A violent shudder shook my whole body, causing my eyes to flicker open. A heavy daze overwhelmed me like being cocooned in a warm blanket before it swiftly dissipated into raw terror as I realized what I'd just been forced to experience. With a sharp breath, I shot up, my eyes instantly scouring my body for any sign that such a nightmare may have followed me out of the memory. I was laying in a medical bed. Fearing the worst, I slowly pulled the sheets back.

My hooves? Still there. My coat, still there. My whole body was still there. My sudden jolt did not bode well for my motor-control however, for, in spite of my will, my body wasn’t responding in the way I would have liked. I lurched forward, my head dipping lazily as my mind swam. My gut felt like the roaring, splashing whirlpool of Churn, my legs ached with the sensation of pins and needles as pinched blood vessels resumed flowing to the affected nerves, and my coat was doused in a layer of cold sweat. I was no longer wearing my barding, nor was I in any state to defend myself; my weapons had been confiscated. All I had left was my Pipbuck and a sweat-soaked white sheet draped over my lower half.

I took a deep breath as I began to calm down and slowed my racing heart to a more bearable level. I rubbed a hoof through my sweat-soaked mane, finally turning my attention to my gloomy surroundings.

Hanging from a wired box in the ceiling above was a device resembling the spider-like arms of Willow's Mister Handy, only instead of buzz saws and flamethrowers, these arms had been fitted with needles and similarly sharp medical utensils. Despite the eerie atmosphere, the shocking memory of a pony disintegrating from within and my churning insides, I still shivered at the sight of them.

Well done Dragonfire, so if you were in a lair full of Manticores and you saw a needle just laying around would you just stop for a moment and shiver for old phobia's sake?

I didn't even bother muttering the words shut up brain in response to that stupid mental proclamation.

I simply ignored the surgical multi-tool and the needles to the best of my ability. That was made easier by the fact that most of the sharp limbs above were neatly flooded up against the central carapace, the likes of which clung to the ceiling. Shaking that nagging idea out of my head as best as I could I leaned forward, pressing my forehooves onto the mattress. That's when my body once again thought it would be funny to act up without my consent. My insides felt as if somepony had been playing hopscotch with them and every movement only made the dull ache in the overwhelming sensory feedback that much worse. Not only that, but my gut felt strangely warm and tingly, a striking contrast to my cold, damp exterior. Only when I was still for about a minute did the churning nausea subside somewhat and the shivers hit me.

Oh, yeah it was freezing, my senses swiftly notified me.

Immediately, I pulled the damp quilt around myself hoping my body heat would at least warm both the fabric and the cold fluids staining it.

Survival in the wasteland? Whoever said it was pleasant was one slick, slimy, snake-oil-selling son of a bitch; one moment you're trotting through the friendliest ruin imaginable and the next you're wrapping yourself in your own sweat-soaked blankets just to keep warm.

Well at least my sense of humor had survived whatever has happened to me, I remarked as my mind finally began to resume operating normally.

Taking another brief moment I peered into the gloom surrounding me. There was a faint light flickering above, the only thing preventing the chilling chamber from becoming overwhelmed by darkness. In its ghostly glow, I could just make out the long, hospital-like room. Its walls were tiled, its ceiling a tessellating pattern of plaster sheets, crisscrossed neatly by the wires serving several more of the spider-like medical multi-tools. All those I could make out were situated above more private patient chambers, each housing a bed, several dark screens and borders marked by white curtains. In the corner of my eye, another light flickered, and I looked to see the green evacuation marker which sat above a set of double doors at the room’s far end. Straining to peer through the misted windows, I could see the bright light of a white corridor beyond. It was then, as my gaze crawled back into the dark room, that I noticed the bodies in the beds around me.

I swallowed hard, which only succeeded in further irritating my dry throat and giving my body another excuse to thrash wildly. The discomfort became greater as I shifted from my slouched sitting position and moved to the bed's left side. Next to the bed was a metal mobile medical trolley, on which was an array of surgical utensils.

Great... more needles, my mind moaned.

I pushed the trolley aside in a clumsy attempt to get down from the bed, its wheels squeaking as it rattled to a stop against the wall. When my bumbling attempts at leaving the bed failed, however, I collapsed back onto the uncomfortable mattress whereupon I huffed in frustration. My mind was racing in an attempt to ignore my internal discomfiture, and my hoof clenched the slowly warming blanket closer to my neck. It was then that the sight of the needles above reminded me of the gruesomely arranged skeletons occupying the other hospital beds within the terrible room. I felt unadulterated terror as I began to realize the danger which I had been exposed to after succumbing to unconsciousness.

The best I could manage was a feeble kick, but it was enough to shake the blanket from my lower torso and I clenched my eyes closed fearful of seeing any other signs of mutilation or experiment which might have been performed upon me. Unable to not find out what alterations may have been made to my body, I looked to see... Nothing. No scars, not even burns or stitches. There was no indication that any sort of operation had transpired while I had been unconscious. I'd heard plenty of stories about experiments upon live ponies, and stories of ponies who had either been vivisected or dissected, deep within Equestria’s mental asylums or malfunctioning pre-war laboratories. I gave a long sigh, my tense muscles relaxing as I realized that neither dissection or vivisection had been performed upon me whilst I had been unconscious. No more than a moment later, my now mostly operational mind told me what to do. I needed to get out of here. This time I leaned forward and ignoring the intense discomfort carefully scooted out of the bed. My hooves struck the cold tiles as the bed sheets fell over my back. Almost instantly my legs buckled like jelly under my weight.

Stumbling, I pressed against the bed frame for support, the cold metal obliged with a metallic creek as its wheels had been locked into place. The world became a spinning blur once more as my eyes managed to warp the gloom about me into a swirling miasma of color, light, and darkness. I really needed to get out of this accursed place, or if not out, then just get somewhere other than here! During my decision-making process, my mind seemed eager to unload a barrage of profane curses regarding how stupid I was to follow that fucking robot, Overseer, that mare in the tank, or to even enter this fucking place!

"By the goddesses, Dragonfire! You should have turned that little glowing fucker to dust the moment he appeared. But no, instead you behave like you’re some damned greenhorn Wasteland bounty hunter! You just had to go and follow him, didn’t you? You just had to get yourself knocked the fuck out and laid unconscious on an operating table. You left the one pony you were supposed to protect alone and got fucked with in some pre-war lab!"

"Just shut up!" I screamed at my berating conscience before my conscience stopped nagging me suddenly.

Cherry! I needed to find her and get her out before that little fucker caught her too. I looked up to the bed across from me to see the dead body of a mare partially covered by the white hospital curtain and really hoped that he hadn't gotten to my friend already. With that terrifying thought in my mind, I took a quivering step forward, followed by another, each hoof tap upon the tiles making it painfully clear that I wasn't the same bounty hunter I had been before I succumbed to unconsciousness, despite the lack of obvious surgery. But I'd felt like this before; was I drunk?

Oh, yeah the fucking crazy protocol robot just wanted a quick drink!

No, this was different and I knew it. I felt a wrongness inside me that was unswervingly pleasant like I'd just had a fun night, only without the fun part and with all the dire consequences.

I had to get out, I had to find Cherry!

With that thought constantly on my mind, I knew that the little fucker had been given more than enough time to perform whatever sick, twisted experiment he may have wanted to her. I bit my bottom lip and forced my shivering legs to form another weak step. Inevitably, my eyes wound up on the beds flanking me as I passed. The other ponies were all dead, some were even reduced to skeletons. Those that were not simply skeletal ponies were no more than empty corpses, their eyes opened wide with an unseeing, soulless stare as if gazing into eternity. Most were laid perfectly flat, some were even tied down that way. Others were curled up tight, hooves clenching their stomachs as painful expressions remained forever frozen upon their lifeless faces. The cold, glowing x-rays plastered over the dark screens above showed eerie pictures of their insides. Even if I was not smart enough to notice anything wrong with them, the internal images still made me sick.

The bodies closest to the door still had hooves held upright by the spider-like arms. Other metallic limbs, tipped with what appeared to be magical gemstones reached down towards their lower abdomen. I close my eyes, struggling both to stand up and not to cringe at the horrible, gruesome display of death all around me. They all had one thing in common, they were all mares. Most of the dead had been unicorns, though there were several earth ponies among them, and to my surprise, two were even pegasi! I didn't even want to investigate what had happened to the few that were completely hidden behind closed curtains, the still silhouettes of hooves struggling with mechanical limbs enough to tell me they were no better off than the dead I could see. I prayed to the goddesses that none of them were Cherry. Slowly the dull gloom became washed by the ghostly light of the lone bulb above the door, and it gave a few buzzing flickers before resuming its constant hum. In the new light, I could make out some writing upon the ends of the two foremost hospital beds. One on the left supported a purple unicorn who's clipboard designated her as 'patient ten. Surrogate catalyst unable to sustain subject beyond stage 1. Subject failure.'

A load more science mumble-jumble that I didn't bother to read went on below. The second was a blue Pegasus. Her plaque stated she had a similar problem as the unicorn opposite. My fear-filled mind was in no state to processes the scientific information, nor would I have wasted my time with the eggheaded jargon even if I could. I was gonna get my guns, find Cherry and Star, then we were gonna march right up to that little robotic fucker and demand he tell me what the fuck he'd done to me. Yet, as that new spark of determination flared, it was just as swiftly stolen as unsettling cramp suddenly twisted in my gut.

I winced, my insides lurching heavily around the slight pain. One spluttered breath later, and I found myself slumping against the door as the sharp pain in my gut swiftly vanishing, leaving only a tingling sensation amidst the continually churning storm. I fell back, trying my back to the door and sliding down onto my rump. The soggy sheets slipped from my back, setting upon the cold tiles at my side as I looked over myself. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, even as I pressed a hoof to my aching stomach nothing physically felt different. The only thing summoned by my touch was that unpleasant dizziness, as the world once again became a swirling maelstrom of color, darkness, and light.

"What the fuck have you done to me?" I mumbled under my breath, as my hoof trailed over my damp coat gently.

Yet the slight cramp failed to return and soon I forced myself shakily back onto my hooves, pressing one against the reflective surface of the door. I shivered again but managed to keep the next surge of internal turmoil to just a few spluttered coughs. Even so, I constantly experienced that roiling turmoil repeat over and over. I almost felt as if I was turning into dust, just like in the memory. Yet this was real and not some terrifying illusion. I really wished... No, I was not just going to sit around and wait for me to be rescued like some helpless and weak damsel in distress!

Damn it Dragon! You either die right here or keep moving, either way, you’re not letting that little fucker's experiments upon you beat you! My mind scorned, and for once I couldn't disagree.

Taking a few deep breaths, I saw myself faintly in the glass of the door frame. I looked as if I'd been through a great deal more than a night out in the Wastelands, to say the least. Not even the roughest night I could remember had left me looking anything like this. My white coat had almost turned into a dark gray with sweat, the same could be said from my mane. The cyan mass looked more like it had tangled with some kind of seaweed monster and lost atop of my head. My eyes were bloodshot and there were dark circles under my eyes, not to mention they were wet and my orbits appeared to be puffy, as were my nostrils. Yet my mouth felt nothing but dry, and my throat ached as if had forced me to swallow an entire seidel mug’s worth of sand. I pressed my eyes shut before taking another deep breath. Was I going to get out, or was I going to die here? The Wasteland was giving me those two options to choose from and I knew I'd better pick one fast.

Regardless of my mind's turmoil, I pressed my weight against the door. It gave a heavy clunk before falling open and leaving me to stagger into a long, tiled corridor beyond. I fought not to fall flat on my muzzle, opting instead on colliding heavily against the right wall. My cold sweat slipped against the smooth tiles, as I stumbled forwards. All I could see ahead was the same endless corridor, illuminated by yet more flickering lights. Despite that, I could feel my vision clearing and the mental fatigue caused my unconsciousness was slowly dissipating. I paused, taking a few sharp breaths before forcing myself to stand up straight and noticed a doorway to my right. It was large and black, yet with a firm push, it swung open.

Inside appeared to be a locker room, illuminated by another stammering evacuation light. Placing one hoof firmly on the tiles of the new room, I was able to coordinate a stronger step, followed by another. Even now I could feel myself slowly regaining my motor-control even though I still had a long ways to go before I would be satisfied with how my body moved and reacted. Even so, that did nothing to hinder my priorities. I needed to find Cherry and Star and get the fuck out of this fucking place. I'd fight my way to that mare with my bare hooves if I had too, and if I saw that robot then he was a good as scrap metal. As my thoughts grew stronger, I staggered further. Lazily pressing against a bench in the center of the locker room, I looked ahead, and there my clearing eyes widened.

"My barding?" I coughed in a dry voice.

There was no mistaking the blue scaled security barding and customised power armor helmet. I stood up straight again, forcing my not quite steady legs to become steadier. It was my barding, guns and all, exactly how I knew them. So why did that seem so different? It was then I looked up and saw, sitting on the bench beside them, two more sets of barding. Most were stereotypical wastelander attire, as was the weaponry that accompanied them. Sadly, there were no energy weapons, yet I was hardly in a condition to give a major fuck. Some were no more than ragged scraps that a raider could easily throw together. Others seemed as sophisticated as my own. Two stood out massively. The black carapace of power armor was unmistakable, the wings and scorpion tail only made that truer. Both sets were left in a standing pose, as much lost sentinels as the building's security system.

Enclave? But... It didn't take me long to recall the staggered image of the two pegasi mares dead on the beds. I closed my eyes tightly as I cringed. I could almost throw up just thinking about how fucked up this was, what the fuck were they doing here? Capturing seemingly random ponies from the wasteland and doing what? As much as I tried to resist thinking about the image of that mare plugged into the tank, it flashed through my head over and over. There had been four of those pods. Had I been in... I lurched forward my guts twisting and convulsing until they poured a torrent of bile onto the tiles beneath my hooves. I fell to my knees, gagging and wheezing as more vomit crawled up my dry throat singing it with an acidic bile.

What the fuck had he done to me? I felt myself asking, again and again, each question sending a cold shiver down my spine.

I felt my head press against the bench and my forehooves became warmer due to my vomit as I waited for the gagging to cease. I was trembling more than ever, I was afraid I... Suddenly a sound sounded out from the doorway behind me. I stiffened my legs as fast as my traumatized body would allow, my mind turning back into a warped mess. Regardless, I forced my magic around my Saddle Blaster and looked to the empty doorway. He was coming back, that little floating fucker, he was coming to make me just like all those other mares he'd experimented on, all of those other mares he had raped... Whatever the fuck this situation I found myself in was. I tensed my muscles which ached in protest as I levitated the modified energy rife up to the open doorway.

"Come on you buzzing little fucker, I'll show you perfection," I growled weakly.

I didn't care that, given my state, even the hovering robot could probably beat me in combat. My eyesight was still far from clear, and my violent trembling made my aim no better than a filly's on her first training day. He could probably get me with the memory thing again. Assuming it was the same one if so I'd have to experience turning to dust all over again. Was that what he'd done, began such a process where I… I shivered again this time with pure horror, yet the gun remained poised to fire. Then came the sound of hoofsteps upon tiles. They were slow, maybe even cautions. Centrally not the high-pitched hum of Overseer's levitation talismans. But, I wasn't taking any chances. I wasn't letting him get me again, no fucking way was I...

"Cherry?" My frail voice broke in shock as the gloomy image of the pink mare appeared in the doorway.

My eyes widened and my magical grip vanished. With a hard clatter, the blaster fell to the floor, as did I. She looked just as startled as I was, even as she bolted towards me.

"Oh, by Celestia, Dragonfire! Are you okay!?" she stammered frantically.

I just leaped up and wrapped my hooves around her neck in a tight embrace. She tensed, becoming as stiff as a board, just like every other time I'd been so close. Yet this wasn't to protect her, I just needed somepony. The quivering mess my forelimbs and I had become almost rattled against her tensed muscles, and opening my eyes I saw her looking at me, her own eyes wide with shock and confusion.

"I'm never gonna leave you again." I whimpered, like a frightened filly crying into its mother's mane.

She seemed to have no idea what to do beyond just trying and blocking out the sheer terror caused by my sudden and abrupt contact, but as I just clung onto her there for a long moment I felt her slowly relax. She was warm and alive. I was cold and half dead, but I held onto her like she was the only thing to keep me from slipping back into the horrible memory of the mare in the tank or the vaporized stallion.

"Dragonfire?" Her soft voice seemed to force itself from her muzzle as if her throat were clogged by soft tissue.

I let go, leaning back my on forehooves, the likes of which were now encased in vomit, as was my posterior as I plopped my butt in my now cold and icky fluids. For another long moment the pair of us just stared at each other, neither of us could oppose the other. Be it through fear, respect or an overwhelming desire to protect. I still needed to save her, I was still gonna get her back home. I forced myself back onto my hooves, scraping off the sticky, slick bile best I could.

"Are you okay?" I asked as kindly as my weak, dry voice would allow.

She shied away from my words. "I'm fine… I just followed the lights, but what happened? You were there, then the door I... I thought I was gonna... You have been gone for hours..." The words ran from her mouth like a river, and she only missed those things she didn't want to think about.

Overseer. A dull throb of my past anger slowly rekindled, despite having subsided before. What the fuck is it doing? First, it separates her from me and now it leads her back to me? My dizzy and muddled mind tried to come up with any logical reason for its very seemingly contradictory actions. Yet I couldn’t figure out anything more than a repeat of what it'd told me, and that only dragged me deeper into the fears of what it might have done to me while I was unconscious. No, I'd only one goal to achieve right now. I'd have to find out what it'd done to me later. Now we had to either find it or get out. All I could do regarding such a thing was hope that Star was already clear or waiting upstairs, or at least somewhere where I could still contact him. As I double checked my Pipbuck to see if my Pipbuck’s broadcaster was still functional, a part of me at least entertained the idea that Overseer might be generous enough to just let us walk out.

"We need to leave," I stated as seriously as I could manage, my ears swiveling for the slightest sound which might indicate movement, my head turned as I looked. The last thing I wanted was for that Overseer to get the drop on me a second time.

Cherry's expression remained gloomy, but she managed to give a small nod.

"Can you find your way back to the lift?" I asked, stepping close to her.

She seemed to freeze, but remained silent, though I wouldn’t be surprised if her mind was whirling with all manner of thoughts! Was she desperately trying to believe she was useful. When that seemed to fail her she looked almost on the verge of tears.

"Cherry?" I queried her in almost a faint whisper.

She glanced briefly at me before shaking her head slowly.

"I... I just followed the lights, I wanted to find you..." she murmured.

I sighed, but nodded my head, understanding her logic.

"It doesn't matter, I'd have done the same if I were you," I admitted.

Yet Overseer seemed to have no intention of reuniting us until he'd had his way with me. My words, however, seemed to give Cherry a spark of life. With that, I took a slow step up beside where my gear was piled, levitating my barding and slinging it over my back while placing the helmet atop my head. My insides gave another twisting kick as I moved with extra weight of guns and dragon scale. I felt oddly warm inside yet chilled as ice on the outside. I'd changed, something inside me was very different. I couldn't feel it entirely, but there was something nagging at my mind like my body knew something I didn't. It was as if it had been adapted for such a diversion in its normality, yet my mind hadn't. I took another step shifting the warm sensation back into a dull ache all my muscles shared as I pressed on.

Many corners later and after what felt like an eternity of shivering, my body began to completely reawaken. My gasping breaths slowed, and my eyes felt less strained in the bright light. Finally, we reached a fork in the corridor and Cherry anxiously tried to retrace the way she'd been lead, constantly glancing up to the lights as she went. I couldn't help but notice with mounting suspicion that all of the light had now turned on. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Overseer was playing his little game anymore. The more I thought about that robots' sick intentions the more it made my head hurt. He could have fucked me up in so many ways. What was it, radiation? Taint? Was I going to turn into ghoul, or worse whatever the fuck had happened to Hayland? I felt a cringe-worthy shiver in my gut at the reminder of that feeling, followed another cramp stinging my insides. I could understand now why this job had been worth so many caps, no monsters or environmental hazards just some fucked up faculty with and an even worse caretaker.

By the goddesses, if I was gonna die I was haunt that client forever! Let’s see how they like an un-prissy ghost. I closed my eyes trying not to think about any of it, horrid memories of ponies in pods, the dead mares back in the hospital room and more difficulty, the strange feelings bubbling inside me.

Just ignore it, my mind advised. Get out, then you can worry about it.

Oh yeah, the good old just don't think about it routine, works every time brain, thanks oh so much for the advice.

No, it was not that easy, but at least, for the moment I only felt slightly worse than the roughest night I could remember. That changed a moment later as I glanced down a corridor to my left. Instantly I recognized the corridor in which I'd found the office, the shattered glass of the medical door a big giveaway.

"Hey, I came this way," I stated, gesturing towards the corridor.

Cherry paused, looking back to me with slight skepticism. Even so, she was not one to argue even if a part of me wished she would. She nodded, and I swiftly moved back towards the office, trying to ignore the sight of Lucky's former cell just ahead. The shattered glass door was still open, as was the second one across the small medical room. Swiftly I stepped through, Cherry followed her eyes instantly and eagerly setting upon anything I'd left unopened.

"See what you can find, I just want to take a look at something," I told her, levitating out the bobby pins I'd found for her.

She looked at them appreciatively, before nodding and setting her sharp eyes to work scouring the room for anything she deemed worthy of her saddlebags, which I expected, included every little thing that wasn't nailed down. I stepped back into the main office, determined to find at least a hint of that little fucker had done to me. Motion after moments of being stationary, however, did not bode well from my fucked up insides and they churned sickeningly again. Still, this time my nausea did not drop below discomfort levels than that of a belly full of booze could easily match, something I was greatly experienced with.

"Dragonfire are you..." Cherry's weak voice asked timidly as she looked at me swaying, her ears twitching and eyes focused.

I took deep breath, attempting to compose myself into my usual stoic appearance. My body disagreed with my decision as another wave of nausea hit, and I was quickly getting the idea that whatever Overseer had done to me was not supposed to be followed by moving about this much. Nevertheless, I offered my companion a half positive look.

"I... I'm fine. We just need to find Star and get the Tartarus out of here," I explained with urgency, fighting not to gag as my insides roiled again.

She just nodded skeptically. Great now concern was now apparently infectious, and she may be suffering from it more than me if I keep this up. But I couldn't put her through that, not after what she'd endured already. A moment later and I once again found myself in the unfamiliar setting of a clean pre-war room, red carpet, polished bookshelves, desk and a disintegrated corpse. Even looking at that ghostly pony-shaped disintegrated corpse filled me with dread. I'd felt it, felt him go from a pony to naught but a pile of ash. I closed my eyes tightly as I trotted around, praying to the goddesses that such a thing was not gonna happen to me anytime soon. Then I was once again faced with the glowing terminal. I placed my dragon scaled gear on the desk along with my helmet, then I entered the password I'd seen in the memory, 'Ebon'.

My trembling hooves made the task far harder, yet as I fished for more information from whatever might have been stored on this terminal, a fleeting feeling of pride enveloped me, even if I'd technically cheated in order to retrieve whatever might have been stored on this terminal. As the machine unlocked I was met with several files and swiftly downloaded them onto my Pipbuck. One more thing caught my eye, however, which was a flickering small red box in the bottom right corner of the screen. I didn't recognize it since I wasn't a pony who usually studied terminals in any detail, and these weren't the standard Stable-Tec models either. Moving down the list of files led me to the blinking light,

"Warning Sublevels one and two compromised, security systems activated by order of Overseer." A mare's tinny voice sounded and then repeated the warning about the compromisation of the two sublevels.

It certainly wasn't the sophisticated, charismatic tone of the Overseer. For a moment I was just glad of that, though that swiftly faded as I realized exactly what I was being told. Then as if on cue the whole room shook, dust trailing from the roof tiles as the lights flickered. I staggered back from the desk. The boom which had proceeded the shudder was swiftly followed by the dull clatter of gunfire.

Fuck, could this get any worse? Was my first thought, followed swiftly by a list of what might be going on.

Maybe it was Star? Maybe the security system had finally decided to do its job and was killing some Radroaches or something? If it was the latter reason, it only deepened the puzzling riddle regarding the Overseer's actions. Yet I highly doubted he'd lose control over his own facility, so if it wasn't him then the question remained as to what was happening down here? Another boom, this time much louder, shook the office violently.

Fuck, why couldn’t my jobs ever be easy?

Says the pony who left her friends and got herself abducted by a damn robot. Now you could be turning into Celestia knows what Dragonfire. My conscience retorted in an amused sounding tone of voice.

I just grunted in irritation as I levitated my barding form the desk and clumsily attempted to put it on. The sounds of rapidly repeating gunfire reported again in the wake of the second boom, now sounding way too close for my comfort. Cherry appeared in the right doorway, glancing cautiously at the ceiling.

"I didn't see anypony. There weren't even any guns up there," she informed me while appearing to be upset, or was it that she was angry with herself.

With an uncomfortable twist of my tender midsection, I managed to slip my barding over my flank and up over my back. Besides the thick coat of sweat and patches of vomit that still clung to my coat my barding still felt the same.

Well, at least the little fucker hadn't messed with my gear.

At that snide mental comment, I redirected my focus on the situation at hand, since I was not particularly desirous of having an untimely end because I was being distracted by my conscience or whatever.

Don‘t think about whatever he may have done to you, Dragon just doesn't think about it now. You have Cherry to save and now you have potential hostiles above you that you will likely need to deal with. I reminded myself firmly.

With that, I took a step out of the cover afforded by the terminal’s desk.

"Cherry, stay close," I instructed the mare almost subconsciously.

The pink mare was quick to obey, resuming her usual place close to my tail as I stepped towards the door, yet another roiling movement once again disturbed my body uncomfortably. Glancing back, however, I recalled something. Cherry looked at me strangely as I paused, my eyes directed towards the pony shaped ash pile before the desk, more specifically its former hooves.

Could it? I wondered briefly.

My horn flared, digging through the ash until it struck something solid. The battered, old, star-shaped music box looked no better than it had centuries ago as I suspended in my magical aura. It's once golden coat was now completely replaced by a dull brown texture, yet I could still see the heart engraved into its center and with a push of my magic, it popped open.

"What is it?" Cherry asked.

I glanced at her as she looked the pre-war technology over, most likely she was, in her mind, wondering how much it was worth.

"Something from a long time ago," I simply told her, with no real idea as to why I had answered her in the way that I had.

I didn't play it, I doubted it still even worked, as the many gears looked no better than the rusted exterior. I merely looked at it for a long moment, then the room shook again and I promptly popped it closed.

"Come on, we're getting out of here," I instructed.

With that, I slipped the metal trinket into my saddlebags. A part of me even wondered if I should wear it about my neck as it should be, but the rest of my mind regarded that idea as if were a complete stranger attending some party uninvited.

A few corridors later, I found myself peering around the corner of a black door frame, the double doors of a stairwell at the end of the corridor just beyond. Cautiously, I approached the doors, creeping as steadily as I could to stop the throbbing discomfort in my stomach. A loud bang sounded from the ceiling above me and the loud sound echoed through the room, and as if I already wasn’t nervous enough, I could hear a dull whoosh as I reached the doors to the stairwell. I froze, preferring that whatever was on the other side make the first move, instead of opening the doors and getting whatever nasty surprise this place might have. My ears perked up and swiveled in the direction of the closed doors as I attempted to heighten my focus through controlled breathing exercises. I didn’t know what awaited me on the other side of the doors and from the sound of bangs and explosions, I was highly skeptical that I would not like whatever it was. Did they have some sort of rocket launcher? I'd heard enough of them in my time to know the distinctive sound of a missile. But more worryingly was that I hadn't seen any security features to indicate such high-explosive technology. Star didn't have a missile launcher either. I scowled, getting into a crouched position, preparing to dodge whatever I was going to face on the other side of that door. Though, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to fighting someone with incendiary ballistic weaponry. Cherry flinched beside me, her ears perked and swiveling around. I closed my eyes, taking a breath as another bang seemed to splinter the wooden doors on the floor just above us, forcing them open with a terrific crash.

"Mucking mumority!" a buck's voice hissed around what I could only assume was a firearm.

"Yeah, those bucking turrets sure cut down the cannon fodder," another voice, which sounded like a mare croaked, her vocal inflections sounding as if she almost admired the turret's efforts.

"Well those fuckers were nothing but unworthy meatbags anyway," the buck responded, seeming to spit out whatever he was holding in his muzzle. "Now come on! We’re checking this last level and then getting the fuck back to the surface, this place doesn't feel right," he added in a solemn tone of voice.

My ears twitched nervously as I noted that there were at least two of them. I braced myself against the wall near the double doors as I levitated the saddle blaster right up in the direction of the closed door. As the sound of hoofsteps sounded upon the metallic frame of the stairs, I knew I'd at least have the element of surprise if they were hostile. They certainly didn't sound friendly, a fact that was almost a welcome relief from the ‘lure you in and then fuck with your insides tactic,’ which the Overseer employed. Another witty comment from my mind reminded me that it was my own fault for following him and not blasting him to scrap though. That thought was swiftly shunted away since I couldn’t afford to be distracted. Not if I was to teach Cherry how to be a proper bounty hunter and how to handle uncertain situations like the one we were in now.

"Keep quiet you maggots, keep your eye out for any more of those fucking things," another voice sounded, that of a mare again, at least I thought it was a mare's.

It was as rough as sandpaper, almost making her sound like a stallion. The sound of the approaching ponies hooves rounded back towards me as the stairs turned, and I nodded to Cherry as she leaned against the opposite wall, with Zap-Zap levitating in her magic. Even with the barrel of my blaster pressed right up to their faces, I doubted it would kill them all. I'd need her firepower if this went sour, which it most certainly would.

"We better find some serious shit down here, otherwise I'm gonna be seriously pissed," The buck, who I'd imagine had a rather large build by the sound of his heavy hooves, growled.

"Yeah, Slab's right, we wasted Sigel knows how many savages to get down here. Chief, you gonna tell us what the fuck we're looking for?" the mare hissed.

I gritted my teeth at the banter being spoken, the ears upon my head twitching. The thought of asking Cherry to kill another pony was swiftly becoming more prominent, yet it was just another lesson of the wasteland. There was no innocence once you reached self-awareness, only the level of everypony's guilt.

"Shut the fuck up, the lot of you. If Carnage sent us down here with an army of savages then you can be sure that he expects us to get what he asked for," the gruff mare, who I'd identified as having the rather odd name of Chief, added bluntly.

My visor was now trying to pick them out through the faded windows of the door, and the red light’s intermittent flickers, which occasionally outlined their silhouettes, wasn't promising. I glanced back at my companion, her fearful eyes still locked on the double doors. Yet to her they were still just voices, she'd no idea what could transpire in the impending few minutes. Killing Geckos was one thing, but what she could be about to do was nothing short of murder.

"That guy doesn't care what he's gettin' as long as there's some blood flowin' and the Barron ain't pissed at him," The buck, who I'd also identified as Slab, added almost resentfully.

The red outline of the second mare seemed to squirm with either laughter or nervousness at Slab’s opinion.

"You doubting the master's ability?" Chief growled angrily, leaning in on the buck despite being half his size.

Now it was his turn to squirm as the little mare's eyes bore into his like hot daggers.

"No, I ain't sayin' nothin' like that, I ..." he stammered nervously.

"Well it’s lucky for you that you shut your muzzle right then because if you run it anymore with such treasonous talk, I'll be telling the boss all of your complaints against him, then it will be your blood that's flowing," Chief hissed coldly.

That seemed to shut the buck right up, and he swiftly turned back to face the lower door.

"Now you two get the fuck down there and check for any fucking relics!" Chief demanded angrily, pushing the pair downward with her forehooves.

They grumbled to one another, before trotting swiftly towards us.

Shit, it was now or never. I thought as I looked back.

"Cherry I need you too ..."

"Hey! Who the fuck are you?"

Shit!

My mind flared and my magic instinctively pulled the blaster's trigger. With a sharp flash and a hiss, the green coated mare had her forehooves reduced to naught but seared, red sludge. Her face and mane were seared and she fell gagging and screaming to the floor. Slab, a brown coated buck with dark red mane had a significant advantage in his size. It offered a bit more resistance against the energy beams as they lanced across his black barding. He stammered, glancing down to his grimly amputated companion

"Fuck, Steam!" He cried turning to me, it was then I noticed the rocket launcher mounted to the left side of his battle saddle.

My eyes winded, my head rising in fear as the tip of the explosive projectile aligned in my direction. My magical grip faltered as pure dread gripped me. I was in no state to fight, what the fuck was I doing?

Stupid, stupid pony. Stupid!

A sudden zap of energy buzzed over my ear, which was quickly followed by the stallion giving a whinny of pain and bucked his rear legs and shattering the wooden door behind him as his eyes were reduced to smoking holes in his skull.

"Go away!" the most unfamiliar voice screamed aggressively.

Another zap of energy followed, the vibrant beam impacting his face and enveloping him in a pink glow before he turned to naught but glowing ash. I watched as he crumbled into a pile of dust before me. The disintegration process was so painfully slow. It was if the world wanted me to feel every moment of the fatal transformation. Every long second was a horrifying reminder of the Hayland memory, the burning sense of slowly dissolving from within.

"What the fuck?" Chief cried furiously from the stair's midsection.

I bit down, forcing the barrel of my gun up through the shattered doors. Intense concentration, sent strikes of pain through my mind as I struggled. Then with a flash, the beams lanced up the stairs, skimming the cursing mare's rump as she bolted back to the upper level. Finally, the energy rifle fell with a clatter. Beside me, Cherry gasped as the gravity that she had murdered began to sink in. Zap-Zap fell beside my saddle blaster on the black tile floor. The air stank of seared flesh and the metallic ozone smell of discharged energy rifle fire mixed with smell of the blood as Steam's corpse slowly bled out and ceased thrashing. I closed my eyes tightly and released a staggered breath. My barrel shook as I haltingly released it, almost as if I were crying in grief. When my eyes opened they were met by Cherry's traumatized expression. She'd saved me. She'd picked up a gun and killed another pony with it. I owe her my life, though I also may have robbed her of her innocence.

No, there is no such thing as innocence out here.

My ears flattened, as my mind wrestled with itself between which action to take and warring between satisfaction that she was becoming a valuable teammate and regret that she lost this last frontier of her innocence. I had to save her from her paralyzing fear and self-recriminations and... All of a sudden I felt a warm embrace around me…. My eyes widened as the pink mare wrapped her forehooves tightly around my neck, just as I'd done with her back in the locker room.

"I... I'm sorry Dragonfire I'm..." All of the fear, guilt, anger, and sadness she'd harbored for goddesses know how long came rushing out and then disappeared as I hugged her back.

The tensing of her muscles was almost instinctive, yet she didn't flinch. In fact, neither of us seemed to want to let go. It reminded me of only one other pony I knew, that feeling that I could just hold onto her forever while the world fell apart. I could take on a whole wasteland for her and for what? Because of the unusually emotional circumstances of our meeting? My sympathy? My stupidity? Why was she so different from the ponies I had freed before?

"You don't need to be sorry. You don't." I told her firmly, almost instinctively as my eyes quivered with tears.

I pressed my head against her shoulder. She was different because I saw somepony who needed another good soul in her life, and after what I'd been through, I needed somepony like her, to remind me what was right and wrong, to evoke the various emotions which became just a little harder to feel with each pony I added to the stain upon my soul.

"My... My life for Transcendence..." The gargled voice of the dying mare beside us rasped, blood bubbling from her muzzle as her last breath escaped her.

I looked down at the now lifeless body, where a part of me was curious about her last words, yet the part of me that still held onto Cherry wouldn't let me let go of her as she shivered and shook and cried into my shoulder from the trauma of her first kill.

"Get the fuck down there you maggots!" A distant voice sounded from atop the stairs, it’s gruff tone unmistakable.

The sound of many hoofsteps upon metal followed, and a moment later several ponies galloped around the stair's midsection. I glanced to the saddle blaster and concentrated on nothing but the thought of the pony I still needed to save. My magic wrapped the weapon in a cloud of telekinesis.

"Cherry stay close to me. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," I whispered into her ear.

She flinched, looking torn between breaking from her mental trauma, her instinct for survival, and the warm embrace we shared. I loosened our embrace, pulling gently back as the sound of hoofs approached the ruined door frame. That last glimpse of Cherry's smiling face was the most perfect thing I'd ever seen, yet the world stole it from me all too soon. My blaster levitated up to the door and I spun to face it with a fiercely determined expression, my magic poised upon the trigger. With a series of maniacal laughs and a slew of colorful profanities, three raider ponies burst through the one still intact door, scattering pink ash, singed gore and splintering wood as they emerged. They were met by the same fate as their predecessors. A bright flash of the modified energy rifle vaporized two of the shabby armored ponies. The third dodged sideways and used the furniture of the room for cover, as he hopelessly tried to strike me with the rusted knife in his slavering muzzle.

His efforts resulted in the loss of his left forehoof as my dragon claw came out from its sheath and sliced it clean off. The savage buck screamed before crumpling up on the floor, I spared him from further agony as I brought the blade across his jugular.

"Your life for mine," I muttered with a solemn face as he died in a pool of his own blood.

Without another thought for yet another victim slain by me, I took a step forward.

Monsters. It was okay to kill monsters.

Cherry took one look at the concoction of gore, pink dust and splinters before her legs began to shake so much that she nearly collapsed. Even in spite of her trembling legs, she remained firm, focusing on me as she retrieved Zap-Zap with her magic. I could make out the sound of fleeing hoofsteps just above for just a moment before they faded into the distance. Chief I assumed.

Not so mean now that everypony that let you bully them and boss them around was dead, are you? I snickered in amusement at her change in attitude now that death draws near and solitude hounds her every step. I took a step onto the metal frame of the stairs.

Nevertheless, I had no fucking clue what was going out here. We'd been corralled, I'd been pony-napped by a robot, experimented on by said robot and now shot at by some scavenger scum? I felt like shit. Star was missing and Cherry had been traumatized more than anypony like her ever deserved.

"Well, I think that's all of it." My mind stated, ticking off boxes on a mental checklist casually.

Regardless, this place had quickly risen to the worst place out here in the Wasteland, and it hadn't even shot at for us the majority of our time here. One thing was for sure, we were getting out of here, the only problem was that this place wasn't so friendly anymore.

With a flash of energy and a sizzling hiss, another raider was turned to glowing pink ash. Regardless of what I'd overheard downstairs, there seemed to still be enough of these meatbags to go around. There was no sight of anypony like those black armored fuckers we'd killed below, nor was there any sighting of the pony they called Chief. Not that the raiders were any trouble for an experienced bounty hunter like me. Most of their tactics involved were nothing more than running at us full tilt with nothing more than rusty knives, sharpened shovels, and pool cues. Not too much of a threat when you were carrying superior firepower, not to mention that they had to clamber over the bodies of their former companions to get anywhere near us. For what it was worth, the security system had thinned a lot of them out. That left Overseer's role in this even more of a mystery. Nevertheless, I'd turn him to scrap if I saw ever lay eyes on him. Unfortunately, most of the turrets were gone, so I couldn't take out my anger on those.

I cautiously sneaked toward the corner of the wall, the white laboratory wall opposite informing me in large, black letters that this was Sublevel 4. One more sublevel to go and then we could use that service elevator to bypass the rest of these fuckers and loop back and get Star.

I leaned back, reloading my blaster. Cherry stopped beside me and as I looked at her, it wasn't hard to tell this was stretching her to her very limit. Despite this though, she was managing to hide the dark turmoil inside with a firm expression. As for her skill when it came to fighting raiders? It was reasonable at best. I could see now why she'd been caught, but I dismissed that cruel thought as I needed to stay focused and keep my guard up. As for taking the lives of other ponies, she seemed to not react as much as she had mere moments ago as she slew whoever it was that had tried to kill me. As innocent as she was, it wasn't hard to think she may have killed other ponies before she and I met, and that didn't make me feel any better about what I'd asked of her, however.

"How are you holding up?" I finally asked, slipping a new spark pack into my weapon.

She closed her eyes, nodding with a slight sniff.

"I... I can manage. They’re no different from those I left Bucktown to kill anyway," she stammered, opening her eyes once more.

Even that was a blow to my conscience, she was slowly losing all those things I'd seen in her only days ago, only to become somepony else.

That's what the wasteland does, it robs you of any innocence the living might have had, my mind reminded me.

That was what it had done to me, that what it had done to everypony.

"Come on out you fuckers, I's wanna' gut ya," a crazed raider cackled from around the corner.

I leaned out, only to dive back as fragmentation pellets struck the wall. Great, now one of them had a gun. A shotgun, and like all raider weapons it was not in the best condition. That didn't negate the fact it was a threat, however, and my horn flared as I blind fired a pair of plasma bolts in our attackers' direction. It wasn't hard to imagine the bloodstained white corridor was turned into a shooting gallery as both the automatic plasma weapons blasted it with bolts of green energy. A hiss and sharp scream later, and I checked it was clear by glimpsing the reflection on my rifle’s casing.

"Fuck you ... Ha, ha. Fuck all you ponies and your stupid faith!" the raider growled, writhing in a spreading pool of his own gore.

His right shoulder and forehoof had both melted, and the scent of the seared flesh filled the corridor. Approaching him, I levitated my gun to his head. What I was about to do was both mercy, and prevented my timid companion from having to stomach the gruesome scene for any longer.

"They'll get you, they'll get every pony. Then we'll all work for them, ha, ha, ha, ha..." I silenced his crude laughter with a plasma burst to the skull.

"Consider yourself lucky then," I spat scornfully as his head melded into vicious red soup.

"What did he mean?" Cherry's quiet voice murmured behind me.

I paused.

Okay, I was expecting her to collapse from shock or trauma, not be curious. Damn it, brain! She, not a foal! Besides, are you so different? Maybe if I hadn't been a lab rat less than an hour ago, then yeah I would be. But right now, I couldn't give a fuck.

"I don't know, just some typical crazy shit," I told her as I casually began trotting onwards.

I was no stranger to freaky religions in the wasteland, they tended to arise when your original deities were no better than everypony else.

Sublevel 3. Another bloodied wall proclaimed as we reached the top of the next stairwell.

I knew this level was where we'd find the elevator, assuming it led to the surface. Looking down the bloody and bullet-riddled corridor, I could see just how many ponies had been gunned down before the turrets had finally been destroyed, and was strangely irritated by the fact I was glad those turrets hadn't been shooting at us. I traversed the corpse-strewn corridor, with Cherry following close behind me. Her eyes were averted from the mutilated mess as she seemed to force her mind to focus on something else because she wasn’t displaying any symptoms of trauma. I could only suspect that that crazy raider’s ramblings were among them. As I rounded another corner I noticed a set of double doors ahead, shattered into splinters. I assumed the rocket wielding buck we'd dispatched downstairs was responsible for the destruction done unto the doors.

Or some other pony with an equally explosive weapon. My mind told me, reminding me that if one pony could be armed with heavy explosive weaponry, then there was likely more scum carrying that kind of firepower out there.

On the roof above the remains of the door were turrets, the likes of which were now nothing more than mangled scrap metal. The bloodied white walls either side of us were broken by long sheets of tinted glass, windows into what appeared to be more labs. It was still far beyond me to even consider what they may have been doing here before the bombs fell, not to mention how those experiments now involved me. I just tried not to think about my churning insides too much, I still had a pony to save even if I was as good as dead once whatever that robotic bastard had done to me came to fruition. As for our adversaries, they seemed to have dwindled into non-existence. Despite their poor equipment and foolhardy tenacity, I knew raiders couldn't be behind this. Somepony was pulling the strings on this scavenger hunt and I'd really like to have a word with such a pony. Looking ahead, I could see the hall split left and right.

Sub-level 3 was once again displayed upon the wall opposite, as well as a label claiming that the main service elevator was to the left. With a dull hum, the doors to a lab on our left opened. My ears perked as I watched another set of doors on the far end of the lab also open up as I peered through the glass. As unnerving as it was, I had a good idea who was opening doors for us. I stopped at the edge of the lab’s doorway and peering into to the lab. I'd overheard them say that they were low on raiders as both the corpses littering the levels below us and those littering the hallway on the level we were currently on were evidence of their mounting losses. If I didn't know any better I'd say they'd completely run out.

I guess that means that all that is left is the cunning ponies.

My gaze swept across the lab before settling on the open doors on the opposite side of the laboratory.

"This way," I told Cherry, gesturing toward the open door.

There was a reason for why the Overseer was opening the doors the way that it was…

Wait, why was I following it again?

My mind spun for a moment before reflecting upon my thought process and decision-making ever since I entered this structure.

Shut up, brain! If he wanted to kill me then he'd have certainly done it already.

I really hoped I could believe that. Yet as if on cue, a new sound met my perked ears.

"You have any idea why we're waiting here?" a buck's voice sounded to the right of the labs' exit. Somepony was waiting for us right around the corner, probably hoping to catch us by surprise. I bought my saddle blaster up and aimed toward the doorway and rotated my hoof, motioning for Cherry to take the other side.

"Chief's orders; she's gone back to the boss with Flash Drive. That egghead can't get in from up here or something. But something down there has got Chief spooked," another buck responded, in a slightly deeper tone.

Two bucks, my visor confirmed as it a gauged their combat readiness. Leaning back I once again used my rifle’s casing to peer around the corner. Both were wearing mini-gun battle saddles, black carapace barding upon which bore a strange icon. My mind paused for a moment at that and I squinted at the icon. It was almost recognizable, if not far clearer than any faint memory I had. I knew that images of an eight-pointed star and I recognized that strange glyphic pattern that covered the armor like some kind of freaky spiders' web. My thought converged for a moment, as they all sensed I'd seen it before, yet I couldn’t work out where I had seen those icons.

"Must be something pretty terrifying to get her running back to the boss empty-hoofed," one of the bucks chuckled, his laughter being joined by the second.

"Well you never know, skulking about in one of these fucking reliquaries, they're like death traps. You remember the last one?" the lighter toned buck asked.

I paused, holding my gun firm. I could spare these two a moment to enlighten me further.

"You mean the Stalliongrad one or the one in Trottingham? Shit, after a while they all just blur together. But I know, if I had the choice? I'd rather take a stroll through bucking Canterlot than going back down into some of those bucking tombs, especially if there is a chance we'll find another pony like Carnage or Locus," the deeper voiced buck added firmly.

I thought over this new information in incredulousness. Wait, there were more of these places?

What the fuck did you think, you idiot! Of course, there were bound to be more, the wasteland just liked to fuck with ponies like that.

But really, he'd really rather go through the Canterlot ruins over this? More confusingly, who the fuck was this Carnage? Or Locus? And why did he seemed to refer to the names with trepidation?

"By the Sigel, I just hope the Baron can keep them both on a leash," the second buck replayed, almost whispering.

"Relax, the inquisitors have got it all under control, Carnage is one pony I wouldn't fuck with, but the Grand Inquisitor? Are you really doubting him?" the first stallion responded.

The former shook his head and the pair seemed to shiver as if somepony was walking over their future graves. I'd heard enough of the cryptic chit chat for one day. I'd hoped they'd unknowingly elaborate on what the place was, or what the fuck may have happened to me. Now; however, they were just rambling about some more shit I'd no idea about.

My horn flared, levitating my plasma rifles around the door as I cautiously poked my head out from behind where I had taken cover again. Number of targets: 2 the spells in my visor declared, highlighting them both of them in the red outline designated for enemies. I'd thought to use a grenade, yet after hearing them talk about big, scary, boss ponies, I'd decided to try and save them. I looked back to Cherry, who was still hunkered down at the opposite side of the doorway.

"I'm gonna charge, you stay right behind me and if any of them don't go down, you take them out," I instructed in whispers.

Cherry closed her eyes tightly again as she nodded. Every moment I had to ask her to do this was tearing me apart. Not only that, it threaded to further corrupt her from the innocence she had before the death which she had dealt within this bucking place. Nevertheless, one way or another, we were getting past these bucks.

"Ready?" I asked, poised to make a dash towards our unwary adversaries.

She gave another stiff nod, nodding my own acceptance, I bolted from the doorway, two plasma rifles blasting a shower of glowing green bolts at our surprised opponents.

These two stallions were far smaller than Slab, making the focused blasts far more effective. The farthest buck lost his rear legs to the shots before he could even turn his saddle mounted weapon to bear in my direction. The amour of the second absorbed most of the energy, yet those which struck his coat seared it black. One bolt singed his eye sending him into a frantic buck as it melted. Spinning, he bit down on his battles saddles' firing mechanism, and the min-gun whirled to life, shredding the wall to his left before turning the clean white into a mangled mess of metal shrapnel and broken concrete. I ducked down below the hail of death, reloading my two rifles, after which I sent several more disintegration blasts his way. The beams mostly struck his head, each one searing more of his flesh, his whole head splattering into a bloody paste upon the clean wall behind him. Cherry gave a stuttered cry as she stopped beside me, lowering her head and closing her eyes as the buck's body crumpled to the floor in a mess of singed gore, his mini-guns' rattling coming to a halt.

I slowly rose to my hooves, desensitized to the sight of death and gore from having dealt so much of it myself. First, my eyes met the legless buck, who had now fallen silent. Then I looked to the decapitated corpse which was gradually losing its twitching on the other side of the doorway. I'd asked her to do that, no I had forced her. There was no way she would have disobeyed me. Or rather, she was too afraid to disobey me, and yet in spite of her fearfulness of me, I'd made her kill another pony.

The pink coated mare trotted forward, her head held above the bloody corpse of her most recent kill. I froze, paralyzed by a mysterious feeling of guilt as she was forced to come face to face with what was left of the pony she'd decapitated. She paused, seeming to end her internal battle against the truth of the wasteland. I took a tentative step towards her, followed by another until I was right by her side.

"Cherry…" I asked her with a feeling of trepidation, as she glanced back in my direction. Her eyes were teary, yet not sad, and far from the trembling, wide spheres, she bore when we met.

"It's okay. I... I'm okay," she stated weakly, most likely trying to deny the obvious reality that her mind was slowly being warped by the wasteland.

When she'd dreamed of making a difference, had she imagined it to be like this? Had she known the cruel effects of the wasteland? I stepped past her, levitating my saddle blaster close. She wasn't okay, I didn't need to remind myself of that anymore. Now she knew it for herself, she now realized what killing other ponies did to her. It was something that the wasteland had done to me a long time ago. Unlike me, however, she was a strong pony, a far stronger pony then I'd ever been. She was simply accepting the truth of the wasteland, becoming like every survivor who lived on this miserable planet. I knew I should stop her, preserve the timid, little mare I'd thought I had seen in the saloon. Yet that had not been the real her. That had been the weak husk of a pony recently exposed to the trauma of Slavery and the casual disregard for anypony’s life, The pony I had thought I had seen was almost like a cocoon, a protective shell within which she'd been locked inside, until now. Now she was emerging a changed pony, the one who'd survived the murderous reality of the wasteland.

A loud boom shook the pair of us back to reality as it traveled down the corridor. I looked up, shaking my head. There was yet another fork in the corridor just ahead. More distinctively was a sign that told me that the service elevator was still to the left.

"Come on," I called back, moving forward.

Once again, standing still for too long had disturbed my fucked up inside, yet the discomfort was getting far easier to deal with and had mostly faded the moment I had reached the corner of the hallway. Peering around the wall, I didn’t see anypony. Instead, there was a thin barrier of curtain-like plastic sheets, illuminated by a bright glow. I didn't like the fact they lacked the decency to let us see through them, yet if anypony was directly on the other side I was certain the light would have exposed their silhouettes.

"It's clear," I whispered back.

Cherry gave a slight nod and I levitated my blaster round to my front before creeping around the corner. Brushing by the plastic barrier, I noticed the white laboratory was replaced with a large chamber of cold concrete walls, the likes of which I recognized. To my left was the metal door that Overseer had used to separate us, the likes of which was still firmly locked. A few hoofsteps to my right was the large service elevator. I could only glimpse the tracks as they lead up into the tunnel, over the crates that lay between us and it. Regardless, as we began to creep out from the corner another loud boom sounded, shaking the chamber in its foundations.

A rocket, I booth heard the whoosh and saw it exploded against the huge Sub-level 3 written on the chambers' domed roof. Both of us jumped as the faded shockwave of the explosion rushed by. I was glad for our silent shock, however, as it was quite clear we were not the only ones in here.

"Hit it again. We'll draw him out!" a fiercely aggressive buck barked.

My ears perked and as the voice ran through my head, yet I found it far stranger. It didn't sound that old, barely even an adult, yet it resonated with a furious anger more frightening than the rage of ‘goddess’ Celestia. I stopped, my flank bushing against one of the Destiny Corp. crates as I peered around its edge.

Standing before the elevator were several ponies, all displayed as red by my visor. A buck paced angrily about the center of the room, where he was surrounded by more bucks and mares. All wore the same black armored barding which had been worn on the ponies we had encountered previously in the lower levels of this place, all of whom were bearing that strange star symbol upon their armor. Not only that, but many of them were armed with a vast assortment of weaponry and all were staring timidly at the buck pacing between them. In a cage on the elevator behind them were several almost animalistic raider ponies locked up in metallic cages, all gnashing and gnawing at the bars of their metal cages like wild animals. One buck stood before the very angry looking stallion and calmly reloading his saddle mounted rocket launcher.

Well, that explained the explosions, I surmised as I saw the corresponding hole in the roof.

"I'll draw him out and he'll tell me where the relics are. We didn't go to so much trouble to get in here only to leave with nothing!" The angry adolescent-sounding leader bellowed, seemingly to himself.

The young buck barely looked bigger than me, which was surprising in itself. Yet what I saw next confused me far more than his youthful appearance. He wore a set of coal black amour, which was lined with a red trim that glowed like hot embers. It bore a striking rebalance to that of the armor worn by the pre-War royal guard. That, however, was where those similarities ceased. Beneath the suite, a strange metal harness stretched over his bulging muscles, almost like a tight medical brace for his entire body. The tarnished metal was harshly crafted into his blood red coat, as evident by the deep scars around it. Over the back of his bare neck, the frame rose into six small, glass cylinders, each a filled with a bubbling red liquid and bearing syringes poised to strike directly into his spine.

His eyes to were bloodshot and crazed, like that of a raider. His teeth were sharpened like that of some hungry dragon, yet they were far too clean to be that of any run-of-the-mill savage Wastelander. His mane and tail had been shaved off as had most of his original coat, leaving the bulging, red muscles beneath to shimmer like he was some sort of oversized, plastic figurine. I would have almost said he looked attractive in the way that a body sculptor is attractive, and couldn't help but think about what I'd do to a stallion with a physique like that if I had the opportunity. Yet his look was so unnatural and extreme that it was almost sickly like he didn’t care about how hideous he became if his ‘modifications’ denied the limitations of his carnal vessel, not to motion he was hot for a great deal many other reasons.

Most striking of all was the fire. His tail was formed from it, as was his helmet crest. Now, anywhere there may have once been a mane, burned with flame. His metal horn was likewise wreathed in flame. Upon either side of said horn were pipes which seemingly fed fuel into what appeared to be a flamethrower at its tip. Both his hooves and ankles too were laced with bright red flame, rising up from his formidably clawed, brazen hoof guards. In both instances, the flames scorched his red hide and blanked his flesh, yet did not eat at it. More confusing still, was the lack of concern or pain he showed. There was no sign of the pure agony the flames must have induced as they must have naturally seared him constantly. As for where they were coming from, I could only assume it was something built into his amour, judging by the two small gas tanks upon his back.

All that built upon a buck who was only about a week free of being a colt? He was in his late teens at best. His angry voice only reinforced my ideas, like that of a foal who couldn't get their own way. Yet I had a feeling this pony's temper tantrums didn't end it a scolding and a banishment to his room. The front of his armor was doused in blood, the likes of which was almost invisible against his red hide. It almost certainly came from a beaten corpse that all but been crushed into offal upon the concrete at his hooves.

Carnage, I assumed, judging by the fearful expressions of his peers as he stormed about angrily. Somehow I doubted giving an angry teenager the power over a group of armed ponies was the best idea, never mind the physical implications of his fearsome appearance.

"Come on out you little fucker! Come on!" he shouted up at the roof.

If he wasn't doused in blood, flames and didn't have all the ponies about him shit scared, then I may have been tempted to call his tantrum amusing. Nevertheless, I had to work out a way of getting us out of here, which meant getting past him, somehow.

"Fire again!" Carnage instructed the rocket launcher buck firmly, pointing to the crumbling roof with a gore-stained hoof. "I said fire!" he screamed impatiently, as the buck squirmed nervously, firing again.

I ducked back behind the crate as the explosion rang out, bringing a good piece of the roof down with it. The buck firing the rocket was not so lucky as the ruble crashed atop him with a thunderous boom. Several ponies coughed as the dust of the impact bloomed through the room. Yet as Carnage's burning gaze cast over them, they froze best they could. The fiery buck just looked back at the pile of rubble triumphantly, sharp, white teeth flashing as his bloodshot gaze glanced up to the hole above. Several walkways and corridors had given way with the roof, leaving the level above exposed. Rubbing the dust from my eyes I looked back at them with a new found disgust. They may not be good ponies, but to so readily sufficed the lives of even their own was incredibly harsh.

"Come on out! Come the fuck down here you little fucker!" Carnage raged to nopony particular.

Well, I think somepony's has a favorite word. I noted at the repeated cursing.

Meanwhile, I swallowed my anger, there was no way I was taking on all of them especially that rage-filled, monster-pony—thing. He may barely be a buck, but there was a reason the other ponies didn't question his furious cruelty.

I glanced to the service elevator, our way out. Looking back I could see the creates could shield us most of the way around, yet I'd no idea how fast it would climb once we were on it, nor how long it may take to activate it. All of which would be time spent in the line of fire.

"If you insist, but this behavior is most unacceptable," a familiarly, charismatic voice stated dryly.

My ears rose, twitching as my gaze flashed red. The glowing orb descended casually from the shattered corridors above, hovering directly above Carnage. The red buck smiled sinisterly, then he gave a sly laugh. My eyes narrowed as I glimpsed around the create to see the fucker who'd tricked me. Overseer. I pulled myself back behind the create, fearing that if I looked at the talking light bulb any longer I might snap and get us both killed. Instead, I turned to Cherry, looking beyond her I saw the row of creates leading close to the edge of the elevator platform.

"Come on, we're gonna have to sneak as close to the exit as we can," I whispered, gesturing towards the elevator.

"You've caused me a lot of trouble, Sparky," Carnage growled, his sinister laugh fading into a deep rumble.

I couldn't see, but I could almost imagine the imposed smile upon Overseer's pathetic excuse for a face. Nevertheless, there was a long pause in the conversation, broken only by our quiet shuffling.

"I am afraid the sentiment is mutual. You and your companions have displayed no respect for even the most basic of regulations, I had expected better from you," the cheerful tone replied almost as if begging it could sound angry.

I stopped, ears perking again. So he wasn't just going to blow Overseer up.

Funny, Carnage didn't strike me as somepony who like to chat, and I've known him for what? Five minutes.

Regardless, I settled two creates from the edge of the elevator, I had no way of getting either of us onto it without getting seen. Running through my list of options was not providing me with anything better. I still had a stealth buck, but they only worked for one. Getting into a firefight with them was also out of the equation as there was just too many of them.

Meanwhile, Carnage growled like some sort of starved hound. Circling like a shark below the hovering orb. The Overseer showed little concern for the young bucks predatory movement, in fact, he seemed to be slightly amused. I shook my head, I'd no idea how he was still managing to transmit his feelings with such a basic way of physical expression, that expression was no more than four shifting plates. He did; however, manage to place me within a memory without a memory orb. Maybe that had something to do with how he conveyed his feelings.

"I should have broken you when I had the chance," Carnage sneered, resuming his stance before Overseer.

His glowing eye glanced down to Carnage, his metal plates molded into a condescendingly flat look.

"Such an act would only result in this unit's physical destruction. My advanced systems can be downloaded and redistributed into any foreign system in a matter of seconds. I could simply repurpose an older chassis," Overseer replied, seeming to revile in his mockery as he manufactured a smile.

Carnage didn't seem to agree as he now looked more akin to a boiling volcano than a pony.

"Then I'll rip every last system apart!" he declared furiously. Everypony around him filched nervously, stepping back ever so subtly.

They all knew what happened if this pony got mad, all I knew for sure was that it could be anything ordinary. Regardless, I didn't want to find out why they were so freighted and I pulled my gaze back moving both myself and Cherry to the next crate along.

"Such a wasteful use of this program’s potential. I still cannot understand why mister Hayland thought you were ready. I do hope your sisters are more mindful of their importance."

I stopped again, this time only one crate from the elevator. I had to hear as much of this as I could in hopes they would give me at least some clue to what was going on, or better yet what had happened to me.

Carnage's growl depends warningly, yet only the other ponies and I seemed weary of it. Overseer's expression fell to what a robots ought to be, emotionless.

"You wouldn't know, you're just a worthless piece of scrap metal! I'll show you just how ‘ready’ I am when I tear you apart!" the flaming red buck declared, stomping a clawed hoof against the floor, the flames about his body flaring as he did so.

The ponies about him squirmed nervously, yet once again Overseer appeared unfazed.

"Well I can assure you will not find any more members of the apotheosis here, this facility has focused its resources on a far more important project, one that I can assure you that I have taken good care of," the Overseer declared in a tonne of nonchalance.

My ears perked, I couldn't help but feel he was referring to whatever the fuck he'd been trying to do here. What he'd tried and failed to do, no less, judging by horrific abuse the mare in the tank and all the ponies labelled as failures down below had suffered. I tried just to focus on hearing what the cheerful voice had to say, blocking out what I'd seen below, despite the fact that I might soon end up being in the same way.

Carnage looked furious. Like he knew exactly what he was being told was true and he didn't like it one bit. His tattered ears flattened and his red eyes narrowed scornfully

"The Sigel has a place for all four of us in paradise, the transcendent will rise!" he declared sounding like a zealous fanatic.

The robot looked unimpressed, to say the least. "Sigel? 'Transcendent? Why must you insist upon using such incorrect terminology? It would seem that prolonged exposure to the adrenal stimulant has imbued you with illogical and faulty thought processes," he replied, making his standard cheerful voice seem somehow bored.

I just wanted to bury my head in my hooves. Sigel? Transcendent? I felt like Overseer was questioning them, but at least he seemed to have an idea of what it was that he was doubting.

To me, it just sounded like more nonsense to be thrown into the rest of everything I found confusing since entering this place.

"I've had had enough of this. I submit to nopony but the great Sigel!" Carnage screamed like the bratty teenager he was.

Overseer's look was still one of little care.

"Give me the fucking relic!" he added furiously, but Overseer merely laughed! The robot actually laughed!

It was a painfully sarcastic laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

Then he suddenly stopped, as if wanting to say something more before Carnage could inevitably explode.

"Relic? You still insist on using my facilities as a base in your false religion? It seems I may have to re-evaluate the effects all the tests may have had on their surviving subjects. As for the code to which I know you so falsely refer? Do not be ridiculous. After the events of the Stalliongrad facility, I will never allow you to acquire any more of them. You are lucky I allowed your pod to be retrieved by this Transcendent ... Carnage is it now?" Overseer's frame shifted upwards on one side, almost appeared witty. "Not only that but if it were not for the arrival of the former subject, you would never have broken my security measures." He laughed mockingly, then with a sharp hum of his propulsion system he hovered right into Carnage's angered face.

"I no longer possess this facility's data or experimental subject, as for the codes? I will ensure you that they will never fall within your reach," he finalized confidently, smiling down at the buck as best as his metallic plated body would allow.

"Enough you fucking overpriced light bulb!" Carnage screamed with a roar akin to that of a dragon.

He reared up, preparing to smash his forehooves down on the hovering robot. However, the Overseer was faster and was safely in front of him as his hooves slammed into the concrete. Then my jaw hit the floor as the concrete actually cracked beneath Carnage’s impact-filled strike, leaving two firm hoof impressions in its wounded surface.

"It seems I was incorrect, you may possess the physical stimulant of the destruction project, yet you are not competent in its proper use at all." It hovered further, back glancing to the mutilated corpse before Carnage as he did so, "It would also seem that your rage may take much more. Know that I will not allow any of them to retrieve any more of your father's work," he added tauntingly, moving back further towards the hole in the roof.

I had little time to process any new revelation before Carnage let out a blood-curdling scream. The syringes on his neck hissed sharply, and the fire enveloping his body exploded from his armor as the sharp needles pressed the liquids each syringe contained down into his spine. The metal exoskeleton that grafted to his coat began to spark to life forcing yet more metal bolts into his bulging muscles. He shivered painfully, as his bloodshot eyes went wide, his pupils reduced to shivering dots as the once white spheres glowed a bright red.

"Enough!" His new, reverberating voice boomed now alike in volume to that of….

By the goddesses, it was far worse than a dragon.

Flames spewed from the makeshift flamethrower at the tip of his metal horn engulfing Overseer. I pressed myself back against the create.

Okay, this must be why ponies were afraid of pissing him off, he became a raging daemon pony!

The ponies under his command backed up as far as possible without drawing the flaming monsters' gaze, who appeared like something dragged straight out of hell. Carnage now looked like his name suggested. The deep demonic voice that was once that of an angry teenage cackled menacingly, echoing through my mind painfully.

"Really? Such behavior is most unacceptable," Overseer muttered oblivious to the raging, monster—pony thing before him.

With a loud hum, the orb levitated up away from the flames, his metal frame glowing red hot from the fire. Carnage didn't seem to give a fuck either, as he redirected his flamethrower towards the orb.

"Such impudence. It seems that some discipline is in order!" Overseer criticised calmly, backing off into the hole above.

Suddenly, the chamber became filled with sounds, as alarms rang out all around us. I jumped back behind the cover of the crate as many flashing red lights replaced those of the chambers standard illumination. With a hiss, a torrent of cold water began to rain down over the whole chamber.

He'd activated the fire safety systems? As much as I hated Overseer, I could help but find his witty triumph over the red, rage machine a little amusing.

"Go you, weaklings! Bring me that little fucker and everything he knows!" Carnage's demonic voice boomed, to his cowering follower.

No pony was willing hastate, nor did any of them follow Carnage as he eagerly charged into the hall opposite us. We both tensed as the vast majority of the group ran by us and into the corridors, we'd just emerged from. Only after a few long moments later did anypony dare to follow Carnage down the corridor opposite from us.

"You two stay here and a keep watch on our escape," a gruff sounding mare's voice instructed.

I recognized that voice, sure enough, as I peered around the final create I saw Chief. Though the flashing lights of the alarms and the drowsing hum of the pouring sprinklers, I could see the highlighted outlines of her body. Under the barding, she was a short gray earth pony, barely half the size of me, with a sleek brown mane and tail. A yellow and black-maned mare and a blue buck were with her, both wearing the same black barding. The former was armed with a twin rifle battle saddle, while the latter was equipped with energy rifles.

If this had been me a few days ago I'd have leaped through the roof with joy at the sight of the light show she was packing, but I really just wanted to get the fuck out of here. I'd hoped that having a homicidal rage-filled demon pony as your leader would make his cronies too fearful to enact any strategy without his approval, but now I figured that that was Chief's job. I also assumed that it was the only reason she wasn't paste on the floor like whoever the last pony was to fail her brutal master. Both the ponies being left behind, however, didn't look too confident about Chief’s orders. I was sure that it wasn't the cold water that was making them shiver.

"But—disobeying Carnage's orders... ma’am he'll smash us to bits just like Flash if he finds out!" the mare explained nervously, and the buck nodded his agreement with what the mare had pointed out.

"Not my problem, but if you're still here when we get back I'll try to put in a word for ya. He'll make it painless if I ask nicely." Chief hissed coldly, stepping away in the direction the rage monster in question had charged. "Now stay here where I fucking tell you!" she screamed back, before galloping off down the corridor after Carnage and the rest.

I was unsure who exactly was in charge of this random group of ponies, perhaps it wasn't Carnage? He just seemed to be there to keep the others in line and seriously reduce their numbers. No, somepony else was behind this just as Overseer suggested, my guess it was this Sigel they referred to and whatever the fuck 'Transcendent' meant. As interesting as it would be to know the full details of what was going on, however, we were leaving now. I peered out from the cover from the crate, both guard ponies were stood just before the elevator's control panel. Behind them was a cage filled with several angry raider ponies.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to stay here? Look what he did to Flash," the mare whispered nervously as if Carnage was somehow in earshot.

"I don't know, but we stay here and maybe he'll be too angry to care," he retorted swiftly, shivering all the same.

The mare looked reluctant to expect that.

"This isn't what the Sigel promised, there was a promise of salvation not, not ..." she stammered as the buck quelled any more words from her with a hard, stony look.

"Do not question the Sigel! We'll be fine if we stay true to our orders and do as we are instructed."

Neither of them seemed to believe that.

It was almost a shame I wasn't gonna give either of them a chance to find out their fate.

"Same thing as last time, I'll take the first shot and you get any that don't go down," I told Cherry and she nodded in complete seriousness.

I swallowed hard, setting my feelings best I could as rolled from around the create, weapons poised.

"No, no. I can't do this... He'll kill us!" The mare panicked weakly as she turned to run.

Instead, her wide eyes met the barrel of my levitated weapon. I froze, caught by surprise as our gazes locked. My eyes narrowed, focusing on her outline it was red, yet she looked so lost and afraid, she didn't look like a monster, she... she bit down of the trigger of her energy rife battle saddle. My eyes widened with shock and then pain as one of the twin beams struck my forehoof, the other bouncing from the dragon scales of my barding. It was no saddle blaster, yet the searing shot tore tough my flesh, all the same, crippling my right forehoof.

"Dragonfire!" Cherry called leaping up behind me, two shots flashed into the mare, one struck her in the left foreleg, the other tearing her right ear clean off. She reared up, screaming in pain as she staggered back past the buck, striking the control panel as she failed. The whole elevator gave a shudder, the hydraulics whirring below as it began to climb. Before I had a chance to recover the buck turned his twin rifles at Cherry. The pink mare darted to the floor as she fought to reload. I tensed and focused my magic on the buck.

"Oh no you don't," I groaned and telekinetically forcing him back with all my magical strength.

He staggered, almost stumbling from the platform as his battle saddle fired. One shot went wild narrowly missing Cherry's head and instead hitting the wall of the service tunnel. The second struck the raider cages lock shattering it in a cloud of sparks and shrapnel. I stared at the cage of raiders, as the insane ponies within burst forth from their confinement. I then turned to look wide-eyed at the buck who had, of all things, shot the lock which had, until now, kept them confined and contained. Of all the dumb luck!

The platform gave another whirr, with water pouring from its surface as it began to swiftly ascend into the tunnel. The sound of alarms stopped as it did so as did the deluge, and the dusty scent of the wasteland drifted down from the open tunnel. After what I'd been through down here, I was almost glad for that familiarly awful smell, if only I'd not been struck in the middle of a fight.

The cage of riders swung open violently. Cherry's eyes winded as she turned, only to see a group of ponies no different from those which had tortured her charging right towards her. Without hesitation, I forced my magic back around my weapon and swung it around to face towards the new threat. In a flash of light two were reduced to ash, another was crippled and sent skidding across the soaked metal. Three were still able to run, one towards Cherry. I tried to force myself up, but my wounded foreleg slipped out from under me, burning with pain as it struck the wet floor.

"Cherry look out!" I cried out in panicked terror and she staggered back timidly rising Zap-Zap and firing its two shots blindly into the charging raider.

The first glanced his left forehoof, the second melted a hole in his chest. His lifeless corpse slid to a bloody halt at her hooves, convulsing violently. My anger flared, as I realized what I was forcing her to do again, I was supposed to save her and... The weight of the other pony over me stole my attention.

"Why... ain't you just fuckin' delicious!" My attacker, a far larger mare with a grizzly expression and spiked mane, hissed around the shaped metal protruding from her muzzle.

Goddesses only knew where she'd been keeping that weapon while all locked up.

I fought to bring my weapon round to blast her, but she bucked it from my grip while her forehooves pushing down on my chest and one of her rear legs thurst forwats and pinned my dragon claw knife in it's sheath. I thrashed about, splashing in the water like a beached fish as I tried to break free. The larger mare merely smiled cruelly.

"Oh, and where do you think you’re goin' little pony?" she asked cruelly, lowering her rusty blade to my throat.

I stopped thrashing, instead forcing my horn to flare once more.

"Fuck you!" I screamed as one of my twin plasma rifles elevated up behind her.

Fearing a shot would go right through her skull and into my own, I instead swung the hard end round with all my telekinetic strength, striking the back of her head. More of the gun gave way then her skull since energy weapons were never as solidly constructed as their lead flinging counterparts, but it was enough to get her off me. She gave a painful squeal, staggering back. Almost instinctively I rolled aside, firing two bolts of plasma into her right flank turning her rear and spiked collar cutie mark into luminescent green sludge.

Just before me, I saw the saddle blaster laying on the wet platform, beyond it a third raider mare jumped onto the buck with the black barding and battle saddle. The pair thrashed about, the latter trying to force the mare of as she tried to ram a hammer into his skull. I raised the plasma rifle and sent three bolts of luminescent green death into her side. The grizzled mess of a pony gave a horrific screech, but not before slamming her hammed flat onto the buck's face reducing it to naught more than bloody offal with a single bone-crushing blow.

Blood stained the watery surface as I fired once more, the spark cell of the rife depleted. Even so, the third shot was enough to take off most of her head and send the half-dead pair staggering towards the edge of the platform where they tumbled clumsily over the rail. Above, the dull sky of the wasteland was slowly shedding light on the platform. I staggered onto my hooves, limply holding my crippled limb up from the slippery metal. My insides felt like a thunderstorm of surging nausea, sharp lancing pain, and shock-fueled convulsions, all of which were driving me to keel over and vomit my guts up.

A moment later and that's exactly what I did, staggering to my knees as my weapon fell to wet metal at my side. A foul taste of bile greeted my tongue and a sputtered gagging followed as the dull sunlight shimmered over the wet platform.

"Dragonfire!" Cherry cried.

All of a sudden a sharp 'Zap' lanced over my head striking the yellow mare who'd shot me first back to the ground.

"Cherry, stop!" I coughed instinctively, staggering to my hooves.

Cherry froze instantly, her eyes falling to the wet floor, her mouth quivering.

Shit, Dragon. What did you just do? You dragged her into that and now...

I shoved my self-recriminating thought away in a desperate attempt to hold off the inevitable turmoil, then my attention shifted as the platform ground to a rough halt. The dreary cloud cover hung over me once again and around us was the shattered remnants of some sort of pre-war warehouse. It was now nothing more than ruined walls and a collapsed roof containing several Destiny Corp. crates.

Surrounding it was the remains of a mesh fence, mostly torn down and buried beneath the desert sand. Swallowing the foul taste of vomit best I could, and fighting not to gag as my insides lurched, my attention moved to the mare I'd just spared from Zap-Zap’s cruel sting. She was curled up tightly, shivering and drenched. She mumbled incoherently as she clutched her missing ear with a severely burned forehoof. Both water and blood caked her quivering face as she stared hopelessly up at me. Retrieving the saddle blaster from the crimson stained pool it had fallen in, I staggered over to her.

I'd hesitated to shoot her, why had I heisted? These ponies were red. Not friendly, so why the fuck had I hesitated?

"Go on! Just do it! just do... At least life shall become transcendent now anyways!" the mare whimpered.

My expression tightened, "Who are you?" I demanded, pressing the glowing barrel of my rife to her face.

She shivered timidly, glaring up the length of the weapon with dull, tear-filled eyes.

"You them, aren't you, the meddlers? You're the reason the Sigil's sent Barron and all his freaks to kill us all off. The Sigel sent them because of you... Fuck you! I... I, I thought I had something but you... You had to go and ruin everything!" She coughed heavily.

My ears flattened, I had no idea who or what the fuck she was talking about, all of this stuff?

Urg, why couldn't the wasteland simply just try to kill me? I really didn't have time for all this cryptic shit!

Regardless, I twirled my gun around in the air. "Next time, I suggest that you don't shoot at me..." I growled before slamming the metal stock into her head, knocking her out cold. "Or you'll become very well equated with the other end of my gun!" I yelled at the unconscious mare and then took a deep, calming breath.

The relatively fresh air cleared my throat of the acidic taste of bile before I turned back to Cherry. The moment I looked at her, the emotional floodgates opened. I'd forced her to do all that, only to tear her down in one sentence. I didn't know why I'd told her to stop, why I'd hesitated in the first place. I holstered weapons as I took a step forward, almost stumbling on my crippled foreleg.

"I'm sorry, I..." I told her with a weak kindness.

She glanced up at me before her head looked away toward her right. I stammered, my tongue catching in my foul tasting throat.

"It's... It's okay" she whimpered softly.

I reached out to her, before dragging my hoof back and forcing any response back into my muzzle.

Damn it Dragonfire! It wasn't okay, that was just her default response to everything! But what was there to say? I mentally shelved that thought, deciding to deal with it later.

We still had to find Star and get back to Churn, only then could I sort her out. The only problem then would be me. As much as I was trying to ignore the feeling, Overseer had done something to me, and there was no point in going anywhere if whatever he had done to me meant that I was as good as dead. I paused, I needed to see a doctor, lucky there was at least one between here and home, even though that strangely didn't make me feel any better. My thoughts ground to a halt. I needed to find Star, or at least contact him, but he had the broadcaster! Checking my Pipbuck didn't offer me any hope either and my ears sank as I discovered he was either out of range of the receiver, or something else was preventing his broadcaster from broadcasting and receiving signals from my Pipbuck.

I looked up a moment later only to see Cherry staring upwards at something, and following her gaze, my eyes found themselves directed towards a heart-stopping sight. Above the ruined warehouse walls, rose a great plume of dark smoke. A coal-black column scarred the sky almost as high as the cloud cover as it rolled away on an easterly wind. I bolted, running towards the warehouse's ruined wall until and finding a traversable breach at its lowest point.

I found myself on the ridgeline overlooking the walled parking area of the Destiny Corp tower a few moments later. Just then, my gaze descended upon the searing flaming mess the glass building’s lower levels had become. I almost felt my heart stop in my chest, a weight pulling me to the ground akin to that of an avalanche over my back. I gasped, smoky air filling my lungs as I staggered to the dirt.

Fuck! Fuck! Goddesses damn it! We should have never split up, if we hadn't then this would be fine! Cherry wouldn't have been traumatized, I wouldn't have been somepony’s experiment.

That feeling of cold dread swiftly gave way to anger, this was my fault. But Star? He'd be fine—right? This wasn't the first time we'd been separated on a job. Only this time there was an evil corporation, a mad robot, and a crazy, raging demonic pony to consider. Goddesses, something was going on here or something had been going on in this place long before we were drawn into it. Was it all worth the caps? The fifty thousand? It was within my reach, yet it seemed further away than ever. Had I gotten the data the client asked for? What else had I gained? An emotionally traumatized companion, an increasingly fucked-up body, and a slowly gowning desire to know who the fuck sent us here in the first place. Whoever it was, knew how much it was worth. Why else would he or she or they offer so much?

Probably, because they knew that other powerful interests were after whatever they were, my mind added flashing images of the flaming red buck from below.

I face hoofed, how the fuck could I have been so stupid?

I knew it was dangerous from the moment I agreed to do it and yet I still just trotted on in there and practically served myself up. As for Star, well I refused to admit that buck was still in the burning building, no matter how much grief my mind threw my way. Star, was strong, and I'd think of a way to find him. —I hoped. Regardless, I raised to my hooves. I'd been over this with myself at least once before. It was just like the last time I thought I'd lost Star. Like I said, I didn't love him. I'd killed that flower before it could blossom. No, I was a smart pony. Below, in the walled of parking lot, I could see yet more raider ponies, several of them gunned down, the others snapping at each other like feral ghouls. Atop the winding stairs, several of the black armored ponies seemed to be bowing to the inferno and keeping it going with several flamethrowers. All the while two of them kept a keen eye on the angry rabble on the wreckage strewn asphalt.

As I watched I heard Cherry drag herself up beside me her hooves trailing lazily through the dust as she looked up at the rising stack of black smoke hopelessly. I could sense similar feelings radiating off of her for different reasons, I wanted her to ask me something, be the curious little mare I'd seen open that medical box or smash the display cabinets. I was afraid the wasteland had cut that out of her, or even worse, that I had.

I step back from the ridge, knowing that the small, seemingly insignificant sentence I'd uttered almost instinctively could completely bring her down. For what? To spare the life of a mare who'd tried to kill us? I highly doubted she'd be alive when Carnage found her, and still, I'd left her there to face his wrath. I killed that thought quickly. I killed monsters, that was okay. Monster or not, I had no obligation to save her from the ponies she was working for. I looked to Cherry, for only a brief moment before turning my gaze to the desert. The wide-open sands blurred like a dusty haze on the horizon as winds whipped up the dust bowl from the west.

"Come on, we need to put some distance between us and this place before nightfall," I suggested dryly, before limping my way down the hill.

She didn't argue and once again her hoof steps fell in line behind my own.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk Added: Secrets of Spelunking - Who knows what that goddesses forsaken place did to you but at least now you can safely say you know better. You gain plus 1 perception and chances to find rare items are increased by 5% whenever in any dungeons.

Active Effect Added: Guinea Pig - Like it or not you've made a big mistake and now have to live with the fact that you may just boil away and melt at any time. You suffer -1 to both Strength and Endurance.

Updated artwork kindly provided by: Pony-way and Jedayskayvoker respectively.