Her rifle barked twice.

A single raider fell to the ground, a mess of crimson spilling onto the rest of his face.

Looking down to better assess the rifle, Rainbow pulled the bolt back, listening as the wasted .32 round fell to the pavement below.

Throwing the gun's sights back onto the road elevated a couple yards in front of them, the mare found the now seven raiders completely still, their leader holding up the large sniper rifle in one raised hand.

The mare's eyes widened in sudden realization.

One of them sat in a crouch, his figure completely still against the now setting sun.

Rainbow Dash only had time to shout before she felt a sharp, piercing pain course through her entire body, the mare falling limp to the cold pavement below, her back to the air and her rifle clattering loudly by her side. Gritting her teeth, she pressed both of her hooves onto the long cracked road, attempting to push herself off the ground.

As her left leg reached its standing point, she screamed in pain, looking down at the appendage with a look of both anger and confusion.

A large, leaking red hole stared back at her from the middle of her left leg, the sickly, commonly rehearsed smell of blood wafted into her nostrils, causing the mare to feel nauseous, before she fell back to the cold, unforgiving ground below with a dull thud.

Looking to her right, she found the fallen, still body of the Lone Wanderer, his right hand barely grasping the constantly bleeding wound in his own stomach. His torn body armor rose and fell slowly, cautiously.

Carter was still alive.

But he wouldn't be for long.

Rainbow choked back tears, throwing a cyan hoof out to crawl toward the man, her guardian, her savior in this cruel, unforgiving Wasteland.

"Car..... Carter...."

She was weak.

Her hoof in the air, violently shaking with her body, slowly faltered.

A large grey boot stepped onto the asphalt between the two.

Rainbow's hoof fell to the ground.

Breathing heavily, the mare turned her head to the right, facing the owner of the boot still next to her.

The sun shone brightly from the mountains behind him, obscuring any view of his facial features.

From her position, Rainbow could make out an enormous rifle, a likewise large scope sitting atop the gun. The barrel extended almost down to the road, a pair of struts folded neatly in the middle.

"Well, looks like I've caught me a horsey."

Holstering the sand-colored rifle onto his back, he struck a pose that reminded Rainbow of a super hero, staring at her against the achingly slow sun still setting in the peak behind what she assumed to be the raider's leader.

Then, he lowered himself, a hand outstretched and poised toward the mare.

Gritting her teeth, she threw all of her still waning weight into knocking the man's hand away.

She succeeded, and she was rewarded with the low sound of a bone cracking in retaliation.

The raider seethed, waving his left hand around in the air as if he had a hangnail. Holding the now injured appendage with both hands, he growled, throwing his other hand and grasping the surprised mare's throat.

Rainbow found herself lifted high into the air, staring deeply into the dark brown eyes of the raider currently grasping her neck tightly. The mare struggled to breathe against the weight constricting her windpipe, thrashing wildly and attempting to pummel the man's right hand into a bloody pulp.

Still suffering from the wound in her left leg and trying to freely breathe, the mare failed, her legs falling limp to her sides as she remained held high in the air.

Stuck with limited options, she looked straight into the man's glaring eyes.

She moved her mouth.

And she spat, the phlegm connecting with the man's face and causing him to recoil in disgust.

Rainbow smiled a satisfied smile.

And then lost her breath as the man angrily threw her a few feet away, the Pegasus landing back onto the road, bouncing twice, and rolling onto her stomach, her hooves stretched in front of her face and her head against the cold concrete.

The mare breathed in fresh air, now free from the man's iron hand, but sniffled involuntarily.

The fresh smell of blood was closer now, and it was erupting from her nose.

Clenching her teeth, she shut her eyes and attempted to get up, only to grunt in pain as she felt a boot connect with her gut. The sound of uproarious laughter met her ears as the mare rolled onto her back, finding the aggressive man staring daggers down at her.

"C'mon, you fucker," the mare spat, enunciating her curse with a jerk of her head, "finish this."

She heard the man laugh an incredibly scary laugh, a masked Blastmaster joining him and standing by his side. A second later, a Pyscho-tic stood by him as well, arms akimbo. And a heartbeat later, the mare found seven raiders staring at her with criminal intent. Growling, she snarled at them.

"Oh," the leader started, his hands at his hips as he slowly stalked toward her, "I'll come alright..."

The mare, not understanding, lay still, her right leg extended and her still bleeding left leg lying limp.

The raider's hands went to the front of his pants.

Rainbow's eyes widened, and she attempted to crawl away, aided by only a single, free hoof.

It was all for naught, however, as the man stood over her, his comrades still standing behind him, laughing.

All six laughing.

At her.

The man lowered himself, his legs spread.

A Blastmaster in the corner of her right eye placed both hands on his knees, the sound of his now accelerated laughing resounding through her skull.

And then, suddenly, without warning, a loud bang emerged from the depths of her mind.

The Blastmaster had fallen to the ground a few feet away, his masked head now bleeding onto the road below him.

The leader turned his head, stepping off of the mare and creating a path for Rainbow to look.

A hunting shotgun smoked wildly at the barrel, its owner un-moving.

The old man wheezed loudly, his stomach slowly bleeding as he aimed at the group of raiders now glaring back at him in kind.

Everyone stood as still as statues, all eyes focused on the undying man.

"Al- alright...." he began, cocking the shotgun dramatically.

Rainbow sucked in a breath.

"Which one of you fucks shot me?"

Author's Note

What better than a new chapter on International Literacy Day, huh?