Fallout Equestria: Ballad of a Rogue Ranger

Chapter forty-four: Ballad

My hooves clanked against the metal deck, reverberating throughout the suit, and even the rest of the passageway. I waited for a moment to have my ass lit up, but after another second of wincing nothing came of it. Instead, I was greeted with the vacant halls and pristine lit lights of the vessel returned to its hay day.

If the rangers put even a fraction of the care into working on the wastes as they did this ship, I might have still felt guilty about doing all this… might. No rangers were insight on my E.F.S. or the hull of this thing was blocking any reception I could get. I don’t know which part made me more nervous. They had to have known I would get onboard, shouldn’t they? The last any of them saw I was on the pier still… but they knew I had the jetpack.

Though they probably didn’t know the range of the thing. Then again somepony should have heard my ass go down the shoot… but the sub itself had clattering of different parts as it went through the- oh for the love of Luna stop! I wasn’t getting shot at just yet, so I could take that moment and give myself a breather. The suit would be thanking me for that later when the bullets did decide to fly.

Armor integrity: 30%

Okay so that was still trying its best, half my guns worked better at close range. Though I’ll have to be gentle with shotty, ADAC… sorry… you’re going to have to take a back seat for now. With a careful set of hooves, I started tip toing my way further in. Commissar Iron Hoof had asked for the permission to build this vessel, and with knowing what ranks he would join in, its no wonder the layout was like this.

For all the beefiness the suit had, my shoulders didn’t even come close to the walls… or bulkheads? My Navy lingo was trash, so bear with me. Still, if I could turn around freely in this thing than a standard suit shouldn’t have any problems. Iron Hoof was careful with his planning, and at its forefront had to be troops in this armor manning the sub itself.

Imagine what Equestria could have managed if they had a few of these under their own hooves. With a supply transport built like this, Luna could have ordered entire companies of Rangers to storm the shores of the Zebra nation right under their stripped noses… hindsight, right? The Crystal Empire was more than happy to foot the bill for its construction, Equestria already had its own battleships… goddesses forbid the Rangers get ahold of a few of those monsters.

So I was aboard, now the real question… what to do? The ballasts were still ideal, and the least likely thing to blow us all up. However, now there were rangers here who would be very driven to keep those machines running, and me well away from them. Plus, you know, I’d like to get back myself… missile- nope, scratch that. Still not wanting to send myself off in a mushroom cloud. I’ll have to sink it, but I might need to be a bit craftier than with the Shining, now that my neck was on the line as well.

Next question, where the hell am- I… for a second the trio I faced froze in place. Their eyes or visor met my own, and with only one suit of armor between them. The other two in utility clothes were already drawing their guns. Two can play that game mind you! A clench of my jaw snapped on the bit, and my IF-451…

Burped? What the hell?!

Rounds started dinging away at the suit before I could do any troubleshooting, and here I could only tank the damage. Nowhere to duck, nowhere to dive into, and certainly no idea where the hell these two got 10mm AP rounds! Charging forth, momentum was my friend, and with a shoulder check I slammed into the unarmored mare.

Her head whipped back enough to collide it with the wall, and a smear of blood made its way down to the deck. Her partner leveled that gun right- ting! My fucking ear!? Tinnitus be damned, that shot made me dizzy. A hoof to his chest knocked him away enough for his armored cohort to take the lead.

Armor integrity: 23%

A hoof from him slammed into my jawline. Between that, and the pistol shot, I was long overdue for a concussion. Guns, still arguing with me… fine, I’ll improvise! My horn reached out and yanked the extinguisher off the wall. Colliding it neatly with the rangers’ helmet once, twice, and third times the charm. His visor cracked just as more 10mm rounds lodged into my side, and I turned the nozzle to said pony.

Face full of frost didn’t feel good now did it? The colt dropped the gun, and at the same time I grabbed it dropping the extinguisher. The barrel planted just behind the earpiece of the rangers’ helmet, and five shots later I was welcomed with the clanking sound of his suit hitting the deck. Blood already starting to dribble out the hole I punched.

Frosty was still stumbling, and the rest of the magazine found itself inside his chest before I even thought of trigger control. I hated small arms, I despised small arms… mostly because I sucked with them. Yet, if my own guns were going to be downers- a quick chomp to shotty proved that point again- then I had to make do with what I had.

Fresh magazine found its home in the handle, as well as the ones I procured from the bodies. With the pistol out in front, I trekked a bit more. Those shots echoed through the halls, and it wouldn’t be long till they found the bodies. I didn’t have time to hide the corpses, or whisk away the blood. They’d know sooner rather than later they were carrying an unwanted passenger.

Okay, suits armament out of the question, still no idea where to go, my element of surprise all but shattered, and I was armed with arguably one of the worst weapons my horn had ever tried aiming back in the office…

‘Note to self,’ I thought, still wistfully hoping there was some light at the end of the tunnel, ‘practice more with damn pistols.’

I didn’t mean this soon! Two more utility ponies rounded the corner at the end of the hall, and I didn’t even get the chance to level the sights before their rounds started digging in. My only saving grace was as always, the suit. Armor Piercing was designed for most standard armor, this thing was anything but.

My shots went wide, smacking into the metal frame of the sub around them before it even got close to a target. It wasn’t until the last round of the magazine that I clipped one in the shoulder. She ducked away behind the corner, but her companion only reloaded as I fumbled to do the same… he was faster.

My mag dropped to the ground as his first shot struck the helmet, and half way too him as I walked something in my noggin said screw it. Alimite would be so proud… the gun hurtled across the space, colliding with the bridge of his nose more effectively than any of my shots. Another aura of mine picked the magazine back up, and thundered on towards the colt. Both hooves weren’t necessary to finish the job, bu-u-ut it did feel oh so satisfying to cave his chest in with a stomp.

Now where was- the first shot got my attention, and the next dozen from the others down the hall was all I needed to slink my way back to that corner. I still couldn’t get a read on the E.F.S…

Warning: Armor integrity: 15%

Yeah, that told me enough! With only my helmet breaking the cover I managed to avoid at least all but one of the shots from those taking point. I needed to think, and this was not the place I wanted to do it.

Peaking the gun around, I thanked the fact that at least one of my parents was a unicorn, and dumped the magazine. Accuracy through volume? Still a viable strategy! One of those shots hit something along the walls, and the shower of sparks causes enough of a shock to the bunch that I swiped what ammo I could from the body before racing down a hatch and- falling like a newborn bird.

Hydra had worn off… and the clanking reminded me of an old grandfather clock up until I found the ground once more. Stairs worked so much better when I didn’t have to think about walking. Back to my hooves I managed without getting more rounds in my ass, and down the hall I went. They would be on my tail soon, and I didn’t have the slightest idea where I was on this thing. I needed to think for a moment, and to do that it had to be somewhere quiet.

Somewhere, anywhere, I’ll take a broom closet!

Or a locker… up along the red hatch I read Damage Control Locker #3, and ducked inside. My ear pressed against its frame, which probably wasn’t all that helpful trying to hear through metal. Though with nothing bursting through, or for that matter making a peep on the other side. I took a step back and looked around.

Whatever Damage Control meant, I’d have to ask an old ghoul someday, but to me it might have just saved my ass. All around there were supply lockers of air tanks, firefighting gear, tools to break and repair the sub, and even plastered on the wall… was a map. The Cadance looked big enough on the surface, but those designers really went for the iceberg approach.

Most of the structure was well below the water line that I could see from a distance. Level after level raced down deeper into the sub, and here before my very eyes it was all mapped out in painstaking detail. If they wanted to save the ship, I guess it helped to know all the ins and outs of where the hell you were to do so.

Smack dab in the center, or at least upper center, I found the little red star marking this locker. Back a smidge further, the very hatch I opened to get in… had I really only covered that far? The scaling to the drawing was terrible, but it barely held my hoof in the gap between those two points. I hated whoever it was that created Powerhooves, but Celestia fu-u-uc-c-ck the guy who drew this thing up.

Silos alone took up a third of one deck all together, let alone the sections devoted to those that manned the machine. How many did Snatchback have onboard? Better yet, how many could he have gotten if we didn’t crash their little party. There tucked away under the main mast of the ship, was exactly where I imagined said pony was kicking his hooves in the captains’ chair. Bridge displayed clear as day under that open area.

It was tempting to burst out here, charge in, and dump another full magazine into his chest… though I’d probably need at least two to make sure the job was done, or that I even hit the target. That kinda thinking would get me dead, very quickly. Missiles were a definite no, what else did this thing have to offer? Up towards the front of the sub, I saw those tell tail tubes lining out the muzzle. Torpedoes? Still an explosive, a lot smaller than Balefire, but I can keep that in my back pocket… who the hell were we shooting torpedoes at anyway?

Alrighty, circling back to plan-A. The ballasts were still my best bet… would I have to play defense with a pistol and hold off any trying to fix them? Of course! Would this be the most likely to keep my ass alive once the place was flooded out? Also, yes.

Armor was airtight after all; how else did you think you could have a filter on the- “It seems… we have a stowaway…” another clicking sound filled my hears as the intercom to the ship broke out, goddesses did I hate that voice, “how do you like the product of pony engineering so far, Mister Rogue?” enough to make me want to invent time travel, all so I could deck the one who built it, “a fine work our ancestors did if I might say so myself. Everything perfectly tuned to run like the well-oiled machine it was.”

Scratch that previous statement… invent time travel, just so I could smother this bastard as a- wow, that’s fucked up. “You took away one of my cards, Rogue, this one you won’t get… its systems are operational, and at the ready to deliver a blow to the Rangers’ enemies.” Keep talking there guy.

My eyes scanned over the map once more. It was too big for me to pull off the wall, and hope to get anywhere without it getting shot full of holes. I’d have to go off of memory more than anything… lets see… bigger frame numbers to the back, smaller to the front, smaller numbers for the top, and big to the bottom decks… really? It’s that idiot proof?

Now, where were those ballasts? Alimite and Tumble must have found one of these maps on their journey, and if they could decipher the location. Then so could- “Tell me, what do you think the blast radius is for one of these missiles? Enough to cover a prison that’s for sure,” not something I wanted to think about?! But still… totally called- “certainly enough to cover the dockyard then.”

-It… “What say we warm your friends up, shall we?” there was a large drop to both the ships’ structure, and my heart at those words. “Launch sequence engaged,” a more mechanical voice sounded out.

Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!

My eyes scanned even harder at the map. Trying to get every little detail I could in the short time I had now… down twelve frames, up one flight of stairs, over six frames to the right, past a dozen more frames to the ass and bingo. What would I do when I got there? Who knows! Though that was better than standing here trying to figure it-

The hatch opened up, and there stood but a Scribe. Their barding was far to clean for any that were topside during out little escapade on the docks. Yet, that gave me a clear line of sight to their name plate, and my eyes started narrowing down upon them.

“Oh hello…” I sneered, and watched his coat go white like he’d seen a ghost, “Wallard.”

The pencil the colt had hovered for but a second before it tried falling to the ground as he took off, though once it hit the deck, my hoof crushed it into dust. Just like I wanted to do to this colt very soon! Shock me like I’m a battery will ya?! I didn’t need chems to stir myself up into a frenzy, this one guy was doing it all enough. Added bonus he was going right the way I needed too.

Mentally I was counting off the frame numbers in my head, while keeping the colt in my sights. Eight, nine, ten… I hurtled over the knockers, bounding after the colt before he could alert any of his buddies… come on twelve! We were approaching that number, and as he dipped off down one corridor I couldn’t follow. I instead saw the stairs I needed to continue… this…

Wallard stood with another group of his friends, well tucked in between those, and away from me. Their guns went off, ricocheting rounds along the bulkheads towards me. All I had to do was cross this tiny hall, and go up the stairs. Though if they saw me go, it wouldn’t be long till they were on my hooves yet again.

Think damn…! It? Above I saw one of the pipes leading down towards them, and while I didn’t understand a lick of how this thing was put together. I knew what the hell STEAM meant. Out just past the corner I swiveled the ADAC. What? All of my other guns hadn’t worked yet? Might as well go for-

Click.

-Broke… “Damn it!” I shouted, slamming my head against the wall, and making those little figures dance in my vison for a split second.

Really not the smartest move… 10mm went around the corner, and yet again another magazine dumped to meet them, or at least near them. It wasn’t until the last two or three rounds that I heard the hiss breaking out, and the scampering of hooves. Already the hall was starting to fill with the pressurized gas, and those that once shot at me chose not to press their luck. The hatch beyond that leak slammed shut, and I slammed a magazine home bounding for the stairs.

That would have been easier with something a bit more explosive. What was with these guns? Now of all times when I needed them most?! This was punishment for something I’d done… I was a good colt… did I maybe lie to Lilac once or twice to save Winters’ skin? Sure. Although it didn’t warrant this kind of punishment! Problem for later to solve, navigation needed now.

Six to the right, six to the right, six to the right… and turn! The long passage way back laid clear, and my hooves started clanking away against the metal underneath. If they didn’t know where I was heading before, this might have been a dead giveaway. Out from one hatch a ranger surfaced, and just as quickly that hatch was slammed square in their muzzle knocking them back into the room.

I didn’t have time to stop and idle, who knows how long the sequence takes. Behind me I could already hear the shouting of the one I faceplanted, and it wouldn’t be long before they were hot on my tail. No matter, I was already narrowing in on where I needed to- there ya are!

Just above I saw the placard for the room, SILO CONTROL, and with an overzealous hoof I nearly pulled the hatch free before slamming it back in place. Grasping on it with my forehooves, and a little help from good old magic, I pried the handle down far enough to hook around one of the support frames to the door itself. As soon as I let go, the handle rose up from those on the other side, lodging perfectly in place as a crude lock… really hope I didn’t have to go through there again.

Oh… “Hi-ya!” I turned around to see a pair of ponies at the controls, one in armor, one lacking.

Utility barding immediately raised up their pistol, just as I did mine. His shots found their mark along the plating, mine hit everything from the console to his shoulder, finally putting the pony on the ground. As the magazine dropped, the hunk of armor slammed into my chest pinning me to the hatch I just came through.

Three hits of his landed in the plates, and sent my bones rattling from their impact. My horn wrapped around those hind feet, and with a yank he met the floor, as well as a swift kick from my forehoof. Sliding to a stop, I didn’t give him any time to gain purchase and leapt atop the ranger. Slamming my own hooves into his chest and neck. Underneath I could feel some of the plating finally giving way, but I had to give it to the ranger. He took those hits in stride.

Ping!

The slug glanced off my helmet, burying itself somewhere in the room when I eyed the colt I injured. Pistol barley in their mouth, and with an aura I pulled it free turning the barrel onto them. One shot from this range was all it took to paint the console behind him in a new shade of red. My aim sucked, but every once in a while, I got-

-lucky? The whole compartment started shaking, jarring me free from the ranger below and onto the ground. As I looked down the aisle of tubes, all had a green light stationed on their side, all but one that is. That one flashed red, before the rumbling finally came to a halt… and my throat clenched in place, as one missile went on its journey.

Long enough for another hoof to rock my jawline. Armor wasn’t supposed to make ponies nimble! Yet here I was, getting a back hoof from the ranger before me. Another round from me went wide, striking some electrical panel and sending a shower of sparks into the room. Though while the lights above started to flicker now, between flashes that ranger got in closer.

Helmet to helmet… quite the equal headbutt ain’t it? Both of us bounced back for a moment, collecting ourselves. I just did so a bit faster, and slammed the barrel square into his visor. Celestia, I wish I could have seen the look on his face… no matter! Armor piercing slugs tore their way through the reinforced glass, shattering it after only the first three rounds, and dropping his corpse to the deck a bit more permanently this time.

Armor integrity: 20%

That stent in the DC locker at least gave me some good news, though it would probably be a bit higher if it wasn’t for Utility over there. Down the corridor another light changed from green to red, this time the bulb of crimson was holding steady for now… no time to waste… the lights overhead finally found their sync and stayed on. Allowing me the full view of this room and everything that might be important.

Instantly my hooves started cracking into control panels, electrical boxes, and everything else in between. Yet that damned bulb kept mocking me! Ahh… new plan?! I ran over to the silo itself, and if this wasn’t a design flaw, I didn’t know what was. Not even an Emergency Stop, or an access port to tell it ‘Hey don’t launch!’. Even with the controls those ponies were at, somewhere between here and the Elder there was still communication in the wiring going that sent a shiver down my spine.

One missile was already on its way… one that could level an entire prison compound to dust, and without anyway to reach them. I could only hope my friends hightailed it out of there after I got on the sub. Two missiles… that was pushing it in my book!

“Think damn it! Think!” nerves were firing, but nothing was coming back with an answer.

My hoof slammed against the bulkhead, ready to turn this place into the most expensive fish tank decoration imaginable… you know, if my guns worked! Then, something clinked against the side of my suit. A fire bottle laid on its side, with a purple stripe along it and PKP in white lettering.

I… remembered these, back at work. More importantly, I remembered the warning on the side that I read clear as day. Not For Class- C Fires, oh I was about to break every safety instruction they taught us in orientation at the ministry! With an aura wrapped around its housing I stomped the cap off and darted back over to the main room, holding the 10mm square at myside. Not a moment too soon, there was already a shower of molten metal from the hatch.

Tube went inside the console, and with a blast of the purple powder I saw every light on its frame start to fizzle and burst with a final show of life. Before dying back out to nothing. That was doing something, and I gave the same treatment to every one of the electrical boxes on the walls. Caking them with the chemical that instantly turned the once silvery finish a pure shade of red and orange corrosion.

Parts of my suit were getting the same treatment from back blast, but if it wasn’t breaking down any of my integrity I didn’t care. Sparks were bursting, fuses in those containers were shot, even the lights overhead finally decided they’d had a good life and went out. My visor lights flicked on, letting the rest of the fire bottle do its work in the dark. Here and there another torrent of sparks would erupt, either from getting sucked in from cooling vents, or on other equipment that just wasn’t designed for this kinda punishment.

Just out the corner of my eye, I saw that flashing red light along the silo do dead… along with every other silo in the room. Even the emergency lighting didn’t survive my chemical breach, and the only light I got was from the hatch I once sealed now falling to the ground.

More 10mm rounds peppered around the room, but with nothing more than my visor to give an indication where to aim. I shut it off, and grabbed hold of the hatch lever on the far side of the room. Giving it much the same treatment as the first, those on the other side were going to be pissed they had to cut another.

Not my problem…

“Whatever you did, Rogue, it worked,” that voice slithered out of the speakers in the sub, “I’m showing dead readings all up and down the controls…” yay! Crisis semi-averted. Now all I had to do was find a way to silence this colt, break the sub some more, and get back to shore in once piece. “Electronics can always be fixed though, and with some parts from the Shining I’m sure it’ll be a lot faster than you could have hoped.”

Assuming you can get some divers inside that craft. I would be willing to bet those electronics won’t be too happy about being submerged in water for too long. “One missile should be enough for your friends anyway,” my teeth started gritting again at that prospect. I didn’t know the blast yield to these warheads… I worked with heavy weapons, but not that heavy. “But with them out of the picture, maybe you can see what we’re really trying to do here?”

Hmm… take over the wasteland with an iron hoof? Or would it be steel? “With a single push of a button, I can remove any threat that might threaten pony kind… isn’t that something to help safeguard the future?” whether I wanted to or not, I had to listen to the guy rant on. I knew enough how to get to the silos, but I wish I paid more attention to those diagrams in the DC locker to know where to go after that. “You could have made a fine addition to our ranks, with this firepower and your skills, we truly would have become unstoppable…”

It was largely because of luck, but I’ve been doing pretty damn well for myself with just a few upgrades, some bullets, and a hoofful of friends. The rangers could, and should, have done more already if they were dead set on helping. They didn’t need any more power, what they needed was a swift kick in the ass to get in gear and actually start doing something with all the gifts they took into those bunkers.

“Though I suppose if you want something done right,” my hoof grabbed hold of one hatch and slung it open, “you have to do it yourself.”

Snatchback stood in the flesh before me finally. His yellow irises piercing through the suit just as much as he wished that AMR would do. I charged forward trying to stomp over the colt, but like a cat he slid to the side and put a right hook square against my neck platting. Sending me to the deck with a whirl.

My hoof kicked out, trying to nab him with a cheap shot. Yet for all the bulk and strength I’ve been picking up along my travels, his suit was just too damn slippery! The sleek design was far more suited for this environment, and before I even managed to get back up to my hooves. Another set of his clocked the back of my helmet, sending stars dancing in my vision.

Warning: Armor integrity: 18%

Whatever I gained during my extinguisher rampage was gone, and steadily he started to chip away at the suit with controlled punches and jabs. My wider, more clunky ones were nothing, and I ended up doing more damage to the sub itself than he even noticed. It wasn’t until I jabbed at the wrong pipe, that the Elder got a face full of water, as well as a crude hoof to the bridge of his nose.

Snatchback stumbled for a moment taking the hit in stride, and I raised up the 10mm… just as he started lunging forward yet again. Slugs started to spray around the room, and even with one digging into his shoulder. He tanked that damage if it meant getting in a bit closer, as he slid right under my jaw. Another hoof of his rocked its underside, and sent me cascading down a flight of stairs.

I needed to work on my landings… instead I found myself bouncing down like a bowling ball, and slamming into the bulkhead with a daze in my eyes. There wasn’t even enough coordination in my vision to bother bringing the pistol up from the ground next to me, all I got was the steady clanking of hoof steps following me down.

“I spent years training in this suit, Rogue,” he spat out my name, finally reaching my resting place. “I understand the advantage that technology can give the average run of the mill colt… just look at yourself,” I swept my leg under him, but with a small leap he treated it like a school ground game. One that ended with me getting another kick in the jaw, “but unlike many of my subordinates, I don’t need it to get a kill…”

Warning: Armor integrity: 17%

His hoof socked me square in the gut, and of all the places to put extra plating, for all the treatment I’ve been giving the suit. That still hurt! My throat coughed up what was either phlegm or blood, as it spattered along the inside of the visor.

Warning: Armor integrity: 16%

Another hit landed in my neck, and underneath I could feel the small laps of blood reaching my noggin. Putting me in a daze with him blurry through my eyes. Snatchback was right… he had trained hard for these kinds of fights. I had years of experience building the suits up, making them better… not the kinda skillset I needed right now.

Warning: Armor integrity: 15%

He didn’t even need those guns along his side, years figuring out how to break a pony who wore them would turn any soldier into a fighting machine. A hammer hoof landed at the base of my helmet, and once again I met the ground. With the pistol inches away from me.

My horn reached out, nabbing the pistol in its aura and slung it around spraying… all until a swift hoof launched it right out of the aura and down the hallway far from my grasp. That was enough for me to get at least a breather in while I slammed both my hooves into his side. Snatchback skipped for a moment down the hall, and with any strength I had left I went the exact opposite.

I thought that punch back in the steel mill was just a lucky hit… but I was so wrong! This wasn’t some older colt who wore a suit of armor out of glamor. Snatchback made sure he was ready for if those bunker doors opened, and the world was still at war with itself. He didn’t spend his life frozen trying to wait it out, he trained, and trained hard… now I was just at the receiving end of all that frustration I caused in his ranks.

I’d been waiting to put a bullet down the guys’ throat for a while now, but he’d been just as eager to wipe these very floors with me if the chance should arise. A chance he was taking full advantage of!

This wasn’t running away… this was called a tactical retreat, something to get myself in a position where I might be able to figure out a way to end him and this machine. I barely had the upper hoof with my suit, even without the guns. Ballasts were out of the question, not with him on my tail. What I needed was a better plan than charge forth and conquer.

Or… I could just charge right into the one room I really didn’t want to be in! All around there were rangers in utility barding at control stations situated around one chair in the center. Flanking them, suits of power armor stood as those guards to the brain center of the sub. Here I just knocked on the door to the castle, and waltzed right in unwelcome.

Every single pony stood up almost in unison, pistols at the ready. Some here in the hive center even sported a few 10mm submachine guns, and every barrel available turned their attention on me. I was already far enough in the room that it was too late to reach the door again. My options were A- a room full of rangers ready to pump every ounce of lead they could into the suit, or B- an Elder whose title was earned by experience, not age.

Whelp, looked like option A… Snatchback stood in the hatch I just came through. I could see the trickle of blood dripping down along where he likely smacked something after my kick. More importantly, I saw the bloodshot eyes he tried to dig into my plating with. Circling around the room, he found himself right in the middle of their ranks. As all of them cornered me against one bulkhead.

From one firing squad, to another.

“You’ve had a good run there, I’ll give ya that much,” Snatchback cracked his neck, and wiped his brow. Almost admiring the blood that stained his plating. “It’s been a while since I’d seen that… you managed to get north, and take the fight too us.” With a single gesture of his head, one ranger gave up his pistol, and the Elder held it gingerly in his muzzle, “even almost came out on top…” so close, yet so far away… my eyes started flickering through my suits systems. I already knew where this was going, but I could at least have twenty seconds of peace to try and think. His hoof raised up, “FIRE!”

Warning: Armor integrity: 15%

Critical failure imminent!

Not as fast on the draw as I would have hoped! A few rounds managed to get through before the shield was finally up, and even now the extra coating of steel around them allowed some to burst through. Not enough to damage the suit, but more than enough to let me know what was coming. Other shots bounced right off, scattering around the room, some even digging into other computer components.

Had the Elder cared he was hurting his ship? Nope! His glare never left my visor, and already my own barrier was starting to flicker from the onslaught. “Keep it up!” Snatchback started to grin, “He can’t stay in there forever…”

If you don’t sink your ship first! Other rangers were blocking the doorway, and all I could do was sit here nice and pretty while their shots either slapped against the suit like a spit ball, or outright tore into their own machine- something fizzled out from one of the panels… And ADAC let out a single shell, tearing a hole clean through one ranger.

For a moment I was surprised, then I saw Snatchbacks eyes get wide with what I hoped to see… fear. “Well how about that,” I mumbled, and chomped on the bit.

14.4mm sprayed out like pent up retribution, ripping chunks of computers, and panels along for the ride. All before slamming into any ranger that got in my path, the Elder dove down to the deck, but those around him weren’t so lucky. Bar after bar on my E.F.S. fell as the suits were ripped to shreds under the heavy caliber round.

I couldn’t even tell what was a ranger or part of the sub on the ground by this point, all of it just looked like twisted metal. If they were only hoping to do some electrical work, I just took that idea and put it out to pasture! The smoke rose up off the end of my barrels as they stopped belching out rounds, and I looked around a bit too satisfied about the approach. Now the playing field was even… and… that was water.

“You fucking moron!” Snatchback shot up from the deck, thrusting a hoof my way, as he pointed it to the side of me. There in the panel was what once was some kind of talisman, now shattered like I intended to make his dreams. “That was to prevent M.W.T. heavy weapons fire, we’re on a sub! Are you trying to sink us all?!”

Too late there chief, some of my rounds already ate away at the sub. Though maybe those were just the ships’ water pipes I burst. Either way… hate to admit it… but he did make a very valid point. His rangers are the ones who shot it! Still, I got the room all to ourselves.

Though no more ADAC for me, Shotty and Burny? I don’t think that’d go through the hull, “Then let us finish this like Gentlecolts, shall we?”

Gentlecolts was a loose term… Snatchback leapt across the console, managing to put me back against the wall. This time however, I was fighting dirty. Shotty swiveled back down against his head, and I chomped away. He was fast enough to avoid that first shell, but with him knowing full well I wasn’t afraid to put too many holes in his sub. It was more than just my hooves he had to keep an eye out for.

My helmet met only the temple of the Elder, sending him sprawling back a few paces. More blood started to trickle down the side of his brow, and I could see that stumble in his step. The hiss was enough to alert him once again, and this time my flames managed to lick his armored tail as he dove for cover. Across the room I sent that spray, basking the equipment in a glorious blaze.

Warning: Armor integrity: 13%

Oh… right, he didn’t just have that AMR. Two shots from his AER-9 Caster punched into my suit through the flames, and I all but ignored them if it gave me a way out. A few more shells around his cover kept his head down long enough for me to reach that hatch, and once again it was a game of cat and mouse.

I didn’t have enough fuel to burn the entire machine to the ground, and shotty just wasn’t cutout for punching a hole through the hull. There was a bigger boom needed, and like I said, the ballasts just weren’t going to cut it this time around. I might not have known exactly where I was going, but this would be a hell of a lot easier to find than some tanks.

All I had to do, was get to the front of the sub.

Behind me more shots from his Plasma Caster dotted along the bulkhead, some managed to bite me in the ass. Though it wasn’t enough to send me to the dirt just yet. With a jerk of my head before rounding a corner, I turned the swivel onto him. Far out of the butter zone for sure, but it was enough to keep him out of precision range with that gun of his.

Turning to, these colts were about to get a rude awakening. Half a dozen stood in my way as I barreled down the hall like a locomotive on its last leg. Their pistols were at the ready, and even the submachine gun between them was already cycling. Shame none of them had any armor… nearly catching up with the stream of fire, each of them either burned or ducked back to save their own skin. I left many riling in pain from the screams behind me, but that’d be the least of their worries once I got where I needed to be.

Well hello there! One ranger in front of me finally managed to figure it out, and instead of a pistol. His battlesaddle barked forth, spraying .308 down range. Shotty matched his own casings as both of ours littered the ground, mine just had a bit more punch than his own, and before long enough of the plating was removed to put the pony underneath out of commission.

Warning: Armor integrity: 9%

Right! Not invincible… I quick peek behind me didn’t put the Elder in my sights, so either he went to tend to the sub, or he was just waiting for an opening. My path was clear, besides the random soldier that still decided this was a good idea to pick a fight with a pony literally armed with close range weapons. Another pair of utility wearing ponies I turned to red mist before they even knew what hit them, and across the suit I got another clean coating of pony paint.

And another sledgehammer to the side.

Not quite the train Lock threw at me, but that suit snapping to attention was unmistakable. Even with the new helmet donning atop his head, Snatchback was fuming past its visor. So, this is what made me decide to cover up finally? This and being on a pier that is. Together in the passageway we both stared one another down, if only he could see my grin…

“Elder Snatchback!” across the intercom a voice broke out, “We’ve lost bridge control of the propulsion system.” Seemed my fire was still raging on.

With a steady hoof, the Elder held it to the side of his helmet. “Reroute control to the engineering sector… I won’t be very long.”

That’s what you think- Bud! .50 ripped out past his muzzle, tearing a neat hole through several layers of the steel walls before finally resting somewhere unseen… oh somepony wasn’t playing anymore! Before he could level another round against me, I shoved the Elder to the side and pressed on. Flicking the shield while I went, and felt the steady punch in my flank plating of his rounds still managing to break through, but bounce off the suit.

Thank you Shining! Snatchback was nipping at my flank, but I still had a goal to reach… and while I watched the numbers on the placard get smaller. I knew it couldn’t be that far off. Another AMR round exploded one electrical box near my head, and I pivoted around just long enough to give the Elder something to think about. To hell with collateral damage, ADAC chambered only three shots and with a careful bite I sent them home.

The first shot right into the deck below him, punching a neat hole at his hooves. The second treated a light fixture with the utmost of prejudice. As for the third… well sorry to the one unarmored pony that popped their body out to try and get the drop on me, just a bit too late. From one shoulder to the next he was cleaved in half, and I didn’t give it time to watch him fall when I broke contact with my pursuer.

Just where I needed to be… something below vaporizing levels of explosive. The Torpedo room was exactly like I’d imagine. Rack after rack of well machined munitions, gantry cranes ready to hoist them off to one of the tubes, and their own control station should the bridge be out of commission. Wonder how they’d ever lose control of that place…

AMR ripped past, and any moment I hoped to have for a plan was thrown to the wind. I had company… very eager, and pissed company! Snatchback sent burst after burst of is Caster my way, and all I could try to do was put my hoof up to catch the rounds someplace less vital.

Warning: Armor integrity: 7%

I said less vital, not smartest move. Still my shotty swiveled onto his frame and while he lined up another burst, as did I. This time those shells broke some of his overly decorated plating off, tarnishing their polish, and causing the Elder to choose cover over a quick kill. Something I should probably do myself.

Behind one of the torpedo racks I went, he wouldn’t dare take a potshot at me here… would he? Silence answered that as a no, but if he was taking a moment for his suit to do some work. I could do the same. I’d take whatever percentage I could get, and I knew his would recover a lot faster.

More bursts of his AER-9 met the rack itself, missing the munitions… and past the peak of my cover I watched him take a careful step forward. His shots kept my head down, and it’d only be a matter of time till he had me right where he wanted. Whelp, if he wanted me that badly, I would give it to him.

S.A.T.S. kicked on, as I broke free from the rack, charging head long at the colt. A glowing pulse of plasma I was able to leap up with enough hang time to avoid it tagging the plates. In this trance, I could see him stop, trying to hold his ground as I got closer and closer. Shotty tagged along his frame, three shells… better make them count.

One to the head, two to the torso, and that should be more than enough to bring this waste of metal- down… caster pulses were slow, .50 was not… the flash of the muzzle was all I saw, and thanks to the spell I saw the round travel right below me and collide with my hind hoof. Knocking me off balance, my own shells went wide as the chance to hit went to zero, and I collided instead with the very forgiving floor.

Warning: Armor integrity: 5%

Warning: Hind leg severed!

Yeah… I got that much; whatever Final Lesson started; the Elder finished as he tagged the other leg. A hoof flipped me over on to my back, and against the console I slumped. Snatchback was grinning under that visor, knowing full well that for how much my suit was beaten up, upgrades didn’t quite matter. I’d seen a similar face from a mare, who had me in just the same position… though with a far better setting on her part…

“Alas… every journey must come to an end,” he scoffed, lowering his AMR to my helm, “any last words, Rogue Ranger.”

“Yeah,” I crunched my teeth past the pain and aches washing over my body. He tagged one limb that I couldn’t feel, but the rest of me was more than making up for it… now could it hold on just a bit longer, “How long can ya hold your breath?”

My head jerked down, toggled shotty to full auto, and laid every shell I could down range along the bulkhead. Something these munitions didn’t quite enjoy. The first shockwave threw him off balance sending that shot into the console behind me, the second tossed the Elder to the ground, and while fire started to erupt throughout the room I got back up to my fumbling hooves.

IF-451 basked the rest of the compartment in flames, and already I could see some of those getting turned to steam… there was a leak, enough to make the entire ship itself wane. For but a moment, Snatchback looked at me, debating if I was worth the trouble. Yet, after seeing me in front of the fire picking up behind, some part of his fight or flight response took over. As he turned tail to the door, I slammed my weight against his.

That AMR belched again, ripping past me, but once I was in close enough the full strength of the suit wrapped around him. The ornately gifted armor was faster, and sleeker than any I’d seen. Certainly gave him the advantage against most other heavily armored creatures or ponies. Though once it was brought to a halt, within my grasp, all the Elder could do was struggle much like Stock had in his final moments.

A quick jab from his hind leg did next to nothing, as did the headbutt that landed against my helmet. Still, I read 5% across the board, even with the fires getting closer to the pair of us. His Caster fired yet again, but from this close all he did was scratch some of the overhead. Even the AMR tore loose, and punched yet another hole into his precious sub.

“What. Are. You. Doing!” he screamed out between thrashes, “You’ll kill us both!”

“Maybe…” I started to get that same devious grin a hellhound taught me, “…but I’ll last longer.”

My plates were starting to heat up from the flames licking along our sides, but nothing more than a brisk summers’ day. If mine were that, then his must have felt like an oven. His thrashing about got more and more wild, and before long I heard the wails of misery from inside that helmet. Smoke was starting to erupt over his armor, as a fizzle and pop from under those plates of the electronics finally gave out.

Without the added strength of the servos helping him, all the Elder could do was fire off the occasional shot, and struggle against the inevitable. My horn reached out, grabbing onto his visor with all the might I could muster. As he leveled it against mine, I stared past its glass, wanting to see the pony inside.

“This… is for Tungsten,” and just like that, some anger fueled fury ripped it clean off.

It only took a moment before the blaze danced along his coat, cauterizing and charring away the blood that once trickled, now scorching his fur turning it black. He tried to breath, he might have been yelling and cursing my name, and he surely was clenching his eyes to keep them from burning out… but all of it was for naught.

Fire peeled away those eye lids, and I watched as the tears could do nothing. Slowly turning them into shriveled masses in their sockets. His body writhed less and less, until it too finally went still. Letting go, with a clank, that suit fell to the floor… the Elders final resting place, as I just BBQed a pony.

And once again I found myself flying…

One torpedo cooking off too close was enough to lift me clear off the suit, and hurtle my ass straight into the hatch. Knocking it open, I landed in the passageway, and got a clear view of what I just unleashed upon this machine. Fire was turning to steam just as fast as it could find new things to burn, and from some of the supports starting to buckle. It got hot enough to start burning the metal itself.

Under my flank I could feel the submarine starting to list, its nose pointing in an unintended dive. We weren’t fully committed to headbutting the sea floor, but it was still enough to make my hooves beg for some traction as I got back up and started walking… or limping.

Warning: Armor integrity: 4%

So I wasn’t immune to fire completely, but as promised… I lasted longer. Past my shoulders I watched the ambient glow of those flames start to trickle more though the sub, smoke following just as fast. Like the torrential wildfires out west that would sometimes plague crops back in the older Equestria days, my name spread through this once proud tribute to pony engineering.

Ahead I could see more rangers, scrambling to get away from the blaze. Though in a portable bunker like this, just where were y’all planning to go? They weren’t shooting at me, so I could let them have a few more moments to live. How many notches on the belt would this be? At this point, who bothers even counting?

If they were going to spend the last moments running in panic, then I could take the time I needed to relax for once today… it’d been a bumpy ride since the start, and with nothing but the steadily cracking sounds of machinery and electronics falling to my firestorm. All I had was time to reflect on it all.

I made a promise to a mare, to watch over another as we left the life we once knew. Thrust into this world in seemingly a blink of an eye… with that promise still fresh in my mind. I met a good ranger, helped him in a way that I didn’t imagine would return the favor when I needed it the most. I met more friends after the end of the world, than I did when everything was still civil…

Warning: Armor integrity: 3%

The bridge hatch opened up, and inside I saw my spray still doing work on the compartment… those bodies were long overcooked, but at least I had company when I dragged them to hell. That chair looked comfy though, and like the official title I never wore, I took my place in the captains’ post. A leader for the sub, but I’d already been a leader before…

I lead my group of friends across the wastes, following my own goals… and when those were met, they stayed with me. Even when one of my promises was already kept, to the end of her days, it earned me another. A promise those friends made sure I saved, by sticking by my side to the very end. Across the country, and even into another altogether, they never faltered…

“Thank you, my pack,” I allowed myself a smile.

Warning: Armor integrity: 2%

Even to a colt I seldom knew, or one I never met while he lived… they helped me. One showed me that not all of those tin cans were tarnished silver, some of them were genuinely good ponies, just trying to be what they were seen as. As of the other, he gave me the suit with his life, and let me carry on his name long past his own death. A suit that did him proud to the day he died, even now I could feel it patching itself up, like there was still a fight to be had.

Warning: Armor integrity: 1%

Sealed or not, it probably didn’t matter.

Maybe I’ll get the chance to meet him now. “Thank you, Rogue,” at the very least I’d like to see another, “And to you the same, Tungsten… I tried to be one of the good ones.” A hero… something that at least one town would be able to call this ‘ranger’, and something there was still a good group of friends from all walks of life, to remember me by.

It wasn’t the smoke getting to me, these filters were wonderful in that regard… though I still caught myself chuckling past a cough. “I came into this world, trapped in a metal tube,” I looked around at the fire still snaking its way around the compartment. The warning lights across a few of those computers flashing, before they too finally gave out. “Now I go out the same way…” though this was a little warmer…

Warning: Armor integrity: 0%

“…ain’t that a bitch.”