Fallout Equestria: Ballad of a Rogue Ranger

Chapter thirty-three: Best served cold

Ya know, compared to the other subway we’d been in, this one was a far tamer…

The ghoul was a bit more decomposed than the ones inside that stable, and while their bite packed a punch. My hoof was holding up much better than his skull. After another swing a final crack caved the rest of it in, and the shadow of a pony slumped back to the ground.

We didn’t need any pony taking shots that might give us away, so it was all hooves on from here on out. Until we popped the cork that is, that left both me and Riff up front with Deacon and the rest of the settlers taking up the back seat.

With most of lighting out from here, only the hounds’ eyes, and my lap brought any sense of our surroundings to the open. The occasional ghoul was nothing we hadn’t dealt with before, and another crunch told me Riff had silenced one past my limited vision.

Again, tamer…

“We getting close yet?” Deacon asked just behind us, as he squinted his eyes to keep up with the darkness.

How a Pip-Buck managed to track my position under all this dirt, I still hadn’t figured out. Hey, I’m not complaining. With a quick flick the map was brought up, and there a couple pixilated squares away from my marker, I saw the outline of the prison across the screen.

“Just a bit more,” I answered him with that and a nod.

You’d think the gunners would have cleared this entire place out had they decided to put their home right above it. Yet again, reality proved me wrong with that one. They probably hadn’t thought the need to clear the entire tunnel, just enough for their liking. That left us to do their dirty work and mop up.

I just hoped the surface team had an easier time getting into place. I didn’t know how much ground was around the prison for them to hide in, or how much they’d have to cover before reaching the entrance.

Don’t over think it, just keep walk- oh! you felt squishy… through the metal I still felt the soft press of something organic, and with my lamp I realized the torso of a pony was now wrapped up well around my knees. This ghoul had been here a while, yet somehow from the radiation it hadn’t rotted all that much.

We hadn’t killed this one, but from the holes along its skin I could guess that somepony packing heat did. Just as they done in the next dozen corpses ahead. There at our feet was a sturdy mound of bodies laid nearly stacked on top of one another. Almost as if the ghouls had charged crawling over each other to keep moving forward.

A ticking talon on my armor brough my lamp right in Deacons’ face, as he shielded it out with his claw. Half covered with his talon; the light still showed me enough to see him signaling silence from his beak. Alight, lamp off, and once again I found myself in the dark like during their assault- what was that?

Not the groans I was waiting for from a pack of ghouls, no this sounded like actual words. Granted they were muffled enough to lose their meaning from this distance, but our friend caught wind of it over the stagnant air.

I heard a cracking neck, and the unsheathing of a blade, “Looks like I’m up…” he muttered.

The gryphon pushed past me and I could hear those talons digging into the mound of ghouls, “Are ya gonna be alright by yourself?”

I couldn’t see it, “Oh trust me, these guys probably never fought in darkness like this before,” but I knew there was a grin.

With a few more plops the gryphon pushed his way on, leaving us there to wait on his call… not a thing that put much ease on your mind when sitting idle in the dark. Lock was smart… a stone-cold murdering bitch, but smart none the less. Enough to realize the weakness this spot presented, and made sure it was guarded. She damn near cornered me at that school, managed to figure out the location of the town, and knew well enough to send some of her bigger guns to try and finish the job. It might not have worked out in her favor, but this was her home fort on the line, the mare made sure of its safety.

From the sides, above, and below.

One shot brought my head back up, and I waited for another to follow to signal us to say screw it and press on. Though only the one was heard, amongst a few shouts. That was enough of a signal for- something heavy rested on my shoulder, and I already knew who it belonged to.

“Easy Wild,” Riff whispered into my ear, “Let turkey do his thing.”

Right, trust in him a bit. Gun’s blazing wasn’t always the way to go, usually that ended up messier than it could have been. Quiet might not have been mine or Riffs’ middle name, but it could have been our other pairs. It’s a shame his better half decided to work with the surface team, they could have had so much fun together down here. Though Mercy might have punched a hole into the prison yard all on its own.

A yelp carried itself down to us, and died out at the same time… half a second later there was a whistle, and if that’s not a signal I don’t know what is. Together us and the other few dozen behind waded our way over the ghoul mound, this time with my lamp to guide us along the way.

In Celestias’ name, what happened here? The makeshift camp these gunners had set up looked like a home away from home. There didn’t look like any clear shaft down from the prison to here, which in terms of security made sense. Though that left them all alone for probably stretches at a time.

This encampment was a mess, at least now it was. The several gunners they had here laid strung across their own furnishings. Only the lights of a few lanterns gave away to the slash marks along their bodies, and the punctures in their throats and skull.

“Caught em while a few were taking a nap,” I heard from above, and there perched was the gryphon atop the makeshift shack. Even with Stocks modified armor on him, he was still quiet enough to catch them with their pants down… scary thought.

When this is all said and done with, I had to talk to him about joining Walker on their little guard- chunks of dirt smacked me in the face, leaving a good amount of debris over the lot of us. The gunners down here probably got really tired of that while trying to sleep, good thing it wasn’t a few minutes early.

Though why were there gunshots going off abo-

“Oh shit!” my visor trained on the ground above. Something was catching hell from the gunners, and I didn’t need to tell them what that something probably was, “charges!”

Butter Crisp trotted up with the duffle bag across her back, she’d done good to guard it while we were clearing a path. Now that it was off her hooves, Riff tore open the bag and started clenching the munitions I’d rigged up in her paws. Before I could even say a word, the hound was already digging out the foundations of the ceiling along its sides. That would have taken hours to go through the reinforced concrete, but for her claws, chunks at a time were missing with every swipe.

She went to work, and the rest of us stepped back, far back… what? Deacon had his subtleness; I had my own skill set. It may not have been Balefire, but it would work as a demo charge. The longer we waited for Riff, the more shots I could make out above, and the closer the beats in my chest were getting to one another.

If we had more time we could have saved those explosives to open up one of the walls, but Lock put us on an unknown timetable. Now that table just got a lot smaller. Riff joined us a moment later, with a long trail of wire behind her in one paw, and a spark battery in the other. I didn’t trust myself making a timing device that many times over, so this would have to suffice.

With the two wires and a battery now in the clenches of my horn, felt it in my chest as my body prepared for what was to come next. Charge into an entire stronghold, with no knowledge of how many we were up against, and what tricks they might have in their home field… though those shots above weren’t breaking up anytime soon either.

Whelp, “Time to be a hero,” with that I touched the ends of the wire to the battery.

A-a-and… silence… what?!

Oh, screw this!

The panel on my flank opened up, and with a little help from my horn I shoved both leads into the matrix. It was nothing but energy after all, and with a jump of my HUD they went off. I didn’t have time to try and cover my ears, not like it would have done much good in the helmet. Even with that cover over them of metal, the ringing persisted as the shockwave met us from the layers upon layers of dirt cascading downwards. The ground beneath us hadn’t even stopped shaking before the whole lot of us stormed forward.

Our makeshift sinkhole wasn’t all that easy to climb out, but once up top I got a full view of what Lock had in store or us. Built like a prison this sure was, the high walls stood along the edges of the central buildings, and atop them I saw the figures running through the night taking shots at our other group over its edge. Though for every one we bought underground, there had to be another five of their own to match.

Armor integrity: 96%

Right! Getting shot now! Our distraction had garnished at least some of their attention, and many of those guns above stationed now trained their sights upon us. An eerie glow started to build from around the entire rampart, and while I expected some sort of AER. What I got were flood lights filling their purpose, and giving the entire yard an open view. The prison yard itself didn’t have many of its own structures to give shelter, but the gunners had called this place home for quite a while and had built up shacks along with their time here.

No one needed to be told a second, or first time, about where to go from here. While my hooves stayed planted at the entrance of our dig site, with a flick the shield went up around me. Those that joined us in the tunnels darted to the nearest buildings from the hole. The shield might not have been big enough to give those coming out cover, but it could still draw the gunners’ fire. Across its’ aura I saw the sparks leap off from the hits, and I returned the favor.

ADAC came to life with a strafe across one section of the wall. I probably wasted more ammo than anything, but a shell like that brought more shots away from the surface group in the open. Another burst tore apart a turret mounted on the wall, and I turned to the next… one? Those wall guns weren’t firing at us, no matter, I had plenty of targets that were!

My shield started to show its age, and as it petered out hooves beat against the ground to join those I’d come up with. Several blasts nipped my tail, and that’s all I needed to focus on what’s ahead. The shack didn’t stand a chance, and neither did its door. The whole thing must have shaken when I plowed into it, as did the colt unlucky enough to be on the opposite side. In one end, and out the other. All while the colt stayed stuck to my shoulder, that second wall either knocked him out, or broke something important.

His body fell to the ground as I reached some more cover from those overhead. Behind me I could see the line of our own forming within the confines of the gunners’ own dwellings, and amongst them that distinct 40mm thump rolling out from the other shots. Hmm, wonder who that could- Ping!

Armor integrity: 92%

Ouch…

The mare nearby slammed three more shots from her rifle into my side, and underneath the plating I felt that last one nick my coat while the percentage dropped further. A burst of my own 12-gauge reduced her down to hooves, and gave me a moment to reflect.

‘Right, home base,’ I groaned to myself, letting the armor try to return at least one of those points, ‘they have all their toys here.’ Like armor piercing rounds.

I couldn’t sit still for too long, that was a death sentence in of itself. So instead, while my group inside hunkered down, my vision trained on opening the floodgates. I may not have known squat about prisons, but I knew they had to have a way in for a lot of prisoners at one time. That meant a door large enough for a- there ya are!

Just over the roof to one of the cells blocks I could make out the arch way of what had to be a door… Thank you, gunners, for turning the lights on, and pointing that out for me. Now I just had to get there, a quick hit of Dash would do the- damn it. I was going to miss those, but I knew my organs were calling Deacons’ praises right now. Looks like I’m doing this the old fashion way.

Shots from above gathered around as I ran towards that arch, some managed to pack a punch against the armor, and all I could do was watch them chip away at it. Those above might not have been in my sights at the moment, but ya’ll were! Out of the cell block a group of them came out into my path. I don’t know if they were surprised to see me charging headlong at them, but if they were it dropped fast while their weapons raised.

Armor integrity: 83%

Armor integrity: 77%

Armor integrity: 72%

The literal wall of lead to the face was enough to tell me that much! Somewhere I could feel Knight Rogue looking down at me in disgust for how I was treating his suit, and just past him I reckon there was Winter shouting at me to get in cover.

No time… shotty racked back shell after shell while I approached them at the cell block. Some it put to their knees, others in better plating at this range shrugged off the hit. I didn’t need them to die though, just not shoot me down.

The thrusters along my back kicked on, and now that surprise returned as I went up and over their heads to the roof above. Here the only worry I had were those higher up along the wall, they still had a clear line of site, and the shots landing around my hooves meant they were taking that opportunity. At least here the duct work gave some semblance of cover.

Ahead, I could see my target finally a bit more clearly… my very large, heavy, steel and stone target. Okay, not stone, concrete if I had to guess, but you get the point! Whoever designed this place really wanted to go for that old time castle feel. Props to them, they nailed it. Now I just had to find out how to get it open… and if I had to guess, that tower next to it was the key.

As the edge of the roof neared, I watched as my thrusters charged up a bit more before letting them rip again. I wouldn’t clear the entire distance to the door, but it was better than trying to run through a-

Clank!

Armor integrity: 60%

Warning: Abdominal laceration detected!

So that’s what Anti-Air felt like? My face buried itself in the dirt after I fell, their turrets along the walls might have been dead, but the AA were up and running. Just my luck I was the one to figure it out, and now I was glad we didn’t try to convince Deacons’ friends to join us. Something warm was trickling down my stomach, and I welcomed the shot of Med-X to my system.

The armor repair might have been slow, but to stop that bleeding the meds sure were taking their time! Steadily I could feel the fluids starting to cake along my sides as I laid there. More shots were colliding with the armor, and it took another dose of healing potions to finally get me to feel my stomach mending. A shake of my head brought me back to my hooves, a bit wobbly as the warmth ran down my legs, but standing! I didn’t have time to bleed, I needed to let the rest of the party in… and these ponies were standing in the way of that!

Somepony must have taken the hint of where I was headed, and called a sizable mass of gunners to stop just that. Their firing line wasn’t anything to make a documentary about, but it was effective enough to put me diving into another shacks window. Even without the chems, my heart kept on racing all the same. Overhead their shots ripped through the crude wood and metal plating of the structure. A few of them managed to hit, but largely they demolished the furniture inside.

Two can play this game! As they fired blindly, I switched the cannon to APECR and let her rip the rest of the place in half. They knew I was in here; I knew their bars were against a wall; it was just a matter of who would out last- part of the roof fell atop me, and was thoughtful enough to give me time to look up as the rest came to join it.

With half a building on my ass I tasted floorboards, and then soil once more. The servos pressed with all they could to get the heap off, and as I rose only a few of those that forced me in here still stood from what I could see. Half a dozen remained between me and that damned door, now let’s make it zero. As I pushed through the remains of the shack, I let the ADAC have another burst to chew through em. Even for those hunkering down behind sandbags, it didn’t do much good as the shells sent burst of red mist on the opposite side.

Path cleared… and I winced while the door got closer in my- ouch… I bounced back against the metal as it reverberated and felt a new dent put in the suit. Built like a prison, instead I went for the Riff approach. Twisting around my hind hooves left dual indents into the frame, and with every hit it started to buckle a bit more.

One final kick slammed it into the concrete wall behind, and left me with a staircase that about collapsed from my frame slamming against it. A lone gunner was on his way down, but the only thing I managed to see before trusting him into the wall was a shimmer across his chest. No matter, I had another flight to make.

This door wasn’t built nearly like the one below, and my shoulder alone was enough to knock it open. There inside I saw the controls for the gate outside, along with a young buck loading up his double barrel. Both barrels later, and I lost both my patience, as well as another chunk of integrity. One shell of my own was enough to blanket some of the window in his tissues.

Armor integrity: 55%

Thanks for that… now all I had to do was flip this switch and-

Guard key required.

The terminal flashed at me, and I about choked on those words. Just as I did a few rounds started hitting the armored glass of the tower. It held, but I didn’t want to wait to find out for how long. An aura wrapped around the remains of the gunner, and I started turning what was left of his pockets inside out.

He was up here for a reason, and it had to be to watch over this- door? Not a key, but I finally got a closer look of that shimmer I saw moments ago on another gunner. The guard badge looked a bit beaten up over the years, but that gem in its center still remained ambient with some energy left in it. The last things these guys should be wearing was a symbol of justice…

Cue mental smack, alright! Back to business, his pockets were out, and I still had no key to work with. A larger crack in the window said now wasn’t the time to even attempt at hacking the terminal… I could really use Tumble right about now. From the tower I could see the doors mechanisms. Such a simple contraption, counterweight, pullies, and cables able to move a structure that-

… Idea!

APECR went back to regular armor piercing rounds, and I planted my feet against the ground to try and aim this thing. If I couldn’t open it with the controls, then this had to work. Chomping at the bit caused the entire tower to rumble as the rounds hit the reinforced glass. It might have been faring well against the gunners outside, but 14.4mm was a little heartier. The shells after the first dozen punched through and onto their real target.

The bundles of cables individually wouldn’t have stood a chance, but all together it’d be like trying to damage Equestrias’ battleships. Still, I kept the press on the bit. For every shot that glanced off the rounded target, another took a chunk of it out, and I saw the metal starting to stretch apart from the weight.

Click.

My visor was reading zeros for 14.4mm AP, and instinctively I went back to its larger cousin. That was more like it! Between its harder core and the explosives, the left-over cables all but frayed away like sliced rope. With a screech the rest of the cables pulled through its mechanism, and with it the door. All that ammo earned me a resounding thud of it hitting the ground, and I let my barrels cool down.

For a moment the shots hitting the tower stopped, and I got to look down below as in that open door those from the settlement started to push their way inside. Any unicorn we had that could do the spell found themselves upfront with a shield over those behind them It was amazing what someponies learned out here in the wastes, and it probably pissed some gunners off knowing we stole that from their playbook. As they got further inside their numbers went for different cover, or many even headed straight into the cell blocks.

Armor integrity: 63%

Alrighty that’s enough of a breather for me, and hopefully for the suit. We were storming the ramparts here in Fort Lock, and I wasn’t about to let the settlers do all the work now that they were inside. Going down the stairs was almost too easy, and I about glided over half of them as I broke through the door frame to the ground to join-

The suit and I tumbled across the soil in a heap, and watching the sight of settlers and gunners fighting spin was making me dizzy. With my back finally finding a resting place, I let my eyes get situated before even trying to rise up. When the hell did the gunners get a train to hit me with?!

No… not a train…

Just a pissed off suit of armor already overtop me.

I couldn’t see the face, and they might have been wearing one of those badges on the breast plate, but that glare the visor staired down at me with was all too familiar. Finally, enough chaos had been caused out here to urge the head mare to join us… and I was on the receiving end of it. This close to her, I could almost make out the smoke coming from those nostrils.

“I made good on that favor…” she couldn’t see my face either, or the grin.

Lock could feel the legs I shoved into her chest. Power armor or not, the mare went several good yards away, and I got back up to my feet squaring off. Those gunners taking shots were making good on their orders. Out here in the open, not so much as a stray round struck me while their boss was present. The settlers were too occupied with the others to lend a hoof, but this part wasn’t their fight.

“Yeah… you did,” she nodded to me, “Now let me make good on mine!”

Even with the distance between us, that flame still managed to belch its way to my face! I saw the flames kicking up around the visor, and while it wasn’t getting hot just yet. That initial thump I knew all too well… the grenades burst against the shield half a second after it went up. Which just left myself getting pushed back from every blast.

Fire wasn’t the clearest thing to shoot through, so with the shotty aimed from where the grenades were coming from, I met her with my own shells. I couldn’t tell her bar from any of the others around, but at least there wasn’t any blue either in its path.

No wait… that bar was making a move, as was the flames around me. Caught up inside the sealed shield did like you’d expect, and I didn’t think of. As it started flickering the fire spelled the same end and snuffed out from the lack of air. That left me with a puff of smoke escaping once the shield dropped.

Armor integrity: 57%

And a few AP rounds to the suit. The drop in integrity told me that much, as did the mare shoving me into a wall! Her visor went down, as did the carbine on its swivel, and another burst went into the suits shoulder.

Both my hooves wrapped around her waist, and while her rifle kept on trying to shoot. Her head was in the way of it hitting my own. A quick ignition of the thrusters brought the pair of us up and off the ground, not in the straightest line imaginable. The talismans weren’t designed to lift two suits, so instead both of us careened into the ground. With my hooves still grasping her however, I drug the mare through the dirt.

What would break first? Her head, or mine?

Together we hit the side of one cell block, and caused the whole face to rumble. One hoof to her helmet couldn’t have felt good, neither could the next three. She might have had years in the wastes to hone her skill, but mine was getting better with every encounter. Getting my teeth knocked in before by her, having to tango with the rangers, even fighting with the chemed out ponies that were raiders all helped in that training. Now I was putting it to good use. With a hike of her own leg, I tumbled off to the side, already standing my ground ready to-

Thump.

Armor integrity: 50%

Not get ragdolled across the prison yard! After enough circles I slammed my hoof into the ground putting me upright, and put her down the sights of my own barrel. I met her 40mm with 14.4mm, and watched as the mare danced much like her sister had. It wasn’t a large blast from the shells, but it was enough to get her off my tail. I started to cycle 12-gauge with it to match, keeping the press on. For being in that suit she sure was nimble!

Her 5.56 dug in around me, but having to dodge my own threw off her aim well enough to avoid any- “AHH!” I jumped half a foot in the air as the round passed through my hoof.

Med-X was pumping as her next burst hit, but as soon as I was all fours again, I watched her… Run? Sure enough, the mare might have been facing me, as was her swivel gun. Though she was heading towards the door to a block.

‘Oh, you’re clever…’ I thought as I made chase.

She was after all, out here in the open I had all the advantage. A gun for up close to flush her out from cover and keep her moving, as well as a literal cannon that would only need one good hit or two to put her out of commission. Inside she knew the layout, and likely where to hit me from. Here I was running headlong into it.

The interior was just as well-lit as it was outside, these gunners sure did turn this place into their home. Just as it looked like they removed many of the bars to the cells in this block. I wasn’t sure what each room was for now, but those gunners held up on one side of the hall had their own hooves full it looked like, and the cells gave them a perfect place to mount a defense.

Settlers from town made up the other side, and they seemed to be learning from the gunners as they turned each cell into a foxhole. Which meant, Lock could probably be hiding out in any one of-

Armor integrity: 48%

There ya are! I recognized her brand of bullet and caught the tail end of her… tail, disappearing around one of cells, and filled the doorway with buckshot. If she wanted to get out, she’d have to go through it, and once she was all I needed was one good-

Armor integrity: 46%

What the hell?! Three cells down she darted out, and fired off another burst. I huddled inside the cell to give me a moment, but even that was a moment longer than I needed. The walls between this cell and the next four down had been smashed to pieces. If the gunners had done this much redecorating, then who know where the hell she’d pop up next.

A 40mm detonated against the doorframe, forcing me back further into the cell and running down the hallway that had been created. Not a direct hit, but she was using the same strategy I had on her. Lock just had to wear me down enough, before something important broke. Then it was game over after that.

Once again, I found myself in the crossfire from both sides of the cell block, and here it was a bit harder to avoid collateral damage from either side. I couldn’t tell which ricochet was from the gunners or the settlers… but I knew who that came from! Another burst of flame spilled out from the catwalks above, and before I could find cover my rump was up in flames.

How did she get up there so fast, and how the hell was she still-! Chems… really, why do I even have to wonder this. I know all too well what they can do in combat, and this mare was pumped up with likely enough Dash to make the Wonderbolts proud.

She lived up to its name well, and now that I paid a bit more attention I watched as she wound herself in and out of the cells. This was almost like a chase scene in a cartoon, any door I thought she’d pop out of, instead Lock appeared four more down. Though she was inching herself closer, and I had to ignore the ticking away of the suit from my smoldering ass.

If they were all connected in a line… that meant… her helmet went past the door, and S.A.T.S. homed in on her. Headshot to end it? No small hit chance. Torso to give a better one? That’d probably be the- oh you have to be fucking kidding me!

From the time I engaged the spell, to the short moment I argued with myself. Lock already made it across half the hallway. Just how much of that shit was she on?! One shell loaded in, and I pulled just as soon as it was cued up to go. Even with the spell going, the mare was going at almost a normal trot to make up for it. 14.4mm was fast, and it was gaining on her.

Just a little… more… and…

Half the cell door frame was gone from the impact, and at most the explosive might have nicked her tail… Damn it! As another burst from her put me back in my place, I knew S.A.T.S. was out of the question, and another 40mm left me galloping to clear the blast radius of its cousins. Just as I met the edge from the frame, a stream of fuel met me as the flame filled my visor once more.

My ass had just got done smoldering too, and now here I was covered in it yet again! Instantly I brought the inventory up again, and went to the- shit! Not charged up yet, shotty it was! I turned towards where the fuel kept coming from and… you clever bitch. There was her red bar, as well as the torrent of blue behind her. I might hit her no issue, but who knows how many pellets would go amongst those that came with me.

Everything I had was a heavy hitter, except for… lunging out, I tried swiping at the mare with a hoof. It stopped the fuel, but she was fast enough without me being able to see! Never the less I lashed out at her as best I could. My back was starting to heat up, and I could feel the sweat trickling down my neck. It wasn’t going to be long till I’d need more than a healing potion to make up for this.

Thump.

Instinctively I braced for the hit, and felt the blast smack me against the chest just as the chill crept up my leg- hold up! My eyes snapped open, and I watched the frost creep up not only part of me, but also a majority of the mare. Her IF-451 sputtered before dying out, and I could hear the wining of those joints along her legs as she tried to sprint away.

Lock was only a muzzle length away from mine, and while the ADAC was a bit too powerful for me to want to use it at this range. Shotty would make the same point. Half a dozen shells picked the mare up, suit and all, and threw her across the room. All that extra welded plating had done its job, and kept her in once piece, but even if she killed me. Lock would be feeling that in the morning.

Now you were just the distance I needed you… ADAC clicked over to her position, and it had to be pure adrenaline that saved her from the salvo that followed her along the block. Without fear of hitting the others, I let a few extra shells loose as she pushed through the group of gunners holding up, and let them face the cannon themselves.

Some that weren’t tucked away within the cell didn’t know what hit them as their body all but vaporized from the impact. A few others managed to take the hint, and broke clear from their cells as they followed her down the block through the door at the end.

Okay… calm down, I let go of the bit and looked over my count. ‘One-oh-three…’ this thing didn’t chew through ammunition like the mini did, but I also didn’t want to waste it all on these guys. This line was broken, and with myself the rest of the settlers started to push up alongside me, as they jumped between cells for cover.

Thump.

Again, I winced and waited for the blast, this time however, in one cell a certain gryphon loaded up another shell. Deacon looked all too proud of his new toy, and the frost still on the end of its barrel spoke enough… hopefully he wouldn’t have to use it like an extinguisher any time soon. Close to his hip, there was another with a way undersized helmet. Yet she still found a way to make use of that 10mm pistol.

A shotgun blast to my side drew my attention elsewhere, and Alimite looked about as satisfied as the gryphon during our push. Racking back another shell, the next shot made one of the bars on my E.F.S. fizzle out, and the mare just passed me a grin. She was getting her own sense of payback, I guess revenge was like therapy in the wastes.

I wanted to say something corny… but they had their own task, as I had mine. With a nod of thanks and luck to them both I darted past the remaining gunners, and left them to face the settlers they’d pissed off with their raid.

My hooves stomped against the ground; except I wasn’t the only one making them this go around. The mare must have had some Dash still lingering in her system, Lock was managing to put just enough lengths ahead of me to avoid a clear shot. As I broke into another hallway, the reinforced door further down slammed shut to another block.

Three shots later put enough holes through it for me to trust my tried-and-true shoulder, and at full speed the rest of the door broke off. All as my face met the concrete wall on the other side, ya know, I really needed to learn how to stop with this thing at some point. From this end of the block, I wasn’t amongst those settlers on the opposite side. No… just a bunch of gunners trying their best to hold off our own hoard.

It took them a second or two to realize just who was amongst them, and a heartbeat later half of their barrels aimed towards me. A dozen rounds gone through before the shield went up finally after charging. I got to watch every gunner there drop a full mag into me, reload, and try again. Shotty barked as it matched their own, yet where one fell, another three it seemed like came out of the wood work to take their place.

This cover wasn’t going to… oh I was really starting to hate that sound!

Somehow between the gunfire, 40mm punched not only through the noise, but also managed to hurtle me up and over their cover out to the middle. From my position laid out on the ground, I could see the mare standing on the catwalk above. She had the high ground, and for her launcher that meant an easier time on target.

Another salvo from her was more than enough motivation for my hooves to work. I could feel each blast hammering shrapnel into my backside, but so long as I kept this speed going, I’d be fine. The first cell I dove into was much like the ones in the block previous, linked to the ones nearby. Now all I’d have to do is see if I could make her play the same game, she did with me.

Her grenades filled door number one, so I picked door number three instead. Darting out, I managed to get at least two 12-gauge shells off, but from this distance that was just an annoyance. Back into cover I went, and let her 40mm follow behind as I worked myself closer to her.

This time her rounds were lighting up as much of the doorways as she could. Lock knew this place like the back of her hoof, so she had to know where I’d be able to come out of. While she let the concrete soak up the blasts, I tried to clear my head and observe. AGL or not, much like the ADAC, they weren’t known for their rate of fire. It was all just a matter of timing as I watched the flashes go off to either cell door before me.

Left, right, left, right, left…

Go!

Out the left one I went, just as her next round hit the right. The visor staring back at me didn’t look all that fazed, but this would fix that. A single 14.4mm of my own went off, and while I was aiming for center mass. On the fly that was a bit harder to hit, instead it tore through part of the catwalk she resided on, and I got a rather pissed pane of glass dropping 5.56 at me now.

Not the best plan, but she wouldn’t fall for that- Crack!... twice. I could feel it trickling down my leg before my suit even had to tell me what that was.

Armor integrity: 30%

Warning: Front left servo damaged!

My face in the ground already spelled that out quite clearly. There was still some scrap left in my hopper, and although the suit was doing its best to patch up what it could. Somepony wasn’t going to give it the chance to get me back on my hooves.

Her 40mm trained on me again while I lay struggling to put weight on the leg, and then- half Locks side detonated where she stood. Sending the mare into the wall nearby with a thud. I had to have the princesses watching over my flank for this, but the contrail above told me a different kind of overwatch was on my side. Following it back, even from this distance with both sides trading shots, I recognized the mare behind the scope.

Lock probably hadn’t counted on meeting her sisters rifle head on, nor a mare skilled enough to use it. Tumble put a few more rounds down range at her for good measure, but having to hit with any accuracy through a catwalk wasn’t gonna happen twice.

Still, that much lead flying your way would send any pony running. Lock got to her hooves and started making her way through one of the doors above as I got to my own. The entire time I watched as sparks started to jolt out of her plating from the beating it was taking. Yeah, not so fun when somepony kicks your suit while it’s down. With a small salute to my marksmare, I trudged off after her.

Her suit was on the fritz, and one of her guns had been taken out of commission. While I wouldn’t exactly say we were winning the shootout with her gunners. We weren’t exactly losing either. The prison was built to house an entire population of inmates, but it wasn’t a continent. There were only so many places she could run and hide in, and I found the next stop along that route. C Block, the sign above might have been rusted, but as I broke through the door frame, I’d have to guess this was the cafeteria.

Much like the block before me both the settlers and gunners found their hold and stuck too it. Gunners claimed the kitchen, with the settlers calling dibs on the upturned tables. That door giving way had opened the flood gates, and those town folk swarmed in like ants on a summer picnic.

Thump, thump, thump.

I dove behind the embankment of tables from reflex alone, and where I once stood remained the same debris from before… right, she doesn’t have that toy of hers anymore. All while the grenade launcher kept rocking. If not her, then… yep, called it.

Riff stood only a few tables down from me, happily letting shell after shell lob their way towards the kitchen, as the occasional round would glance off her helmet. The hound didn’t mind, even while taking fire she was still grinning ear to ear. Walker next to her traded the same shots with his repeater for any who even so much as tried to tag the hound more precisely. Ironic, when you consider he even had his barrel pointed towards her not too long ago.

Though if that was coming from the hellhound, where was- Oh, there you are! My head stayed up a little too long, and I was rewarded with a fully armored mare almost tearing the helmet clean off in one lunge from the catwalk above.

Together we both rolled, before a shove pushed me into the wall and gave her a good vantage. I heard the hiss from fuel trying to bleed out, and for a moment there a cone of fire belched. Only to pitter away at her hooves, the cryo effects hadn’t quite cleared up from inside her tank. Watered down fuel was a terrible thing, and she wasn’t happy about it. With her glare, the shoulder weapon swiveled down to me.

Moving now! Here amongst the other settlers duking it out she knew I wouldn’t fire my own arms. That left one option, as the first shots buried their way into the chest plate. I cocked back my helmet and drove it into her own at full speed. All the armor in the world wouldn’t protect you from that, and from this close under her plating I could hear something of hers’ cracking… that or it was my own skull.

Nope, it was hers, the hoof to the back of my head however gave me much the same feeling. As I dropped I could both hear and feel the 5.56 of her rattle off along the back plating. A hoof of my own met the same spot I headbutted, but she didn’t so much as wince from that one, or the few more I swung up close.

Who knew how many chems were pumping through this mare, although she also had a goal in mind. Put me in the ground, then turn her guns on those that came with me. Not something I was about to let happen. It might have been too close to use the cannon still, but I apologized to Rogue for what atrocity I was about to commit.

Two shells exploded into her side, not only knocking her back a bit, but also ripping what remained of her launcher clean off. I watched as my suit yelled at me for the act, something I’d have to make up to it later. Point blank like that, and splash damage wouldn’t hurt those amongst us. Just myself, and my target. Now she was further away, and readying her IF-86. The following bursts did almost as much damage as the shells, though a bit more precise.

Armor integrity: 22%

Yeah, I was taking a beating again… what else is new? Though if mine was, then hers wasn’t far behind me. That rifle of hers tore into the wooden plating of the table I lunged behind, instead she just started to punch holes through the thing till it hit the metal she was seeking. Another burst to my flank sparked my ass out of cover, and up I went over the tables edge. Just as I caught something sparking off her own.

Together we both turned, and I had to admit, Walker could sure fan that lever! His slugs were nowhere near powerful enough to do anything really damaging to the armor… but that wasn’t his target. The gun over her shoulder dented and dinged with every shot he rattled off, some even managing to punch through the stamped metal, all while I closed in. I didn’t know how many rounds she had left in that thing, but she wasn’t taking the time to spend them on-

I watched Walker fall, with a single burst, and his rifle by his side…

The smoke left from her barrel as it righted itself back on me with its swivel, but this time her glare didn’t follow with a bang. Her gun was silent, either from Walkers’ doing, or it was just spent. Her hind hooves met me in my path grinding my charge to a halt with one kick to the jaw.

After her earlier hits I was starting to see those dancing ponies again, this time Lock had joined them. Her incinerator was water logged, launcher was gone, and now her rifle was licking its wounds. That meant I was licking the ends of her hooves. The fury of punches from the scorned mare drove my head back and forth like a bobble head as it bounced against the ground. I must have seen every color of pony in my vision, probably even a few gryphons there too.

It didn’t matter if I threw my hooves up or not, Lock just went through them and into my muzzle. Now both our armors were in tatters, and I still sucked at hoof to hoof. Between hits I could just imagine the grin she was wearing behind that helmet… a helmet that disappeared within a paw.

Just like that, the mare was lifted up off of me and thrown not just across the room, but out the reinforced window of the cafeteria. Several potions were trying to do their work, though my vision was still pretty hazy. Only the paw I saw extend out towards me as I grasped it, and Riff lifted me back up to my hooves.

She didn’t say much, hell the hound didn’t say anything. Together we just looked back to where the towns’ sheriff laid being tended to by some of his cohorts, before turning our gaze to the hole the brigadier had made. Riff went back to lobbing her own punishment as I galloped to the opening, and with a burst of the thrusters soared through to the other side.

Huh? Besides the shots ringing out around the prison, this place was quiet. The hoof ball court laid empty besides the occasional piece of trash, even the Gunners looked like they kept this place in working order. I guess both the inmates, and the prisons new occupants, needed something to keep themselves active.

Then again, I wasn’t looking to play ball, and neither was the one I joined here. That throw threw the window hadn’t done her any favors. As Lock started to her hooves, I could see it across the plating itself. I thought my suit was getting pushed through the meat grinder. Hers’ had to face grenades, explosives, an AMR, and a hellhound all in one day.

Yet still, the mare fought on and stood her ground as she stared me down. Between shots behind us, I could hear her panting breath over my own. This was our own little corner of the prison, and it gave us both a moment to ourselves. She wasn’t lunging herself across the space between us to pummel me. No, she had to be thinking, or at the very least reflecting.

I could easily put a shell through her with the ADAC. It wouldn’t take more than one or two shots to do, and leave nothing left. After everything she’d done, Lock deserved no less… It’s what she would have done if I were in her position. Then again seeing her in tatters like this reminded me of one simple fact…

I wasn’t like her.

“It’s over, Lock,” the mare didn’t move, instead she stood there and let me speak for once as her cracked visor pierced through the armor. “Those in these walls might put up a fight, they might run…” it’d be better if they did the latter, maybe… if they had some persuasion, “but you’re finished.”

One shot, that’s all I needed to put an end to it. Kick her while she’s down, and put this twisted mare where she rightfully belonged. I wanted her to lunge, try to shoot, give me a reason to pull the trigger. Winter would have probably dumped a magazine in her already, and although I didn’t know him, I’d be willing to bet Rogue would have done the same.

But she wasn’t moving, or giving me a reason to, “Stand down… order your troops to, you can walk out of here, and never return,” her head jerked a bit at that. Somewhere I could feel the previous two yelling every manner of curse in my direction… but somewhere else I could feel another nodding in approval. Forgiveness was always a pony trait, one that we were well known for before the war. The sun goddess forgiving her younger counterpart was testament to that. While this new Equestria may not know the same sentiment. Mercy was its counterpart, one that I was a bit more comfortable with. I couldn’t forgive what she’d done, to myself, or my friends. Yet, I could extend this much, and have the chance at stopping some of the bloodshed, “It’s more than you deserve, but I came from a different time… one with different morals.”

She was down, defeated, and more than a far cry from the mare back in that school. At least on face value. If she kept on living after this, I’d like to think maybe a different life would follow. Hopefully the gesture wouldn’t put a target on my back, but maybe with their leader calling them all off I wouldn’t have to keep an eye out for the gunners in the future.

“Nothing’s over… while I’m still breathing…” Lock turned away from me, and made her way towards the central tower.

This is what I get for trying to be a decent pony…

Damaged or not, her suit was lighter than my own. That let her put some good distance between us as I tried to stay on her hooves. The interior of the tower was nothing but a winding staircase leading up to the main deck, and I had to put the heaving in my breath aside while rocketing up the steps. If it was difficult for me then I couldn’t imagine what strength it took for her to make it.

Through the top door I went after her, and as I broke to the observation level my hooves ground to a halt as I watched the mare standing there with her back to me in front of a console. With a snap the mare turned around to face me, as her hoof reached up to the collar. With a twist what remained of the helmet came off as she tossed it to the ground.

Her chocolate mane was about as worse off as her suit, and even I couldn’t tell if the roses in her eyes had gotten redder, or if they were just that bloodshot. Chems would do that to you, and I’d be incline to believe that’s what it was from. If it weren’t for the tears still working their way down her face. Lock had been crying likely long before we’d gotten here and kicked the show off if I had to guess. Although now that it wasn’t hidden behind the vail, I could see her true colors.

Lock didn’t look so much angry as she was… broken.

‘You didn’t simply kill off another head to our chain of command…’ the words repeated to me as if the colt they belonged to was here in the room with us. I had been looking at this wrong, even since day one of dealing with the gunners. Lock had the same ferocity I had when trying to protect Winter and the town, and now seeing it on her face I could understand the sentiment… just what I’d done to her. Not by just killing her own troops, but her siblings as well. Enough to send a brother into a frenzy tearing himself apart in the process, and a sister into a final stand throwing everything she had left.

“I’m sorry…” once again she froze as if Deacon got another lucky shot off, “I’m sorry for what I’d done to your siblings, they were on one side of the fight, I was on the other… wrong place, wrong time.” I told her that once already when it came to Barrel, and now I answered to her for both of their deaths. Somepony had to stop the chaos outside, and I wasn’t the colt to try and do it, “If I could take it back I would, but you can at least save those of yours outside,” please… let this work, “Call off your gunners, and I’ll call off my own… we can all live to see tomorrow.”

Her eyes clenched shut at those words, yet another stream of tears managed to work their way free as they fell to the floor. Lock shook her head, wiping the rest of them off, and glared back at me. Judging from her jaw readying to crack, my plea fell on deaf ears, “You’re sorry?!” she snapped at me, and lifted her hoof up accusingly, “Sorry doesn’t change what you took! Sorry doesn’t bring them back to me! Fucking sorry doesn’t fix the promise I broke!”

Come again?

The slap from her hoof resonated throughout the tower, and as she cleared it from the console, I saw the switch she’d flung. Her suit might have been a wreck, yet somehow through it all that guard badge over it remained intact… and started to pulse.

… not good…

Several of the monitors around the room lit up. They were old beyond belief, but that magical charge in them still kicked to life, giving me a view from around the prison through the eyes of the security cameras. Cell blocks, the cafeteria, even the main yard were all on display, and from them I could see the turrets from before now kicking to life.

Seriously not good!

I wasn’t getting any sound, but I could see the barrels flash from each shot they took into the crowds that followed me here. Every one of those settlers weren’t ready for this, and it was only some quick thinking that got some back into cover. With myself up against window I watched down below while those guns herded the settlers as if they were inmates, all while the gunners themselves remained… untouched?

Now it all made sense… “Some will fight, some will still live to see tomorrow,” I could hear the inhaler going off, and the crunching of pills from the mare, and already once I turned the foam started to dribble down her lips, “but like you said… for me, it ends here… Ranger,” she spat out that word. Lock might overdose right here and now, but not before taking me out with her.

“Not a Ranger,” I filled her in, as S.A.T.S. kicked on.

Before I could even toggle over her the mare was inches from my brow. I’d never seen pupils that dilated, nor a hoof suck that much going into my jaw. The ground beneath me left as I soared once again upwards, and met the ceiling above. I just got to watch it all without being able to move so much as a hoof of my own, and she joined me in the air for another strike.

This time the spell wore off just in time to speed things up… namely my face careening into the metal floor. I didn’t have time for this! She landed behind me, but that left the console wide open. If I could just get to the controls, I could kill the guns. Save them now, fight her- I felt that clench around my tail, and with it a tug strong enough to pull me back.

My guns spun around as both sides of me rocked from the shells tearing parts of the tower away. Yet, Lock was just a bit quicker. I hadn’t even gotten a dozen rounds off before a kick to the helmet knocked me back on my side.

Warning: Armor integrity: 15%

Warning: Concussion detected!

I know I shouldn’t blame him for it, but damn Deacon! Did you have to take away my chems before this? The healing potions trickling in was clearing up the throbbing, but my vision was blurry as all hell. Clear enough still to see a figure getting closer though, and enough to know to duck. Lock overshot, and I bucked myself. I’m not sure what part of her I hit, but it got the mare away from me. That switch was only a hoof stretch away, and I leapt with all my might… almost there!

And then the full weight of the mare landed on my back, together we both soared through the air. Up and over the controls I needed to get to, and against its housing. Momentum was a fickle thing, as it led us sliding straight into the window. My helmet was the first to meet the glass, and thankfully it wasn’t enough to go through.

Her punch to my muzzle however, was the final straw. The window shattered as we both hung with our shoulders over the edge. Lock kept her hold onto my suit over top of me as she brought her hoof back for another swing, and another after that.

No amount of meds were gonna get my head on straight after this. With my guns sticking well past their useful range out the window, the only thing I had left were my own hooves. Even my horn tried to reach out to do its part of holding her back, but with every aura that conjured around her limbs. The mare broke free from them in half the amount of time.

I had to get her still, just for a moment. As my horn reached out for anything on her to do so, my hind hooves hiked up as best they could and pushed. I wasn’t flexible enough to reach her, but I could kick at the console. End over end I saw the ground beneath me come more into view, and her swings finally stopped as we teetered on the edge.

All it took, was one more push.

Lock toppled over top of me, falling past my visor just as my body straightened out in the empty space near the window. I didn’t take the time to look down, as with everything I could the thrusters kicked on. I could feel their heat licking against my flank from this angle, but I wasn’t falling either. Steadily the bulk of the suit crept upwards, and with my flailing hooves I grasped onto the edge of the window frame.

It started to buckle, it waned, but didn’t quite break. The servos in my knees screamed as they pulled the rest of the suit up and over to the console, and I fell to the floor. My breath was heaving, and I’m so glad I didn’t pick up smoking when I was younger!

I was right where I needed to be, up here and alone… Right! I still had a job to do. With a snap I righted myself back up and looked over the console. There I saw the switch she threw, Riot Control, and gave it the same treatment she had. Flicking it my heart raced still, but not quite out of my chest while I watched the monitors around me. Steadily with every passing second, each of those turrets she’d called into action started to falter and lay silent.

As did the ones outside the open window I could hear- Wait… aren’t you? There on top of the console was that same guard badge the mare had worn on her suit. Whatever rivets had held it in place were sheered off, and now I knew what my horn had grabbed hold of in our struggle. Though what quelled my mind was that pulse it had once resonated with now died out after a final pitter of life.

Throughout the prison I could hear much the same, or at least the lack there of. More than just the turrets had fallen silent. One shell in the console would stop any other from making the same move against us, and with that out of commission I went to the edge of the window and looked down.

It was somewhat poetic… three siblings, all with a beef against me, yet in some way gravity had a part in their fate. Now wasn’t the time for poetry though, I knew the suit could take it, but for once I chose to take the stairs on this one.

As I exited out the door to the main yard, I could see the remnants of the gunners starting to scatter. It might have been my presence, I might have been the settlers that were still firing the occasional pot shot at them, but I think the biggest sign that they were finished was their leader laying with her stomach to the ground motionless.

No… not motionless.

The suit of armor before me started to shake, and steadily I watched one hoof follow after the other as it began to rise up. Those settlers that joined me from a distance all had their guns trained on her, but I had a close-up view of what the mare had gone up against. The fall wouldn’t have been enough to end her. Though without that badge on the suit, the guns just saw her as another prisoner.

Across the plating the small calibers wouldn’t have done much on their own, I’d taken far worse from a sledgehammer. However, if you added all of them up, and trained them onto one target… well, I believe there was a kind of cheese named after this. There were more fluids pouring out of those holes than one pony should have in their body, and if they weren’t sealing up then whatever was repairing both her suit and her body was long spent.

Lock took a step to match my own, but hers began to falter and stumble. It wasn’t until we were nearly muzzle to muzzle that her head rose up to meet mine. She didn’t have a helmet to hide behind… I could return the favor.

The latches along the visors base lifted as did the helmet, and we got to see one another face to face. If there was even the slightest chance one of her guns was still in working order, without any TLC at least, I was a goner. A small hiss from the side of her suit drew my attention, and while I half expected to get some sort of charge going off. Locks’ hoof reached down to her stomach, and pulled from a compartment a small bag.

She didn’t have the strength to hoof it over, no it just fell to my own. Although it wasn’t blowing up in my face, so how bad could it be? “Thank you… Rogue,” what was this? Through her blood laden cough, of all things the mare began to smile. Maybe it was just the pain, but a tear trailed itself down the edges of her lips, “For letting me see them again.”

Her flank found the ground, and soon after that did the rest of her body… as Gunner Brigadier Lock, heaved her last breath.