Rainbow In The Wastes

Rainbow finished her meal quickly, leaving not a single remnant of her breakfast on the plate. Wiping her now slobbery mouth with a hoof, she looked over at Carter, who had taken a seat during the mare's feast. Grasped in his hands was a long "assault rifle", as he had called it, used for suppressive fire or a miniature substitution in case a minigun isn't available. He silently wiped the worn stock, its bolt and mag set aside for their own turn.

Trotting up to him, Carter began to explain, "Alright, this here," he said, holding it out for her to see, "is a Chinese assault rifle, used by the Chinese when they invaded Alaska awhile ago. You can still find them in the hands of some raiders though. This specific one- I like to call it an antique- is a Xuanlong assault rifle, a special one, with a 36 round magazine," he continued, holding up a bullet, "that chambers 5.56mm rounds."

Carter shook the assault rifle, giving the mare a not-so-subtle hint, which she noticed easily. Throwing a hoof toward the grip, she brought it back to her chest, testing its weight. Getting up onto her hind legs, she grunted loudly at the weight shift, as the gun sought to bring her down to the floor, which it did flawlessly. As the mare looked forward with a look of annoyance, she stole a glance at the rifle, still on the ground. It seemed to glare back at her, rolling its eyes at her weakness. She couldn't blame herself though; it was a surprising weight change that caused her to fall.

Carter walked over to the mare, holding his hand out for her to grasp. She didn't, however, and instead got up by herself, brushing even more dust from her suit as she groaned in aggravation. Rolling his eyes, the man scooped up the rifle from the floor, walking over to the table and picking up the bolt. Rainbow trotted over, satisfied that she didn't have to hold it for the time being. Placing it inside, the man turned again and held the magazine, which he showed to the mare, "Now, reloading a rifle is very different from reloading your revolver. Instead of placing the bullets one at a time into the gun, rifles require mags, which can house more than fifteen bullets at some points," Carter brought out a case of rounds, and took one out, "assault rifle of all kinds in the Wastes house 5.56mm rounds, one of the three most common rounds in D.C., so it'll be easy to stockpile it, especially if you encounter mutants, who use assault rifles like there's no tomorrow."

Rainbow watched the man carefully, studying the way he placed each bullet into the magazine. Once all thirty-six were inside, Carter pushed it into the receptor at the middle of the gun, giving it a little shove to assure it was usable. Handing it back to the mare slowly, she reached for it and grasped it yet again, getting back onto her hind legs and testing it. The mare swayed a bit, but ultimately regained her balance and stood steady, right leg coiled around the handle and her left hoof placed firmly underneath the fore grip. Carter looked at her, arms akimbo. Giving a nod, he continued, "Now that you've got a grip, let's see how you handle a live firing. While your revolver has a big recoil, an assault rifle continues an endless recoil until it's rounds are wasted. Also, while it is faster to reload, it does less damage, as the rounds it uses aren't very strong-"

Going slack, Rainbow interrupted, "Can we just get to firing the gun?"

Giving a feigned pout, Carter whispered, "Okay..." and stalked off to the door, opening it for the mare as she walked past him, a look of ridicule plastered on her face. Laughing, Carter followed suit, shutting the door and walking up beside Rainbow, "C'mon Dashie, I have a good firing range for you to use."

Taking the lead, Carter lead her to the large gates that were the exits out of Megaton, "Wow," Rainbow exclaimed, eyes wandering the wall, "this is a big gate."

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Carter asked, watching it idly as it drew open. "Megaton was built from planes, large metal machines that can soar through the air, kind of like what you do."

"I know what a plane is, Carter. Before I came here, some rich snob in Canterlot thought of a flying machine that could take ponies to all sorts of places. I thought my friend Rarity must've been crazy when she told us that, it's always been the pegasi that've flown around the clouds. Now Earth ponies can do it too," the mare glared at nobody in particular, continuing to follow the man to their destination. Carter, for his own benefit, listened to Rainbow intently as she continued to gripe about planes; she obviously didn't like them, her pride blocked it out.

"Trust me Dashie," he said, rustling her mane playfully, "one day, a plane'll save your life, and maybe you'll think again."

"As if."

Carter raised a brow; she didn't just dislike them, she outright hated them. I should probably change the subject....

"Hey Dashie! Look!"

She did, glancing over to where Carter was pointing at. Brow raised in confusion, the mare started, "I don't see anythi- Whoa!" Rainbow found herself in Carter's arms, cradled like a baby as she was carried to the range, "Put me down...I said Put me down!" She yelled, kicking and struggling against his grasp.

"No Dashie, I need you to save your strength for when we get there. For now, just sit tight; you're not goin' anywhere."

Crossing her forelegs, the mare groaned inwardly at the man's chuckles, which he was barely containing as he walked on. Biting his lower lip, Carter looked down at Rainbow, who looked back up at him. Her eyes narrowed, and she gave a huff of agitation as she looked back down, clearly bored as she glanced ahead and unfolded her wings, "Can't I just fly there?"

"Do you want to-"

Carter was cut off, however, as Rainbow took his question for permission, zooming off his body as she flew high up into the sky, creating holes in the clouds as she went. "Ah yeah!" She shouted, rising up to the cirrus clouds. Her wings sliced through the air easily, creating a warm draft along the tips of her primaries. Eyes watering from her speed, she suddenly went back down at an angle, straight toward a cumulus that had caught her eye.

In the sky, Rainbow felt invincible. It was her element, her calling in life, the reason she had a Cutie Mark, in fact. Flying through the air in her suit affected her speed very little, surprisingly. It was a snug fit, but not too tight to create flapping fabric, she assumed. Reducing her speed to a halt, the mare dropped down onto the cloud, resting for her training ahead. "Rainbow! Get back here!"

The mare shut her eyes, feeling at peace atop her resting cloud.

"Rainbow!"

She couldn't feel any better at the moment.

"Rainbow!

Letting one eyelid crack open in annoyance, she could barely make out the sound of something else slicing through the air, a shrill whirr echoing throughout her head. For some reason, the sound made her feel a tad bit uneasy, and when her eye could see without obstruction, she saw a large, three sided vehicle, two large sets of blades chopping at the wind at a fast pace on either side of the body. A symbol, one of a silver E and twelve surrounding stars, was emblazoned on the nose, where large machine guns stood proudly, glimmering in the sunlight. Her eyes widened. They were pointed at her. The machine guns made a loud clinking sound, and her world was suddenly filled with a white light. Slowly stepping back from the machine, she suddenly felt her wings grow cold as the guns' barrels were filled with flame. Looking at her wings, she found holes buried deep within her feathers. A thick, red liquid oozed from them, dribbling down her wings and dropping onto the cloud below. White mixed with red, creating a strange combination of color atop the cumulus.

Looking down at her body, she found seven other holes, the same red fluid emerging from them as well. Her breathe became hitched, her legs tensed, and her mind went blank as she tipped over the edge of the cloud and fell to the ground below.