Fallout Equestria: Ballad of a Rogue Ranger

Chapter eight: Growing reputation

Drybank slowly faded from view as we walked the path less traveled. Okay, this path looked actually very heavily traveled. Judging by the tracks from wheels and hooves alike. Tumble and myself did just as the sheriff asked, and that morning we headed out to our next destination.

Pasture Falls.

Sure, it was a number of miles away, but I wasn’t walking it alone this time around. “Hmm we should look in to checking out some places for supplies,” I looked over my stash of AMR rounds, which was dwindling to say the least, “If I’m going to keep running in to rangers, might need them.”

Granted, we turned in all the gear we’d pulled off the Gunners and got a decent number of caps for the lot. Even sold the 10mm from the stable… what? Not like I was any good to begin with, when would I ever need a gun like that again? The slots in my Chem pump were topped off with what I could fill it with, and in the mist of the entire market I’d gotten my hooves on some Stampede and Dash… how were drugs were more available than clean water? That explained all the chemed out raiders I’d fought before.

Tumble went on her own little shopping spree and picked up a few extra rounds for the gun, and an extra mag as well… still no armor curiously enough, perhaps liked to stay a little further from the fight? Then again, even with a busted up suit, I made up for her lack of plating. Yet even with our supplies topped off, it was only going to be temporary… I was a big target after all, and I’d always be better off with some surplus.

“There should be a manufacturing plant a few more miles up the road,” Tumble gestured with the barrel of the carbine, as its stock pressed against her shoulder and she took the mouth bit up.

One burst from it, and the Bloatsprite in our path met its demise. Was it overkill using a rifle round against something as trivial as a bug? Probably, but did that earn a beam from the mare after taking her first shot with the new rifle. Absolutely.

“Why not tune in to the DJ?” she asked while passing by the blown out remains, “helps kill time, and they usually have some news of what’s goin’ on out here.”

“The DJ?”

“Oh! Right, stable pony,” I could see the mental facehoof, “should be in the broadcaster from your Pip-Buck, hell even that armor might have access to it.”

A few clicks brought up the menu from the suit… Well she was right, there in the tab I found the station and set my own speakers to play it out loud for her as well. Really? I couldn’t patch the armor up without my own magic, but I could get a radio station? Ahh the M.W.T. sure had its priorities straight at times. The cheery tune continued to play as we strolled the wastes, kinda surreal to think I remember when this song came out…

And now I was hearing it over a century and a half later.

“And that ladies and gentlecolts is the best we got from Sapphire Shores,” the stallion over the airwaves called out as the song came to an end. “In other news, there seems to be a new gun in the wasteland… or Ranger I should say,” I could almost hear the papers shuffling at their microphone- wait… did they just say ranger? “You’re hearing me right, out west there’s now a ranger who’s sticking it to those other armored cans that try to beat down on common pony folk, even managed to tag a few of those Gunners while at it. Now I don’t mind when the rangers squash a nest of raiders, but when you try and pry gear off of your fellow pony, that just ain’t right.”

After another pause, whoever it was reporting continued, “seems they gunned down a few of those rangers just yesterday at the town of Drybank, left one of them limping home. Those soldiers, if they even earned the title, probably didn’t expect that when they strolled in to town,” How’d this DJ get that news already? It just happened… quick check to the clock… twelve hours ago! “Now I know some of ya’ll may think this is just a one and done kinda thing, but you don’t toy with the rangers on a whim here… so let’s hope to see some more acts from this… Rogue Ranger? … huh, that’s gotta a nice ring to it.”

“And if you’re out there hearing this Mister Rogue, do us all a favor… please keep it up,” you couldn’t help but hear the pleading from their voice, even over the airwaves, “This is DJ-Pon3, signing off and leaving you with another track, this time something a little classier,” just like that the voice cut off, and was replaced with instead the soft cello of a musician long dead.

For several minutes the two of us continued walking as we listened in to the song, and to the next few that came up. Finally, it had to be said, “Okay what was that?” I asked.

Almost immediately Tumble started cracking up along the path, as she nearly choked on her own breath. “That… is the DJ of the wasteland, DJ-Pon3,” she spoke through another fit of giggles, “They work out of Tenpony Tower. Helps keep us all up to date on important things going on in our back yard… and on occasion speaks highly of those fighting the good fight, like you apparently.”

Rogue Ranger… had someone seen the nameplate to the suit? Seemed a little too fitting, “I’m not even a ranger,” I muttered almost to myself, but the mare still picked it up and earned another snicker from her, “Seriously, all I did was shoot some colts and now I’m getting praised?”

“Well… yeah, what’d you expect?” her tone almost made it sound like I should have taken a class on the wastes before I jumped in to them myself. Hell, I’d take a slide show, “the rangers got out of their bunkers at most five years ago, since then they been nothing but trouble for those they run in to, and with how they act plus the firepower they got… you think many others even take the chance to stand against em?”

And score two for Tumble, “Alright you got me there…” the thought mused over the back of my mind for a moment longer as we walked, “though how’d they find out so damn fast?”

All the mare did was shrug her shoulders, “Don’t know, the DJs always had a way of getting eyes and ears everywhere…” another song came to an end as the pony in question put out some sort of news regarding storms in the area, “I’d say roll with it, I mean if other ponies see you on their side, might lead to less guns pointed our direction when we go in to town.”

Make that three points to Tumble, I’m gonna need a scoreboard here. “Got me there as well…” then again the opposite could also be true, “or it might lead to more guns aimed at me, the rangers aren’t going to be too happy about being in someponies crosshairs.”

“Oh hush, they’re already in a lot of ponies crosshairs,” she brushed off that argument with another chuckle, “least this time it’s a pony with a fighting chance at beating em… plus the DJ’s right.”

I really wish she could see my brow raising behind the visor, “How so?”

“Rogue Ranger does gotta nice ring to it.”

***

“Is that some strip ready to die for their country!” we heard the Mister Handy yell out as it floated between conveyor belts. When did they program them to have sass?!

After we’d finally reached the plant, every security system quickly found itself switched on at the sight of an intruder. The outside of the building seemed inviting enough, not a single peep, but the moment we stepped inside that’s when all hell decided to break loose. The various turrets that dotted the ceilings and walls, as well as the bots that joined them, turned everything from energy lasers to flamethrowers our way. Both myself and Tumble hunkered down behind a metal press, steering well clear of the flames that shot from the Handy.

As it came in to view, a heavy stomp from my hooves threw it off balance and put a nasty dent in the armor plating, and with a quick burst from the minigun the hull answered with a pop of its circuits as it fell. A few more Handys appeared from their stations, as one’s buzz blade struck across the suits armor and sent sparks casca-

Armor integrity: 71%

Okay more than just sparks! Each tooth that dug in took another percent off, and with a buck to the side the blade dislodged as I staired down the one responsible… AMR for one Handy? Overkill yes, but oh so worth it! With a leap and bound I waded into another group of bots, unintentionally taking all the focus in the room.

Tumble herself was numbers just the same, and besides the patch or two of a singed coat, she didn’t need to have any armor at this rate. As each turret kept its barrel at me, her .44 slugs found their home in the thin plating as one by one the turrets went silent.

‘So, I’m the distraction!’ I thought while pushing another bot back to get a clearer shot at it and its comrades. Bullet Sponge was NOT the best roll to be playing, but it did leave the mare to line her shots up quite well.

The soft purr of the motor spun the barrels up and swept across the few that joined in the fight. 5mm wasn’t known for its stopping power… but it was known for sheer volume. All the armor in the world would eventually break down with enough of it. One by one a crackle and pop of their circuits bit the dust, and sent the bots to the ground. By the sound of things after my barrels quit spinning and another round from the mare let off, the place seemed quiet.

“Reckon that’s the last of em?” Tumble loaded her pistol again just in case.

“I’d say don’t jinx it, but my screens are clear,” no red bars, good sign at least, “if there were any left here, they’d attacked by now I’d imagine.”

Together we moved past the heaps of now scrap metal, the mare taking care to step over the few Handys I dropped in a wide birth. “The security of this place might have kept them out any others,” she looked in to her saddle bags, likely checking her stock of ammo.

“Seriously, why so many damn turrets,” for a manufacturing plant it sure seemed to have an excess of protection.

“Well… look at all this equipment,” she gestured to the room that presented itself, “they probably made a boat load of items for the war effort here.”

We walked through the myriad of machines and conveyors that dotted the production floor. Everything it seemed from bullet presses, to food dehydrators was here, and set to turn out goods needed by the troops. Yep that’d be something old Equestria would have wanted to keep out of the zebras’ hooves. Still, for having active security it looked like the place had been scavenged a number of times… then again armor wasn’t the stealthiest thing there was.

After getting through the machines, we came to the management and worker section, the hallways that lead to every office, locker room, and storage area that was needed to keep the place running. Right along with them, those turrets that looked as if they were installed at every turn.

As they came in to view, myself and Tumble took turns dispatching them while we went. They might not pack much of a punch, but the rate of fire on those things were incredible! “You know I remember hearing about these types of security systems being used in places during the war, give those spies something to think about,” Even saw some of them being installed at my old job. Another burst from my gun ran across the shell of the turret, causing it to sputter and spark before dying out, “Never thought I’d on the receiving end of it though.”

“They really over engineered everything during the war,” she popped off one round in to the next target we’d come across, “Didn’t they?”

If there was one thing Equestria did right, it was become a production power house, “Yeah… look where that lead them though.”

The offices hadn’t garnished much from their desks, beside a few paperclips and the occasional moldy lunch that was one step above dust on levels of rot. Every piece of scrap that may have been useful had already walked off by some other means long before we arrived. The locker room for the staff however, those that worked here certainly knew how to spend their lunch hour. Tumble pulled out a bottle of Wild Pegasus Whiskey still with the cap on it, and all to eagerly shoved it in her bag. The grin on her growing like a school filly who just got asked out.

“What?” the mare asked as I just shook my head, “paying for your drink can get expensive.”

“I didn’t say anything,” I snickered behind my visor.

After the locker rooms came the storage area, and if I thought the rest of the place had been ransacked, this place had been picked like it was on clearance. With no turrets shooting at us, it must have been one of the first places that got looted in the whole building. Though one thing did catch my eye, in in the corner of the room past the shelves stood a security gate with a few containers and a safe.

Scratches along the lock, dents in the frame, yet nothing inside looked broken into. That gave me some hope, and I raised up a- Ting! … hoof. I could drop robots built for war with a few kicks, but couldn’t get through a damned gate?! The tutting over my shoulder was growing louder, and with a light shove Tumble pushed me to the side.

“Not everything needs to be with brute force,” a bobby pin and screwdriver were pulled out from her bags, nestled all too comfortably in her muzzle.

Yet another skill I’ll have to learn for this new world. It didn’t take the mare but thirty seconds to get through the gate. Almost immediately when the door swung open, she went at the safe. That on the other hoof held up a bit more of a challenge. After a number of tries with me looking over her shoulder, several bobby pins, and a dozen or so expletives. Both myself and Tumble heard that all to lovely click.

As she started sifting through its contents, I looked over the other containers in the room. Thankfully, they weren’t locked. Whoever must have stored things in here was probably counting on the gate to keep others at bay.

“Oh, what have we here,” my gaze turned to the open container before me bearing my ministries logo, and beneath my visor the smirk grew.

“Find anything good?” she looked over towards me.

“Something you might like,” I turned the crate over for her to see and the mares’ jaw about dropped. There in the crate rested an energy rifle, gauss rifle to be exact.

With the carbine slung across her back, the mare plucked the rifle up in her hooves and shouldered it. Checking down the sights and bringing it around, “That’d explain the 2mm rounds I found in the safe,” loading up a cartridge, with a flip of the switch the gun came to life with a hum, “Though it doesn’t explain this…”

In her hoof was a gem, more specifically a spell matrix sapphire, imprinted with its own data and magic that caused the whole rock to give off a radiant glow to it. She may have gone googly eyed at the rifle, though this is what made my ears stand on end.

“You found this in the safe?” I picked it up in my horn and brought it closer to the visor, sure enough, it looked like the ones I had seen in the past.

“Yeah, right next to a coffee cup of all things… don’t know what it is,” her eyes started to look at it, and then back to me, “You do though, don’t cha?”

“If it’s what I think it is… it’ll sure come in handy,” with all the eagerness the mare showed to the whiskey, I shoved the matrix in my bags. “Don’t worry, you’ll know when I’m done with it… if it works that is.”

A roll of her eyes later found us looking over the rest of the room with disappointment. There still didn’t seem to be much that remained even in terms as something so simple as food, though it hadn’t been a complete loss for us. Tumble got a new gun out of the deal, and I picked up another toy for the suit. With nothing more for us, we trotted out the back of the storage area and on the road.

***

Have I mentioned that I hated the landscape of this place? Everything just seemed so cut and dry with no change to it. Everywhere there were bones, a few scampering insects, maybe a crashed wagon here and there. Just like most of the buildings we’d past were mostly boarded up for some reason, like plywood would stop an intruder…

Never the less, the openness of this place was almost surreal at times. Without many other ponies around it all just seemed as if at times Tumble and I could be the last ones alive here in Equestria. Pasture Falls was several miles away from us, though it wasn’t getting any closer the longer I looked at us moving across the map. Then again, this area was even more barren than most of the distances between towns I’d seen so far.

After Drybank we ran in to what at one point was a town. The name I couldn’t recall, never traveled there often, but what remained left a far cry from its old image. Several buildings were collapsed on themselves, and even then both myself and Tumble could see the various patch work of ladders and scaffolding that ran between rooftops.

Even if the occasional sound of gunfire didn’t steer us away, the whole place reeked of decay and violence. That place we both made the unanimous decision to avoid entirely and simply stuck to the ‘roads’ around. Now we were just left to wander with that husk of a place passing by in our wake on one side.

On the opposite was what looked like a dry lakebed, not a large one at that, but still I recognize old boats no matter how much they might be just worn-out hauls now. My hooves started to move towards the bank, cutting through would save us some time if we were to go around, no matter how open it might seem to be.

The hoof on my shoulder had other ideas, “Woah there now,” Tumble pulled back before I went down to the basin, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you…”

My visor turned to her, and then back to the lake bed. “Yes, it’s open, but it also would save us likely a couple miles… besides there’s enough debris out there to cover in if need be.”

“I ain’t worried about getting shot,” Tumble shook there for a second, before quickly pointing a hoof to the bed itself. What she was pointing at I couldn’t be sure, there were a lot it could be, but just there as I followed her hoof, I saw the only thing really out of the ordinary.

A mound of dirt, amongst the smoothness of the rest of the lake bottom.

“I’ll forgive you for the blunder, but that’s a Hellhound pit…” I swear she did the dramatic pause for effect on purpose, “they used to come from those diamond dogs during the war, got all sorts of nasty radiation in em, hate ponies about as much as a raider hates an empty needle… and they’re deadly to match all that hate.”

Diamond Dogs, there’s something I was familiar with. Big paws, like to dig, scruffy built-up canines, handled liquor like a ten times sober alcoholic… how much had they changed? “I’m guessing they aren’t intimidated by armor?”

“They can slice clean through it,” well… that was a downer! With a shake of her head the mare turned tail and started walking along the lakes edge, keeping her eye to the basin as if it was about to jump out at her, “plus some of them have managed to get their paws on weapons, ones they built up to their own needs… bigger, and stronger just like em.”

Trotting up to her, my eyes started to stay just as peeled to the seemingly calm bed. “So big, strong, can use powerful weapons, and go through armor like paper,” my brain went over the check list, “anything I’m missing?”

“They got a tough hide on em,” and the award for most over powered creature in the wasteland goes to…

Well, it looked like we were going around now, but if that kept us out of the claws… or would it be paws? Of those things, really, I couldn’t complain. When the mare who’s traveled the wastes starts charging up her rifle, you know she’s rearing for a fight if it comes. After a quick pull of the bit, I ensured the AMR was locked and loaded to follow the same hindsight. Hopefully, that’d be enough to make them think twice.

Steadily we trekked around, listening to both the occasional sound of gun fire from the town, while keeping an eye out for anything that might come up from the lake itself… as nerve wracking as the possibility of being attacked on either side was.

Besides the occasional shot, it was also dead silent.

A few clicks over to the radio brought the music back from my time playing in the suit. Hmm… maybe an orchestra playing in the background of all this devastation isn’t the brightest setting I’d hope for. Never the less, both Tumble and I found ourselves trotting just a little bit livelier as the tunes played.

“Hard to believe enough music survived to actually have a decent enough playlist,” I wonder how many songs they did managed to hold up in that place? I’d heard pop, classical, rock, even some sort of metal by a gryphon band. What they’d said, couldn’t tell ya, but that sure would get a pony pumped up for a fight.

“You’d be surprised the kinds of things ponies back in your day kept sealed up,” Tumble reminded me that ponies could be weird at times, “I mean, who puts a coffee cup in a safe?”

“Wait you weren’t joking about that?”

“No… sadly it’s not the first time I found something like that too,” judging from the frustration in her eyes, this mare must have been scratching her head at thoughts of her own kind over a century ago. “Everything from ashtrays to surgical trays found in fridges, desks, safes… hell even a bread box of all places.”

I’m going to chock that up to the radiation making ponies go insane after the bombs… Tumble however, stopped in her tracks as she looked over a particular store that must have given off some sort of vibe. Maybe for the Hellhounds an AMR was intimidating… but not some creature it’d seem.

The round ricocheted off the shoulder plate and rocketed somewhere along the ground. Tumble… well, tumbled behind an abandoned cart as I just turned towards the windows of the store. A few red bars scampered in the darkness of the Pony Joes, yet even in the dim light it was hard to mistake spikes, chains, and what I hoped was imitation leather.

The .45 the one fired pinged off the suit once more. I don’t know about you, but if I saw a ranger coming my way, the last thing on my mind would be to shoot at him. A quick spin of the barrels brought a sweep across the broken window frames at the ground floor, not a clue if I hit em or not, but it sure kept their heads down. At least enough not to shoot at us… somewhat.

From the louder shot off to my side, one of the raiders dropped as the blue streak met what little part of him was exposed. Somepony was getting to try their new toy… to great effect it seemed. With a slow pacing I kept my eyes open on the windows, waiting for the other to try something.

There ya are! Another shot dinged off the- oh shit! For a second there my hoof covered the helmet as I watched the visor crack. My heart raced for a moment while it reached the edges of its housing, and my overzealous jaw chomped down on the bit. 5mm spun to life following where I saw that bar duck off too, and it didn’t stop till it faded into nothing. As I pushed the door open and heard the small chime of a bell above, I saw the blood stains on the ground.

One pony laid with its head gone after the 2mm round went through it. Perhaps a tad overkill, but look what I’d just done with the mini. Near where it’s head would have been rested an IF-… you know, I don’t have a clue what the hell this thing is?! Pretty sure it’s just a pipe wired down to a two by four. Gotta give it to them, they sure are crafty.

As for the other one… I think there was more bullet than pony left, and leather didn’t do much when it came to bullets it looked like. Holes peppered across the colts’ body as he laid there next to his baton and IF-Whatchamacallit. The rounds might be small, but it didn’t matter so long as you hit em in the right spots. I just got lucky it looked like, the line went clear across his chest and probably nicked his heart. Though that matters little when the rest of him looked like mince meat.

‘Why?... why would you even try it?’ the thought had been there before sure, but it still didn’t have an answer. With all the tech, armor, and weaponry at the ranger’s disposal. What would make some pony armed with nothing more than a pistol think they could take them on?

“Coast clear?” Tumble asked as she popped up to my side, sweeping the barrel of her rifle over the counter.

“… Yeah, they’re down,” nothing else on the scanner either, “It’s stupid…”

Tumble stopped as her ears perked up, her mouth half way buried in a box of Sugar Apple Bombs. “Whampf is?” she had asked over a mouthful.

“Every wonder why any pony who is clearly out gunned, would try and shoot still?” she looked like the thought mulled over her mind for a few moments, “I mean really, power armor hasn’t changed much since the war, and even then against well-armed zebras it was feared… but these guys who only had a pistol between them still tried?”

With a shove, what remained of the sugary goodness found its way in to the mares’ bags, a snack for later she was looking forward to given the grin on her face. “Well… they don’t really have much to lose,” she went to the bodies and started to do the looting, “I mean they could die an hour from now because this roof decided to collapse. Yet if they managed to gun you down then that’d mean some pretty decent weapons for them, and maybe a better chance later.”

Go after the large fish, because in the end it might feed you for longer if you win. Sure, it made sense in some way, but if that fish was armored and packing guns of its own… was it really worth it?

“Plus, a lotta raiders are chemed up and looking for their next fix… you’d be a good pay out.”

“So, I’m a walking piggy bank,” I couldn’t help but groan from that fact, I saw myself buying a lot more rounds the next town we reached.

“A piggy bank with some serious firepower,” the wink she gave may have been in the best of intentions… but that power only counted depending who I ran in to.

Raiders didn’t seem to carry all that much in terms of arms, sure there had been the one with the missile launcher, and a number of them with grenades. Though that didn’t mean they knew how to use them effectively, I at least worked with most of the equipment I was packing at some point or another. That said, shooting at a target to test a weapon was far different than shooting at someone who likely also had a gun.

Gunners just seemed more like well-armed raiders, and that scared me. They were trained to use them, took care of their weapons, and actually had some sort of organization. One gunner packing the right gun, and I was a goner… don’t even get me started on where Steel Rangers fell in this spectrum. At least I was better armored than the gunners, so that sort of put me on par with them.

Rangers were on a totally different level.

‘Well, I’ll certainly get the chance to practice my marksmanship…’ probably more than I bargained for, “A big gun only will get you so far,” I reminded Tumble, as we both started to poke around Joes, “after all, I’m not the only one out here with one.”

Like so many other places, this place looked picked clean to the bone. Though there were still little odds and ends to find. Tumble fished out what looked like a few Fancy Buck snack cakes, before quickly making half disappear down her gullet. I managed to come across a few things of water with only partial radiation to it.

As the mare went to check out what I’d imagine was the managers’ office, I decided to give the back storeroom a go. The shelves might have been knocked over and the containers long spilled whatever contents they had years ago, but while this room might have been a bust. The hatch on the floor gave me some hope.

“What have we here?” with a pull from my horn the cover lifted up and reviled a set of stairs. Taking a few careful steps, the wood seemed to be holding up the extra weight of the armor. Surprising, considering the whole thing was underground.

Though this looked like an additional storage room, but by the looks of things, not many had come down here. I cracked open a few of the crates and was gifted with a few cans of fruit… or veggies, hard to tell with the labels having faded away. I shoved what I could in my bag and tore the seal off one… Mhmm peaches!... I think. Either way it was sweet, and gave me the same grin Tumble got from the cereal.

As I munched down, the looting continued. Sacks of flour here and there, a few cartons of eggs long past expiration… I don’t even want to try and crack that one open, and coffee beans that turned in to dust the moment I picked up the bag… figures. Considering I used to live off the stuff back at work, a fresh roast would be far better than whatever it was I was drinking in Drybank. Wonder how hard it’d be to get a cup out here?

Oh well, a pony can dream.

That kit on the wall though was looking just as appetizing. Even under all that dust, you couldn’t help be see the butterflies on the outside. Popping the latch dropped two healing potions from it and what looked like a thing of purified water. Hell, better than nothing… though why you’d have a first aid kit down in-

“Wildfire!” Tumble had yelled out from upstairs.

She didn’t sound too pleased; I wouldn’t be either given I could feel the building shake from the types of munitions hitting it! Nearly flying up the stairs brought me back to the main dining area of the donut shop.

And right in to the path of a few dozen rays.

Dropping to the floor saved me some headache, though the suit was getting another run for its money. Across it I saw the scorch marks from some high-powered weapons… this didn’t seem like raiders in the slightest.

“Surrender at once or face execution!” nope, no mistaking the sound of a voice coming through a power armors’ speaker.

Tumble ducked down and scurried her way past the booths over towards me, all the while crimson beams darted through the window. With a quick charge to her rifle, the mare popped up and sent it to answer them. How effective a gauss rifle was against armor… well it was better than the carbine at least.

I popped up and slid in to S.A.T.S. if only to give me some time to think. There out in a firing line were four rangers, two of which armed themselves with twin gatling lasers, one carried a heavy incinerator and shotgun combo, while the other looked to be packi- Okay acting now! The flash from the last one’s barrel told me all I needed to know, and in the crawl of the spell I got to watch the grenade round come towards the window.

Well, time to be a hero… though this was going to hurt…

Slowly I fought against the spell, watching as its charge drained, and I tried to get myself in a better position. Tumble was moving at the same pace as the rangers, and kept herself hunkered down behind the booths between charges. She couldn’t take the hit, but my metal ass sure could… I hope.

Just a few… more… feet!

The grenade went off against the back of the counter, and while the blast might have moved my whole suit across the room with the grace of a pelican. It did manage to act as a shield to the mare, letting me soak up a majority of the shrapnel. Tumble turned her head to me, and loaded up a fresh cartridge to her gun.

“Are you alright?!” she shouted over the commotion.

Armor integrity: 45%

I really wish she could see the look I was giving her… though as my suit started to administer the healing potions, the ringing in my head cleared, and some of the holes in my chest started to patch up under the plating. “Hit the one with the launcher!” I barked past the glass that felt in my lungs still, one bad thing about using an explosive weapon, your ammunition was pretty fickle.

Finally, I got back up to my hooves as she took the shot, and out there stood only the charred-out husk of a ranger after having his mag explode. It was a quick death at least, though it didn’t even faze the other three. Luckily, I had an answer for this. Lining the sights up to one of the laser users, the AMR let loose.

Or it was supposed to.

All I got was a click every time I chomped down on the bit. Something about taking a grenade blast to the side wasn’t good weapon maintenance… why can’t I have something nice?! No matter, the minigun spun up and with its constant purr sent a stream of bullets to the pair of gatling users. After a few seconds the rounds managed to chew through enough of the plating in the neck to drop one of them. Though his friend got the picture and took cover, that left…

Hot! Very much hot! Armor plates were not the best thing to use against fire!

Mister incinerator sent another stream of his own in through the window, neatly blanketing me in a torrent of flame, and leaving him just as exposed. The 2mm round punched through the colts’ visor and shattered the glass inwards, it would have been painful… if the back of his helmet hadn’t blown out as well. Really did matter where you hit em, I didn’t have the skill to pull that off.

Looking around, I leapt behind the counter and over to the fryer. This was a kitchen, with oil, it had to have… Oh thank the goddess! With a tug of my horn I pulled the extinguisher free and turned it towards myself. Spraying the suit down with the foam snuffed the flames, and cooled some of the platting as well. Leaving me standing there for a spit second as the smoke baked off me.

Armor integrity: 33%

“Oh, screw this!” the Med-X injector was triggered, bringing the burning sensation down to a summer day, and the pain in my chest from the explosion back to a mild nag. A heavy stomp of my hooves lifted me back over the counter and out the door, galloping towards the other ranger.

I don’t know if he was shocked or not to see me coming out here to meet him face to face. Either way, he didn’t exactly shoot the second we made eye contact. His mistake, not mine. Thru a painkiller induced high the shoulder of the suit slammed in to his own and brought the ranger down, leaving me to stand over top him.

Hoof after hoof laid in to his helmet, the power part of the power armor standing true to its name. Every hit seemed to jar the stallion underneath a bit more. I could have stepped off and broke his guns, let him go like I had done before… but where had that led me? My motor already spun up, as the line of lead left punch after punch into the softer plating on the stomach, until it finally gave way.

Maybe not a quick death like I would have wished, nothing like is friend that vaporized where he stood. Stopping power, the minigun wasn’t known for, but it sure had the volume of fire to silence any naysayer. All those rounds hitting at once in such a soft tissue left the ranger bleeding out in his own suit. No amount of healing potions mattered when your intestines were put through a meat grinder.

The heavy breaths remained as I looked around to those rangers that fell, sweat trickling into my eyes from my impromptu sauna experience. Why’d they come out this way? Was it because of what I did back in Drybank?... who am I kidding, of course it was, the real question was would this be the end of it… here I am kidding myself once more.

“Umm… Wild?” the softer voice carried over the panting inside my helmet, as a hoof rested on my shoulder.

There next to me stood Tumble, and her eyes showed… Worry. “Yeah… kinda lost my cool there,” that was an understatement.

“It’s alright… you were just set on fire,” she looked over the suit with concern, as I tried to do the same, “are ya good in there?”

Some of the foam still clung to me even after my out lash, though the scorch marks from the fire still remained… along with the blood splatter from dumping who knows how many rounds in to the colt. No wonder she looked concerned; I’d be worried too if I was in her shoes. As for my body itself, the Med-X was still working its magic, and the healing potions had done their job.

“I’m good… suits healing me up just fine,” a wonder of technology it was.

“Think they tracked you down for some payback?” hmm like I had just asked myself that question…

“Oh no doubt, especially with what I’m walking in,” an armored hoof tapped the chest of the suit, and with a pull of my horn I detached the AMR now that the coast was clear.

Oh for sure… the receiver is definitely not designed to have several holes like that going through the mechanism. It’s a shame too, I hadn’t even gotten to use all the rounds. Dropping it down to the ground, my lips muttered a quiet thanks to the ranger who had kept it in such good working order.

Back to looting I suppose. Both myself and Tumble managed to pull a few good things off the rangers. My chem pump was topped off, and the mare even got a few of the spark batteries from the gatling lasers for resell. Sadly, no 5mm… this thing chewed through ammo like no other! I’d be needing a replacement for the AMR though. Looking through my options there really was only one to see, energy weapons never were my thing… fire on the other hoof.

With a tug I pulled the incinerator clean from its user, and brought it over to my suit. Ahh it’d been a while sense I’d tested with the IF-451 model. “I thought you had to be out of your suit to do that?” Tumble asked as she went over another of the rangers.

“Na… I only needed to at the hotel because I had to upgrade the battle saddle,” speaking of upgrades.

Thankfully, each of the suits that were left were largely intact… minus the grenade user. Popping open their service hatches welcomed me with a slew of goodies, and each one found their new home in my bags. A few repair talismans, another spell matrix, and a couple of the chem pumps would come in handy. If I couldn’t use it to fix the suit, at the very least some of these parts would fetch a decent price. I’d just much rather repair it someplace a little less exposed.

Our bags were heavy now with loot, and as Tumble tried to get hers better situated across her back, I looked around the area and down the road still ahead, “Ya ready to get back to it?” I asked while opening the fuel valve to the incinerator.

“As much as I’ll ever be,” the mare trotted alongside as we went on.

Footnote: Level up.

New Perk: “Heavy Gunner- Lv. 1”- Peace, through overwhelming firepower! After some practice your skills with heavy weapons are improving, resulting in a damage increase of 25%.