Ain't no rest for nopony

"Are you sure jumping that gap is a good idea? I could just open the gate from the other side.."

"No. I'm not letting you fight alone. Besides, it's not that big.. And the suspension in a Runner is good enough that I wont get injured, even if I miss the jump." I said, sounding less confident than I would like.

"Ugh, fine, but don't come crying to me if you break a few ribs."

I put the pedal to the metal, and approaching the ramp, I turned on the booster. With a large bump, the runner began climbing the ramp, still accelerating, and then took to the air.

It was a few hours since Dash finally learned to use her gun, at least decently, and even knowing that they were trying to kill her, she still had trouble shooting Skags and bandits alike. However, I did manage to convince her to eat something. Even though ponies are herbivores, I managed to get her to eat some roasted Skag meat. While it doesn't exactly tickle the taste buds, it's better than starving. The voice, which I had taken to calling my "Guardian Devil", had kept quiet.

I landed on the other side of the gap. It wasn't exactly graceful, but I didn't break any bones. Dash followed across shortly after, and began to hover next to the Runner.

"See? I told you I'd make it.." I said, still shaken up. I shook my head a little, but it only made it worse.

"Nice one. You made it look like you've done it before."

Oh the irony in that. Because I have. Just not.. Personally.

I looked around, recognizing the village to the south-west, infested with bandits, the road going west, infested with Skags, and the small road to the north, the road back to Fyrestone, and the way to the entrance to the Arid Hills, our destination. Recovering from my daze, I took the wheel and drove up to the Catch-A-Ride outside the entrance to Arid Hills. I dismounted and walked over to the small shed close by. Inside was Shep Sanders, a man who had dedicated his life to watching over the area.

"Hello, stranger. What brings you here?"

"If I told you, you'd call me crazy."

"Well, just know that you need to be careful out there. Arid Hills isn't a vacation spot."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Unlike the vault hunters, and much like Marcus, he didn't seem to care much for the Pegasus flying beside me. I waved goodbye to Shep, and began my trip to Arid Hills. The entrance was a sewer pipe. I paid it little mind, my clothes were dirty enough already. Dash didn't seem to care either, as she landed and followed me through.

I had gotten my hands on a sniper rifle. Got it off a bandit. It was decent, nothing to write home about, but good enough to be useful. Arid Hills were filled with long sight lines, so I was looking forward to putting it to good use.

We emerged from the pipe a few moments after entering. It wasn't as long as it might seem.

"Alright.. Ammo, check, guns, check, shields, check, a few medikits, check.. That should be the important stuff out of the way. You ready, Dash?"

"Yeah. I can take care of any Skags, seeing as they can't reach me when I'm flying."

"Yeah... About that.. Some of these Skags use spit as a weapon. Trust me, it's more dangerous than it sounds, and it's got a decent range. So, you'll have to dodge around a bit."

"How do you know all this stuff? Not that I'm complaining, I would hate to have Skag spit all over me."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, and it's a long story. Perhaps I can tell you later, but let's not waste time now."

"Alright, alright, just remember you're not the boss of me!"

The entrance area had a small tented shelter with a few vending machines, and a split path, 1 being a high road, and the other a low. Both were connected to the next area, so it mattered little what road you took.

I chose the high road. There was a small plateau, perfect for sniping. I'd just have to trust Dash with keeping the Skags off my back, seeing as the path there was outside my line of sight. Skags are surprisingly smart.

I got set up, and upon placing my first shot in the mouth of a yawning Skag, Dash flew in. She kept her distance from the ground, even if there wasn't spit yet, Skags have incredibly long tongues. Luckily for me, Dash was able to distract the Skags, which were new emerging from their dens in waves. But after I had placed a few more good shots, the Skags got tired of me, and a few of them stopped their meaningless tongue-lashing at Dash and set in a sprint for me. I noticed it, got out my rifle, and turned around. As soon as the Skags ran around the corner they entered a sea of lead.

Meanwhile, Dash had gotten control of the flock, and were picking them off one by one. By the time I was in position to snipe again, they were all dead.

"That was.. Easier than I had expected.. We make a good team, Dash."

"One of them nearly hit me with that spit of theirs.." She replied.

"Oh, whoops, didn't get all the spitters I guess." I said with a short chuckle. "Anyways, let's get a move on. I'd hate to be out here when it gets dark. Then again, the Pandoran day cycle is over 90 hours.. So we have some time."

Time we didn't need. As we proceeded into Arid Hills, we came upon the first bandit camp. Empty. The second bandit camp. Empty too. The third camp, outside of the safehouse, was empty as well.

"This is curious.. Where's all the bandits..?"

"Maybe the Skags ate 'em." Dash said jokingly.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. "Unlikely, but funny."

I briefly brought up my ECHO menu. Level 4, and nearing level 5, the level I'd be getting my action skill, which was still unknown to me. We also found a weapons crate, containing a shotgun and a better rifle for Dash. I took the shotgun, seeing as it wouldn't be very useful for Dash, flying around.

Then we entered the safehouse. I had a feeling that the camps were empty due to the bandits going here. Yet, the first half the complex was empty, and most of the second half. But nearing the final chamber, we could hear.. Music.

"What the hell.. Music?" I asked no-one in particular.

"I can hear it too.."

"Ah, good, so I'm not getting insane."

Once we could finally see into the chamber, we saw dancing bandits.

Alright, what in the name of all that is holy is going on here?

"You'll find out. Don't worry, I strongly doubt they're in a hostile mood right now. How could they be?"

I walked in, Dash walking beside me, just as confused, if not more. There was a lot of party decor, contrasting strongly with the dark walls and floors. In the middle, where the mine key used to be, there was now a DJ stand with a Psycho rocking out. The music was surprisingly decent, too.

"DASH! Oh my gosh, I'm so happy you're here! Sorry for not inviting you, but I didn't know you were here too!" It came from the pink pony that had suddenly materialized out of nowhere.

Of course.. I should have guessed.