins..."

I almost fell back off the stool as the message played out again.

What the fuck was going on here? They knew where we were from? Worse still was his warning... Wait, why was I feeling so practical about this? What about all the sentimental shit? Oh wait, there it was.

Then the reality smashed through my confusion like a train.

Home? I couldn't go back home? I had to run and... Who the fuck were these ponies! Now it was my anger’s turn to take the reins of my mind as I swatted the microphone away.

But home... Cherry, Churn? Everything I had waiting for me, everything, I had planned it all.

I finally fell face-first onto the table. Fifty thousand, that's all it takes to tear down a pony's life, then the recollection hit me. They knew we were there because they were there too. The memory of Griddle's office flashed through my mind, one pony other than the ugly mare standing out. That buck in the black barding, I'd dismissed him as just another of her bodyguards but his gear was exactly like that of those ponies in the lab, star marking and all. I cursed myself for not seeing it sooner, regardless of all the other things spinning in my mind.

At my outburst, both Cherry and Gina jumped back in surprise. I didn't spare them a glance, my eyes became fixed on my Pipbuck. It had not been the same since the labs, and now more than ever I couldn't help but feel this had all been somepony's plan from the beginning. Overseer had said I was important to whatever they were trying to accomplish, yet he certainly wasn't with the ponies that had been there with Griddle. A part of me wanted to march back to Churn and throttle the ugly mare, yet if Star was right, I'd be putting the whole town in danger. I let out a frustrated growl, slamming a hoof on the circuitry before me.

I knew what I should do, what I wanted to do, and what he'd do for me. I should do what he'd told me, Star would never lie to me about such a big thing, he would never betray me and I knew there was a lot more to those ponies, to Overseer, to everything that had happened in that stupid building! I wanted to find them and buck their fucking brains out, plain and simple. But I also knew what I needed to do, save Cherry from this wretched way of life, take her home and let her live somewhere safe.

But what about Star? What was Cherry in comparison to my long-time companion, the pony who'd help save me from the darkest part of my miserable existence? He was better, a better pony than me, and now both I and Star were doomed to die, him at their hooves and me at those of the robotic little trickster. Fifty thousand, what a waste. If I could I'd find that client and tear them apart. Even so, I'd settle for Griddle's head right now. Then I knew what I was going to do. I stood up and retrieved my saddle blaster.

"Wow, that was rough," Gina remarked, scratching the back of her head with a talon.

"Come on, we're leaving this dump," I stated tiredly.

Cherry looked at me with concern.

"Leaving to go where?" she asked, glancing back at the control console.

I bowed my head slightly, her eyes were filled with that firm determination, and for what?

"Home, I need to get you somewhere safe," I admitted somewhat shamefully.

She glanced back at the crackling microphone and speakers.

"Dragonfire... He said you shouldn't and y–you'd just leave him?" she asked timidly and yet her words were bolstered by that stoic determination, the same motivation I was sure had driven her to try and save her friends from Mr Red.

That was not a question she had a right to ask. She was right to use a cautious tone and yet I felt like nothing more than a weak little foal. Tired, sick, and afraid. Afraid for my life not as an entity of conscience, but as a tradition I'd seen through and through over and over again, every day since the moment I took my first breath. It wasn't about life in the wasteland, it was about how it was lived.

Cherry's tone, her eyes, her expression all screamed how a pony should live their life, even if it were mostly hiding behind a timid mask. She owed Star nothing compared to what I owed him. I was the mare who owed him almost everything, and I was willing to just leave? I was leaving him for her sake and yet, at her core, she was the type of pony that would save everypony if she could, she was the type of pony that I never could be. I frowned, scuffing a forehoof at a piece of web across the door frame, the sticky strand twanging like a guitar string as it did so.

"I can't take you any farther out there, I don't even know where they've taken him," I explained pointing a hoof at the console.

She twitched, but her demeanor did not falter. She stood tall and regal. Goddesses, she was almost like a princess with that heroic determination.

Never be a hero. My mind warned, but like Star's warning, I ignored what made sense.

"You told me... that day, that I could make a difference. Did you not think that I couldn't figure out that you were just gonna keep me somewhere? Shelter me somewhere safe? That's not making a difference, Dragonfire. I know what it's like out there, I've seen it, and I... I wanna stay with you because you do make a difference!" She nodded to the webbed nest behind me. "You... You remind me of the pony I always wanted to be and with you... that doesn't seem like much of a fantasy anymore."

I almost found myself back at the bottom of the pit as she said that. Her firm expression fell into one of slight embarrassment as she scuffed a forehoof at the dusty ground. I swallowed, I felt even more like a foal now, one that had just had a good session of verbal tongue-lashing. She was right, she was a better pony than me. But I couldn't afford to lose her.

"You... I, I can't go on risking your life..."

She silenced me by trotting over and placing a forehoof on my shoulder.

Raider victim, no...

Oh shut up, brain!

"I'm choosing to follow you... If I die... well..." she trailed off shivering, and I could see beneath the strong confidence budding there, that there was a whole lot of doubt plaguing her budding courage.

"You won't die," I vowed, though whether it was to reassure myself, or for her benefit, I still did not know. Nevertheless, I levitated my saddle blaster to my side. "We'll make a difference, today or some other day, but we won't die," I added, looking at her with a smile.

"Nor will Star, I owe him that much," I finished, knowing full well I owed Star far more than I could ever give.

Cherry nodded, this was her. The real her, I was liking this courageous mare that she was becoming, not willing to live her life without her morals, I'd almost saved her and now she was saving me from my despair and uncertainty. I began to believe that she could go on to save every pony in the wasteland.

"But you're right about not knowing where this place they'er keeping him, is," she added with a wince, rubbing her rear legs to gather over the bandaged wound.

Oh, and here comes reality again. I stomped a forehoof on the web lightly.

"Hey, you said something about a stable, right? There's an old Stable-tec hub in Crimson Springs, that's if you can get past the crazies," Gina interjected, ruffling her wings.

As she said that something appeared in my vision again, sending my weirdo-meter back to high.

'New location added, Desert Springs, South Equestrian Stable-tec Hub' was marked on my map.

I gave a half-satisfied half confused smile.

"What about you?" Cherry asked and I looked back at the wounded Griffin.

"Well, I sure as hell ain't flying out of here," Gina admitted with frustration.

I looked at her with a cocky grin.

"Well, are you up for hire?" I asked, from one mercenary to another.

Footnote: Level Up.

New Perk Added: Exterminator Level Two - When it comes to the wasteland's irritating vermin you're definitely the absolute best pony for the job. Gain + 20 damage against all creatures when they're below 20% maximum health.

Companion Attained: Gina - Bitter rivals you may be, but even competition has its advantages. Gain +1 to Strength and Endurance whenever your companion is present.

Updated artwork kindly provided by: Brisineo.