Morning. It was morning again. At least I was mostly sure it was. Always hard to tell with the cloud cover. I turned my head to the right, seeing the mare from that I seduced into bed last night still sleeping soundly. Wait, did I seduce her, or was she a whore I paid for? Eh, either way she was decent enough. I'll leave her some caps for her efforts.

I rolled out of bed as quietly as I could so my companion wouldn't be disturbed, looking around my room as I woke up more and more. It used to be full of bunk beds for what I guessed were staff working long shifts. Taking all of them out and putting in a single, larger bed gave the place a lot more room. Now if only I had stuff to put in this extra space besides the few pinups of mares I ripped out of some Playpony magazines and stuck to the walls. I really need to buy more crap from the traders and scavengers...

Both happy and sad to be out of bed (it's a nice bed) I began my morning routine. I stretched and twisted my body as far as I was comfortable with going, sighing in relief at the quiet pops that came from my joints. Stretches, check. I trudged over to the bathroom to do my business. It was pretty small, but I couldn't complain. At least I had indoor plumbing and a shower. Gargle with water because I don't have any other way to clean my mouth and teeth, and I was ready to move on. Use bathroom, check.

I moved into the main room of my home, a rather large break room with two couches and a small kitchen. It was no Tenpony Tower, but it was cozy enough. I stared into the mirror next to the door, ready to do the final check of everything before heading out. Still a unicorn? I tapped my horn for good measure. Check. Still a stallion? A quick peek between my legs confirmed that. Check. Still have a purple coat? Check. Still have a purple and teal mane? Check. Still as sexy as ever? I grinned at the mirror. "Double check, you handsome devil, you!" I quickly clasped my hooves over my mouth, forgetting about my guest for a second. Hearing no noise suggesting she was awake, I moved on to the part of the checklist that wasn't me ogling at myself in the mirror.

Barding. I slid into the old slightly tight security vest, thankful for having scratched out all the lettering and for the pockets it gave. Check. Coat. I dressed in said coat, the long black fabric covering everywhere the vest didn't and hiding my very stand outish colors. Check. Boots. I hopped into them, all four landing perfectly on my hooves. Check. Hat. The black cowponys hat floated onto my head, lining up with the hole I made for my horn. Check. Saddlebags? Their weight settled in on my sides. Check. Guns? The revolvers floated in front of me, and I took the time to check over every detail of my money makers.
They were pretty little six shooters, deep black, with intricate silver patterns running along them. They were unique, they were deadly, and they were mine. I loved these little moneymakers of mine... Both were slid into their holsters, the added weight feeling like the hug of old friends returning. Guns? Check.

Alright- Oop, I almost forgot. I pulled about fifty caps out of my saddlebags and returned to my bedroom, setting them next to the mare. Alright, NOW I'm ready to start what I hope is the day.

Time to get to work, Gunslinger.
_____________________________
Maremi International Skyport was Equestrias busiest skyport before and even during the war. The whole city was a major transportation hub, really. Railyards, wagon depots, the port… But the most lavish of these was the skyport. Numerous terminals all outfitted with the latest (relatively speaking) comforts and trendy shops, long, spanning runways, hangars filled with skywagons… All in surprisingly well condition. Well I guess that’s all thanks in part to Maremis unique brand of wasteland hell.

See, back on the day everything went to complete shit, Maremis missile defense system actually managed to shoot down every single missile that was coming for the city, and even some heading for others! Of course, this just means they all exploded high in the sky around the same time the pegasi decided to say “fuck this” seal off everything with clouds. So what happens when radiation and other chemicals seep into clouds? Radioactive acidic rain. And that clap of thunder tells me I’m probably going to have to trudge through that today. Yay me. At least all the radiation and acids are pretty damn weak after nearly two centuries. Still, that just means it’ll kill you slower and hurt longer.
I made my way towards the main terminal, the sound of music and talking getting louder as I headed towards the more populated areas of MiS. The main terminal housed most of the major shops, even today, though many of them also doubled as homes now as well. Merchants of all kinds were out in full force, selling everything from fresh water to whores from their storefronts. I may have considered both, pondering on the latter longer than the former… You know what, best to just avoid the marketplace right now before my libido throws me off track from my main goal.
Managing to will myself to turn away from flesh temptations for now, I took the long way around towards my destination. Down two flights of stairs, out a side door, walk down the way a bit and… I walked down the wrong way. Should’ve noticed the music getting quieter… Walk the CORRECT way this time, open an inconspicuous door, down four flights of stairs deep underground, and I was finally at the open gear shaped door of stable 37 and heading inside towards the Overmares office.

Stable 37 was alive with the sounds of music as always, that was their experiment after all. Stable-Tec literally took every piece of music, a few of every instrument, and all the recording materials they could get their hooves on, stuffed them into this stable and said “make music.” Surprisingly, this actually worked out well. Most of those who are in 37 are friendly and peaceful, make and listen to music of all kinds, and even trade and sell music along with the other things they offer, namely grain and oranges. It was the kind of place where you could kick back with some toast and OJ and listen to whatever music tickled your fancy in a happy, safe environment.

Of course, all of this didn’t mean that the stable dwellers was a bunch of pushovers. Quite the contrary, actually. They were probably the biggest gang around, controlling the Skyport and the surrounding area. Mostly thanks to their Overmare and her best friend, who they rally behind and whose office door I was now standing in front of. I sighed and steeled myself. Might as well get this over with… My hoof gently made contact with the metal door three times, and I awaited a response.

“Enter.” A young, no nonsense voice said after a moment. I didn’t waste any time following her request, opening the door and stepping inside. Behind the desk of the Overmare was a pink earth pony mare in her late teens dressed in the special blue and yellow jumpsuit made for the stable leaders. She looked up from her papers, blue mane bobbing a bit as she finally acknowledged my presence. “Gunslinger,” She said near emotionlessly.

“Tinker,” I replied with a little more warmth in my voice than hers. “Got any work for me?”

The young Overmare nodded, digging through some papers. “I do, actually. Where is it… Ah, here it is!” I moved a bit closer to try and read the piece of paper she had, but she held it up, blocking my view of the words. “Apparently a Steel Ranger has been razing caravans around the warehouses down the way. I want you to take care of it.”

Normally I accepted the job and then asked for more info, but this one seemed a little… strange. “The Steel Rangers? Why would they even bother caravans?”

Tinker shook her head. “Not THE Steel Rangers, A Steel Ranger, in some particularly creepy looking power armor from the reports.”
One of my eyebrows raised at that. “A single Steel Ranger in some creepy armor…?”
“And pretty damn deadly from what these reports say,” The small mare added.

I sighed deeply. “Of course they are. Alright, I’ll do it. 3,000 caps when I get back.”

Now it was Tinker who raised an eyebrow. “3,000 caps? Isn’t that a bit much?”

“The safety of caravans coming to trade supplies here isn’t worth that cost?” I retorted.

“Maybe it isn’t,” She replied coldly. “Maybe it’s only worth 2,000 caps.”

“Then I say find someone else who will take on a more deadly than normal Steel Ranger who can take out entire caravans single hoofedly for that low.” I turned and began to leave the room.

“Wait!” She called before I could leave. “2,500. That’s as high as I’ll go.”

“And maybe send a cute, mare up to me once I’m back?” I asked as innocently as I could.

Tinker let out a sigh and I saw her head hitting the desk with a thump out of the corner of my eye. “I’ll see what I can do... But you’re not getting anything else out of me for this job.”

I grinned and started making my way out of the office. “One dead Steel Ranger, coming right up!”

I heard the Overmares head hit the desk again, and just barely caught her muttering “Why do I put up with him…” to herself.

My grin just got wider.
_____________________________
I made my way through what used to be a restaurant, shaking off some of the stinging rain that had managed to land on my coat, the one I was born with, I mean. At least the toxic storm was starting to weaken to a little drizzle. I checked my surroundings carefully as I slowly made my way through the half collapsed building. Nearly all of the buildings may have remained untouched when the bombs fell, but 200 years of acidic rain and neglect have made many collapse, especially the taller ones. I gingerly peeked around the corner of a large hole in the wall where a cart had crashed through, making my route plan. Through the parking lot, across the four lane street, and take cover at that skywagon stop. Alright, that’ll work. One… Two… Three!

Almost immediately I backpedaled back into the restaurant as a burst of bullets came my way, a few bouncing off harmlessly against my coat. I had to wonder if the thing was made of kevlar or something, because it held up surprisingly well against low caliber ammunition… Usually.
“Get out here, you little trespasser!” A male voice yelled at me.

“Trespasser?” I took a look around the restaurant again. Some dirty mattresses and supplies were around the place, but I didn’t think anything of them before. I mean, who leaves all their stuff unguarded!? “Look, this is all a misunderstanding. I honestly didn’t know anypony was actually living here. Can you let me go this one time? Please?” Not only did I not want to get in a shooting match and murder ponies who were just trying to survive, I also had a job to do and this was wasting my time. It’d already taken me a few hours without trouble to get a few blocks from my targets supposed area.

“Come out slowly, don’t make any sudden movements or I’ll blow your fucking brains out.” The same male voice called. I had a feeling he was telling the truth. I creeped out of my cover slowly as he instructed, walking slowly towards him. A blonde earth pony stallion with a dirty green mane and armor that looked like he just threw a junk pile on himself stood in front of me under an awning, with a mare and stallion dressed in similarly junky armor on either side of him, all with weapons pointed at me. Oh joy, bandits. Well at least they weren't raiders. “That’s far enough.” He ordered, and I stopped moving. “Dagger, search him.” The mare, another earth pony, nodded and stepped closer to me. What, now I had to be frisked?

Don’t think any lewd thoughts, don’t think any lewd thoughts… Though she’s surprisingly good looking for a raider… Shut up, brain, I’m trying not to get shot here! Her hooves do feel rather nice… While she’s probably checking to see if I stole anything while her friends have me at gunpoint. Does it really take that long to check under your coat? YOU’RE NOT HELPING.

“He didn’t take nothin’ of ours, boss.” The mare finally said, stepping back into her previous place. It seems that in my inner struggle, she searched me and my saddlebags thoroughly. VERY thoroughly, the perverted part of my brain reminded me. I immediately beat that part up with a pipe.

“Why are you out here?” The stallion who I could now safely call the leader asked.

“I’m on a job for Tinker. I’m supposed to take out a Steel Ranger causing trouble.” I replied. Usually mentioning I worked for Tinker got me out of these situations faster. I thought of making a smart remark along with that, but decided against it. No use pushing my luck just yet. I could take these three pretty easy should it come to it, but since I wasn’t lucky enough to have a pipbuck or any type of device with an Eyes Forward Sparkle, or E.F.S., I didn’t know how many friends they had hiding out of sight or around the corner. Not worth the risk.

“She sent you to take on that psycho?” The other stallion, a unicorn, asked in surprise. I nodded.

“About damn time!” Dagger said with a smile. “Bastard has been shooting up everyone who gets near. We’re just lucky he doesn’t come out this far.”

“He doesn’t?” I asked. All three of them shook their heads. “Interesting…” Perhaps this was a feral ghoul of sorts? That wouldn’t explain the shooting part though. Maybe a robot that looks like a Ranger? An automated suit of armor? “At any rate, I’ve got a job to do and you’ve proven I haven’t stole from you. Can I go now, please?”

“Your funeral.” The lead stallion said with a chuckle. “Yeah, you’re free to go this time, just because I know you’ll be dead in a little while anyway.”

Well that sure helped my confidence… I started trotting past them and was nearly out of the parking lot when an idea hit me. It was really stupid, but I was already let go, so it couldn’t hurt. I turned back to the three who were making their way inside. “Hey!” They all stopped and turned back to me. “Mind if I ask a question?”

They all looked at me quizzically, but the leader shrugged. “Sure, go ahead.”

“It was for her, specifically.” I said, focusing on the mare. Now they looked even more curious.

“What?” Dagger asked impatiently.

“Ms. Dagger,” I started, no longer able to stop a grin from breaking out on my face. “Would either of those nice stallions with you happen to be named Cloak?”

I spent the next two blocks grinning like an idiot and running from a knife throwing Dagger as she screamed about “That fucking joke!”
_____________________________
Well this has killed my good mood completely, though dead bodies tend to do that.
I’d finally made it to the area my target is supposed to be in to find dead bodies lining the streets like decorations. A lot of dead bodies. Males, females, earth ponies, unicorns, a few pegasi, griffins, two manticores, and what may have been an alicorn, though I couldn’t be sure since its body was cut in half, intestines dangling between the two parts of what used to be a powerful creature. Many of them hung from the remaining streetlamps, some by rope, others by their own intestines. Others had been speared to the walls of surrounding warehouses by steel pipes and rebar and sometimes bone where the walls were weak enough. All of them had expressions of pure fear and terror forever frozen on their faces.
I was just a little bit more worried now about my chances of survival.
“One Steel Ranger did all this?” I said to myself.

“Oh this is nothing. Some Steel Rangers have wiped out entire stables before.” A voice that definitely wasn’t mine responded. It was feminine and sounded slightly metallic, like they were trying to talk to me from behind a metal door. I jumped a bit in surprise and whirled, ready to confront whoever it was… And adopted the same look of fear and terror that the deceased around me had.

Standing a few yards away was a suit of Steel Ranger armor, although different from what I’ve seen before. It was a good few inches taller than normal, making it just that more imposing. Someone had taken the time to meticulously paint it with bones. It wasn’t just a random assortment of bones either, each one was placed exactly where it would be on a ponys body, making the suit look like a walking skeleton. The last real difference was the eyes. Two bright red lights burned like the fires of Tartarus themselves from their home inside the skeletal looking helmet instead of a suits regular, mute color. I felt my blood run cold when I looked into them.

“What’s the matter?” The now what I assumed to be a power armored mare asked. “Something got you scared?” I could hear the playfulness in her voice, like she already knew the awnser. "It's the bodies isn't it? I tried to organize them to really give off how the place felt. What do the Neighpanese call it? Um..."

Alright, enough of this. I was pretty proud of my ability to draw and shoot my revolvers. You can't exactly be a gunslinger without being able to draw quickly. Luckily for me, she was too lost in her thoughts to even react to me drawing and shooting. Unluckily for me, my shots missed the one part of her armor nearly any caliber bullet could break through, the eyes. Now all of her attention was back on me after my bullets pinged harmlessly off her helmet and chest.

"You little shit!" She yelled, starting to circle around me, but not move closer. Her pattern was erratic, never allowing me a clean shot at her face. "You're another fucker here to try and kill me, aren't you? I thought you were some lost little colt or something. I was just gonna scare you away, but now you're getting your ass kicked!"

"We'll see about that, you homicidal bitch!" I yelled back, trying to circle around her the same way she was doing me when suddenly the psycho ranger changed her course and charged right at me, binging her weapons to bear. I had hoped that whoever the Ranger was had weapons like grenade machine guns or rocket launchers, weapons they couldn't risk firing at close range. My bad luck continued however, as I saw the heavy miniguns on her armor start to spin up.

I rolled to the side as the hail of bullets started coming my way. They weren't of a high caliber, but the sheer amount of them she was able to fire off was insane! I was able to dodge most of them, but a few managed to tear through my coat, luckily being stopped by my vest. I could feel the bullets whizzing by my flank as I ran and jumped behind an overturned wagon.

"That's right, run and hide like the little bitch you are!" Oh great, she was gonna spend this entire fight insulting me. The creepy Ranger had at least stopped firing her miniguns, so that was good. Then I heard her moving, and quickly too. I chanced a peek out of my cover and paled. The crazy bitch was charging me! On one hoof, this would bring her closer, allowing me to get a better shot at her eyes. On the other, she could easily hit me with her heavy power armor and perforate me with her miniguns should I move too far back.
An idea hit me. It was stupid, but it should be enough to buy me some time. Backing up several feet, I prepared myself. Just had to time this right...

"You stay right there so I can crush you properly!" She was still charging, and now I began charging too.

"Not a chance, baby!" Now we were running towards eachother, nearly at the wagon. She must have thought I was going to charge her head on, or just didn't care.

It's times like this I wish I had S.A.T.S. (Stable-Tec Assisted Targeting Spell) for more reasons than just help with aiming, but also because the slow motion of it would make some things so much cooler. We both jumped at the same time, sailing over the wagon mere inches from eachother. I like to think her eyes were wide with surprise as we passed eachother. I rolled a bit once I was on the other side, quickly scrambling to my hooves. That at least bought me some time to back off and think of a plan. Maybe if-

An absolute storm of bullets tore through the wagon, and I had to run to the side to avoid them. She could have done that the entire time?! The bitch was playing with me!

"Alright, you caught me off guard. I'll admit that." She said once her gun had stopped again. "You're a smart one. Avoided my charge, keep trying to aim for my eyes..." I could feel the grin on her face again. "You're gonna be a fun one, I can tell!" The power armored mare charged through the wreckage of the wagon at me again, guns blazing again. "Come on, stud, lets dance!"

"Stud, huh? I like it!." I was actually starting to like this mares personality a bit, aside from the insane killer part! I ran towards the opposite end of the street, bullets chasing me all the while.

"You're putting up a good fight, but do you have what it takes to kill me? I think you just might!" She was laughing madly at the prospect of potentially being killed! What the hell have I gotten myself into?

I kept zigging and zagging, but her aim was getting closer. I had to think fast or I was toast. I was getting close to the body of one of the manticores... Hmm, that could work! I ran right past the hanging heavy body a bit and then doubled back straight towards her again.

"You gonna try and pull the same shit again?" She was laughing as we continued our charge. A few bullets hit me, but I shrugged them off for now. I couldn’t go off course. I just had to hold on until the time was right... Now!
I shot upwards while slamming my hooves on the ground to try and come to a stop. My bullets cut through the thick ropes holding up the heavy body of the manticore. It fell to the ground, a few feet in front of the charging Ranger.

"Oh shi-" Was all she managed to get out before she crashed into the heavy body with a wet crunch. My plan actually seemed to work this time, as I only impacted against the animals corpse with a light thud. I had pain rushing through my chest and forehooves, but I shrugged it off as I moved to the other side of the body. I could worry about it after she was taken care of.

The Steel Ranger mare had her rear half stuck out of the manticore, wiggling around as she tried to free herself. She'd managed to get herself pretty well stuck in its ribs and guts, the broken bones catching on the power armor and the blood and guts making traction hard for her front end.

"Nice ass." I joked as I sat on the street near her, still trying to ignore my injuries. A muffled "fuck you" was her response. "I might've let you, but I'm not into necrophilia, seeing as you'll be dead soon. Sorry, babe." I chuckled at my own little joke. My bullets still couldn't penetrate her armor, so I had to wait for her to get herself free of the corpse for a shot at her eyes.

It took about a minute for the Steel Ranger to get free of the manticore’s body, my guns in her face the moment she was. "Sorry, baby." I said, grinning. "You were probably good looking too." With that, I pulled the triggers.

Click click.

My grin fell as both of my guns came up empty. Had I really used up all twelve of my shots? I quickly pulled the trigger a few more times, all of them clicking on an empty chamber. Oh this was not good. I had to reload quick or-
It was around this time that the Steel Ranger finally came out of her daze, realized that I couldn't kill her at the moment, stood, turned, and bucked me.

Amazingly, she didn't hit my chest much, but I still heard something pop and felt heavy pain as I went flying across the street, rolling to a stop on the sidewalk. My guns were somewhere behind me, having been tossed when my magic cut off. The crazy mare started moving towards me slowly, like she had all the time in the world. Well I'll show her, I-

Cried out and immedietly collapsed on the ground when I tried to stand on my front legs, burning pain shooting through the joints where they met my body. She dislocated my fucking legs!? This was bad, but I could still kill her. I just had to find my guns, I just needed one bullet... Just had to ignore the screaming pain in my legs...

A metal hoof pressed against my horn, and I looked up at the power armored mare, covered in blood and guts, the skeletal paint job underneath just visible and those burning red eyes burrowing straight into my soul. A flash of lightning pierced the sky behind her, making her look all the more menacing. "Stop using magic or I crush it." I could tell that was a promise. I stopped searching for my guns and ammo and closed my eyes, awaiting my fate. She moved to sit on my chest, not enough to crush me, but I couldn't move under her weight.

She just sat there for a few minutes, and I was starting to get worried. Was she waiting for backup? Whoever put her up to this? Were they going to torture me for information? Just for fun? To hell with that, I wasn't going to let them! "Come on, finish me already." I managed to groan out. Laying there like that left me with nothing to do but focus on my injuries, which while they weren't life threatening, they still hurt like hell. "Kill me already, you fucking murderous psychopath!"

That got a reaction out of her. She grabbed my head with both forelegs, lifted it up, and smashed it against the concrete. I was seventy percent sure I had a concussion. I couldn't tell with my brain all scrambled from the impact, though. "Like you have any right to call me a murderous psychopath, Mr. Kill People for Caps!" She spat.

"Up yours." I shot back. "I’m not the one hanging bodies up like decorations!"

That earned me another skull smashing against the concrete. "Yeah, and they’re supposed to keep people away!." She said once she thought I regained my senses. “What kind of dumbass walks into a place with as obvious a keep out sign as hanging bodies?

“Well I never was the most intelligent.” I joked. She seemed to agree and chuckle to herself. “But… Why so many?”

“I like killing.” The mare stated simply. “Some attacked me, others I attacked first. Some I killed to save others, some I killed just because. But I killed all of them because I fucking love the act of murder.”

Wow, this mare really is a psychopath! Or at the very least a cold blooded killer. “W-why the caravans?” It was getting a little harder to keep awake and ignore the pain.

“Why not?” She gave a shrug. “I needed supplies, and they’d rather shoot than try to talk to me, so I killed them. Let those that ran go, though. If they ran away fast enough, that is.”

“Oh I’m so sorry that you got shot at while wearing STEEL RANGER ARMOR that was PAINTED LIKE A SKELETON.” I gave a cough and almost yelped from the pain in my chest. Damn she got me good… “Look, are you gonna sit here and talk to me, or are you gonna kill me already?” The pain was hitting me full force now, and I really didn’t want to spend a few hours suffering a slow and painful death.

“Hmm…” The power armored mare tapped her chin in thought. “How about neither?” She moved to throw me over her back, and as my injuries finally caught up with me and I blacked out from pain, all I could think was that this was going to end badly.
____________________________
I awoke laying on something soft, which I was grateful for. My body ached all over, so I ruled out being dead. Half ruled out. Opening my eyes, I was greeted to the sight of me being naked and grey concrete walls. Was I in the stable or something? No, the walls looked too disrepaired for 37, and it definitely didn’t have the blessed air conditioning that it did. Maybe a bunker? My guessing game was interrupted by a female voice.

“Oh, you’re awake. Took you long enough,” She said, stepping closer to my…bed? I turned my head to look at her, and was a bit more convinced that I might have died. In front of me was an earth pony mare, a good bit taller than normal, with a dark blue coat and a deep red mane and tail. Her eyes were the most brilliant shade of red I’d ever seen, and the warm smile she gave me just helped to accent the beauty of her beautiful face, slender body, and long legs. She could give the models of the old days a run for their money easily! “I almost thought you were in a coma or something.”

I managed to stop staring long enough to start asking questions. “Who are you? Where am I? How long have I been out? Where’s-”

The mare put a hoof over my mouth to silence any further questions. “Slow down a bit, damn! My name is Bone Crusher, you’re in my home, and you’ve been out for about 4 days.”

“4 DAYS!?” I knew my injuries were bad, but not THAT bad.

Bone Crusher nodded in confirmation. “I fucked you up pretty good. Took me a while to get your legs reset.” She said with a smile.

I nodded. “Yeah, you-” I stopped as the full context of her words hit me. Taller than normal, female, the Ranger was carrying me off before I blacked out…

The grin she gave me just made my blood run cold. All her teeth were the sharpest looking I've ever seen on a pony! They would've looked more at home on a Hellhound! "Something wrong?" She asked with the same playful tone she had when we first met.

"YOU!" I tried to hop out of the bed, but only ended up falling back in the position I was in before, albeit with more pain. "You stay the fuck away from me!"

"Is that how you talk to someone that saved your fucking life?" Now the tone of her voice was the same annoyance she had four days ago.

"You mean those injuries you caused?" I gave her what I hoped was a deadpan look.

"You mean those injuries I gave you because you tried to fucking kill me?" Crusher responded with a glare.

"... Alright, you have a point." I grumbled, looking away from her. My body tensed when I felt her hoof on my chest. Preparing myself to try and fight her off, I was surprised to find that she was just... Rubbing my chest.

"You're recovering nicely," She said with surprising gentleness. "Now that I know I'm not going to have a goddessesdamned vegetable on my hooves, I can start giving you full healing potions. You should be good to go in a few hours."

I turned my head to look at her curiously. "Why'd you save me? Why not just kill me or leave me to die?"

"Because I'm tired of this shit," Crusher spat bitterly. "I have a roof over my head, my armor, and that's about it. Still need food, water, supplies... Hard things to get when everyone runs from you. Caravans keep moving further and further away, keep hiring more guards. More and more attempts to kill me..." She sighed. “Not that I mind, but eventually one of them is actually going to get me. So congratulations, you’ve been given the honor of putting me down.” She gave a fake cheer before turning and leaving the room, giving me a very nice look at her flank. And what a view it was!
Her cutie mark was a skull and crossbones with both crossbones broken and a hole in the skull. Well, it fit her name at least. I couldn't be certain, but as my eyes traveled further across the rest of her nice hips and rear, I thought I saw something… different? under her tail. I shrugged it off as my eyes playing tricks on me.
__________________________
The next few hours were basically spent alone with my thoughts. Crusher returned once with two healing potions, telling me to nurse them over the next few hours. She was always nearby, though, doing something in the other rooms of wherever she made her home. I did just that, sipping at the terrible tasting liquid (cherries, yuck!) and mulling over my next course of action. I wasn't sure what to do about Bone Crusher. Yes, she was a murderer, and probably a psychopath as well, but did I really have to put her down? Perhaps there was a way for her to live AND stop being a threat to at least the Skyport and the caravans going to and from it...

It took a few minutes after I was done thinking for Crusher to return. "Well fuck, you look better than even before we fought!"

I nodded and gave her a smile. "Oh yeah! Best I've felt in a while, actually." I felt like a million caps! Guess there were some injuries I never patched up from previous fights. It's been a good while since I've drank a healing potion now that I think about it...

"Ready to end me then?" She asked with a little bit of excitement in her voice. Was she really that eager to die?

"Actually... I was thinking about that, and..."

"And...?" She asked curiously.

Here goes nothing... "I want to offer you a job."

Now she looked at me with suspicion. "What kind of job?"

"The kind of job where you get to kill and get paid for it," I said plainly. "I work for the Skyport, almost exclusively for Tinker and Stable 37. Right now, you're a target, but if you get with her, no one in their right mind would think of coming after you. Not to mention that the pay is good, the Skyport is nice to live in, and you'll be getting rid of threats to good ponies."

She went silent for a while, before finally asking “Why?”

“Why what?” I was pretty confused as to what she was asking.

“Why offer me this? A job, a nice place to live in, potential chances to kill…” She seemed honestly surprised anyone would even offer such a thing to her.

“You’d be a valuable asset to us if you joined,” I said with a shrug before grinning. “Plus, you’re pretty damn good looking. Can’t let that go to waste.”

She chuckled at that, nodding and extending a hoof towards me. “Why the fuck not? Can’t be any worse than how I’m doing currently.”

I smiled and shook her hoof. “Welcome aboard. With me all healed up, we can get going whenever you want to.”

“I’m ready to go now, no real point in staying around here. Don’t really have a lot to pack. Let me get you your shit and we can go.” Crusher left and returned a few minutes later in her power armor, my clothes and gear lying on her back. I got up and floated it all over to me, glad to have it back. “One question though,” The power armored mare said, still staring at me as I dressed.

“Shoot.” Hopefully it wasn’t something too deep or anything.

“What’s your name?”

I just grinned as I finished slipping my hat onto my head. “Gunslinger.”

She cracked up at the reveal of my name. “Well at least it’s accurate.”

“And a good name too.” I added defensively. I liked my name, I picked it out myself.

“Sure it is,” She teased, making a motion to wipe a tear out of her eye, though it was pretty useless given she was in power armor. “Now come on, I’ve got nothing left to do here.” Bone Crusher turned to leave the room, me following her since I didn’t know where we were.
________________________
The trip back to the Skyport was surprisingly uneventful. That may have been thanks to the fact that Crusher was traveling with me. I guess no one really wants to mess with you when you’re traveling around with a known psychopath responsible for killing numerous ponies and others. It gave me plenty of time to talk to my traveling companion.

“So…” I started, not really sure what to say.

“Yeah?” She responded. While not the biggest talker at the moment, she was at least open to conversation.

“What are you?” I asked simply.

“A pony, you dumbass.” Crusher deadpanned.

“Ha, ha, that’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“Well why the fuck do you need to know anyway?” She spat. Well that was a sudden change!

I held up my hooves defensively. “Easy, easy. I just was wondering why a Steel Ranger was living in a warehouse and not a bunker or base is all.”

The power armored mare stopped for a second and apparently let my words sink in. “Ohhhh, THAT’S what you meant.”

I nodded. “What were you thinking I was asking?”

“Nothing!” Crusher responded before changing the subject back to what I originally asked. “What I am? Well maybe I’m an outcast Steel Ranger. Or maybe they have me on special assignment. Maybe I’m not a Ranger at all, and I stole this suit. Maybe I’m a raider or working for Red Eye. So who knows what I am?” She shrugged and I could feel the grin she had on her face.

“Trying to be all dark and mysterious. What are you, a comic book character?” I mean really, was it that hard to give a straight answer?

“Oh go eat a dick,” Crusher said playfully, swatting at me with a metal clad hoof. “Maybe I’ll tell you later. Right now, I have a question for you.”

I raised an eyebrow, looking back over at her. “Oh? Well ask it.”

“Exactly where the fuck am I going to be staying?” She asked. I opened my mouth to answer before closing it again. I hadn’t exactly thought about that.

“Well…” I began, thinking of an answer on the fly. “You can stay with me.”

“Really now?” Crusher sounded surprised I suggested that before she began chuckling. “I think this is the most intricate plot ever created to get someone into bed.”

My cheeks turned red and I briefly looked away to regain my composure. “I meant sharing the place I live in. Although…” I grinned at her, hoping I wasn’t still blushing. “I wouldn’t object to that.”

Crusher was silent for a while and I was getting worried that she was mad at what I’d said at me before she spoke again. “You know what? I wouldn’t object to it either. We’ll see what happens.”

My grin came back again as we continued walking. I had a feeling I was going to enjoy having Bone Crusher as a roommate.
___________________________

Everyone in the terminals and the stable gave us a wide area and nervous glances as we passed by, though I couldn’t really blame them. This was a known killer I was walking with. Though the nervousness and quiet we got in passing quickly changed to angry and loud once we got to Tinkers office.

“You WHAT?!” The young Overmare looked like she wanted to rip my head off. I guess I couldn’t hold it against her, I did kind of bring an insane killer all through the terminals and stable while she was armed. Still, I wasn’t expecting that much of a reaction. “I send you out on a simple job, you disappear for nearly a week, then you come back with the target you were supposed to kill and ask me to let her work for me. What in the hell were you thinking!?"

I shrugged. “I thought this would make you happier, honest.”

"Why would I possibly be happy with you bringing this killer here?" Tinker asked in utter confusion.

“Because I’m on your side now,” Crusher spoke, finally getting in on the conversation. “You can call me whatever the fuck you want, but the fact remains that I’m valuable if I decide to join up with a group. Lucky you, I was convinced to come here first. I can always leave and offer my expertise to someone else.” Even though I couldn’t see her eyes, I knew Crusher was staring Tinker down, and the young mare was staring right back.

“You’re not getting paid for this,” Tinker said, suddenly focusing on me. “You failed to do the job.”

“Then pay me what he was going to get.” Crushe spoke before I could even open my mouth. “I was the threat and I neutralized myself. Therefore, I should get the pay.”

I could see poor Tinker on the verge of ripping her mane out. “You know what, fine! I don’t even care anymore.” She got up from her desk and moved over to the offices terminal and input something, causing a door to open next to her. “Stay there,” My short friend instructed us before she went inside. It was about a minute before she returned with a bag, the sound of numerous caps clinking away inside it. I floated the bag over to us and deposited it in Crushers saddlebags, my new acquaintance nodding at seeing the correct amount.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” Crusher said with obvious smugness in her voice.

“Just get the hell out of my office,” growled the very annoyed overmare. “Now.” Her head hit the desk before we’d even turned to leave. “I hate my job sometimes…”
______________________________

“So you’ve got some caps, what do you want to do with them?” I asked as we left Tinker to recover from talking with us.

“Right now I want to see where I’m staying. Get a feel for the place and everything.” Crusher responded. I nodded in agreement, that was as good a plan as any.

“Works for me. We’ll take the fast route up.” She looked at me curiously at that.

“What fast route and why didn’t we take it before?” I could tell she was glaring at me.

“The elevator and direct stairs and I didn’t want to make that much of a scene with you.” I knew I’d made a bad choice of words the moment they left my mouth.

“Make a scene with me? The fuck do you mean “make a scene with me?” You think I make scenes?” Oh great now she was getting angry.

“That’s not what I meant,” I said quickly as we reached the large elevator and stairs that led straight up into the terminal. “I just wanted to make sure that you and Tinker didn’t kill one another before I started showing you around.”

Crusher pondered over this while we rode the elevator up, letting out a sigh once we reached the top and disembarked. “Alright, I guess you’ve got a point. Still, I don’t cause scenes.”

“Never said you did, I was just being careful.” I gave her my best reassuring smile and she nodded back as we both walked through the back room of the store that held the stable entrance and back into the terminal proper. Needless to say, ponies were off put by Bone Crusher walking around with me as I showed her the shops on the way home, but there was no threats or attacks surprisingly. I knew some of the traders here had to have tangled with her before. It might not be safe for the Ranger to travel alone just yet…
____________________________

“A refrigerator. You have a fucking REFRIGERATOR?!” Crusher looked at the thing in disbelief. I knew they were rare, but… “Holy shit, Gun. I haven’t seen one of these things in years!”

“Years?” I asked. “I thought the Rangers would at least have some.”

“Let me put it this way: There’s a reason all Ranger bases and outposts have a No Power Armor in the Kitchen rule, and we’re the reason for it.” The annoyance in her voice was clear. I had a feeling whoever made the need for that rule still hasn’t been forgiven. She moved away from the kitchen and into my room, continuing to check out my humble abode. “Nice bed. What’s through here?” She had already trotted over to the bathroom door and opened it, falling down on her haunches after she took a look. “Does it work?” The power armored mare asked.

“Everything in there works, yeah,” I responded, raising an eyebrow even though she couldn’t see me. “Why do you-”

Before I could finish, Bone Crusher was laying on the ground crying. “It’s… Beautiful…” She said with a sniffle. “Do you know what this means?” She asked, suddenly turning her head to look at me.

“Um… It means-” I tried to say, but was cut off again.

“It means I don’t have to try and bathe in the rain!” She exclaimed, jumping to her hooves. “It means I can take an actual shower! It means I don’t have to piss and shit in a ditch!” Crusher swept me into a tight hug before I could react, still crying tears of joy. “Thank you Celestia or Luna or Discord or whoever or whatever convinced me not to kill you!”

“Breaking… Spine…” I forced out, causing my happy friend to drop me.

“Sorry,” she sheepishly replied, dropping me to the floor. “I’m just so happy! You’ve got yourself a roommate, definitely!”

“Glad to hear it,” I coughed, getting to my hooves again. “So you’ll be taking the couch until I get a real bed for you-”

“Oh no, I’m taking the bed.” She interrupted, moving over to a corner of the room and stepping out of her power armor.

“What?! But this is my bed!” There was no way I was just going to let her come in and bully me out of my own bed!

“So we’ll share it,” She suggested, stepping closer to me again. “You don’t have a problem with that,” She was right in front of me, her head next to mine. “Do you?” The words were spoken in my ear in a sultry purr, sending a shiver running down my spine. How could I say no to that?

“Of course,” I said with a grin.

“Good,” Crusher purred in my ear again, giving it a slow, teasing lick. “Now before we get to bed, there’s something I should tell you.” Before I could even ask, she’d thrown me onto the bed from where we were. I looked up so I could see her and gaped at what I saw.

Crusher was still as beautiful as ever, but what really made my jaw drop was what was between her legs. An actual stallionhood was hanging there, raring to go! I wasn’t opposed to playing with males as well as females, but this was a complete shock. My reaction just made the strange, beautiful mare give a sharp toothed grin, stalking towards me like a predator towards their prey. “I’m not like most mares.” With that, she pounced.

It was going to be a long night.

Author's Note

Hello all! This is the first time I've written something of this magnitude, and I'd love any critiques and pointers you can give me. I hope you enjoy!