Fallout Equestria: Ballad of a Rogue Ranger

Chapter thirty-nine: R & R

You’d think I would have been used to guns pointing at me by now…

Alas, watching the entire station train their barrels on our group since our approach still sent my heart a flutter. They weren’t shooting, and either were we, so I could keep the peace till we got to where we needed. Not even a single guard had approached us when we walked in, they likely didn’t want to be in hooves reach of a hellhounds’ claws.

That just left myself to have a stare down with a locomotive, and hopefully somepony inside who might be able to quell this worry. “This is the Rogue Ranger!” the speakers bellowed out, and reverberated throughout the station, “I’ve come to collect on that deal of passage!”

Riff dropped the tarp she carried, and the axil inside spilled out across the platform. A few of the workers from the train looked either ready to clap, or pay up a dept they owed somepony for making a bet. These things were difficult to come by, unless you had a little knowledge almost two hundred years in the making.

At the sounding of the whistle, many of the guns around us stood down, and all of us in the group stood a little easier. One head however, poked itself free from the engine room, and gave us the same look many of the guards had when we first walked in.

“Well… I’ll be…” the colt swung from the door and landed the platform to greet us. His overalls reminded me of the train conductors you always read about in books, or seen in pictures. Hey, at least he was keeping the tradition alive, “I didn’t think anyone would actually manage to get one… this fast at least.”

Alimite had long awakened during our walk and was there by my side as the conductor, who actually lived up to the name, stood dumbfounded. “And we delivered… now will you make good on your deal?”

The pony in charge of the train might have gulped at the caps he lost out, but without the train moving the in the first place. I got to see the calm settling in of acceptance across his face. It was a fair trade on his part, “Of course… it’ll take a few hours to install and test, but we’ll be back on the rails again to take-”

“My party,” for a moment his eyes lingered to the most obvious of our group. He should be thanking the hound for carrying it the whole way here, “my entire party, up north,” I could see the numbers running in his head at what this cost him, either from the lot of us, or what travelers might jump from the train from the sight of Riff. Yet somewhere those numbers stopped.

“As promised.”

With his nod, any of the guards to the station fell away into their own business, leaving us standing there on the platform twiddling our hooves. That actually went a lot smoother than I expected. Usually there’s some barter between after trying to cash in, but this pony out right would pay what he owed in full, even if there was some reluctance… a colt of his word.

Ill take that any day of the week. With his workers now carting the axil off for maintenance, our side of the bargain was met… now what the hell were we supposed to do in the meantime? Alimite started tightening her bandana, and that already answered what she had in mind.

“I’ll see to it they make those repairs fast,” I should get her a whip as a slave driver, “you all could prep with shopping for supplies.”

“I mean we have the caps for it now,” Tumble snickered, as she tapped her side from the bundle Riff had pulled in earlier, “Shopping spree?”

I don’t know about spree, but- “I need more cryo grenades,” Deacon answered.

“Dog want more boom,” Riff implied her ammo.

“And I could always use shells,” Alimite fluttered her lashes at me, like a filly trying to sweettalk her father.

… Still having a hard time saying no to this one, “Okay fine!” I caved all too easily, as I turned to the mare who would be doing the heavy lifting, “Come find us when you’re sure they’re on the right track?”

“You bet,” she left a quick peck to the end of my muzzle.

Before any of my friends could dare say a word, I was already pushing the lot of them towards the market and well away from the mare. I might have been shopping with them for the time being, but at least here I could ignore any and all comments on that other matter. It was already pretty obvious after all… was I hiding it? Of course not. Did that mean I was up for the tittering and prodding? Not while there were bigger fish to fry, something that others still found the time for…

“Think they’ll get a suite together?” Tumble prodded the side of the gryphon.

For a moment the guy mused that one over, “with what we just delivered they could probably afford a whole car to themselves,” his grin met the mares, and I kept my eyes forward. “Though I would suggest getting out of the suit for that, don’t want to hurt the mare,” Deacon snickered over my shoulder while I tried to pay the utmost of attention to the vendor, “Doctors orders.”

Alrighty then that does it! “What does the doc say about interspecies contraceptives?” He forgot, two could play at this game.

His beak snapped shut half a second after those words left my lips, and I got to see the mare halt in her tracks with him. Riff kept her grin spreading wide behind them, but if I was going to be the center of attention. Then I could always use putting the spot light somewhere else. Did I feel sorry for it?

Not in the slightest.

“After all you two have been getting pretty close the last few months,” I grinned from under my visor. Deacon might have a good right hook on him, but that wouldn’t help in armor, “I mean tending to her when injured during the gunner stronghold, patching each other up in the courthouse, and who can forget the look you both had when me and Riff walked out the stable with the talisman…”

“Not forget… Medic Duties,” the hellhound could barely keep her chuckle from growing under the paw hiding her muzzle.

“Thank you, Riff Raff,” I nodded once to her and set my gaze on the pair, “my affections might be rather obvious, but I’m not hiding it… so tell me, why are ya’ll two?”

Oh how the tables have turned, and I got to see both Tumble and Deacon backed into the corner all the same… still, not sorry. Their flanks met a very confused vendors’ counter, and even he didn’t want to say a word after seeing the snicker on the hound. Together their glances would meet, before soon parting ways to the opposite sides, and any move they made didn’t help their case. Only make the hole deeper.

“Well, I mean… she’s a nice mare,” Deacon about choked his words out.

“And he really is a nice… turkey,” Tumble blushed as only a mare could, “especially with how he tends to others.”

“And after not wanting to shoot me at times, I can say she’s sure grown on me,” oh just say it Deacon…

“He might be willing to do anything for caps,” listen I can see that smirk growing… just say it girl, “but he’s got a good heart.”

“And she’s as stubborn as they come,” right next to Alimite in my book, but you’re on the right track there Deacon, “Something I find appealing.”

For Celestias’ sake!

“Mare like Chicky, and Chicky like mare,” Thank you Riff for summing that up!

They were stumped, and at this rate I could probably watch as time stopped between them. Neither one said a word to the other, and any time their eyes met it was always followed by a blush and a quick turnaround from their gaze.

Listen, I might not be the most socially versed pony in Equestria, new or old. Though I at least understood the same shit you saw in TV dramas when they’d pop up. This probably could make a full season at the very least. They’d been playing this game for a while now, and beating around the bush. All they needed was a little push in the right direction… okay, maybe not a push, this was more of a full fledge shove if anything.

“Riff… why don’t we go shopping?” my horn reached out, and plucked a good sum of caps from the bag Tumble carried. Didn’t know how much was in there, but it would suffice, “These two have somethings to discuss.”

The hound just smirked as she joined over my shoulder, and I got to watch both our resident sniper and medic pass only awkward smirks to one another. One that would try and save the life of another up close, and another that would prefer to take life from a distance… yet both a good pair together.

Now that that’s out of the way, and they should be occupied for the time being. We could go on that spree they wanted so bad, and I knew just where to start. The gun store was just as easy to find as the bar in this place, and between the two of us. This vendor might have keeled over from the heart attack alone.

“Wait…” the gryphoness behind the counter slowly peeked her head above, “You’re the one that brought that axil with ya, the Rogue?” I would have thought every creature in this place would have seen that display.

And I’d be wrong, “in the flesh… err, metal.” The hound I pushed a little forward, if only to not be the only one making the dealings and making a name for myself. “This is Riff Raff, part of our group as well…” not the smile I would go with, but the gryphon wasn’t flying off to the moon just yet.

“Hello, miss turkey,” apparently Deacon wasn’t the only one to get his feathers in a ruffle at that, “Have grenades for this?”

Her launcher slid from her back into her grasp, and inches from the vendors’ beak. Though that put the girl at ease more than I thought, she knew we were here for business at least. “40mm I take it?” Riff just nodded to her, “ample supply of that… and for your cause, I’ll throw in a discount,” her eyes trailed back from the hound to myself, and I caught the wink first hand.

Thank the goddesses Alimite was elbow deep in a train! Otherwise, I’d be picking feathers out of her mane the whole way north, “Much appreciated miss… though that’s the beginning of our list…”

***

Note to self… if we find ourselves ever stocking up again, assuming we get back alive, train stations were the way to go! With all the travelers coming and going through this hub of commerce, there were more than an abundance of goods at our disposal. Namely in this case, bullets… lots and lots of bullets.

14.4mm, 12-gauge, 50 Cal, .44… did Tumble even still have that thing? No matter; additional fuel, 40mm, and 5.56 in every shade of colors for Deacons’ tape. Might only last the first leg of our journey, but our magazines were sitting pretty for the moment. That gryphoness was more than appreciative of the caps, and I even threw in a tip for scouring the whole station for extra rounds. Oh, so sue me, good customer service deserves good payment.

Cocked, locked, and ready to rock! Though I could feel the servos starting to complain from the extra bags. How was another doing? “Holding up Riff?”

The hound already was carrying her launcher, and now a full satchel along her back with enough munitions to make the average Ranger wet themselves. Still, I got her signature smirk, teeth and all, “Dog happy… more boom.”

Bullets, check! Now to find the other couple and see if they managed to get to their own shopping. Yet somehow, I still for the life of me can’t find a bloody Balefire Egg Launcher?! Not that I needed it… but it would be nice to have for when we knocked on the Rangers door. Maybe give that one to Alimite if I come across it. Then we all could have something that gave a little more- oh hi-ya!

I almost crashed into the pair of ponies in our path. This time around my heels ground to a- thud… okay, my front hooves ground to a halt. Back hooves just flopped to the floor. The pair before us however didn’t walk by, or even balk back from the hellhound. They just stood there staring at us.

This… was getting creepy, “Ahh… can I help you?”

“You’re the Rogue, right?” the unicorn mare asked, “The one that’s been sticking it to the Gunners and Rangers out here?”

She looked like she’d seen better days… her coat was in tatters, mane needed a good month soak in conditioner, and her eyes probably haven’t seen sleep since before her own birth. Yet, there was a shadow of a smile across her lips. Just like the earth stallion next to her.

“And the one that cleared out a mine of slavers?” the colt asked, and collectively both myself and Riff shared a glance.

“Yes… that’d be me,” my hind legs, or servos, finally awoke and I got back to my hooves… before immediately locking up once more?!

A hug was not what I was expecting today… though the stallion gave me one none the less. His bony legs tried their best to wrap around the suit, but fell flat against the side plating. Riff looked about the same as I felt, and the mare barely grasping her torso made the hound freeze like no-

“…Thank you,” both the mare and stallion said in unison.

-other… “You’re… welcome?” yeah, I was confused now, “But for what?”

Finally, the pair broke their contact, as me and Riff settled ourselves. “We were amongst those slaves in the mines,” the stallion answered, and the dots I saw connecting in my head, “you made an entrance here when you first walked in, though you looked far different than we first saw you…” yeah, armor upgrades with more guns than I knew what to do with will do that to a pony, “but after watching you for a little bit around here, we knew it had to be you.”

The mare was biting her lip almost to blood, but I could see it was to fight back tears, “We never got the chance to say thank you back then,” now the tears decided to fall, “if it weren’t for you, me and my husband might have never seen the clouds again… let alone been able to stay together.”

Hearing the good deeds from the DJ across the radio waves was one thing… seeing what I’d changed from the ponies’ mouth was another feeling all together. The DJ made it sound almost like a hoofball team getting praised, but to watch the lives that I made just a little better… made it almost worth taking a crane to the back.

Might eat these words later… but I’d do it again.

“It’s not much…” the mare pulled a small sack from her saddle bag with a flick of her horn, “But it’s what we can do to say thanks.”

I didn’t want to accept it, especially after hearing where I’d met them. If I was a slave, I’d probably be holding on to every possession I possibly could. You weren’t exactly starting out on a good hoof, and never know when you might need it in the future. Something from the mares’ expression was pleading with me to give in, and the stallion was joining her in that sentiment. They were owing their survival to me searching for a pony in those mines, and while I had a hard time turning one mare down because of stubbornness. I couldn’t refuse these ones for their sheer desire to say thanks.

There from the bag a couple healing potions flew out from her aura, as well as a few choice substances I knew well. Med-X I can always use… the Stampede, and Hydra on the other hoof… might be better with somepony else. Gently I took them in my own grasp, and with a nod of my helm the only words needing to be said in gratitude were passed to them.

“Keep fight the good fight, Rogue,” the stallion said to me with his own beam.

“Someponies are counting on you,” his wife added.

Yeah… I had promises to keep after all…

After that exchange the pair gave one last nod of thanks, and disappeared into the crowd. Leaving me and my counterpart standing there, and the hounds’ eyes were already drilling into the back of my skull when I started down away from her.

I’m ignoring you for the moment… let’s see here, six healing potions. Enough I can distribute between us as needed, though Deacon was definitely getting the majority, he was our medic after all. Med-X was going in my ports, I had the largest tendency to get shot after all. As for the Hydra, yet another point goes to our gryphon. The stuff was apparently dangerous, and ‘all or nothing’ like he said. I didn’t know the effects, so if there was anypony to make the call to use it or not. Then it wouldn’t be a pony in the first place.

Now just one more thing to take care of… “Riff, don’t worry, Deacons’ getting the chems… at least the Stampede and Hydra.”

That seemed to be enough to suffice it for the hound. The meds weren’t going to be in my hooves for very long, you know, whenever we could find that pair. I mean the station was large sure, but how the hell could we not find them in this?

Past the armor vendors we went, where they likely would have gone for any repair needs before we made the trip. Still, no sign of them. Now on to the food vendors… the filters on the helmet might have been good, but I could still smell the cooking flesh of critters around me. Wait, was it starting to rain- nope. Riff shook her head once, and the slobber that came off caked against the visor in droplets.

Someone was hungry… yet, still no sign of our couple.

“Try Inn?” Riff offered, as she wiped the rest of the saliva free from her lips, “maybe pony and turkey found quiet spot.”

While it might have made my day to embarrass the pair by walking in, if there were sounds like that coming from the door, I’d more than let them have the moment. What? I’m not that mean. Though where there was in inn, there had to be a bar not far from it.

“I say the saloon…” could split ourselves up to hunt the two- …down?

From a shit eating grin, to stone faced with worry. The hellhound went through a whiplash of expressions right before my very eyes. My head started darting around, thinking at first maybe she spotted them after all. Alas, nothing in the visor, so what could it have been that nabbed her tail?

… Well then… didn’t think it’d be so literal. There at the base of the appendage, one foal held the tail in their tiny hooves. While next to them the young filly, no older than Winter when we first met, looked over Riffs’ coat with the utmost of interest.

Kid… if you want to die, there were quicker ways to do it. The visor turned time and time again from the young pair, to the hellhound in question. Though all Riff did was stand there like a statue, unsure what to make of this contact. How many would be willing to walk up to her kind and play with her tail?

“Riff Raff…” really what do I say to her? I wanted to make sure she was calm, but at the same time I wanted to start laughing!

“There you two are!” a shout out from the crowd met us, and amongst the other shoppers one mare came forth. She looked worried at first, but that was nothing compared to when her eyes laid on the two young ones. Immediately her tattered wings scooped up the two, and pulled them off to her side. Just as fast, Riff snapped out of her little trance, and her eyes fell to the mare. “Sorry about that… miss…” whatever claw was grabbing her tongue let go, and I could see the gulp going down her throat, “these two got away from me not long ago and went about on their own.”

My hoof patted itself on Riffs’ side, easing down the simmering tempter I could feel radiating from her. “Oh, it’s quite alright… kids will be kids after all,” my gaze turned to the hound once more, “right? Riff?”

The hound probably wanted to punt me over the train for that one… instead I got a forced grin, with slightly less teeth than I was expecting. “Right… pups do pup things,” her paw reached out, and while the filly shirked away at first. The gentle pat she gave to the young pony was a surprise even to me.

“Forgive me… they must have heard you were traveling with a Hellhound in your group,” the mare bowed her head a tad towards myself, and to Riff. “You seem to keep odd company, Mister Rogue,” very poor choice of words, and she caught that the moment it slipped from her tongue, “Not that I mean it like that! Just most hellhounds aren’t what I’d call… Civil,” you were going to run out of things to gulp if you kept this up, “No offence.”

Usually when somepony says that, it was meant as an offence in some way. I knew that much, and Riff probably did as well, but her grin stayed just platonic as ever, “No offence taken… little ones curious.”

To my own surprise, her tail flicked out, tickling the muzzle of the filly. This was one of those stories that little pony would be able to tell her friends, and they wouldn’t believe her. Giggling from the touch of a hellhound… hopefully she didn’t try that with any of Riffs’ cousins.

A timid wave let the trio leave our presence, and we got back to our search. Not before I saw the hound glance back at the mare, grinding her teeth. “Bitch… dog show you uncivil…”

I’ve seen her be uncivil… and usually it ended with her having to take a bath to get the viscera out of her fur, “Now is not the time and place to threaten a mother of two…” Why did I have to say those words when it should seem obvious?!

A huff later, and the hound settled her nerves. Good thing too, I didn’t need to explain to the pair just up ahead what she’d gone through. If there was anything that would make you stick out like a sore hoof, it was having an AMR the size of locomotive across your back. I picked out the barrel of Mercy first above all other heads in the mass of creatures doing their shopping, as it led us closer like a flag marking our way.

Good, now that we were back together, we could find out what they gathered for the trip. They still had enough caps left over to supply it, and anything else we could probably find in the Crystal Empire itself. If it was less traversed like I was led to believe, then I had high hopes those structures still held some loot of values inside.

Now just… “Oh my…” you know, I didn’t think gryphons’ tongues were that long…

Tumble would beg to differ on that one. We might not have been able to hear it, even with my tricked-out sensors, but I could see the gasps escaping the mare lips with every second of contact the two shared. If blood filled her cheeks, as it did his own. Though the two didn’t think for a second to look at their surroundings at who might be watching. I couldn’t blame them; I know I wouldn’t be thinking of that either.

Besides, I’d experienced the same feeling not too long ago… I knew the face of being lost in your own world all too well. I got the same way anytime I was around her. Just like he had by the fire, Deacons’ wings reached up and around the mare pulling her in closer. This time I could hear that coo almost purr out from the mare, and the giggle she immitted matched perfectly with the filly we’d just met.

One that matched the hellhound next to me as well, “About time…”

If we’d gotten here any later, they might have been at that inn after all… with that final thought the two broke contact with one another. As their eyes looked to the other, I could see the same bliss I had with Alimite. It was touching really, there was a lot wrong with this world. Between the raiders killing senselessly, slavers selling ponies, every creature more or less wanting you for lunch, or even the copies of a princess I once knew apparently flying about the nation now. Yet, there still seemed to be some things that were beautiful…

Watching the intrigue of a young pony at a creature she’d never seen.

Seeing first hoof the difference one pony can make.

Experiencing the euphoria of being so close to another.

And in this case, getting to admire the change from bliss to sheer dread change in a snap on ones’ face.

Tumble was the first to catch us staring, and soon Deacon managed to follow her eye sight and meet our own. Just like that, their embrace ended with each one trying to catch a breath during our approach. Riff grinning from ear to twisted ear, and I could have painted the helmet with the smile I wore.

I was a merciful ‘Ranger’ though, so when Deacons’ talon raised to say something. I met it with my own question, “So what’d ya’ll manage to find?”

The gasp from Riff begged for more info, but a quick kick to her paw silenced that. Something that they both looked thankful for. Blushing feverishly, probably running on half a braincell, and I’d imagine not in the right mind for sure… but still thankful.

“Food… mostly canned and meat,” Deacon spit out, while his eyes looked a bit more fondly at the mare picking up where he left off.

“I’ll make something on the way,” Tumble tapped her bag with an eager hoof, before pulling another item free from it, “Also, something to celebrate.”

Out from it an amber bottle was produced… make that a few. The label was long gone, but from the broken seal around its neck. Somepony had already taken the liberty of taste testing. “She figured if we made it this far, might as well…” Deacon scratched the back of his head with a talon, “and I managed to get some aid items for when we inevitably get shot… as well as some scrap for your suit.”

Speaking of things for the suit, “I got some chems as well…” out of my bag the gift was produced. I could see the gryphon ready to throttle me for even holding the chems in my aura, “not of my own accord! They were a show of thanks from some ponies, ones that were in the mine we cleared.” Without question the chems, and an extra potion or two found their way in his medic bag, “you’ll put them to better use than me.”

Okay, medic no longer wanting to break his oath and beat the hell out of a patient… step in the right direction.

“Did… I miss something?” another said off to our side, and if it weren’t for the bandana on her head, I might not have recognized her.

From head to hoof, Alimite was slathered in at least three different shades of grease and soot from the work she’d been doing. I wasn’t sure if there was enough soap left in the wasteland to clean this mare up, but damn if I wouldn’t look at least. More than when we were leaving the atrium, she looked tired under all that grime.

“Just… the norm,” I glanced back to Deacon for a moment before giving the mare my full attention, “You’ve seen better days.”

“Oh, just the average day of a mechanic…” the bandana came off, and with what little clean spots it had inside the mare wiped her face off. “Axil’s installed, and it’s supplying some power to the train… the conductor threw in a special treat for helping as well…”

Really now? do tell…

***

Showing was really so much better than telling… I was expecting the free ride after getting that kind of tech into their hooves. What I wasn’t expecting was this. The train car itself could have probably held a dozen or so ponies all on its own, yet here it was, being given to the five of us at our leisure.

Alimite said to call it a bonus for getting the repairs done so quickly… I however just bit my tongue at Deacons’ words earlier.

The main lounge area joined itself with a kitchen all on its own, might not have been fully stocked like one would hope, but our shopping from before could still put it to good use. Past that remained the lounge part of the… well, lounge. A few worn out couches, and a recliner that called for my name the longer I looked at it. Might have been dusty and missing a few springs, but it looked comfy at least.

One hallway down the side led to the back of the car, and along the way past three private rooms. Each one holding its own bed, and furniture for the most bit ridden pony back in the day who wanted to travel in style. The recliner was calling to me, as was the bed, but if there was still another hour left before we started moving. Then I had more to do than rest, one mare however, had other plans.

“How does this car only have one shower?” Alimite asked herself as she put her gear down, and pulled what chemicals would suffice to act as shampoo.

That I couldn’t answer… take it up with the conductor, “At least you can get a wash in before the trip,” I reminded her while the clasps on the back of the suit opened up, exposing my coat to the air once more… and I fell flat on my back.

Dirty or not, she was right by my side in an instant pulling me up into her hooves. Any other time I would have welcomed it, but this was just my laps of judgement. When you can’t feel a damn thing in your back legs, you almost forget that they don’t work.

“You alright?”

“Alimite… I’m hurt, not dead,” I started to chuckle, as my horn reached out and started moving my back side where I needed. With a gentle touch her hooves moved me up alongside the vacant suit, and my horn started rummaging through the bags along its back. We were going to be cooped up in here for little more than a full day after all for the ride, so I needed something to keep me occupied. “Figured I might be needing whatever this is for the next leg,” really… no pun intended, and out came the matrix that’s been a thorn in my side, “while I work on this. Why don’t you get showered and try for a nap?”

That was music to her ears, and she gave me a quick peck on the lips, “you try and join me soon… okay?”

“I can manage that, either after you get in there or tonight,” I really needed to set my priorities straight.

Sleep with a mare that pulled on my heart strings every which way, or work on a spell matrix that held who knows what? The colt side of me wanted to get in bed right now just so I’d be there when she returned, but the engineer side of me yearned to stick it to this matrix and show it who’s boss.

Her knowing I would join in time was enough for the mare, and with what had to be a can of turpentine Alimite scampered out of the room. Now on to you, my nemesis… the matrix still held that radiant glow of a spell willing to fight back. This time I had nothing else to cloud my mind besides breaking it down, and I had all the motivation in the world to do it.

Namely, a mare.

***

Minutes turned into hours, and hours into… awe hell who am I kidding? It was dark outside already, the train had been moving for quite a bit, and the soft purrs of one mare filled my ears. What filled my horn however, was something on the other side of the spectrum. From pure bliss, to utter damn annoy-!

Click.

“Oh, hell yes!” I shouted, and immediately fell to my side after losing balance.

The matrix didn’t stand a chance after the first few whacks at it… and several punches it threw back at me. My horn was starting to smoke from the effort I was pouring into the thing, but in time my magic managed to whittle away at its enchantments. The final piece of the puzzle was getting it just right for the suit to take hold, and that it did with almost as much enthusiasm as myself.

I fiddled with the plug for a few moments in eagerness, before finally getting the prompt to show up where I desired…

New Matrix identified…

Run spell program? Y [] N []

After all the effort I put into the thing, why did it even bother asking? An overenthusiastic press of Y, brought in the whirl of the suit getting to work itself. Plating was already starting to glow under its reinforcements from the Titanium, and it was certainly doing a whole lot more than when I installed the Mark Two…

That’s a lot of energy to be coming from one suit… “I take it,” half a yawn in words beckoned to me, and Alimite rubbed her eyes while she rose, “… you’re done?”

My ass by now was at the base of the bed, and there just over my shoulder the mare slid up to join as we watched the suit. All its armor looked like it was going through whatever glorious metamorphoses the M.W.T. had cooked up. Although I could have sat here for the process to finish, someone had other ideas…

“Ya’ll done love making in there?” I heard our gryphon yell through the door, and somewhere in the car I knew there were two other ladies giggling to themselves.

“Don’t you and Tumble have a car to yourselves as well?” I called back, and that shut him up right quick… before the cackle of a hound filled the car.

Alimite bounced out from behind me, and cracked the barrier between, “Not what that Oh, hell yes was for…” her face was straight as a bullets path, but I could see the blush filling her tissue. “He’s finishing up with his suit…that’s all.”

“Right,” hidden by wood or not, I could still feel Deacons’ eyes rolling, “Well whenever you’re done cleaning up… Tumble’s been cooking up something before we call it a night.”

“We’ll be right out,” I managed to hide the stammering in my voice for that one, though I’d love to have seen his face for my remark.

The door shut behind her with a press, and Alimite breathed a sigh of relief on her face. Our eyes met, and just like that… our own snickers ensued. We didn’t have to say a thing to one another after that invitation to dinner. Instead, the mare came up to my side, and through a flare of her horn hoisted my backside up alongside her.

My front hooves took the weight to join them, and we made our way to the door in tandem. “Don’t get used to hauling me around like this…” I bumped her shoulder with mine.

“Oh, I know you’ll figure something out to make it better,” she gave me a wink as we went down the hall.

The lounge area of the car was living up to its name well. Even Riff managed to find a way to get comfortable, as her legs dangling off one couch to the other shown. I could smell the wafting scents of wasteland cooking, and if I was being honest… it didn’t smell half bad really. I’d have tried to identify what exactly was in the pot before the mare, but my nose wasn’t that good.

With a careful twist of her horn, Alimite guided my backside to the other end of the couch. From here I was more than happy to rest, and she hopped off into the kitchen with a spring in her step. Dear Celestia, could I go for a nap right now, but I still had a train ride to check that off the list.

One of those amber bottles found its way in my vision, and at the end of the talon holding it, a very happy looking Gryphon. “How many have you had?” I had to ask after getting a good look at his eyes.

“Enough to make my dad proud…” he stifled a hiccup, and brought a bottle over to the hound.

Make that another bottle…

There was already an empty one by her paws, and with a nod of thanks Riff swiped the cap clean off with a single talon. A bit much don’t cha think? She didn’t care, the neck of it was already wrapped around her lips before I could say a word.

“Are me and Alimite the only sober ones here?” for now that is, I could see a more ginger cracked glass in said mares’ aura.

“How’d ya know I was-?” Tumble asked turning her back towards me, and as soon as those words left her mouth she shut it, “…Don’t answer that.”

“Why not drink?” Riff held up the end of her bottle to the sky. “We only going to new place full of dangers, to get location that might not be there, all to find rangers with sub at disposal, armed with big missiles…” she took another long pull from the neck, and I watched the bubbles of air displace the gulps, “Odds stacked well against.”

Still sounds kinda crazy now, don’t it? In the end though, we made it this far, and we’re on the last legs of our journey. Once the rangers were taken care of, then that was one group’s hit list I was off of… unless I pissed off this Enclave I’d heard about.

Certainly not on my priority list… No, I could settle with sticking it to these rangers, and hanging up the helmet for a bit. I might not be trekking over the wastes when this was all said and done, but I’d still be making sure my own little sliver was well protected. Once I buried a certain Elder that is.

“I figured a warm meal might not happen in a bit,” Tumble said while she cooked, and I watched whatever concoction she threw together simmer in the pot, “leave ourselves with a quiet night.”

“Might not make it back anyway…” Riff grumbled into her bottle.

Deacon looked about ready to strangle the hellhound with his bare talons… though before he could I had somethings I needed to discuss with the guy. Namely, what the hell we were to do once we got there.

A hoof both silenced the gryphon, and beckoned him over to the recliner by my couch, “She’s right you know,” oh don’t give me that look! “I meant about the odds… not exactly stellar.”

“Humph… when have they been with you?”

He’s… got a point. The gunners had an entire prison at their disposal, it was dumb luck there was a subway underneath. Rangers however, I had Tungsten feeding me intel about the last port. Where to go for sure, but I also knew what my target was. The Cadance had to go first and foremost...

"Any idea how to cripple a sub?”

My mind was telling me to just blow it all to hell, but given what it was holding… that might not be the best prospect. There was no way we’d be out the range of any warhead with whatever timer we could cook up. This needed something outside of my expertise, someone who had been more than just a developer and tester during their time. Someone who did an awful lot of different jobs.

I think Deacon could handle that much, and I saw his brain start firing off with a talon to his beak. I wanted to throw out a suggestion, but the moment my mouth opened he waved it off. Something was cooking up in that head of his.

“Cripple like any other ship,” so… blow it all to hell? “Sink it.” he must have seen where my mind was wandering to.

I mean there were a few ways you could go about that really. Damage the haul enough and whatever pumps it had onboard wouldn’t be able to keep up with the flooding. Crack open the hatches letting those inside, and they won’t be able to submerge without taking on water. Find a way to break the keel and the entire ships spine would be broken in the middle, and once again, sink it to the bottom.

Now the real question, “Got somewhere to start with?”

The gears in his head ground to a halt, and I could see a few fuses pop from his eyes. “You’re the pony-cicle remember? Pre-war tech is your thing,” he raised a brow to me, “I might think of something in time, but the most ships I dealt with were run of the mill surface going ones…”

Okay so not his expertise either, “hopefully we find something in the Empire that might make this task easier.”

“Shoot from hip!” Riff held her bottle in a toast to no one, “love it.”

“You’re pretty pessimistic now aren’t cha?” Deacon called out the hound, and I was in no position to get between the two if paws and talons started to fly.

A hiccup escaped the hounds’ lips, and I could see the window rattle from the belch that followed. That one might have just woken up half the wasteland itself, “Only while buzzed…”

You mean to tell me the mare in the kitchen, both of them in fact, were handling their liquor better than this spawn of everything radiation had to offer? Her cheeks were getting rosier by the gulp from that bottle, and before long the second one joined the first on the ground.

“Dog home not have booze… so sue me,” she waved off with a paw, clawing at a third.

“Save some for the rest of us Riff Raff,” Tumble called as she stepped into the lounge, Alimite in tow.

With a hearty pot of who knows what held in the latter mares’ aura. Without the lid I could smell the dance of scents trailing up my nose, though a dance might have been giving it too much credit… bar fight maybe? A few cracked bowls on Tumbles’ back were passed around with a ladle full of her concoction. Now with a closer look I could pick out some of the parts she’d used.

Sliced up Tatos, perhaps that one was a Mudfruit, along with what I’d imagine was every different cut of meat the station had to offer. I didn’t need to taste it to know there were many critters in here. Let’s face it, Radtoad looks nothing like Bloatsprite.

“I only had one pot to work with… so forgive me if it ain’t five stars,” Tumble passed a few spoons with more rust than metal to use. It must have been the hunger getting to him, but Deacon was the first to shovel a hefty amount in his maw.

Well, if you can’t beat em…

First impressions are everything really, and I had to wonder there for a second… was Tumble at all related to Lilac somewhere up the chain?! I wasn’t sure if the cooking was just that good, or if my tastebuds had finally been fried enough from the wastes. Either way, my tongue didn’t give a damn!

The first spoon full went down like one of the old Pegasies’ winter dishes. Hearty and filling, with just the right ingredients to keep a pony trotting for miles down the trail. Boy did I miss that mares cooking… but Tumble was quickly coming into a close second place. Usually over the campfires we’d had it wasn’t anything fancy. Stick it on a… well, stick. Put it over the fire, then call it a day. This was something thought out finally in terms of a meal, with an actual kitchen to work out of none the less.

Silence in the room garnished some of my attention away from the bowl, and if my tastebuds were dancing. So was everyone else doing the tango. Riff I hadn’t seen tear apart a dish like this before, and both her with Deacon were already filling up their second bowls. Alimite was a bit more reserved with her portions, but that beam told me enough. She was enjoying every second of the flavors that made their way over her tongue.

“Alright…” Deacon asked while putting more in his bowl, “What’d you do? This is fan-fucking-tastic!”

A complement like no other, and one that made the mare about as red as those Tatos in the stew. “Its nothing, really,” oh, don’t be so modest Tumble… “I just made do with what I had.”

“Dog going to find trash can,” Riff about took a bite out of the bowl while she slurped up the contents, “see what mare make from that, it good!”

Tumble just got the hellhound stamp of approval… if only to shut us up, said mare brought out another bottle from who knows where. Riff was still working on her own, though that left the rest of us to pass it around to one another while we ate. The broken clock on the wall would have kept ticking away, but I let the Pip-Buck one tell me the passage of time.

For now, the business of dealing with the Rangers had taken a spot on the back burner… I didn’t want to even bring it up. We were all too happy right now, given where we were headed. Alimite found herself curled up against my paperweights known as legs. Deacon had made himself nearly a nest of ruffled pillows and musky blankets near the mare… should I say his mare? Eh, we’ll figure that out later. Even Riff looked at ease, sipping from her bottle instead of the gulps from earlier.

With a full stomach now, she looked about ready to either pass out, or vomit. In the regal sisters’ name, I didn’t want to even know what hellhound puke smelled like. “You been interesting… Pack,” Huh? Riff started to chuckle a bit, and collectively I could hear our spoons setting down into the bowls. Before her eyes turned to mine, “mare was right, dogs not civil… not in slightest… but nice to have a pack that make dog want to act that way.”

Would you look at that, our hound had a soft spot. The others weren’t present for our little walk through the market, but I knew what she meant. It was easy to be hellish when that’s all any creature thought you as. Though to have a group see her another way… that was something a little special to the hound.

Her kind was fierce, territorial, and scared the hell out of any creature with half an IQ point to their name. Yet Riff here might have been all those things at one point or another. Traveling with us however, we got to see just how much of a dog she really could be. Fierce still, but loyal to our little group, and dare I say it… a good pack member indeed.

“I think what she’s trying to say is,” Tumble put up her bowl to the table, and pulled herself a bit further into the gryphons’ nest next to him. “She’s glad to have met us.”

She didn’t catch it, but certain avian eyes trailed back over her. “That’s mutual then…” Deacon followed suit with the mare, stacking his bowl neatly atop hers. “I’d been a merc all my life, since I was but a chick,” the nickname rang to my mind, “give enough caps to my old crew and they would have probably shot me dead… hell my own dad might have done the same if the price was right.” A bit fucked up, but I come to expect nothing less of this place. “It’s nice to have a group, or pack, that cares… I think I speak for every creature here when I say that.”

You do Deacon, you do…

Well, if were all in the sappy kinda mood, why not keep it going a little bit longer? “I might have said it already, but I know I’d be wandering the wasteland still without a clue where to go if it weren’t for all of you…” I could have fallen in with the Rangers trying to track Winter, could have wound up a Gunner myself once they saw my usefulness, more than likely I would have wound up dead in a ditch somewhere… “You all gave me a sense of direction, and not just in my travels, but also what to do in this world…”

Tumble was the first real friend I made out here, and one that taught me enough in the wastes to survive… namely what to eat. Deacon showed how to make a living tracking down paper, but also what good doing those things could do for those around me. Riff let me in on a simple secret, not everything scary in this world was out to get ya. As for Alimite, I got to see that even with all the dread, there was still beauty.

Little lessons to take away on our next journey, and ones I wouldn’t soon forget. “To that, I can’t thank ya’ll enough…” my many thanks with that weren’t said out loud, but I think they knew what I meant. The mare by my side did at least, I could see that in her own smile.

“Then…” Tumble raised her bottle. “No matter how this next leg turns out, I look forward to more nights like this… in this life or the next.”

I’ll drink to that.

Together the bottle found its way around to each of us, and down each of our throats a generous gulp of the amber liquid burned. Not a single cough was shared between us, though a few yawns were. It had been a long day on the rails. If anything, I expected to be in the empire by the morning, and if that’s the case. We had better get some shut eye while we could.

Riff’s snores were the first to be heard after our toast and a few moments of silence, but that beckoned the rest of us to follow suit. Passing a quick goodnight to each other, Deacon pulled Tumble up from his nest along with a few blankets to bring back to the cabin. Alimite with a little help from her horn managed to pull my ass off the couch and to her side.

It was a short walk down the hall, and the other pair had already slipped just through their doorway… I saw ours, devoid of light from behind its base. Inside I flipped the switch and before we could even get to the bed. Our hooves stopped in their tracks.

This… looked like a far cry from the suit I had walked away from.

From hoof plate to muzzle every inch of the armor had changed in some way. The shoulder padding was larger, nearly going up half the helmets sides. I’d like to see Mercy take a shot at it- nope, not chancing that one. Still, it’d probably give your average AMR a run for its money. Breast plate took up almost half the stomach in one go, it would murder me for mobility for sure. Though if they couldn’t break through the plating, what hope could they have of stopping me?

Even the guns themselves had their own coverings of protection. Plates draped over their housings, so I didn’t have to worry nearly as much walking around with the IF-451 anymore. Not that anything would want to get close enough to me now to use it… but where was the headlamp? All the tech in the world wouldn’t matter in the field if you couldn’t see. Did I have night vision now? Enhanced HUD? It’d be nice to know just how close some enemies were on the E.F.S.

Alas, all questions that could be answered in time, and ones I wasn’t about to test out now. Best place to do that was in the field I learned, “Aren’t you something…” I marveled at the sight once more.

Alimites’ magic almost dropped me there when we got close. I could see her wanting to go over every inch of the suit itself, “What happed to it? This looks like nothing the Rangers have, or even in old records I’ve seen.”

Yeah, not even the Lunar Princess probably knew about this one… “It was developed just before the bombs, one of the last the M.W.T. worked on… never got to full production,” or even production in general. I didn’t even think it made it off the drawing board. This was a relic that few in the ministry even knew about, and one that the rangers would be drooling over if they knew the past about it. “This kind of thing is what the Rangers are after, and why we’re making this trip.”

Could it be mass produced now? Doubtful, but with the expectation of the suit now and what it would be able to withstand. Even having a few in their ranks would be enough to make most creatures shiver. Power Armor wasn’t invincible, I knew that better than most, but one like this would sure make the user feel like it.

“You’re wrong… you know…” What was that? My head cocked to the mare, but her eyes stayed on the suit. “We’re making the trip because others with all the means to make a difference, don’t know how to use the tech properly… unlike some.” For a moment there I took in what she meant, then in the next moment my fuse box blew out when her lips met my one in a quick peck. “A colt who could have done well by the Rangers, instead chose to help those around him…” she smiled again at me, “that’s something no matter what they throw at you, can’t be taken away.”

With a little help from her horn, I turned back around as we headed towards the comfort of the bed. Armor could wait for the morning, right now I wanted to take a load off, and maybe wake up with some sense of what to do next.

My hind legs might not have been working, but I could flop on my back still. There Alimite about slithered up to my side, one hoof over my chest, as I pulled her in a bit closer. I should have fallen asleep right then and there, but with her so close how could I not give a kiss to her head?

Her giggle I felt through my chest, and propped up on her elbow the mare looked at me. That smile still clear on her face. “Your friends are right you know, this is a little pack that cares, and it’s just as mutual with me as it is them…” this time her lips found my own, and I kept my fuse box under control.

The train was bumpy along the tracks, the car was silent in the night, and I had a mare there close to me who I cared about. This is what I was making the trip for, not just to squash the rangers and keep me and my friends out of their sights. To also be able to wake up and go to bed again like this in the future.

Our lips though, didn’t break away from one another. Instead, we stayed like that, and as we did I could feel something else bumping in the ride… well now, that wasn’t paralyzed! Alimite noticed just after my realization set in, and in the dim light of a failing bulb I saw her smirk start to take hold a bit more.

“Ahh… sorry?” what else was I supposed to say?!

“Oh, don’t be…” with a hike of her hind legs, the mare rolled atop me… show off. “You know, Tumble did say this would probably be the last quiet night we had in a while… especially one to ourselves.” I couldn’t agree more, and it seemed every part of me was screaming in agreeance… though, come to think of it.

Just how quiet a night would this be?

Footnote: New Perk: “X-01 Power Armor”- Who knew Dragon scales’ could get jealous? As if blessed by the princesses themselves, Power Armor has increased its resistances by 75 across the board (Damage, Energy, Magical Radiation). Though at the cost of 15% of your overall maneuverability, and repair speed.