The deep buzz in the air reverberated from the computer, the booming sound making the brown-coated mare on every screen sound like an angry goddess. For all I knew, she could be just that. I had no idea what the machine she was linked to had done to her, I didn't even know if this was the mare I'd actually seen in the memory, or just some malevolent program. I stepped away from the elevator terminal as all of her eyes fixed on me from multiple screens around the room. Cherry and Clip stood behind me as I edged cautiously toward the largest screen.

"It's been a very, very long time since ah've had to deal with anypony causing trouble," Babs Seed stated as if the fact were both bolstering her resolve and tearing her apart all at once. "No pony ah knew, nopony cared enough!" She went on, the words seeming to be more of a statement to herself than anypony else.

I paused in the middle of the room, watching as the mare upon the screen rambled as if addressing a vast audience.

"I know you. You're Babs Seed, right?" I asked, and all of a sudden she stopped, all eyes locking onto me once again.

"That's right, but ah don't know you... How do ya' know my name?" she demanded, her tone becoming firm.

"I saw you in a memory orb, you were with Sweetie Belle the day she came to talk to the factory workforce," I explained, and at the realization that crossed her face I realized that if this was not really her, then the computer was a very, very good actor.

Several questions seem to flash across her expression as she thought, her static image flickering like she was some kind of ghost. The dull hum of the machinery all around us became a buzzing growl.

"Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo... Apple Bloom?" Babs stated from within the rumbling, then her images stabilized as did the sounds. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders?" she added, and despite my lack of real information, a desire not to piss off the computer-bound mare forced me to nod.

"They abandoned me!" she boomed before I could even respond, the machinery roaring as she did so.

For a moment I was afraid the giant image of her would step out of the screen and squash us all like insects. I stepped back towards the others as her image glowed an angry red.

"Apple Bloom and her little club? Ah thought they were my friends, but apparently, that only counted when we were fillies," she went on, her image flickering between the mare I'd seen and that of a very similar-looking filly curled up in tears.

The machinery's hum became a spark-spitting growl and I noticed that the tank I assumed was holding her brain flashed a red hue, like some kind of alarm.

Think Dragonfire, if you wait here any longer those damn brain monsters will find you, or she'll just kill you herself. I knew that if we wanted to get out then I needed to calm her down.

"No, no, no, nopony abandoned you!" I stated, begging the goddesses that I was right.

Her image stabilized again as did the whole factory settle back to a dull hum. Yet her eyes still burned with the pain of the accused betrayal.

"How would ya' know 'bout what happened to us, ah don't know ya'?" she demanded.

I fought for words as she regarded me with a glare that looked as if it could cut steel, and for all I knew it really could. Then I glanced at the dusty, old skeleton on the table.

"Apple Bloom, she's your cousin, right? She didn't abandon you... She gave you all of this, she saved you," I improvised, with no idea what effects my stuttering would have.

Babs didn't even consider that as she glared, then that static buzz rose once again. "Don't ya' dare talk to me about me and her. She never even made an effort to come find me out here," she said, and once again I was lost for a response as my mind dug through that memory I'd seen of Babs and Sweetie Belle.

"And she didn't save me, she didn't save anypony!" Babs added, then her eyes focused upon my saddle bags.

Before I could respond the sound of static emanated from amidst my weapons and I looked back to hear one of the other recordings suddenly begin to play from her Pipbuck.

"Apple Bloom? Goddesses, Ah have no idea if this is reaching ya', but if y'all are gettin this something just hit Desert Springs... Ah' have no idea whether it was direct, but everything is going to hell outside. There's riotin,' all the workers have run off, and the rain... It's raining glowing green stuff, ah' don't know what it is just…

Look if ya' gettin’ this you need to get out of Fillydelphia, you need to get as far away from any city as ya' can. Ah'm going to make my way across to the Stable, ah' know it's not the one ah' was designated to, but they have to let me in right? You'd have told um' that right…?"

The voice cut off with a buzz, and I glanced up at the screen as I pulled her Pipbuck from my bags and suspended it before me. Yet her eyes did not move anywhere other than the floating device as it continued to play its message.

"They were right, the naysayers, those stray ponies sitting' about town with the darn billboards, they were all right. The fire in the desert, it was a zebra missile. The moment ah tried to get outside, ponies just wouldn't stop screaming. It was the rain, ah think it was burning um'. Ah 'got back inside before ah' got covered in it, but ah still think it was too much, my Pipbucks’ telling me its deadly... Look, ah guess what ah'm tryin’ to say is ah ain't gettin' to the stable. Ah'm on my way to the factory's lower levels, hopefully, it'll be safer down there. Ah just can't believe this, it's over, it's all over.

Once again Babs's flickering, red gaze was unrelenting as the second recording stopped, and as expected, the third soon followed. The moment I heard her weak voice my heart went cold.

Damn, who am ah kiddin'? Ah know ah'm gonna die down here, the whole of Equestria's dead, ah know. I should have taken your advice, cous'. Ah knew it, what with Sweetie goin' missing an' all, ah should have just listened… Ah just hope ya made it, not heard anything from Fillydelphia, ah hope Sweetie and Scoots are fine too... That leaves just... Urg! Ah hate this."

The sound of metal banging filled the air as I could only assume she began to smash up the room in anger.

"Why don't ah ever listen! Ah never listened to advice about them bullies, never about growing up, and never about this damn stupid job!"

She shouted again and again until her strength finally left her. There was a thud, a clatter, then a fit of coughs and exhausted breaths.

"Ah know this is all silly now but... Ah hope you get this, ah hope you can come find me.

Before she could say another word a loud static filled the recording, followed by what I could only describe as an ear-rending boom. I staggered in pain, gritting my teeth as I dropped the Pipbuck. The screens around me flickered, and even Cherry and Clip had to cover their ears before the unnatural sound finally subsided. The sound that replaced it was a set of sharp gasps, and raspy breaths.

"Ah... something just happened, it's gone… Everything's gone. The city... it's angry and ah, ah can't see. Cous', cous', where are you, why ain't you here, why ain't you coming to save me?"

Her words were perforated by another set of loud clangs and thuds as the blind mare seemed to stagger her way around, grunting and growling maddeningly.

"Ah can't see, Ah ... Ah'm dyein', Cous', ah have to get out, get it out of my head... Ah', the Crusader! Ah' have to use the Crusader... Ah, ah'm sorry..."

There was another series of clatters and staggering hoof steps, then the sound of buttons being pressed haphazardly.

"User identified, Babs Seed." Sounded a mechanical voice. A deep buzz of static finally cut off the recording as a fit of screams and mechanical whirring erupted from the Pipbuck.

I stagger back from the device as if the thing were toxic.

"See, she abandoned me, they all did! All of that time avoiding me and she didn't even have the decency to save me!" Babs boomed, her voice wrapt in the same static that had overwhelmed the recording.

I backed right up to the others, lost for words.

"A lot of ponies died that day," Cherry countered, looking directly at the screen even as she shivered. Babs looked at her coldly, the red in her eyes pulsating slightly slower.

"Yeah, but ah bet none of those three did, ah bet they never came to save me 'cause they were comfy in stables of their own somewhere. The only one ah saw after cousin Big Mac's funeral was Sweetie Belle, and she didn't even have the dignity to tell anypony where she was that day!" Babs declared.

I swallowed, glancing at the elevator terminal and subtly hooking up my Pipbuck. Come on miracle Pipbuck, if there's a time I need you it's now.

Cherry looked about and it was clear she was no better equipped to uphold this argument than I was. Babs was a disembodied brain in a jar with some clear abandonment and betrayal issues. Plus she was almost certainly mad after so many decades of mechanized isolation. I could tell by the look on her face she knew what I was doing. She frowned, her face flickering and distorting into something akin to a monster. Before I could even think a bright flash of light struck my side and a burning pain flared as my scaled armor sizzled. I staggered to the floor, Cherry cried my name and Clip jumped back as the newly revealed energy turrets swiveled to face them.

"Ah don't think ya are going anywhere. Ah have been locked down here for centuries with these voices and the more ponies that become part of them, the less the voices hurt," she explained cryptically and the sound of scuttling metal limbs grew as several of the pipes burst to reveal more of the hungry, augmented brains.

I struggled to stand, chancing a shot at one of Babs's energy turrets as both Cherry and Clip were forced to open fire upon the clawing abominations.

"You... You were controlling these things!?" I groaned, as more of the ravenous creatures began to pour out of the pipes. She frowned, her mouth flickering in the static as that dull hum began to grow just like with Gina.

"Ah knew that those ponies had no idea what they were messing with at the excavation. Sweetie was right about that, at least. What they went and dug up was not natural," she began, and I was forced to blast another pair of energy turrets as they opened fire and tried to force us toward the oncoming brains.

"Every day everypony in the city knew it was there. It felt wrong, every piece of magical equipment felt angry with us, then when the bombs fell it finally got out and everypony heard it, dead or alive," she explained then winced as if the mention was painful.

"Everypony that heard the anger knows the pain and the only way to soothe it is to spread it out across as many minds as possible." Her frown became a cruel, maddened smile. "Ah would be as cruel as my traitorous cousin if ah' just abandoned all the minds still linked to me when wounded prey came all too willingly down here," she finished with a slight laugh.

Battling the oncoming swarm I motioned for Cherry and Clip to get closer to the elevator. "And you think that this is what she'd have wanted, I thought she gave you this place to show you how much she really cared?" I asked, and her gaze narrowed, eyes flickering red.

"Ah'am savin' what is left of the ponies she failed to help. Whatever they went and meddled with in the city didn't even let anypony die right! The anger keeps us here trapped in our minds and if ah' don’ find some pony to share it with it'll torture us forever!" she shouted, as if I were the villain for not wanting my mind feasted upon by the brain of a long-dead pony.

I sent a bolt of magical energy right into the face of one of the oncoming horrors. In the same instant, the cold tendrils of another wrapped around my rear leg, sharp metal biting at my armor as I battled to kick it off.

"Fightin' proves ya'll are no more willin' to save these ponies than any of the so-called crusaders were," Babs went on as a shot from Responsibility blasted the brain wrapped around my rear leg into slimy, gray gore.

"And what about all the ponies she did save, all the ponies that did get to the stables?" I asked, and she frowned.

"They were nevah safe, just another thing she lied to me about before the end... Ah know now what she and the others all planned to do once they had ponies sealed away inside."

Great, she knows about the iron death tombs and all the messed up experiments. My mind muttered dryly. Well, there goes that line of reason.

"And what about you, the mare I saw in that memory didn't seem like somepony that could do this," I expressed, hoping that the brief recollection I had of her was enough to uphold that belief despite my hatred of most pre-war ponies.

It didn't seem to matter as she scoffed, raising a forehoof to the inside of the screen and tapping it against the glass as if it was just as real to her on the other side.

"That mare died with the rest of Equestria, and my friends' loyalty!" she shouted, the screen flashing red with static as the sounds about her voice boomed like thunder.

"Not that it even matters anymore. Ya'll will know of the anger under the city soon, and ya'll see what monsters it makes," she added, and at that, I pointed my blaster right at her brain.

Her eyes widened, then locked onto me as a set of metal shutters closed over the braincase and another set of beam turrets opened fire, stealing my attention away from her weakness. That was only half of my problems, however, and as if I were a beacon, the swarming mass of claws and brains all converged upon me like a ravenous carpet. I felt sharp tendrils coil around all four of my legs, and teeth sink into my back as they began to pile atop me. With no way to kill so many opponents, and with the sensation of the many clawed coils slowly dragging me down, I tried to kick out as hard as I could. Yet it was a futile gesture, and the weight of the brains swiftly began to overwhelm me as they crawled over my back and toward my head. Right now, the only thing keeping me from the same fate as Gina was my armor, yet the grinding of small metal teeth told me that wouldn't last long.

I managed one look up at the large screen as Babs's smile became a somewhat solemn frown, and for a moment it looked as if some distant part of her really didn't want to do this. Yet her mind was hardly a stable place anymore, and with another flicker that maniacal smile returned. Then there was a sudden flash on the screen and all of a sudden a wall of random gibberish and scrawled text flashed over her face, and the red glowing in her eyes momentarily turned green as the words were written into existence before her.

'Foreign Program Accepted. Equestrian Robotics Service Code 24/9 Overruled. Prototype Crusader Maine Frame, Alpha 4, User Designation. Equestrian Robotics: Executive Babs Seed, User Overruled'

"What... No, what is this... What did you do? Ah'... Ah' can't see… Please no, no, no, no, not again!" Babs suddenly cried out, her eyes glowing green as she frantically looked about the darkness of the screen around her as if blinded.

In the same instance, there was a sharp burst of static, and the image of her distorted. The metal covering her brain flung open and the beam turrets that had once sought to pin us in place to be feasted upon, now turned and began to fire into the swarm of augmented brains. I felt the horrors eating through my armor blasted away by the magical energy. Seconds later the ones around my legs were turned to dust or pulpy gray mash as the turrets miraculously set me free. I took a deep breath of relief, only now able to fully realize how terrified I'd been as adrenalin coursed through me. Behind me, I could hear the others calling out. Yet the world went silent as I tore my Saddle Blaster away from the coiling tendrils of the swarm and leveled a shot right at the exposed brain jar.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as S.A.T.S picked out her brain and I fired. I'm sorry, I only kill monsters.

With a bright flash, the tank shattered, pouring foul liquids and spraying shards of glass out over the table and the skeleton below. The room filled with a horrifying, electrical shriek that resonated from each brain as they began to explode into sickly mush. As they did so, I felt the few grueling tendrils slip away from my limbs and the teeth loosen on my back. Yet my eyes became focused upon the screen above, below which a bloodied brain hung like a limp corpse from several wires. A soft whimper filled the chamber, punctuated by sharp static and fading fast. Upon the screen, the image of the angry, red-eyed mare had been replaced by that of a tiny brown filly, curled up and crying.

"Ah'm sorry, sorry, cous'... I ain't even a... worthy... crusader..." As her voice dissolved into a low rumble of drawn-out static, the image flashed and flickered, then like somepony hitting the off button on a terminal it flashed brightly and went completely black.

'Foreign Program Accepted. Equestrian Robotics Service Code 24/9 Overruled. Cargo Elevator 04 Activated. Have a Nice Day.' Flashed on the screen, then there was a loud shunt and a whirring sound as the large platform began to descend down towards us.

I looked up at the screen as those words faded, then moved over to Babs's dusty bones. There was no joy, and the sharp relief in my mind faded as I looked down at the lifeless skeleton and placed a forehoof on the surgical table beside her skull.

"Rest easy," I whispered as I levitated her old Pipbuck back to lay beside her.

Nopony said a word to me as the elevator slowly ascended back toward the surface. Above, the roar of the storm became more apparent. But despite the mechanical grinding of the elevator, my aching limbs, churning gut, and bloody scars; I made no effort to take one of our last healing potions. I wasn't sure how many Cherry had found in the medical room, nor how many we'd need to get through Crimson. So until I knew everypony else was safe, I'd leave myself to be taken care of last. Even so, Cherry was looking at me nervously, and it was clear where her concerns lay. Clip was just sat down, rubbing his bandaged limbs and wincing at the pain. My whole sense of morality had been thrown into as much a spin as my stomach.

Had I just killed a monster or simply delivered mercy to a broken mare who'd lost her mind long ago? I didn't really want to think about it but neglecting the idea only made me feel more wrong. All I did know was that I'd saved my friends from a fate that sounded worse than death, living as tormented brains in jars, feeding on somepony else's mind. As for the supposed unnatural anger that had driven her to do such things? I could only assume it had something to do with the rage affecting the raiders. Clearly, whatever had been found under the city was something that had never been understood. Yet to bring to life an army of brains? I had a feeling whatever mainframe Babs had been put into had at least something to do with them reanimating, and the idea that I'd destroyed the minds of all of those ponies along with her only made my remorse stronger. Then there was my miracle Pipbuck, but despite my instincts, the less I thought about that right now, the better.

"Dragonfire?" came Cherry's cautious voice, and I glanced back to see her looking at me. Even Clip glanced up from his bloody bandages at her words.

"I'm alright, Cherry," I told her in anticipation of her next words. To my surprise, however, she shook her head.

"You're not, are you?" she stated bluntly and I felt that deep hole inside me become ever more inviting.

I lowered my gaze, sighing as I looked at the ragged rips and tattered tears the brains had made in my armor. "Can't we just get back to the others?" I asked, and she moved over to me.

"Thank you," she stated simply, and despite the guilt, her word ignited a spark in me. I looked up at her with wide eyes, like some timid foal would after a horrifying nightmare.

"Thanks for not lying to me again," she added, and in an instant, it was pretty clear she'd known something was wrong with me for a while.

But if that was true, then what did so blatantly lying to her for all that time make me look like? Before I could think too hard about that, however, she continued to speak.

"That and well... I'd never had known what to do without you, and after what Gina said..." She trailed off, her own eyes shivering. I stood as straight as my quivering legs would allow.

"She was wrong. I think everypony's been wrong about you, and I was wrong to lie to you," I told her, the idea both a welcome distraction and heartwarmingly sincere.

She nodded, wiping her muzzle with a forehoof as the elevator ground to a halt in the midst of a scrap-strewn warehouse. Rain streaked down from the shattered glass roof and a pool of rust-filled water sat amidst the mountains of sharp metal.

"Come on, we can get back to Sky through the east warehouses," Clip told us, standing and slowly walking from the platform.

Before he could take more than a few steps, however, his legs buckled and threatened to fall from under him. Without thought I swept him up in my magic and placed him upon my back, wincing at the pain as his weight pressed down upon my bruised hide.

"You can’t go too far on those legs, just tell me the way," I stated weakly, trying to put on my best, loving, and responsible adult voice.

While seemingly reluctant to admit I was right about his wounded limbs, he nodded and pointed to an exit. "That way, I used the ventilation to get by the refinery before, but you two will have to go through the normal way," he explained, and I nodded before leading on.

I just really hoped the wasteland had no more surprises up its sleeves. We hadn't even entered Crimson and my mind was teetering on the precipice of an abyss I'd only ever fallen into once before. I knew if my thoughts fell into that dark pit again they would not come out of the depressing darkness a second time.

The dark confines of the factory's east wing were no better than those below, the only difference was the horrifying brain monsters had been replaced by torrents of running water and flooded corridors. The filthy onslaught threatened to sweep any unsuspecting pony away. Clip had made it quite clear that ponies as large as myself and Cherry were far less adapted to moving through the industrial ruins unseen like he could. Even so, as sagging walls and rusted pipes passed us by my mind continued to drift back to the tunnels below as I continually questioned what I'd done down there.

I'd wanted to save my friends. Yet the moment Babs had confessed to me she was no longer the mare she used to be I'd snapped. I was afraid of how fast I'd done so and I wondered that if it were not for my desire to save the others, would I have still done the same? If it were me and Star stuck down there, would I have hesitated, or would the ‘mercy’ have been even swifter? Mercy? The word felt twisted and wrong as it wound its way slowly around my turbulent mind. I didn't want to think about it too hard, yet like some cruel joke, my thoughts constantly dragged me back there and forced me to live through the memory like I was still locked in the slow effect of S.A.T.S.

"Take a left here, head across the upper refinery then you'll be back at medical. That's the way we came down originally, so Sky and Ochre should be just above," Clip directed, pointing a hoof in the direction he'd indicated.

Like some blind work pony, I just followed his hoof without a word. Then something in my vision caught my attention and my head perked up sharply. Clip tumbled back as it did so, and I whispered a quiet apology to him as I looked about. Red bars danced in my vision, and while I couldn't tell whether they were above or below us, I did know they were directly ahead.

"What is it?" Cherry asked with concern as she appeared beside me. Clip stood up on my back, pressing his forehooves into my mane as he looked over my head.

"Something's up ahead, and it's not friendly," I stated, drawing my Saddle Blaster.

Cherry looked at me with mild curiosity and I motioned to my newly functioning Pipbuck. Without a word she slipped behind me, retrieving her hard-won golden rifle. Just ahead the corridor opened out onto another metal catwalk. After my initial groan at seeing such an environment again, I peered out to see the suspended walkway looming amidst hanging cauldrons and rattling chains. Below were the telltale channels and casts of a steel mill, most of which were encrusted with hardened metal slag.

With my visor still on the fritz, I was forced to rely upon my Pipbuck's new functions even more. Therefore, looking at where it told me there were hostiles, I made out several shapes in the gloom amidst the machinery. I pulled up my blaster, yet before I could fire there was a loud clap of thunder and in the lightning flash that swiftly followed one of the ponies jumped in alarm, knocking aside a pile of scrap.

"Damn it, will ya' be quiet!?" Came a frustrated whisper as the spiked armored pony at the lead twisted back to face the one that had jumped. "Oh, 'fraid of a little lightnin' are ya'?" the same stallion added.

The other raiders didn't say a word, as the large buck at the lead marched back to the startled mare and smashed his spiked forehoof across her face with one heavy sweep.

"There are some thangs out here that ah really don't want ta draw the attention of. Ya' got that ya' fuckin' wretch?" the raider stallion growled and the mare nodded as she spat blood from her muzzle. "Good, now spread out. this is where the others didn't come back from. Find meh those damn slaves and stay fuckin' quiet," he hissed, and at the instructions, the red bars on my E.F.S began to disperse.

I lowered my blaster and looked back at Cherry, shaking my head. She re-holstered Responsibility and looked at me expectantly. Upon my back, I felt Clip shivering. Without a word, I motioned for us to creep our way across the catwalk before the raiders could come back and turn it into another shooting gallery.

"I was wondering how long it would take them to send more," Clip stated, his tone half hopeless, half furious.

"It doesn't matter, we have to get back to the others and get out of here before they find out where we are, can we still get to the passage?" I asked, and Clip nodded.

"It's going to take Sky some time to get Ochre moving though," Cherry added, and at that, my ears fell flat.

Right, she's a smarter pony than me.I mentally sighed. Or at least she thought about the things that really mattered instead of worrying whether you were justified in killing the mare that just tried to kill and turn you into mindless zombies. My mind added bluntly.

"We'll just have to give her the time she needs then," I retorted, levitating up my weapon and offering her a confident smile.

Cherry levitated up Responsibility, mirroring my expression best she could as she nodded. I just really hoped I wouldn't come to regret those words.

"Can you manage with this?" Cherry asked hopefully as Sky dug through the medical supplies.

The pale mare looked frazzled, to say the least, but nodded nonetheless.

"Provided, we don't get caught. You picked up enough painkillers to knock out a Hellhound, as for the leg..." She looked at the pair of old medical braces skeptically. "I can make it work."

That was all she added as she levitated up some of her other supplies, the assurance seeming to be more for herself than anypony else.

"I'm sorry about your friend," Ochre offered weakly, her sympathetic words cut off by a wince as Sky went to work. I didn't say a word about Gina, but Cherry at least had the decency to think about her death respectfully.

"Don't talk too much … Just try and relax because this is going to hurt," Sky instructed, and Ochre braced herself as the unicorn tightened one of the braces to her rear leg.

Her gritted cry made it clear that the painkillers had not yet kicked in, and Sky's expression fell at the sight of her mare friend in such pain.

"Clip, can you come help..." she called and subconsciously waved him over.

I felt the small pony upon my back lurch forwards and knew he really wanted to help her. At the sight of Ochre's pained expression, I really wanted a way to spare her this pain too.

Just like you saved Lucky or Babs? My mind added. The idea that the former was not the pony I thought it was all but destroyed after the murder I'd just committed.

My attention was swiftly redirected towards telling my small companion to stay put, however, and reluctantly Sky agreed as she glanced at his bandaged legs.

"She's right, you should stay off those legs until I can get a better look at them," she instructed in defeat.

"What do you need?" Cherry swiftly intervened, moving up beside Sky readily. The pale mare didn't think twice at the new offer of aid as she made use of it.

"Hold this tightly," she instructed and Ochre's next set of painful cries came all too soon for me to deal with.

I looked back at the door nervously, at this rate every raider in the area was going to hear us. "Clip, which way to the way out of here?" I asked.

"There should be a tunnel down to the train lines at the far end of the warehouses, back past the collapsed medical area," he told me, and I nodded.

"I'll make sure it's clear, you two just hurry," I said as kindly as I could.

Clearly, the idea that raiders were after us dissuaded any hostility that demand may have summoned, and both Sky and Cherry nodded.

"Be careful," the latter added, and with that, I made my way back out of the office.

"You be careful up there okay, stay behind my head," I instructed Clip, but that idea did not seem to sit well with him.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I designed this thing, it can take as much of a beating as I can," I told him proudly, tapping a hoof on my scaled helmet.

Didn't stop my visor going on the fritz nor a set of hungry brain monsters from trying to eat their way through though, did it? My mind added snidely.

Getting rid of those ideas was really becoming hard. Moments later, my pride was shattered as something shook the whole factory, heralded by a loud boom that was far too close for comfort. My ears perked and Clip rose as high as he could atop the back of my neck.

Oh well, so much for my safety instructions, I thought weakly.

"They must have blown through the central doors, they'll be in here any moment," he warned, pulling out his shotgun.

A part of me really hoped he wouldn't shoot me again, but that idea was far easier to dismiss now. Instead, I turned my attention to the darkness in the warehouse before me. Nothing but the mountains of rusted metal and sickly waterfalls were visible below the sinister gaze of the Applejack mural. Yet the flashes of lightning above afforded me the briefest of glances at the warehouse's layout. A pool of rust-saturated water sat in the center, there was a large red door on the opposite side and the rest was a cobbled mass of sharp metal scrap. We were right in the kill zone should the raiders come through the doors opposite and then we'd have no way out. I backed up into the doorway of the office, then something else caught my ear.

It was faint amidst the roar of the storm, nothing like the distant explosion I'd just heard. Yet I had not survived this long by being deaf. I was almost glad I could still admit that as I recognized the sound of waving chains and spun around. Above me was the dark shape of a pony, almost invisible against the shadows. Even as lightning flashed through the shattered roof all I saw was a jet-black figure, yet it was unlike any raider. A dark carapace armor covered the ghostly pony head to tail, almost like that of an Enclave pegasus. I raised my blaster, scanning the pony for wings as lightning flashed again. All I got was a glimpse of their shimmering eyes and then they vanished. I looked for its blip on my Pipbuck, but it seemed invisible even to the device's E.F.S.

Seriously, what in Equestria is invisible to one of these things!? I thought, that feeling of somepony watching me the last time I was in here making my mane crawl.

"Did you see that?" I asked Clip abruptly, mostly seeking an answer that would tell me I wasn't going crazy.

He opened his mouth to answer, but another bright flash and loud boom tore through the room before he could speak, and this time it was certainly not lightning. Fire erupted from the doors on the opposite end of the warehouse and from the subsiding flames came a murderous group of ponies I knew for sure were real.

The force of the blast shook the whole wall, and before I could even register my own loss of balance, the whole catwalk shook. Clip yelped as the thing lurched forward and I threw myself back towards the office, grasping the edge with my forehooves as the metal frame fell away into the filthy pool below.

Goddesses, if I ever have to stand on another of these things again, I'm going to be really pissed!

Unfortunately for me, the wasteland seemed only too happy to ensure I didn't have a chance to see anything again, let alone another catwalk. The corroded frame gave a metallic howl as the rest of the stairs fell and struck the water, several more pieces of crumbling factory wall falling into the gloom around it. The raiders ducked for cover, yet it didn't take them long to see me as I hung from the wall, and a series of snickers and cruel laughs was all that proceeded their gunfire. Clearly, the idea of being quiet was no longer an issue for them, and in the position, I was currently in, it wasn't hard for even ponies as stupid as them to hit me. Without thought I reached up towards the office entrance, my limbs and stomach more chaotic than the storm above as I tossed Clip into the room with my magic.

"Get to the others!" I instructed loudly, and he glanced back at me, the look in his eyes unsure.

Even so, he did not look like he was willing to leave me hanging as a perfect target. I didn't give him much of a choice as another shot struck my hide and my horn flared, magically pushing him forwards before more shots could find their way into the office and hit him instead of my armor.

"Go!" I screamed as I levitated up my plasma weapons and began to fire them both blindly into the room behind me.

He took off, and while I felt more than a little cruel for being so harsh with him, I had no time for sentiment. My blind firing at least caused the raiders to dart for cover. Evidently, I could hit better than them even without seeing. Then again, their armor was not as bulletproof as mine. Regardless, the several aching bruises on my back added to those wounds I already bore, and with all of my might, I tried to pull myself back up into the office. Then there was a loud crack as a bullet struck right beside my left forehoof and I slipped. I almost swore my life flashed by at that moment as I slid down, the muscles in my other forehoof going taught with a surge of pain that caused me to scream.

Seriously, how many times can you damage your limbs before finding a doctor? My mind asked as I winced.

"Ha-ha, got ya' now," came a sickeningly joyful voice.

Once again adrenaline took hold of me, even if its effects were far more exhausting than before. I pressed my rear hooves into the wall and frantically tried to regain my grip. The raiders below didn't allow me the luxury as several bullets hit the scales over my back, and as they laughed I knew that even the dragon scales could not take many more shots. It was pretty clear they were going to make this slow and painful, and I assumed if the fall didn't kill me, whatever they had in store would be even slower. Then a sudden whoosh cut past me and I saw nothing but a black blur as one of the raiders fell limply into the water and others began to cry a fit of curses as they darted back for cover.

"Shit... Spread out, an' somepony finish that one up there, now!" came the voice I vaguely recognized as that of the larger stallion I'd seen in the refinery room.

All I could think was saving my own hide as the sounds of gunfire not aimed at my rear began to chime. All but one gunshot... The crack of Clip's shotgun was mixed with the cry of my name as Cherry ducked forward and grabbed my forehoof. The pony who I assumed was about to finish me off fell into the water with a splash as Cherry's magic reinforced her grip and slowly she pulled me up into the office.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think we have to move now!" I exclaimed with relief, my mind only now realizing just how close I'd been to death. That was when I realized exactly where I was laying.

Cherry had fallen back and now I was sitting directly atop her, my lungs demanding more breath than my gasping could provide.

Okay, this is awkward but... damn it, Brain! This is not the time for hot, sexy thoughts about the mare you can't deny is incredibly cute!

I staggered back, blushing furiously under my helmet. In fact, the only thing preventing my embarrassment from sending me back over the edge was a bullet striking the wall.

"Fuckin' damn it! Ya' two find us a way 'round!" came the voice of the lead raider stallion, and I had a nagging frustration that he'd been the one to try and finish me off.

At that moment there was another bang as Clip took another shot. The raiders scattered like radroaches. Yet as I looked at Clip propped up against the doorframe wall with shivering limbs, I suspected that he was not the one causing so much chaos. Whoever the dark pony that had set their sights upon the raiders was, they did not seem to have any problem as they plucked individual ponies off right and left. Those that survived shot blindly into the darkness as if their attacker was a ghost.

There's no such thing as... Really, brain, does it matter anymore? The only thing the black armored pony seemed to give them was a swift death as they began dropping dead in the water with no sound other than a splash.

Looking back, and bracing myself against the door I swore I could see the flash of green eyes amidst the darting shadows. Of course, I knew one thing for sure, illusions did not kill ponies like that, not even ones created by my sick fuck of a mind. But hey, at least I wasn't going crazy enough to hallucinate things like that. None of my companions seemed to notice the silent, death-dealing pony, however.

"Right, we need to leave," I stated again, yet that seemed more directed at my easily distracted brain than anypony else.

"The exit plan?" I added, looking a Clip as I backed up from the firefight outside and levitated him back onto my back.

My legs gave a painful twinge at his extra weight and I winced. Clip steadied his shotgun in his quivering hooves as I turned back into the hall.

"The elevator, without those stairs it's the only other way down, but I don't know if it works," he explained.

I nodded and a moment later, I found out just how right he was as I pulled the crooked doors apart with my magic and stared down at the rusted shaft.

"You know I wasn't aware this idea involved jumping down elevator shafts," Sky muttered as she eyed the darkness below.

"You have a better idea?" I asked, the sound of fighting in the background the only real emphasis my words needed.

A set of metal cables trailed down the center of the shaft, and a few meters below the open roof of the elevator car itself sat crooked. Sky gave me a stern look, but I simply shook it off.

"Look, if we jump one at a time, then all of us can use our magic to levitate each other down," I suggested, motioning to myself, then Sky, then Cherry.

Skylark's doubtful look didn't change. "What you... You can barely walk!" she stated, pointing a forehoof at my newly crippled limbs.

"My legs have nothing to do with my horn," I countered swiftly, then before I could respond the stubborn mare was shoved forwards.

She screamed for a short moment and instinctively my magic flared, as did Cherry's. The shaft lit up and there was a soft metal moan as the glowing telekinesis lowered her softly atop the elevator. Moments later, she let out a growl that told us somepony was really about to get some stern words. We all looked back to see Ochre trembling, one forehoof outstretched as she leaned against the wall and took several shallow breaths.

"Functioning horn or not... You were never going to get her moving like that," she muttered with a weak smile.

"I swear, you do that to me again I'll... Oh, Ochre, I'll kill you myself! " Sky grumbled in frustration as she helped support her injured marefriend along the corridor. Magically reducing the earth pony's weight with her telekinetic magic.

Ochre just smirked at the pale mare's frustration. "Well, I had to believe it would work, what else is there...? Plus, I thought you liked me touching your butt?" she teased, and her coy expression made Sky blush no matter how exhausted either of them were.

I had to admit the ochre mare was a bold one, I'd have sooner jumped down that shaft myself rather than face Sky's wrath. I had to admit I'd not been completely sure my magic was enough to catch her, but after that, I had little hesitation levitating the others down. Whether her whole idea of belief was real or not, it was a smart play on Ochre's part, even if I knew levitating myself would have been far harder than stopping somepony else from falling. Sky and Cherry had brought me down last, and even the soft landing had caused my wounded limbs to ache all the more. Following that, Cherry forced me to down another healing potion, and Sky reluctantly insisted that both Clip and I take painkillers if we were going to be doing so much moving around.

I was now very glad for the latter, at least, but the way Cherry had told me to take even more chems was nagging at me. Her readiness to use them so much only brought another threat to mind. Next wasteland lesson, too many chems are bad, don't take any unless you absolutely have to. I didn't want to think she was oblivious to that, and I mostly attributed her somewhat stern actions to the fear and stress. Running away only to lose her ear and being attacked by an evil brain-controlling robot pony in the basement was sure to do that to a pony. The only other problem was that I really hated thinking so little of her. I was still unsure if she'd heard what I'd uncontrollably muttered about her being so important to me. But with the way she'd asked me not to lie to her anymore, I could only assume that she had. Then there was the idea that I was once again treating her so much like a foal, and that knocked another frail support out from under my already turbulent sense of morality.

"There should be a service tunnel just ahead, then a ramp down to the train tunnels... But I have no idea what might be down there," Clip warned, and I looked back at him atop Cherry's head.

The pink mare had been just as happy as I was to carry him around, yet the idea that I wasn't really strong enough to do that and fight anymore made that pit inside me just that much deeper. I looked back at them and nodded, trying to look past Cherry's concerned gaze and not focus on the bandaged stump of her ear.

"How do you know they're not flooded, it's been raining non-stop out there?" Sky asked.

"If it is then we watch our backs and wait," I offered as he struggled to answer her.

Clearly, he wasn't one to disappoint his friends, even if he didn't know what to tell them. I knew my reasons were far less noble as I took the chance to think about something other than my pink friend. Most prominent in my mind besides her and the others was the whole thing involving my miracle Pipbuck, a killer cult of crazy ponies, and the idea of my failing ability to distinguish monsters from victims. Most of my ideas involving any of those things were hopeless as of yet, especially the idea of who exactly deserved to die and who didn't. Other than that, the only other thing that came to mind was the ghost pony I'd seen in the warehouse.

That glimpse I gained made it clear it was at least equine, and despite my mind wishing to make several connections between it and my miracle Pipbuck, it wasn't much of a viable correlation. If they were connected, why had it saved us from one danger with science hacking skills at one moment and another with a swift and silent deadly attack? Maybe it was one of those darkly armored ponies I'd seen in the labs, yet the Transcended seemed to want me dead. Not saved. That left only coincidence, and I didn't believe in such things.

Regardless, the idea made my head spin almost as much as my stomach, and my survivalist mindset pushed it far away from my focus as we reached a break in the long, metallic corridor. To the right was a larger metal door, the words 'Subway Access tunnel 245' etched into the metal below a set of leavers. A nod from Clip confirmed this was the right way and I reluctantly looked at Cherry.

"Can you get it open?" Despite her concerns, I knew the chance to prove herself in her most esteemed set of skills was something she couldn't help but smile at.

She trotted forwards, setting Clip down beside her as she set to work. Ochre leaned against the wall, earning another flurry of attention from Sky. I simply leaned against the opposite wall and tried to ignore all of the things wrong with me as I waited. Fortunately, it wasn't long until the door clicked open and Cherry peeked through.

"There's water... but the coast looks clear," she called back as Clip climbed back onto her back.

"Good the sooner we get through this, the better," Sky retorted as she helped Ochre back up straight and once again wrapped the earth pony in a cradle of light telekinesis.

I waited for them all to go through, backed up to the door, and then paused. Despite how much it unnerved me, there were a great many things I was beginning to love about my new Pipbuck. I spun around, slipping into S.A.T.S and sending a blast of magical energy into the raider pony's face before he could even draw his weapon. He fell down with a cry of pain as two more clambered over him.

"Wait!" another of them called out, yet it was too late for her as I melted her face right off and instantly turned the Saddle blaster to a third raider.

He stood motionless in the corridor, his coat was a sickly green, and his mane an equally stained yellow. His teeth were far closer to that color than the natural white as he grinned.

"Ah really don't think ya' what ta go that way," he warned, and I knew from his voice this was the ringleader of the bunch again.

"Yeah, well I really don't think I want to stay here with you either," I retorted.

"After the trouble, ya' have caused meh, probably not... But trust meh, it's better if ah kill ya'll an' get it over with then for ya' ta go inta the city for the rage ta get ya'," he added with an unnerving tone.

It was almost as if he meant that as more of a true warning than simply a raider's maddened threat. He was really afraid of the city, he wasn't just completely crazy. It didn't save him from me, however, and I opened fire. He jumped aside, but in the restricted space there wasn't really anywhere for him to go as the energy beams turned most of his front to charred toast and he fell to the floor. A slew of loud curses followed as I stepped back into the door.

"Ya' fuckin', bitch! Ah hope they find ya' there... Ah..." His dying fit was cut off by a sharp whistle as something punched clean through his neck.

There was nothing but a burst of blood and a gargled breath from his corpse. I stiffened and watched as the dark-armored pony emerged from the gloom and stepped into view. No wings, no strange star symbol, no sign of a brain latched onto the side of their head. He looked like a buck too, many years' worth of experience telling me that about his rather sleek form even through the faceless armor. Then I noticed a dark purple mane and a horn through neat gaps in the carapace, and my analysis stopped as those green, insectoid eyes peered at me. I trained my weapon on him, yet he did no more than stare. That was when there was a loud crack and a flash as a bullet struck the wall behind him. I jumped back into the tunnel to see Cherry levitating Responsibility right behind me. When I looked back into the tunnel he was gone, and so was the blooded corridor as the force of telekinetic magic dragged me back and the door slammed shut.

"You alright!" Cherry asked urgently, and for once it looked like it was her who was fighting the urge to embrace me.

I glanced between her and the door before nodding slowly. "Sure, sure, why wouldn't I be?" I said sheepishly, my tone a dead giveaway to that lie if my shivers were not.

I knew she saw right through my lies, I also knew she was too afraid to say she knew of my deceit as she turned and levitated Clip back onto her back. Sky and Ochre were stood a little further down the dripping tunnel, and in the light of the former's horn, I could see the shimmering of water. I took one last glance at the door and sighed as my mind asked the simple question.

Why wouldn't I be?

---

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk Added: Guardian Angel - No matter what, the goddesses must want somepony to make sure you don't die. You gain +1 luck when you are without any party members and there is a small chance a mysterious stranger may come to your aid in a fight.

Next Chapter: Chapter Fifteen: Crimson Springs Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 59 Minutes