Fallout Equestria: Ballad of a Rogue Ranger

Chapter forty-two: The best laid plans…

Alrighty! Story time…

When I was a young colt… you know, pre-divorce. I was always fascinated by those stories of old about the cliché knight in shining armor trotting into the castle to fight a wicked villain. Bust through the door, slay the bad guy, get the princess, and live happily ever after. Did I ever really know what happened after the big kiss? Not a clue! No pony did, although I guess that’s what someponies make ‘slice of life’ stories about.

Here I was now face to face with my villains’ stronghold. My proverbial dragon past the gate. I already had the armor to boot, though I wouldn’t call it shining in the slightest. Never the less, the feeling of living out my own fantasies from the knights in those pages was starting to get into my system sending my heart a flutter. Then again, maybe it could have been finally looking down at the dockyard, and seeing the rangers once again.

All I was missing was the proverbial princess to save.

The port could have been a full base if that was the first time I’d encountered them. That steel mill was nothing more than a source of supplies to bleed the wastes dry. This… this was a real damn base under their hooves.

Guards were posted up along the perimeter fences, patrols of said guards went out past that like the Gunners had with the library, and all around I could see search lights flooding the ground as they searched for any target in range. Inside, the buildings and hangers of this base teemed with light from the activity within their walls. Rangers coming and going full force, even with it being just past midnight.

Were they on the clock? Was there something the Elder was pressing them to complete important enough to forgo his forces sleep? Or was it all just a matter of them having enough troops to warrant multiple shifts… Snatchback was a bastard, but if anything, he could lead his troops well. So, I doubted it was anything but the latter.

Deacon fumbled with the sights of Mercy, as its stock lodged itself into his shoulder. For being well versed in the wasteland, I’m surprised something like that didn’t sit more comfortably in his talons. “In all that planning you’d come up with on our way here,” one eye of his looked through the scope to those targets well out of range, “did you think of a way to get inside past all this?”

I had knocked out about 97% of the plan! Though I couldn’t predict just what we’d encounter once we got here, cut me some slack will ya? “I expected something similar to the port, though we don’t have a crashed ship to make our way in through…” I couldn’t see a thing past what this short ridge lined with snow gave us.

He was the one with the scope after all. So if any of us would be the one to pick out our doorway, it’d be him. Now we were just left to sit, watch, and wait while he scanned the area. Tumble and Alimite had already tried cleaning themselves up as much as possible to at least look like a couple scribes. Wallard might have been a bit happy with that button back then, but he looked clean… something the mares were a little far from.

While I listened to the wines of the two behind me trying their best to scrub whatever dirt and debris clean with that cloak and some snow. My eyes stayed peeled to the dockyard, and particularly, what jutted just overtop one of those hangers. I’d seen that short spire before, way back at the port… now there were two of them.

I couldn’t tell which was which, but I’d bet anything that we’d found the Cadance and its sister ship the Shining… or would it be husband ship? Getting a better look at the two from here was neigh impossible, I couldn’t see the damage that was done, or know how much they still had to repair on the two. Although, I could make out the small glint of sparks shooting off from one along the haul. Looks like there was still some patch word to complete… good, so we weren’t totally late to the party.

“Gotcha…” Deacon muttered, clicking away at the adjustment knob again.

“See an opening?” I leaned down closer to him, trying to make my eyesight as inline with his as possible… a lot of good that did me from this far.

“Maybe, though the girls might need an extra scrub afterwards…” behind me I saw both aforementioned mares look up and wince, before the scope was produced to me.

A pop of the hatch later, and the visor gave way to my eyes as I looked down towards the dock. The place was big, and stationed right next to the water… duh… though for as much snow as there was around us. There hadn’t looked to be but a few patches within the actual fences. Maybe the Crystal Empire had invested in snow melting technology, or some rangers found a good stock of salt… either way, all that water run-off needed someplace to go.

Just out past one of the fences, resided pipes that I could see spilling out water into a ditch. Could it even fit us? Don’t know, though short of having Riff dig our way from here inside, that was our next best bet. Was it going to piss some ponies off? Oh, for sure…

“Alimite, Tumble… you might want to just hold off on that for now,” I waited for them to stop scrubbing for a moment to look, already glaring at me as if they knew this wasn’t going to be pleasant… truthfully, it wasn’t.

***

“I could shoot you right now…” Tumble grumbled to herself as we waded through the run-off.

“Not before I do,” Alimite followed up with. Your cutie mark’s a grease gun! I’ve seen you way worse than this before!

A quick slash of Riffs claws opened up the drains’ grating, and we were already well inside the compound by now. Though I was wondering just how soundproof dirt was if the two made good on that threat.

“Now is not the time to cause an alarm…” I looked back to the two and tried my best smirk. Not once did the visor pop up, their faces already told me all I needed to know about the smell of this place. It was a run-off for reason, all the oil, sludge, and grime of the dockyard seeped into this place.

Every so often we’d come across actual drain covers above, though I didn’t want to shoot out of one and into the laps of the rangers just yet. Here at least we could get a better vantage of the place. Along one of the pathway drains, all five of us managed to cram in, and mere feet away we saw rangers patrolling in ranks. They hadn’t a clue just what was under hoof right now, and I intended to keep it that way as long as possible.

Past them was just another warehouse looking structure, piled high through the crack in the door with what I’d imagined was at least a portion of the gear they had stocked up on. Wooden crates, stacked one atop the other, not the place you would store explosives. For that matter, it didn’t look like a home for any of the soldiers here either.

Whelp, on to the next one… down we tucked away, and were once again met with that welcoming flow of putrid water cascading over our hooves, paws, and talons. Deacon might have been just as exposed as our mares, though he chose this route, so his complaints were at least kept inside. Riff? If we weren’t here, she might have just been rolling around in the muck. For a hellhound that grew up in darkness and filth, this was the next best place to call home. So long as it wasn’t entrails falling off her coat, she was a happy camper.

The place was easy to follow at least, water could only flow one way. So, after our operation was said and done with, I jotted this down as a possible escape route… I might have to eat a bullet later for dragging someponies back inside. Although if it kept us out of the rangers’ sights, then that was a round I was willing to take.

A bend in the path took us to the left, and even if I couldn’t see the surface, we must have reached one end of the place already. Time really flies when you’re having fun… just ahead I saw another glimmer of light, and moments later a few of us were able to get in on the sight. This drain was a bit more cramped, but Deacon and Tumble were barely able to get up there against my sides.

Oh, what have we here? This administration looking building was far cleaner than anything else the place had to offer so far. I wasn’t on the hunt for paperclips though, what did interest me were the makeshift tents that sprouted up just outside its doors. Between them I could see rangers out of their armor, tending and polishing up those plates, just like a certain other ranger likely did while he still wore it… I really needed to make Rogue smile after this trip, maybe take a break and give the suit a rest… you know, after I found out how to-

Clank.

Son of a bitch! This was going to be an on-going battle, no matter which way I sliced it. My back legs gave out, and with nothing but wet metal underneath my hooves, I landed in the filth. Yeah, I deserved those snickers from the two that suffered right now. Thankfully, one paw cared enough to reach down and help pull me back up to my hooves.

“No time for bath,” Riff still couldn’t hide her smirk, “See anything?”

A quick shake of the armor like I learned from her, showered a few of them with the muck. “Found where they kick their hooves up…” my eyes went back to Deacon, and watched as he about studied the layout of the place. “Think you’ll be able to get in there?”

“I’ll figure something out…” it wasn’t totally in the open at least…

Still, I needed him to follow so he’d know where to meet up with us after getting the disguises. Back into the tunnel we went, and this time things were getting a little more complicated. A fork in the road, two ways to go, and probably a dead end on at least one of them. We weren’t exactly on a time crunch now that we found them, though I didn’t want to spend my entire night in this place either…

Right it was! If I was reading the mental layout of this place correctly, then we should be heading somewhere closer to the- “I don’t care!” that was a voice I knew all too well. My steps started to pick up, and just in time for the next opening to give way.

We were between two of the buildings now, didn’t know what they could be used for, but that machinery surely had seen better days… most of it was just scrap at this point with all the rust built up over the years. Snow wasn’t healthy for any metal, certainly not after almost two centuries of maltreatment.

Something that didn’t quite register in one ponies’ mind. “Get the crane operational! Chip the rust off with your hooves if you have to,” Snatchback trudged among a few other rangers, and even a scribe or two barking out orders. One hoof of his started to plod against the support leg of the machine he mentioned, and up to the control cabin he stared. Just like I had my own eyes drilling into him, “we need this to move those raw sheets of steel, so unless you want to become pack mules yourself… you’ll find a way.”

One round, that’s all I needed… the guy didn’t wear his helmet, but for as light as his suit looked, I wouldn’t need it to be a headshot. APECR would do nicely against a single target, it would be a poetic end to the stallion after what he did. Call it a final hello from the Paladin…

Whether I realized it or not, my barrels were starting to raise up, until a paw pushed them back down. “Now not time, Wild,” Riff out of all the creatures with us, was the one to bring me back to reality.

That didn’t stop my teeth from grinding against themselves. “Right…” I shook my head, and watched as the Elder disappeared back into one of the buildings.

Just as we went back into the drains. I could have still ended the guy right then and there, but would there be any other to take his place? Worst still, would the rangers seek revenge for having their leader sniped out from the cover of darkness? Surely, they would, and if those warheads were still under their hooves, that was a larger threat than just one pony.

One pony that was willing to shoot his own, just to get at me. One pony who was more than ready to level entire locations, just to kill me. One pony who would work his own soldiers, all to see that I was turned to ash… forget what I said earlier. If we managed to take out these subs, then the next task on my list was still putting a very large bullet in the Elder. I only wish I could save one of those warheads just for the occasion.

Call me spiteful, but the guy had it coming.

“Ahh… Wild?” Alimite perked up, well ahead of me after my own mental rant. “If you wanted to store all manners of munitions, safely, where would you put em?”

Listen, I had a Balefire Egg tucked away in your shop for a while before it turned it into a bomb… I don’t think I’m the best pony to ask that kinda question. Though if I had to guess, “probably on the edge of my base, just in case something went wrong.”

Her smile greeted me, and with a nudge of her head I took a spot next to her. Sure enough, in the back corner of the base was what looked like a shop very similar to what the town had. Though this one could have been a mansion compared to Winters’ home. I didn’t care so much as the scrap they probably had, or for that matter the tools I could inevitably use. What did perk my interest was the guards standing out front, taking turns to do a rove around.

Now why would you dedicate your own soldiers to looking after one building, if it didn’t have something juicy inside? “Yeah, that sticks out like a sore talon…” Deacon cracked his neck, and tried his best to flare out those wings in the tight confines of this place. “Looks like were in business.”

His eagle eyes peered back down the drains that we came, and he already knew who was up to bat next. “You up for it?” he glared back at me for a moment, before giving a nod, “just… be careful, Deacon… nothing flashy. Get in, and get out.”

“Oh, quit your worrying,” the gryphon started to chuckle, though I could feel the hollowness in that confidence. He was capable, I knew that much from our first encounter after hiring him as a guide, but needless to say… this was a bit more than a bounty on a board.

He turned to, ready to dart down the tunnel… had it not been for one hoof on his wing. Deacon stopped there, and before he knew what happened. A pair of lips found their way to the side of his cheek. Geez, and I thought I got hoof in mouth? His wings flapped out, nearly smacking Riff in their wake. Though the mare that caused all this couldn’t look prouder of herself.

“You better be careful, Little Chicky,” Tumble passed him a wink, and that hoof of hers remained on his side long after the contact. “Don’t make me regret our talk at the station…”

You know… something tells me we missed the best part when we caught them in their moment… neither of them looked ready to say. One gryphon at least found his tongue, “Oh I wouldn’t dream of it…”

With that, our merc damn near fluttered through the tunnels… he was doing his part, now we just had to see ours through as well. More so, I had to make sure this building was what we believed it to be, and pull a bomb out of my ass.

One thing about the rangers that set them apart from most groups, besides maybe the Gunners, is they were discipline. Might have been their heritage from during the war, those ponies who once donned the suits to fight for the crown, trickling into this world. Though all that order made them predictable. When one guard out front left his post, they moved with a careful step around the sides of the shop. Leaving one at the door, and likely the back wide open… all I had to do was wait.

It’d taken a few minutes, but eventually that one that walked off found their way right next to their counterpart. My group was ready to find that back door already, though after some words they held off, and I got the lay of their pattern a bit more. We didn’t have to wait all that long before the same ranger took off around on his rounds, and my eyes looked at the time.

Exactly fifteen minutes after the first go around…

With him getting back to his post a few more later. We slunk back into the drains; one path would take us further along the edge of the compound. Though one looked to be heading right where we needed. My compass still worked under all this dirt, and with my nose pointed that way we started trudging… until a ladder greeted us.

Metal hooves weren’t the best to grasp onto metal… so it’d taken a few minutes, but eventually my head met the cover to our pit. E.F.S. was clear, or that could be because nothing was shooting me yet. Whelp, here goes nothing!

Out from cover my head went, and all I was greeted with was the back fence to the dockyard, as well as the shop itself. One door there with a single fluttering light above it. Quick check to the time, and I got about ten minutes to get us all inside before we had to hunker down again. The others didn’t have nearly as much trouble getting out as I did, and before long we were at the door. Tumble tried the handle first, of course, locked.

Then came the bobby pin and screwdriver… boy was I glad we brought her along for this part! Our resident burglar made quick work of the door, before putting those tools of the trade back into her-

“Who the fuck?” the door creaked open, and there stood a ranger.

A ranger who almost immediately went limp, with a little help from a hellhound claw going through his visor and out the back. His body started to slump, but with a flare of my horn I muffled it down to tossed off shoes hitting the ground, as Riff pulled her paw free from his face… or what’s left of it at least.

See, this is why I brought her along, anything else would have been a little too noisy for my liking… but claws were silent, just what we needed. Peering to either side of the door, the back of the shop looked about as deserted as one might expect, or at least hoped for. It wasn’t long after our little jump scare that the door once again was shut, and we had this little corner of the base to ourselves.

Alrighty! Let’s get down to business… back here was dark, though I didn’t dare flip the visor light on just yet. Not till we knew we were the only ones in this place. I could still make out the silhouettes of crates out the dirt-stained windows this place had. Riff put her back to the door, claws at the ready, and certainly eye sight better than any of ours.

“One coming…” yep, totally better!

The girls ducked off to one side should things get loud, though I was flying blind here… “Don’t kill em,” I whispered to the hound, and could make out her expression.

Riff didn’t have time to question it, before the door opened up to our humble abode. I could see a hoof reaching up for the light switch, just as a claw was put to their neck. Before they had time to let out a scream, the visor came on… Alimite was right, this thing was terrifying when they weren’t expecting it.

“One word, and my friend removes your head from its shoulders…” Their suit was still frozen in place, either they were calculating the odds of helping their fellow rangers, or saving their life. Please let it be the latter, though judging by that tremble in their suit, somepony wasn’t too eager to open their mouth.

With a tug, Riff pulled the ranger inside, and shut the door behind them. My visor illuminating across their frame… wow I actually had to crane my neck down to look this one in the eye. Were the rangers recruiting this young? Or did somepony just get the short end of the deal when it came to genetics?

‘Wait a second…’ I thought to myself, and peered a little closer to their chest. The ranger might have been leaning back, undoubtedly uncomfortable from the intrusion, but it might have just saved their life as I read the name plate.

Knight Taffy.

“P-p-please…” I heard the quiver in her lips, “Don’t kill me…”

“That count as word,” now was not the time to grin Riff…

“Don’t make me then,” I kept up the glare to her face now, “first things first, how many are there inside this building?”

I could feel them running those calculations again, but something about having a hellhound at your throat really turned the odds in our favor, “Just myself, and Knight Baker.”

Oh… this was going to be weird. With a nod of my helmet, an aura wrapped around the switch on the wall and basked us in that fluorescent light of the wastes. It didn’t take more than a moment for her to see the body behind me, her frame starting to freeze up, and less than that to have Riffs paw once again wrapped around her throat.

“Scream…” Riff turned Taffies head towards herself, “make dogs day.”

I felt a little dirty for picking on a mare who probably hadn’t even had her first crush… though if we were playing this game, then I guess I had to be the good cop. A quick shake of her head in the dogs’ grasp answered that, and Riff let her claws stay sheathed. Another flare of my horn grabbed onto the mares’ flank, pushing her down to the ground. Wow, from here I must have been like a mountain of metal… her face barely reached my chest alone.

“Taffy, was it?” her visor turned back to me, and I even took a knee. “I’m not going to kill you… unless you ask for it, and if so, she’s going to be the one to do it,” one more look from the mare to our hellhound told her that it wouldn’t be the most pleasant death in the world. Though if she wanted confirmation of that, all she had to do was look at the blown-out helmet of her fellow Knight. “Let’s keep things simple, shall we?” a very vigorous nod answered, and I could work with that much, “What is it you all are storing here?”

“Umm… just munitions, rockets, missiles, grenades…” she listed off, really being all that keen not to give us a reason.

Compliant, I like it, so far this would be a ranger I’d have a bad conscience about killing… if it came to that. For her sake, I hoped she kept it up. A jerk from my head, and her visor looked surprised to see two more mares join us to her sides. I had this one under control, and I didn’t exactly feel safe leaving her with Riff alone for too long… I trusted her sure, but being around a hellhound for that long would make any creature squeamish.

Squeamish equaled dead in this case.

My attention turned to the girls, at least two of them. “Can you check off a shopping list for me?” both Tumble and Alimite glared at the ranger with us, but they still nodded in return. “Plastic explosives, a timer, and ideally angle iron,” that last one made Tumbles’ head cock to one side, luckily Alimite smiled and pulled her companion off to do some looting.

If they could get those things, then we’d be set. I already had an idea what do make, and this shop just gave me all the tooling I could ask for to pull it off. Although if the girls were taking care of that list, that gave me more time alone with this one… well kinda alone.

“The submarines…” I waited for Taffy to have her eyes back on me, “what are their status? Broken? Being fixed? Ready for the water?”

She was thinking again, though her visor was also trailing over my own suit. “You’re… him… aren’t you?” Not the answer I was looking for, but I could oblige that one with my own.

“Yes… and I intend to put a stop to whatever plans Snatchback has in store,” that didn’t seem to make her falter in the slightest. Seeing a pair of glowing red eyes staring her down made the mare into a foal, but hearing her Elders plans being targeted did nothing? Odd… “Although, my questions?”

Quickly she shook her head again, “the Shining is still broken for the most part, they had to put efforts into fixing the Cadance after it was damaged at the port…” once again her suit started to shake, and her visor darted between myself and the hound. “I don’t know the details!” she said frantically in a hush, “I just got promoted to Knight before you were brought to the Steel Mill.”

Keeping your workers out of the blue to your plans? Now there’s something I was all too familiar with… especially if you were the lowest rung on the totem pole. “So, you don’t know the entire status,” I summarized, and with a nod she answered. I could still work with that, damaging the Cadance had delayed the Shinings progress, and if those were welds that I saw off in the distance. Then we got here just in time, “what of Elder Snatchbacks plans?”

In the still air, I could hear that gulp though the helmet. “He wants you…” that much I knew, “and the Elder has ranted about raining hellfire on Equestria till you either surrender, or are dust.”

Even with those words spoken, they weren’t in callousness…

The door to our interrogation room opened up, and there the pair brought in a good hoofful of goodies for me to play with. I’d need a little more control for this next part, and with a few clasps the helmet slid off. I passed one more look to the mare on the ground, “He can certainly try…” she didn’t budge at that one either. Had the Elder pissed her off recently? Extra duty? Long hours? Something to make her just seem so careless about us readying an offense against him?

Across the workbench I could see all the manners of parts that I requested, all I needed to do was assemble them. The design in my head was simplistic, and it would fit perfectly into the plan. Then again, Taffy had also made myself consider a few other things…

“Change of plans,” I looked to my group, before letting my eyes fall on the Knight, “What size are you?”

***

Power armor was a wonder of tech, it wasn’t entirely one size fits all… but there was some breathing room to be had. I lucked out that Rogue was around my size, maybe a bit bigger. Though it didn’t take long for the matrix to take over and remedy that. Going from this Knight to another however…

“I really shouldn’t have had that snack cake…” Tumble wined as she sucked in an extra breath, trying to squeeze into the last bit of the suit as it shaped to fit her… sorta.

Her and Taffy were nowhere close in size, but Alimite had to be careful with explosives, and Riff was an obvious no go. Least now if things did turn hot, there’d be another in our deck of cards with armor on their side. Rogues’ rifle married all too well to that new suit, almost like it missed being a part of some actual armor. With the mare now sitting very uncomfortably, the back of the suit closed her inside, and Tumble got to pace around trying on her new outfit.

Something easier said than done. I heard the few scrapes and wines of the servos trying to do one thing while the mare did another. More than once, Tumble lived up to her name, meeting the floor all while she learned to walk again. Yeah, not so easy now, is it?

While she played dress up, and Riff watched the door. I got a little quality time with my mare, discussing explosives… ahh, what a lovely topic. “It’s called a shaped charge,” I brought out some of the angle iron to demonstrate, placing it face down. “Explosives go on the back, and with the open angle side against whatever you want to break, when it detonates, it’ll send a near clean cut into the target.”

This was about as precise as demolitionists could get. It’s what allowed those that specialized in the field to drop buildings without harming those next door. In this case, it’d hurt just the part we needed, and not enough to send the whole dockyard to meet our maker.

“So, place angle iron on pumps and bladders, put explosives on the back, tape up, then get out of dodge…” she summarized it quite well. Just as fine of a student like her mother was, though those projects were a bit more peaceful.

“Just need some tape…”

For a moment the mare stopped, before trotting off past our captive. Taffies suit gave her up pretty easily, and she was even smaller outside the damned thing. We hadn’t even had to use more than a quarter roll to bind her hooves together, a rag though worked quite nicely as the gag. Yet even with that in her mouth, I could still hear the whimper when one in my party got close to her on the ground.

Alimite looked down at the mare, almost with a tinge of regret in her face. Even from here I could about see the tear in Taffies eye, as they looked to each of us. I wasn’t a mind reader, but I knew the question already buzzing through her head.

“We’re not going to hurt you, Taffy,” her eyes went back to me, still full of worry. “I’m sorry for doing this, but we just needed a way in…” one that she provided quite nicely.

If we managed to sneak our way out of this place, some ranger would find her in time… or we’d make a special trip to see to her release. It felt wrong to leave her like this when all was said and done. Truthfully, I’m glad we didn’t meet her under other circumstances, otherwise her options would have been a bit limited.

With the tape now in horn, I attached what rig I’d thrown together with a few generous strips, a simple egg timer capping it all off. All together they brought back enough supplies to yield four bombs. One on the pumps of each sub, and one on the ballast. We were all set to pop the cork on the rangers’ plans, all that we needed was one more-

“Whmp… happm to hm?” Taffy let out the muffled voice.

She’d been quiet besides whimpers while we got her out of the suit, and silent still while Alimite wrapped her body up like a Nightmare Night decoration. Something was bringing on the conversation from the mare, and It’d be cruel in my book to not at least hear her out.

With a careful tug on the rag with my horn, the mare took a quick gasp. “What… happened to him?” him? Who might she be- oh, oh dear. A knot bunched up in my throat, and I already knew who she was talking about. Though the mare still had to ask it, “Tungsten, I knew he went off with you from the mill…” worry once again started to splay itself over her face, and this time I could see it wasn’t for herself. “Did he make it? Is he… safe?”

Silence fell on us all, all those present could have very well answered her, but they all knew it wasn’t their place. Unfortunately, it was mine. Bombs were done, so I could give this one my full attention. Getting away from the table, I went over to her, and this time the mare didn’t shy away in the slightest as I kneeled down.

“I’m sorry… to be the one to tell you this,” from those words alone she must have already known the outcome. The tears in her eye were already welling up, I just needed to break the damn. “He was gunned down after we made it over that bridge, by an AMR…” did I want to tell her it was the Elder? No, I still wasn’t entirely sure myself. Only about 99.99% sure, but I didn’t want to give that off. Then again, from that info, her gaze hardened a bit… if only for a moment.

A cough of her throat finally let those tears fall, and a sniffle later she tried to suck them back in. Taffy wasn’t completely breaking down, trying her damndest to hold it in, but if we hadn’t been in this room with her. She probably could have drowned in her own tears.

“Where’s… his body?” she managed to get out after a long clench of her eyelids, “did he at least get a proper burial?”

That much I could give her, “Yes… I took him back home,” a fitting funeral for one of the good ones, “his helmet marks the grave.”

It might have been small, but that brought a sliver of a smile to her. Almost as if she’d knew he’d appreciate that remembrance. “I recognized the gun,” she gestured to the side of my suit, “aren’t many like them with us… and I knew he wouldn’t give it up without reason,” it wasn’t closure for whatever she had going on, but it was at least the truth. That she could handle, “Thank you, Rogue… for taking care of it, and him.”

I never got to know Tungsten well enough to know if he had any friends with him in the ranks of the rangers… or for that matter, if he had anything more going on for him. I would have asked if they were close, but that would have been a little redundant. The answer was all over her face after all.

After another nod, I brought the gag back over her mouth with a silent sorry. She didn’t fight it, all the mare did was press her head up into the gag, and lay back down on the ground. Curled up with her hooves behind her back, Taffy instead pushed herself a little to keep her eyes off the rest of us. I could hear the soft whimpers as I got back to the workbench, but I didn’t pay them any heed. She had her answers, and if it was by the hooves of one of the rangers.

I don’t think she had any qualms about what we were doing here.

A squeak from behind alerted us for a moment, and both a shotgun and carbine were at the ready to let our intruder know we meant business… fortunately, it didn’t quite come to that. Deacon slithered his way through the window with a flop to the floor, and on the ground now rested a pair of folded up garments. I didn’t see any new holes on the guy, nor was there any alarms going off just yet.

He’d done his part well, just like I knew he would. “I’d like to know how these rangers managed to find enough soap to keep a laundry mat open,” sounds like some scribes were going to be missing a few items from their closet. His eyes fell to the one at his talons, and Taffy for a moment coiled back at the newcomer. “Wow, you guys managed to do stealth… I’m impressed.”

“Thank Riff for that,” I nodded off to her, and the hound looked rather proud of her claws.

“Ahh… and that one?” he raised a talon to the suit of armor that looked and moved with the grace of a hippo.

Oh right! He didn’t know the change… Tumble just looked at him, and I waited for the visor to pop up for a surprise.

Still waiting…

And waiting…

Ugh… fine. “Inner left of the base to your chin,” I looked over to our newest ‘tank’. “That’s the release.”

In an instant, the clasps came off, and the visor raised up to a very short of breath mare. “How do you breathe in that thing?!” she looked at the only one who could answer. Though all I gave in return was a shrug. I was too busy admiring the look one avian was giving her.

You know, there was just something about seeing a fully loaded mare in a suit of armor that sent a warm shiver down some of us… at least when that mare, and her siblings for that matter, weren’t trying to erase my existence from the planet. His wings sprung up half a second later, and the blood started to fill those cheeks once more.

“Don’t get used to it…” she smirked at him, “Though we’ll only be needing one of those.”

Said uniform was passed off to our other mare, and while Alimite slipped into something more comfortable. I took the satchel that seemed to be a part of the ensemble and carefully started sliding those munitions inside, along with that roll of tape. The list was checked off, and with the final buckle on Alimite done, I hoofed over the goods. Riff joined our little group shortly, knowing the time for guarding was done, now it was time for action.

I looked over my mare, sizing her up. Without the bandana to cover her head, she looked like any run of the mill member to their party. This mare to me though was anything but ordinary, something the Rangers were about to find out the hard way. Even Tumble looked the part, when she didn’t have three left feet to deal with.

My clock came up, and with only a few minutes to spare, I knew the back door was wide open. “It’s time…” I went to the two members that would be doing the heavy lifting for this stretch, “Sneak in, put the bombs in place, and-”

“Don’t get caught, shot, or die,” Alimite answered with a smirk.

“Get back in time for a drink,” Tumble followed up with cheerily.

Luna knows I could go for one myself. “We’ll have an eye on you each step,” I already had an idea where to put our hooves up for this go around. A gentle push of the door led us to the back fence, and on either side of us the coast looked well and clear. I passed one glance to the mare tied up on the floor, hoping that it wouldn’t be the last, before we slithered out.

My duo stuck close to my hooves, and with a glance I watched the girls steadily trot to the edge of the shop. Before quickly slowing that down to a casual crawl as they broke into the opening of the base. All eyes were on them now, we just had to be sure those eyes stayed well clear of ourselves. Dodging around the back of the shop to another hanger was easier than I expected. Not many of the Rangers seemed to actually walk their own fence line, and any of those that did… well…

A crunch of the rangers’ helmet between Riffs paws silenced the colt before he even knew what hit him. Deacon helped pull the body back behind another set of crates, and before long we were right back on schedule to sticking to the shadows. I didn’t know when they might expect to have that guard back from his rounds. Hopefully they didn’t question it if it took him a bit longer than the last go around.

Now along this warehouse closer to the actual yard part of the dockyard, we three looked around checking our corners. The stairwell leading up would put us in the open, but from the backside of the building itself. Those lights that pointed towards the ground only managed to light up a third of the way.

Riff was the first to hit the stairs, as I followed suit, and Deacon opted to take the winged approach. Fluttering along the side of us on our way to the roof, he inched himself closer to the edge. Good thing too… I could see that barrel sticking just above.

He looked to us, and then back up, before beating his wings once to break cover. “Hi-ya!” I heard overhead from our gryphon, and that ranger must have been teetering on the edge to fall over just like that.

With a grab of his AMRs’ barrel, the soldier tumbled end over end. Right into the clutches of an awaiting pooch. How strong did you have to be to catch a suit of armor mid-air, stab through the neck plating, and lay it back down quietly in the darkness of the stairs? Apparently, hellhound strong. It was over before I could even try to offer a better suggestion of wait till the guard leaves, though this was just as effective.

Breaking past the last level, the mostly flat scape of the roof offered that vantage point we were hoping for. It didn’t amount to anything for cover, but the rangers were still none the wiser to our presents. Never the less, we didn’t know who might be inside listening, so with a careful step we crept our way over to the opposite end.

Now I could see the scale of what the Rangers were working with…

Both the Shining and Cadance remained only a hundred yards apart, each with their own pier mooring them to land. Taffy was right, the Shining sure had enough work needed done to warrant scaffolding across its haul. From here I could see those under the Elder working from end to end, sparks showering off its exterior. What set my nerves ablaze, was the lack of work being done on the Cadance.

Besides the one or two sections of scaffolding, the thing looked damn near ready to set sail again… I really should have said to hit that one first. Alas, hindsight’s twenty-twenty, and from here I could see our mares going to the closer of the two. The Shinings’ boarding path was trickling in ponies left and right, and with the crowd the mares slipped right on by as if they were one of them. Lost in the sea of suits and uniforms, it was hard to pick them out.

Now my heart wanted to jump out of my chest, they were in the belly of the beast, and from here there was nothing we could do if it turned south. All I could hope was that Tumble kept her mouth shut around someone who might out-rank her.

“Would ya look who it is…” Deacon gave me a nod off to the side, and exiting the Cadance I saw the head stallion himself again.

Snatchback looked like he was still barking orders to those scribes that followed him around, and where ever his hooves pointed. Rangers scampered off at his beck and call. I couldn’t tell from here if they were mobilizing to move the Cadance out, or if it was still orders to get the Shining up to par. Either way, my teeth started to grind into one another.

“Want me to try my aim?” he asked, and I could see the sights already pinned on the Elder below.

My ADAC would have made short work of Snatchback… then again, I knew first hoof what Mercy could do to a suit. It was tempting to give him the go ahead, but like Riff had told me not too long ago…

“Now’s not the time,” I shook my head to the guy, “might put the girls at risk.”

He frowned a bit at that, but kept his barrel pointed along the ground, scanning the area. Now it was a waiting game, I couldn’t tell from here where our little infiltrators were. Hell, they might have gotten in and out, and already were making their way towards the Cadance. The timers I left in their hooves to figure out how much they wanted to be given. I didn’t want to set them already, and be on the clock.

At least with this approach, it wouldn’t be a total massacre… I might have had my reservations about killing the rangers in the beginning, but the more they hunted me, the more I was more than happy to return the favor. A bullet to Tungsten was enough to tip that scale over to the point of them being collateral damage in my book.

Though one Knight reminded me that they weren’t all like the Elder. Taffy was young, just started as a ranger with the armor, and just picked up that title as such… she mustn’t have shared all the same views as her fellow Rangers, otherwise she might have put up more of a fight when we caught her. Instead, she looked almost accepting to what we were doing.

Just how close were her and the Paladin? What had she been told if she was asking questions in her ranks? Would any of the other rangers really taken credit for the kill, or would they have covered for the Elder if he really was the one to pull the trigger? If they were friends, and shared some of the same ideals that led Tungsten to release me, just how compliant would the Knight been… knowing her Elder ended one of his own…

I thought for a moment at that look Tungsten gave her when they parted ways at the Steel Mill. It wasn’t one of a leader to their subordinate, at the very least it was from one friend to another. No matter their relationship, he cared about her, and she did him… and all it took was one bullet to end-

Deacon started fumbling Mercy in his talons, and both myself and Riff looked over the gryphon. “Something’s… wrong…”

Yeah, I didn’t need a scope to see that much. Those down below all were quickening their pace up, scrambling every which way and that. Did the bombs go off already? Were the Rangers on guard now looking for us? Surely, I would have picked it up, I made the damn things after all.

That… was crackling? Around us it sounded through the dockyard, and from our perch we could hear the speakers break through the dead of night. “Rogue Ranger,” I knew that voice… I knew it all too well, “It seems you’ve finally come to join us, a welcome intrusion to keep us from having to come to the country and hunt you down.” My eyes were starting to dart around the ground.

Though it didn’t take long before out in the distance, surrounded by his own guards, I saw that ornate armor… and who he brought to the table. “Your friends here may have gotten in our ranks, but they are a far cry from those I work with,” at his hooves being held down by two others I could make out the girls. Each taking a knee, staring out to the rest of the dock. Neither one of them were scanning the area, though the Elder himself was making up for that. “How far did you think they’d really get?”

I think I mentioned something once about reality smacking me in the face… “Shit,” all three of us mumbled at the same time.